Phoenix Suns DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Phoenix Suns forward Royce O'Neale played 33 minutes in Sunday's 118-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, gathering nine points on 3-for-10 shooting, four assists, three rebounds, three three-pointers, and two blocks. Starting in place of the injured Devin Booker (ankle), O'Neale delivered the low-end goods fantasy managers have grown accustomed to over the veteran swingman's career. With Phoenix expecting Booker to miss at least the next week of play, O'Neale is someone nine-category managers should be prioritizing on waiver wires ahead of Tuesday's showdown against the Denver Nuggets. Across nine starts during 2023-24, the 30-year-old three-and-D wing is averaging 10.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.1 triples, and 2.4 combined steals plus blocks but faces a difficult task against a Nuggets squad that's surrendering the fewest fantasy points to opposing small forwards.

Phoenix Suns guard/forward Devin Booker (ankle) is set to miss 7-10 days of action, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Booker hurt his right ankle in a game against Houston at the weekend. He was already absent for Sunday's matchup against Oklahoma City and will miss at least three further contests. With Booker out, Bradley Beal received a much larger role offensively on Sunday and responded by leading the team with 31 points. Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen also get a usage boost without Booker, while Royce O'Neale returned to the starting unit against OKC.

Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic had a sensational 31-rebound performance in Sunday's 118-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bosnian big man shook off a neck issue to play 32 minutes in the contest, and he set a new franchise record with his efforts on the glass. It's the most rebounds a player has had in the NBA for 13 years. Nurkic also tallied 14 points for his third double-double in four games and dished out four assists while blocking one shot. The Suns center took full advantage of a favorable matchup, as the Thunder have the fourth-lowest rebounding rate in the league. With him having also recently produced a 22-rebound performance against the Lakers, Nurkic is averaging an incredible 19.0 rebounds per game for his last four outings.

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (hamstring) is listed as probable for their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The star combo guard played in their last game on Saturday against the Houston Rockets but he was only able to play 20 minutes. In that time, he registered just seven points, two rebounds, two assists, and two turnovers while shooting 3-for-6 from the floor. It's unclear how many minutes he'll receive in this matchup but with Devin Booker (ankle) ruled out, they'll need contributions from Beal to get a win over a very good Thunder team. Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon will likely play big roles if Beal can't put it in a full workload.

Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards (foot) is out for Sunday's tilt against the Toronto Raptors. Experiencing plantar fascia discomfort in his right foot, Richards was a late addition to the injury report and won't play on Sunday. The 26-year-old big man has served the Hornets well in Mark Williams' (back) stead, and over his last 10 games, he's averaging 12.8 points on 73.6% shooting from the field, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game. Tuesday's game versus the Orlando Magic marks Richards' next chance to return.Grant Williams and Davis Bertans will see added work in small-ball lineups, with the former making for the preferable fantasy streamer while averaging 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 triples on 39.1% shooting from downtown in 28.1 minutes covering nine games in Charlotte digs. Toronto shows the eighth-worst defensive efficiency rating (114.8) and ninth-worst opponent field-goal percentage (48.6%) in the Association during 2023-24.