Bradley Beal's Final Status Revealed for Suns vs Blazers

The Phoenix Suns initially ruled Bradley Beal as healthy ahead of their Saturday night meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) runs against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns will see Bradley Beal - who was questionable with an elbow injury entering tonight - back in action against the Portland Trail Blazers.

This was confirmed by new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer during his pre-game press conference.

Mike Budenholzer said the plan is for Bradley Beal to play tonight

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 3, 2024

Beal - who is also set to start - has missed two games due to the injury.

Earlier today, Beal spoke with reporters at shootaround and said the plan was for him to play tonight against Portland.

“That’s the game plan,” Beal told the Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin.

“It’s the mental part of it. You want to make sure you don’t have any setbacks if you do decide to go back out there.”

The Suns are 4-1 thanks to strong starts from players such as star Devin Booker and rookie Ryan Dunn.

Dunn has played tremendously well in his two starting stints in place of Beal, and should continue to be a strong option off the bench until he's needed again in the starting lineup.

Under Budenholzer, Phoenix is slowly (and successfully) molding to their new identity of a team that spaces the floor and shoots an ample amount of three-point attempts.

The Suns have managed to overcome multiple 20+ point deficits in wins over both Los Angeles squads to start the year.

With Phoenix listed as double digit favorites, it'd be a surprise if the Suns had to again overcome a significant disadvantage - though it's fair to expect the unepected in the NBA.

Beal was the only injured player on Phoenix's report entering Saturday. Josh Okogie (hamstring) is set to make his regular season debut tonight.

Opening tip is slated for just past 7:00 PM local time at Footprint Center.