Suns face injuries as they head into season's final home stretch

• And team leader Devin Booker missed the last four games with a right hip strain.

Yes, but: The Suns still pulled off a buzzer-beating win over the Lakers last Thursday.

The latest: Booker has participated in five-on-five in practice, and Suns coach Jordan Ott said he "continues to progress," per the Arizona Republic.

• "We'll see how that goes for tomorrow, how he feels tomorrow and then of course Tuesday," Ott said Sunday, Republic reporter Duane Rankin wrote on X.
• Sports Illustrated noted that we'll know more this evening when Phoenix reveals its initial injury report for Tuesday's game against Sacramento.

What we're watching: The Suns' schedule is light for the next couple of weeks, but they'll have a tough stretch starting in mid-March that includes Toronto, Boston, Minnesota, San Antonio and Denver.

Catch up quick: The Suns have been one of the NBA's biggest surprises this season.

• They started with low expectations after the off-season trade that sent Kevin Durant to Houston in exchange for Brooks and Jalen Green.

• Green was anticipated to take on a heavy load — he averaged 21 points per game last year — but missed nearly the entire first half of the season with an injury, leaving him in only 12 of 60 games.
• But the Suns have been in the playoff position for most of the season, and are in seventh place in the Western Conference.

The bottom line: What matters most is that the Suns are healthy when the postseason begins.

• Even with Brooks on the sidelines, Phoenix seems unlikely to miss the playoffs, though they'll have to get to at least sixth place to avoid a play-in game, which will be tougher with a banged-up roster.