Unheralded Suns participant confirmed out in first preseason sport

The Phoenix Suns entered their first preseason sport towards the Los Angeles Lakers with an X-factor in Damion Lee. Phoenix received the sport 118-114 on the again of Lee and different key contributors.

Days earlier than the sport although, the Suns and Lee introduced his standing to return for the primary time for the reason that 2022-23 season. As the sport began, it went in line with the script.

Suns and Lakers starters dominated the primary half earlier than taking a relaxation and never enjoying the remainder of the sport. Nevertheless, the Suns’ bench mob got here alive within the closing two quarters. They outscored the Lakers 61-45 and had some key contributions from Lee. His two threes had been pivotal and swung the momentum within the Suns’ favor.

Though scoring roughly one level per minute was nice for Phoenix, being on the ground was simply as particular for him. Lee handled a lingering meniscus harm that stored him out the complete 2023-24 season. As he watched from the sidelines, he patiently awaited his return.

Whereas talking to the media in coaching camp, Lee pointed to the continued psychological battle he confronted. As quickly as he got here again, his teammates even joked about having the ability to dunk. Regardless, the entire nerves collected forward of Sunday’s contest. Nonetheless, Lee did what Lee has all the time accomplished with the Suns. House the ground and shoot a plethora of threes. To not point out, he inspired rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro when he was on the ground with them.

No matter experimenting with the lineups all through the preseason, Lee has an opportunity to maintain getting enjoying time.

How may Damion Lee get extra enjoying time from the Suns within the preseason?

When the Suns’ sharpshooter tore his meniscus, it ended up being worse than initially recognized. Regardless that Lee tore the ligament off of the bone, he had a double root tear, and his surgical procedure was a uncommon double posterior root restore of his meniscus. As Lee made his restoration, his standing was in query for the 2024-25 season.

As he made his means onto the ground, Lee picked up the place he left off. He instantly shot and made a 3 from the left wing and knew it too. His confidence and swagger had been evident the complete time he was within the sport.�

Lee’s uncooked emotion was on full show for the Suns devoted to witness. Following the sport, teammate Bradley Beal crashed Lee’s postgame interview and stated “he is again.” Moments after, he almost cried and stated, “It has been a journey…I am not gonna cry but.” A journey is an understatement for what he endured all through the restoration course of.

For the Suns, they’re going to have roughly three weeks earlier than the common season begins. Though head coach Mike Budenholzer will proceed to experiment with lineups, Lee is sort of a lock. He performed in 74 video games within the 2022-23 season and averaged 20.4 minutes per sport. Lee additionally shot a career-high 44.5% from past the arc in that yr.

Budenholzer’s system emphasizes tempo and house, two issues that Lee excels at as a shooter. No matter Phoenix limiting minutes for rotational items, Lee needs to be a lock for the preseason and past. His mixture of taking pictures, spacing, and confidence is what the Suns want shifting ahead. His minutes may additionally ramp up each sport as they gear him up for his or her opening evening towards the Los Angeles Clippers.