MAJOR Suns update regarding Chris Paul and Cameron Payne
MAJOR Suns update regarding Chris Paul and Cameron Payne
The Suns are without both of their point guards again and this is not a new feeling for the Suns or their fanbase, but it is one that is often reoccurring. However, it is a little bit different this time around – well, at least for Chris Paul.
Per Duane Rankin of AZCentral, Cam Payne is set to miss at least two weeks with his foot injury while Chris Paul is day-to-day with his sore right hip injury.
This is a significant setback for Payne, who already missed 9 games due to this injury, as this foot injury has been nagging him for some time and he can’t shake it. That became very apparent during the Suns-Cavaliers game when Payne left the game after the first half due to re-aggravating it.
Despite the negatives, there is some good news, Chris Paul is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Cavaliers. So Phoenix could be getting back their veteran point guard for tomorrow’s matchup.
The Suns’ currently have Cam Payne, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul all out with injuries or simply not playing for the team. Four of the five players on this list are starters for this team.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, confirmed by the New Orleans Pelicans, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum have been shut down for the remainder of the season.
This season has gone very poorly for New Orleans due to majority of their players being injured throughout the season, which has caused them to drop to 14th in the Western Conference.
Williamson, who has recently been dealing with a back injury, only played 30 games this season. He’s only played in 214 career games in six seasons.
McCollum, who has been dealing with a foot contusion injury, only played in 57 games this season. This is a nine game drop off from last season.
With the Pelicans being 21-54, they saw no point in trying to rush their starting line players back onto the court. They will now look ahead to the offseason’s draft and free agency.
According to multiple reports, there was a growing feeling around the league that Taylor Jenkins was going to be fired in the offseason.
The timing was very surprising, but the firing was not for many people associated with the NBA. In fact, it was almost expected he wouldn’t return for the next season.
Why the feeling was growing so much was due to Memphis overhauling his coaching staff and completely cutting him out for the future.
“The anticipation was they’d get bounced in the first round and he’d be fired,” said Tim MacMahon on Monday’s Hoop Collective Podcast. “That’s honestly been the anticipation since last summer. All season long. Like the odds of Taylor Jenkins coming back next year were very slim. But to be fired with nine games left in the season… a playoff team. Yeah, the timing was shocking.”
Jenkins was their head coach for six seasons before getting canned, he was hired back in 2019 to replace current Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff before they selected Ja Morant with the second overall pick.
