National Basketball Association

P.J. Tucker Surgery: Update, Impact on Phoenix Suns Rotation

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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P.J. Tucker, the Phoenix Suns small forward, underwent a low back microdiscectomy procedure, according to an announcement by the team today.

The initial diagnosis is that the surgery was successful, and that Tucker is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

That timeline will have Tucker’s return running up against the start of the season, at best. Tucker will almost certainly miss the entire preseason, which runs from October 3rd to October 21st.

Opening Night is 41 days away, on October 26th against the Sacramento Kings. Six weeks is 42 days. At best, you’re seeing an out-of-shape Tucker coming off the bench opening night, unless the timetable is wrong.

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Although Tucker is in just his 6th NBA season, the forward is 31 years old. He spent five seasons out of the NBA, playing internationally, after just 17 games with the Toronto Raptors in 2006-07.

One undeniable trait about P.J. Tucker has been his durability with the Phoenix Suns. Over the past four seasons, he has missed just eight games.

That is eight games out of a possible 328 – or just over 2.4% of games.

For perspective, here are the Phoenix Suns on the 2016-17 roster that missed fewer than eight games in just 2015-16: Devin Booker and Alex Len. That’s it.

Tucker had been Mr.Reliable (and Mr.Hustle) for the Phoenix Suns coaches over the past four seasons. This injury may signal the beginning of the end of that status for Tucker.

Concerning the product on the court, the loss of Tucker will hurt the Suns play. Iit is not a huge blow though, assuming Tucker makes a full recovery, given that the Suns do not expect to contend anyways.

The forward position has already become a crowded spot for the Suns, with inexperienced talent (Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, and to a lesser extent T.J. Warren) fighting for time against skilled veterans (Jared Dudley and P.J. Tucker).

Without Tucker initially, the Suns will be forced to give Warren, Chriss, and Bender more minutes than they likely intended. Chriss and Bender will be injury concerns, given the jump in play they will both experience jumping to the NBA.

Whether it works or not, this will be a very interesting start to the season for the Suns. The product will be younger and less consistent as long as Tucker is out.

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