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[Saba Sports News] Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic injured his left middle finger during Saturday’s practice and will miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He will be re-evaluated in a week.
Coach Mike Budenholzer kept it brief, saying, “We’ll evaluate and hope for the best.”
This injury is a setback for the Suns, who had gone through training camp injury-free.
Now, they’ll head into three preseason games without their starting center.
While the focus is often on stars like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, Nurkic’s rebounding, toughness, and passing are key for the team’s success.
Budenholzer highlighted how Mason Plumlee and rookie Oso Ighodaro have stepped up with more playing time.
Plumlee, a familiar face to Nurkic, signed as a backup but is focused on fitting into the team’s system, while Ighodaro is learning under Nurkic’s mentorship.
With Nurkic out, the Suns will rely on a rotation of Plumlee, Ighodaro, and Bol Bol to maintain size and versatility in the preseason.