Detroit Pistons vs. Phoenix Suns Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024

Preview and Prediction

Devin Booker was the stalwart of the trio of stars on the Phoenix Suns, but that will come to an end on Saturday evening.

Booker will be absent for the first time this season due to tightness in his left groin when the Suns take on the Detroit Pistons.

Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal have both missed 10 games already this season, while Booker has been able to suit up for each of Phoenix's first 26 games.

However, he sustained an injury just past the midway point of the third quarter in a 120-111 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night and was officially ruled out on Friday after missing practice.

The Suns have not yet announced a timeline for Booker's return.

Beal was deeply disappointed by Booker's injury.

"You're definitely disheartened by it because you never want to see anybody hurt, especially not someone of his caliber," Beal said on Friday. "But you just have to keep playing. You have to keep pushing forward."

Booker is averaging 25.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game. Only Durant (26.4) has a higher scoring average on the Suns, with Beal ranking third on the team at 17.7 points per game.

The Suns have struggled when one of their key players is unavailable, with a record of 1-9 in games where Durant is absent.

Tyus Jones is fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 12.5 points per game and leads the Suns in assists with 6.9 per game. He believes the team needs to step up when one of their stars is sidelined.

"We need to do a better job of that, of establishing a more consistent identity," Jones said. "All three of them won't be able to play every night, that's just the reality of it.

"When an injury does occur, we can still rely on our core principles of how we want to play and what our identity is. ... We just need to do a better job of sticking to that."

The loss to Indiana prevented the Suns from winning more than two consecutive games. They have only achieved this once, during a seven-game winning streak at the start of the season.

Phoenix will be looking for their eighth straight victory over Detroit, having won the previous eight games in the series.

Detroit has lost five of their last seven games overall as they begin a four-game road trip.

The Pistons will be looking to bounce back from their 126-119 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday. Although the margin was only seven points, Detroit trailed 48-19 after the first quarter.

"We dug ourselves into too deep of a hole," said Pistons standout Cade Cunningham after the game. "It's difficult to come back from that."

Cunningham scored 33 points, his third 30-point performance of the season. He has scored 20 or more points in 14 of the last 16 games.

Cunningham also had seven assists and matched his season-high of four blocked shots.

However, he was shocked by how quickly the Pistons fell behind in the first quarter.

"I thought we got good shots to start the game," he said. "We didn't make them, but they made every shot. We didn't get too down on ourselves, I thought we were still playing good basketball, the ball just wasn't bouncing our way, but then it snowballed, and we allowed them to get the looks they wanted."

Shooting guard Jaden Ivey, who is second on the team in scoring with an average of 17.3 points per game, is probable for the game after missing the last two games with left knee soreness. However, big man Isaiah Stewart will miss his second consecutive game due to a hyperextended left knee.

PREDICTION

Detroit Pistons

110

115

Phoenix Suns

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