Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal expected to return from injury against the Lakers

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal was getting cooking on offense when he began feeling tightness in his left calf on Nov. 12 against the Utah Jazz.

Beal hasn’t played since but is set to return for Tuesday’s NBA West Cup Group B game against the Los Angeles Lakers (10-6) at Footprint Center.

“I definitely feel a lot better, it’s definitely a good rehab process,” Beal said after Monday’s practice. “I’m grateful we had the schedule we had. So we had a few days off, (Kevin Durant) and I. I feel good, I feel good. I’m excited for (Tuesday) and get going again. “

Kevin Durant and Beal are likely for Tuesday as both practiced Monday after playing 5-on-5 Sunday at the team’s practice facility. Five days between Wednesday’s home loss to the New York Knicks and Tuesday’s game against the Lakers gave Durant and Beal time to recover.

The Suns (9-7) went 1-6 without Durant, losing their last five games without Durant and Beal, who hasn’t played since their last win Nov. 12 against the Utah Jazz. Beal thinks the team held together in the locker room during a tough time. The Suns played their last seven games in 11 days before this five-day break.

“One of the hardest things in the league, especially when you’re a guy out, is communication,” Beal said. “Giving advice to guys, giving them that encouragement, especially if you’ve missed a lot of games. If you’ve missed a lot of games, sometimes your voice gets a little watered down, but at the same time, having that experience and guys understand that you’ve been in the league a long time, that you’ve seen the ups and downs, that you’re a true pro, they respect your voice at the end of the day.”

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said he expects Durant and Beal to play Tuesday, as they did “all out” in Monday’s practice.

“It’s going to be great to have those two guys back in the starting lineup,” Suns rookie Ryan Dunn said. “Bringing that extra firepower back to the team is going to help us a lot.”

Phoenix will look to get back into the rhythm they established during their 8-1 start.

“We have to be ready to go,” Budenholzer said. “We can’t wait, we can’t wonder, but to really know what you have and everything else, I think we’ve been without Brad and without Kevin for a little while here. I think we’ll continue to grow and, in a way, you will continue to grow throughout the year, to be honest.”

Without those two, Devin Booker faced constant double teams, a strategy that factored into the Suns’ 1-6 loss.

“At the beginning of the year, they couldn’t really help because Brad, Kevin, me and all the guys were hitting shots,” Dunn said. “Once those two got here, they said we’re just going to start doubling Devin and playing us, which is cool. We’re getting reps with that. I think that’s going to help us a lot. We We’ve been working on that as well when they double.”

Durant last played on November 8 against the Dallas Mavericks when he strained his left calf. Durant grabbed it during a timeout in the fourth quarter of a 114-113 road breakout.

Scoring 26 points against the Mavs, Durant leads the Suns with 27.6 points per game. He was initially scheduled to undergo a two-week re-evaluation last weekend.

Beal was injured against the Jazz in Salt Lake City when he left the game with 7:19 remaining and did not return. Phoenix won 120-112 in its first group game.

Beal initially thought it was a handoff of DeMar DeRozan rolling in his left knee in overtime during a Nov. 9 home loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Staying in the game, Beal scored a season-high 28 points. He dropped 24 points in 29 minutes in Phoenix’s next game against the Jazz.

The Suns haven’t won since beating the Jazz 4-12.

Do you have any thoughts on the current state of the Suns? Contact Suns insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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