Will Kevin Durant be all right? That question would have swirled through the minds of the attendees at the Footprint Center during the recent Phoenix Suns-Houston Rockets matchup. If losing 2 consecutive games while occupying a low seed on the Western Conference chart wasn’t enough, things took a turn for the worse when Durant exited the game at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter, due to an apparent lower leg injury. After limping to the bench and then heading to the locker room, it was speculated that good news would not be awaiting Suns fans. Sure enough, a recent update has now built on the already bad news.

AZ Central reporter Duane Rankin recently covered the post-game comments of Suns’ head coach, Mike Budenholzer. According to the HC, Kevin Durant will stay back in Phoenix while the squad goes on the road as part of a three-game road trip. No further updates were given out on Durant’s condition, except that he will get an MRI tomorrow morning to assess the severity of his injury. The player’s injury is confirmed to have been a left ankle sprain.

The Phoenix Suns now have only 7 more games remaining in the 2024-25 NBA regular season. The team’s next matchup, against the Milwaukee Bucks, will take place at the Fiserv Forum. Phoenix will then next face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. This will be accompanied by a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The team would then return to the Footprint Center to face the Golden State Warriors.

The Suns are currently the 11th seed on the Western Conference chart. These upcoming games offer a final chance to secure a seed that allows the team to compete in the playoffs. While it is close to impossible for the Suns now to secure a seed beyond the 7th one, the team could still chart a route to the postseason through the Play-in series, which would require it to qualify for a seed only between 7-10.

With Kevin Durant, doing so was still a possibility. Without him, the road just got a whole lot tougher to get through. The veteran star has played in 62 of his team’s 75 games till now. In the 13 games he missed, the Suns were only able to record a 2-11 win record! The most recent game played without Kevin Durant was the matchup against the Denver Nuggets back in early February. The Suns lost that by a 122-105 score, aka a 17-point margin!

As highlighted by the official page of the National Institute of Health, “full rehabilitation for moderate to severe sprains is usually accomplished by 6-8 weeks, at which time the athlete can safely return to competition”. However, a history of previous sprains in an athlete can increase the likelihood of a player’s absence. Kevin Durant last sustained an ankle sprain during the 104-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs on December 3rd, 2024. Shams Charania reported the next day that Durant was expected to miss one-to-two weeks. All of this indicates that the Phoenix Suns front office will have to figure out some things.

How can the Phoenix Suns proceed without Kevin Durant in the upcoming games on the road?

Until the MRI reveals more details, it cannot be said for certain how long Kevin Durant will be out. However, in an extended absence, RotoWire reports that Royce O’Neale and Oso Ighodaro could see increased minutes during the upcoming games.

Throughout 69 games this season, Royce O’Neale has started in 19 of them. He has averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists till this point in this tournament. Royce’s average points performance in March was lower than what it was in February. However, the player has been stepping up over the last few games. During the Suns’ recent loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored 21 points alongside 2 rebounds and 2 assists. He made 7-12 (58.3%) field goals, 7-12 (58.3%) 3-pointers, and 0-0 (0%) free throws in the process.

Meanwhile, Oso Ighodaro has not been that impressive. Out of the 54 games he played in this season, the player started in only 3 of them. He has averaged 3.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in this tournament.

Together, the players might not be enough to make up for the 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists Durant had been averaging. With Bradley Beal recovering from a hamstring ailment, Devin Booker might have to take charge to carry the team on the offensive front.

Do you believe the Phoenix Suns can make it without Kevin Durant? Could a seed good enough for the Play-In series be secured by the team? Let us know in the comments section down below.