Why is Devin Booker out against LA Lakers? Looking at Phoenix Suns superstar's current status & more

The Phoenix Suns had an early blow when Devin Booker was declared out with a foot injury for Thursday's game against the LA Lakers. He played in the Suns’ season-opening win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday despite being listed as questionable. With Booker and Bradley Beal out, the team will miss two of its offensive spearheads against the Lakers.

Earlier Thursday, the Suns updated that Booker was questionable for the game with the left foot big toe soreness. However, according to the latest reports, his status has been updated to out. The good news for the Suns is that Kevin Durant is ready to play.

Against Golden State, Booker helped the Suns open the season on a good note. He scored a game-high 32 points and had eight assists in a 108-104 win even though he was also considered questionable before that game.

There is no update on the seriousness of the injury. However, letting Booker play despite the same problem against the Dubs already indicates that it is not serious, but the team chose to be careful. Nevertheless, coach Frank Vogel was optimistic that Beal would be ready to play against the Lakers.

It can turn out to be a big night for Durant, who is only 37 points shy of passing Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the all-time scoring list.

Can the Suns beat the Lakers without Devin Booker?

The Phoenix Suns have the potential to become one of the greatest offensive teams in NBA history, only if their stars play. They have three of the league's best scoring machines. Devin Booker is the modern version of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant is arguably the NBA's greatest scorer. Bradley Beal averaged over 30 points a game in the 2019-20 and 20-21 seasons.

The bad news is, Beal and Booker have been declared out for Thursday's game. The question arises, can Kevin Durant win the game for the Suns? There is little chance that the Suns (1-0) will be able to beat the Lakers (0-1) although they beat the Lakers in the preseason without Booker and Beal.

With Booker out, LeBron James and the Lakers have an opportunity to win their first game of the season. But perhaps, they should first try to solve Anthony Davis’ atrocious performance in Tuesday's 119-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets. For the Lakers to have any chance of even going near the trophy, Davis has to be the best player on the floor.