Suns Confirm Hamstring Strain For Booker; Give Status Update

Devin Booker left the game without much fanfare; the TNT commentators didn't even realize he wasn't on the bench until much later in the 3rd quarter. But Booker did indeed suffer a right hamstring injury in Tuesday night's Game 2 loss by his Phoenix Suns to the New Orleans Pelicans. The team has now announced the severity:

Via the @Suns:

"Devin Booker has sustained a mild right hamstring strain, an MRI confirmed today. There is no timetable for his return and updates will be provided as appropriate." pic.twitter.com/C66pdgWuGB

— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) April 20, 2022

The good news is that he was able to walk off the court himself, without a limp, so pain was obviously minimal, as evidenced by the "mild" diagnosis. Nevertheless, the Suns do say there is "no timetable" for his return. 

NBA Injury Analyst Jeff Stotts says the Suns' use of the word "mild" is a positive development.  

Re: Devin Booker: The term mild suggests a low grade strain. He has a history of hamstring strains having previously missed time w/ issues on each leg. The left has been historically more problematic but he missed 2 games during the 2018-19 season w/ right hamstring tightness.

— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) April 20, 2022

Stotts also says that the average time lost for nondescript hamstring strains in the NBA was 12 days (median 8.5 days). NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski earlier reported that Booker "appears unlikely to play in Games 3 or 4", but isn't being ruled out for the rest of the series.

Mild = Grade 1. Probably why team is comfortable not ruling Booker out of series yet. https://t.co/BP9btrtjun

— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) April 20, 2022

Game 3 of the Suns/Pelicans series is Friday night in New Orleans, with Game 4 on Sunday, before the series switches back to Phoenix for Game 5 next Tuesday and Game 6 next Thursday.