There was a lot of excitement surrounding what was supposed to be the debut of the new Phoenix Suns “Big Three” of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. TNT’s Reggie Miller was so geared up for it that he had to be notified live on air that Durant had been ruled out of the Suns’ matchup against the Golden State Warriors with a lingering ankle injury.
The Tuesday post on Xwitter from The Athletic’s Shams Charania that reported on Durant’s injury could easily be missed. Xwitter metrics show that the post did less than half of the views of a post the previous day about the design of the Los Angeles Lakers’ In-Season Tournament banner.
Charania’s post on Wednesday afternoon was much more difficult to not notice. He reported that Durant is ready to go for Suns vs. Brooklyn Nets later in the evening. The post included a giant picture of Durant, Beal and Booker in uniform. The post received over 600,000 views in less than an hour.
Unfortunately, for sports fans, unlike Tuesday night’s game against the Warriors, this one has not been scheduled as a nationally televised matchup. Unless NBATV decides to make a schedule change on-the-fly, most sports fans will have to keep up with this highly anticipated debut on social media.
Going into the 2023-24 season, the new-look Suns were considered the team in the Western Conference with the best chance to take down the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets. After nearly two full months, 23 games, an In-Season Tournament and three Draymond Green ejections, it appears they will finally take the floor together.
I trust that Charania would not have accompanied his report with an image if he wasn’t almost completely certain about Durant’s status for Wednesday night. That being said, he reported that Durant is “expected” to play. That still leaves room for doubt and with this Suns team any uncertainty must be taken seriously. After all, Durant did turn an ankle in warmups last season that cost him a few weeks.
There are still a few hours left until tip off. I hope for the best, because the debut of the Suns’ dynamic trio is one of only two compelling matchups on the Wednesday NBA calendar — the other being an In-Season Tournament Knockout-Round rematch between the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. Neither of which are nationally televised because ESPN is airing the 2024 SEC football schedule release on Wednesday night, as well as a new 30 for 30 about Reggie White.
I am actually interested in the documentary about one of the few Green Bay Packers I’ve ever been a fan of, but that can wait for the real debut of the 2023-24 Suns. C’mon guys, get on the court tonight. Shams’ picture of you three is begging for it.
