Early injuries are cooling off the Suns’ hot start

After an impressive 8-1 start, the Phoenix Suns are now dealing with injuries and integrating new players to maintain their place among the Western Conference’s elite. Following a tough loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 99-83 on Friday night, the Suns are now 9-4, dropping to third in the West after briefly holding the top spot.

The Suns were once again without Kevin Durant (calf), Bradley Beal (calf), and Grayson Allen (hamstring) for the second consecutive game. Keeping things steady and competitive in Phoenix feels like a tall order under these circumstances. I don’t want to frame this stretch as simply a matter of “getting through the injuries” while banking on our bench…