Devin Booker will reportedly play for Phoenix Suns in Game 6

Devin Booker’s injured hamstring has healed in record time.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Phoenix Suns three-time All-Star expects to return to the court for Thursday night’s Game 6 matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Booker has missed the previous three games for Phoenix due to a Grade 1 right hamstring strain that was initially expected to sideline him for two to three weeks. Well, that was just nine days ago, and it now sounds like Booker will try and help the Suns close out the Pelicans in New Orleans.

Phoenix, the Western Conference’s top seed, currently holds a 3-2 series lead over the bottom-seeded Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT. Booker has already been upgraded from “out” to “questionable”.

ESPN Sources: Phoenix Suns All-Star G Devin Booker (strained hamstring) is expected to play vs. New Orleans in Game 6 tonight. Booker is expected to test the ligament in pregame warmups, and assuming all goes well, he’ll be back on the floor after missing the past three games.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 28, 2022

Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that Booker was “progressing toward a return soon” just one week after suffering the injury during the end of the first half in Game 2. The former Kentucky Wildcat was on fire during that matchup, exploding for 31 points through two quarters before landing awkwardly trying to chase down a transition dunk attempt right before halftime. He has not played since.

Assuming all goes according to plan during Thursday’s pregame warmups, the Suns will get back their top scorer. Booker is averaging 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists this season for Phoenix on a shooting split of 46.6/38.3/86.8. Alongside Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, the duo has formed arguably the toughest backcourt in the league, which culminated with an NBA-best record of 64-18.

The Suns wound up losing Game 2 against the Pelicans without Booker in the second half, which tied the series 1-1. But since then, Phoenix has taken two of the next three contests and could close it out on Thursday. A win would push them through to the second round against the winner of the Grizzlies-Timberwolves series while also giving Booker an extra couple of days to rest before the next series.