By now it is abundantly clear that the Phoenix Suns are a huge mess and are headed nowhere fast this season. In Phoenix's defense though, they have had a lot of injury issues. The Suns lost star player Eric Bledsoe for the season earlier in the year when he decided to undergo season-ending meniscus surgery. The Suns' other point guard Brandon Knight has also been dealing with injury issues of his own recently and he will likely be out until after the All-Star break, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Knight has missed the Suns last nine games with a groin injury and they have had trouble locking down a timetable for his return. At first the Suns were calling Knight's injury an adductor strain before they sent him to Los Angeles to get a second opinion where it was revealed that the groin injury was a little worse than first assumed. Knight tried to play through the injury at first but said it was very limiting so he knew he needed to get it looked at. The Suns hoped that Knight would be back by now but he is still without a timetable and is fully expected to be held out until after the break.
Groin injuries can be tricky because if you come back too early you can re-injure it so the Suns are doing the right thing by taking the cautious approach in this case. The fact that the Suns have nothing to play for the rest of the season is another reason there is no sense of urgency to bring Knight back too soon. The Suns have a full week off for the All-Star break so the hope is that extra week will be enough time for Knight to get back on the floor.
Knight is now the Suns starting point guard since Bledsoe went down. He was previously playing the off guard position when both he and Bledsoe were healthy but the point is more of his natural position as he likes to play with the ball in his hands. The 24-year-old guard is having a very nice season as he is averaging a career high 19.7 points to go along with 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game in his first full year with the Suns.
Knight's injury partnered with Ronnie Price's toe injury, which has kept him out for the last 14 games, has left the Suns with very little at the guard position. With both of them out Archie Goodwin has stepped in and played well while rookie Devin Booker has also been given more minutes. Sonny Weems, who has been out of the rotation most of the year, and Jordan McRae, who is on a second 10-day contract, are the only other healthy guards on the roster.
