Suns guard Bradley Beal will miss at least one week before having his left hamstring strain reevaluated, head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters on Monday night, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Beal exited Sunday’s loss to the Lakers after playing just 15 minutes. The team initially referred to his injury as left hamstring soreness but has since changed the diagnosis to a strain.
The veteran guard subsequently sat out Monday’s blowout win over Toronto and will also miss games on Wednesday vs. Chicago and Friday vs. Cleveland before having his injury reassessed ahead of next Monday’s matchup with Milwaukee.
It has been a challenge for Beal to stay healthy this season. While he has appeared in 48 of Phoenix’s 69 regular season games to this point, the 31-year-old has also missed time over the course of the year due to calf, toe, ankle, knee, and elbow issues.
“I feel bad for Brad,” Budenholzer said on Monday. “We’ve just got to find a way to try to keep him healthy. Hopefully, get him right.”
In his 48 appearances (33 starts), Beal has averaged 17.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .505/.395/.813.
Two-way player Collin Gillespie took Beal’s place in the lineup on Monday, making the first start of his NBA career. Gillespie logged 23 minutes on Sunday and 16 on Monday, well above his season average of 8.0 MPG, and appears poised to continue playing a rotation role this week.