Bradley Beal hopeful to return from injury vs. NBA-best Cavaliers, Jusuf Nurkic still out

Posted by Admin January 19, 2025 NBA

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CLEVELAND — Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal is hopeful he’ll play in Monday’s game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing last two games with left ankle sprain.

“As long as I can move like Brad, I’m good,” Beal said.

Beal is listed as questionable as he went through a workout after Sunday’s practice/shootaround on Cleveland’s practice court at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The Suns guard was dribbling, cutting, stopping, jumping and shooting with fluid movement.

“It feels better,” Beal said about the ankle.

The Suns (21-20) are over .500 for the first time since Christmas when they improved to 15-14 after beating the Denver Nuggets in Phoenix.

They now face the Cavs (35-6), who have the NBA’s best record.

“They just play as a cohesive unit,” Suns superstar Kevin Durant said. “They’ve always had size, which is key in winning games to have the size.”

All-Star Donovan Mitchell leads a deep and quality team coached by Kenny Atkinson. Cleveland has split its last four games after going on a 12-game winning streak.

“Great team,” Beal said. “Got to bring your hard hats. Very versatile.”

This is an opportunity for Phoenix to see how it measures up against the NBA’s best at this point in the season. The Cavs will be without starting forward Evan Mobley, who is listed out with a right calf strain.

“I feel like we can be in any game, we can play with any team in this league,” Durant said. “It’s easier said than done, but for the most part, we play physical, keep the ball in front of us, we’ll be alright.”

The Suns hope to have Beal back Monday after he rolled his ankle battling for a rebound with Atlanta Hawks wing David Roddy in the third quarter of Tuesday’s loss to begin the five-game road trip. He checked out of the game with 5:53 remaining in the third, but Beal returned to action with 1:41 left in the quarter.

Beal played 9 minutes, 37 seconds of the fourth quarter to finish with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting. He hasn’t played since.

“It’s been good, it’s been smooth,” Beal said. “I haven’t had any setbacks or anything out of the ordinary. All the imaging came back fully expecting to be nothing crazy. Just a little sprain.”

The Suns are still without Jusuf Nurkic, who is listed out Monday’s game with “return to competitive reconditioning.” The 7-footer wasn’t with the team at Sunday’s practice/shootaround as he’s been back in Phoenix during the five-game road trip with the flu.

The Suns finish the five-game trip Wednesday against Brooklyn.

“He’s turned the corner, he’s feeling a little bit better,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said before Saturday’s win at Detroit about Nurkic. “We’ll see how the next 24, 48 hours goes and see what the best plan for him is.”

Nick Richards provided a huge jolt in his Suns debut Saturday, posting 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench.

“Nick was incredible,” Suns guard Devin Booker said after Saturday’s game. “He was catching, he was finishing. He was rebounding. For his first game, playing in the right spacing, too. Getting looks in that dunker catching and finishing. That was a big pickup for us. It showed tonight.”

The Suns traded Josh Okogie and three future second-round picks to Charlotte for Richards and a future second-round selection.

“Just his energy, his presence,” Beal said. “Active on the defensive end, running the floor was significant, stands out a lot. Just his activity. Being able to alter shots at the rim. Crashed the boards. Got a couple of offensive rebounds, something that we need. Just being a force.”

Richards joined the team Friday, went through a film session and crash course on what the Suns do on both ends of the court and had a pregame workout Saturday before having a productive effort in his first game with Phoenix.

“I was fully being myself the whole time,” Richards said. “Didn’t try to change anything up. Play my style of basketball.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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