The Phoenix Suns are 8-2 this season when Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal are all available, but they have struggled with a 1-7 record when Durant is out.
On Saturday night, the Suns will visit the Miami Heat without Durant, who is sidelined due to an injured left ankle.
This absence puts more pressure on Booker, who is averaging 25.1 points and 6.3 assists. The Suns are 6-1 when Booker dishes out eight or more assists, and he prefers to play the entire first quarter to get into the flow of the game.
The Suns will also be without starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who is out with a right thigh contusion. Nurkic is averaging 8.9 points and a team-high 9.9 rebounds.
Royce O’Neale (10 points, 6 rebounds) has replaced Durant in the starting lineup, while Mason Plumlee (4.6 points, 5.9 rebounds) has stepped in for Nurkic.
Durant’s absence, expected to last a week, will be especially felt as he leads the team in scoring (25.8 points per game) and averages 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Despite the injuries, the Suns still have key starters like Beal (18.0 points per game) and Tyus Jones (11.8 points per game and a team-high 7 assists).
Role players like Grayson Allen (10.6 points per game) are also crucial for this top-heavy team.
The Suns previously earned a 115-112 home win over the Heat earlier this season, when they were fully healthy.
Miami’s Tyler Herro had 28 points and six assists in that game, and he will surely be a focal point of the Suns’ scouting report.
For the season, Herro leads Miami in scoring (24.1 points per game) and averages 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting a career-high 42 percent from three-point range.
Versatile Heat center Bam Adebayo’s scoring is down nearly four points from last season to 15.6, but he leads the team in rebounds (9.9) and assists (5).
Miami’s third star, Jimmy Butler, has already missed five games due to injuries this season. Meanwhile, Herro and Adebayo have played every game. Butler is averaging 18.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists over 15 games.
There has been speculation about a possible decline in the 35-year-old Butler’s game. He doesn’t take many three-pointers and makes them at a pedestrian rate (36.4 percent). However, Butler excels at drawing fouls and leads the team in free-throw attempts (7.6 per game). His offensive rating (points produced per 100 possessions) is the best of any Heat player at 136.
For context, Adebayo is second on the team with four free throws per game. Herro’s offensive rating is 117, and Adebayo’s is 111.
Like the Suns, role players are important for the Heat, including Terry Rozier, who ranks fourth on the team in scoring (12.7 points per game), and shooter Duncan Robinson (10.2 points per game, 36 percent on three-pointers).
Kevin Love, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Haywood Highsmith provide plenty of depth for Miami. All nine of these players have started at least one game this season.
Jovic, who has eight starts, has found himself out of Miami’s rotation, receiving zero playing time over the past six games.
