Phoenix Suns

The first year of the Matt Ishbia funded Phoenix “Big 3” was a bit of a disappointment as the team struggled to gel and ultimately were swept by the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. An early season back injury to Bradley Beal limited the trio’s on-court time to start the season and a chance to establish a rhythm together. Minor injuries for Booker, Eric Gordon and Josh Okogie further hampered the team’s depth, resulting in another mediocre year for player performance and health.

However, the results are a bit misleading. Despite the inconsistency in availability, the team still managed to win 49 games with Kevin Durant returning to an All-NBA level of play. The performance of the David Crewe-led medical team was also better than the numbers suggest. While the team finished as the 17th ranked team in the NBA in terms of man games lost, they managed to keep Durant on the court for 75 regular season game, his highest total since leaving Golden State following the 2018-19 season. Furthermore, their injury total was elevated by a lost season from Damion Lee who missed the year recovering from a rare and complex meniscus tear that required a double posterior root repair. The 82 games Lee missed accounted for 40 percent of the Suns’ total games lost last year.

Crewe was elevated to Senior Director of Medical Operations with former Lakers athletic trainer Roger Sancho taking over as head AT for the Suns. The reshaped group will look to return the Suns to their prior level of operation when they were considered the elite medical team in the NBA. Since the 2005-06 season, the Suns have finished in the top-10 for player health in 10 of 19 seasons, including a top three finish under Crewe’s direction in the 2020-21 season. Over that same stretch, the Suns have surrendered the fifth fewest games to injury in the entire league. Replicating last season’s success with Durant, along with renewed health for the rest of the roster, should allow the Suns to have a bounce back campaign.