With the Game 2 loss against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Suns have a much bigger problem to deal with, Devin Booker injuring his hamstring.
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There wasn’t much expected of the New Orleans Pelicans when they came through to the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Not that they are not a capable team, but because they matched up with a 64-18 team in the Phoenix Suns.
It looked like they would have to give it up like the first game where Chris Paul’s 30 and Devin Booker’s 25 led to a 110-99 Phoenix win. But the 36-46 team just pulled off an upset on Tuesday night in Phoenix with a 125-114 victory over the Suns to tie the series at one game each.
Brandon Ingram’s 37-points, 11-rebounds, 9-assists, a steal, and a rebound alongside CJ McCollum’s 23-8-9 didn’t let the Pelicans fall behind in the game where Suns MVP wanted to be done within the first half itself.
DBook looked persistent on making the series 2-0 as he went for 31 first-half points, but in a play during the start of the 3rd quarter, the 3x All-Star tweaked his hamstring trying to chase down Jaxson Hayes at the rim.
Charles Barkley explains what a hamstring injury means for Devin Booker and Chris Paul
Anybody who’s been following Chris Paul’s career knows that his struggles with injuries around the postseason have cost him and his teams a lot. But his team’s MVP getting injured wasn’t a pattern, not until now at least.
Last year as well Booker suffered an injury scare with a serious nose injury, but it was the Point God again who was hit with a much more serious issue that kept him and his go-to shoulder in trouble throughout the playoffs.
And now when they were poised to be the team to beat in the West a hamstring pull for their leading scorer would have been the last thing they would want to hear. TNT analyst and former MVP with the Phoenix Suns, Charles Barkley, explains how scary it can be for everyone in that camp.
“It s**ks, especially when he’s playing like he was playing tonight.”
Chuck discusses Devin Booker’s injury in Game 2. pic.twitter.com/vL5X0Lq2nu
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 20, 2022
The Hall of Famer understands how injuries could turn out to be career deciding moments as he himself faced several injuries during the latter stages of his career in Houston, where he, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler were hunting for a championship.
CP3 very much like Chuck is himself on a hunt for his first title, but if Booker’s supposed tightness in his hamstring is anything more than that, that hunt would sadly be over.