Warriors upcoming opponent welcomes two stars back from injury
11/25/2024 04:46 PM
The Dubs will be facing a Suns team that has Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant back in action.
The Golden State Warriors are scheduled to face the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix on Saturday night. While the Suns have stumbled in the early part of the season, starting 9-7, they are welcoming two All-Stars back from injury on Monday. After a missing a combined 13 games, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are returning to the starting lineup to play against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, according to a report by ESPN's Shams Charania. They had both been out with calf strains.
Staying on the floor has been a consistent struggle for both players in recent years. Beal, in fact, has not played in more than 60 games in a single season since 2018-19. Nevertheless, he has been a dynamic offensive player when healthy. In nine games this season, Beal was averaging 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 34.8 minutes per game. Beal was also scoring at an incredibly efficient rate, shooting 56.5% from two, 38.3% from three, and 80.8% from the free-throw line.
Durant, who is nearly five years older than Beal, is coming off one of the most impressive seasons a 35-year old has ever put together. Durant played in 75 games, only the second time he had reached that mark in the previous 10 seasons, and appeared in 37.2 minutes per game last year. Coming off such a heavy workload, there was understandable concerns surrounding his durability this season.
In his nine games so far, Durant has been just as effective as last season. He is averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 38.8 minutes per game. He had made 61.9% of his two-point attempts, 42.9% of his three-point attempts, and 83.6% of his free-throw attempts.
The Suns have been unable to form a true title contender since sacrificing their roster's depth to team superstar guard Devin Booker with Durant and Beal. However, it remains difficult to rule out a team with so much scoring talent. Depth may not be their biggest strength, making health a vital variable in their prospects this season, but at least for the moment, it seems like the Warriors Pacific Division rival has its best players on the mend.
