Devin Booker and Miles Bridges were both ruled out for the Phoenix Suns’ preseason home opener against the San Antonio Spurs, a game that opened just past 7:30 PM MST at Mortgage Matchup Center. Booker was resting. Bridges, meanwhile, was out after rolling his ankle in Phoenix’s last game.
That mattered because the Suns were using the night to sort out what their early preseason rotation might look like, and two of the players who shape it most were unavailable from the start. Jordan Ott said both would sit, leaving Phoenix to move forward without Booker and Bridges in its first home exhibition.
The absence also carried a different weight for each player. Booker’s night off fit a preseason plan, and his 1-for-12 shooting from deep across exhibition play is only one piece of a larger sample that still tells little by itself; preseason shots can swing on rhythm, lineup mix and minutes more than on season-long role. Bridges’ case was more delicate. X-rays on the ankle came back negative, which eased the immediate concern, but the team still chose caution and kept him out.
That is the part that makes the situation worth watching: a negative scan can rule out a break, but it does not erase pain, swelling or the need to protect a player before the games start counting. Bridges could possibly play next Wednesday, which gives Phoenix a near-term checkpoint on whether the ankle settles quickly enough for him to return.
For the Suns, the first home game of the preseason became less about the final score and more about availability. With Booker resting and Bridges sidelined, the next look at Phoenix’s lineup comes soon, and the answer on Bridges will show whether the caution was only for one night or the start of a longer holdout.
