Former Oklahoma City Thunder wing Abdel Nader, who was part of the Chris Paul trade with the Phoenix Suns, missed the first 13 games of the playoffs due to a knee injury. After getting a little bit of time against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round, he might be thrown into action in the NBA Finals.
Suns backup big Dario Saric tore the ACL in his right knee in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks. In Game 2, forward Torrey Craig suffered a knee injury, one that reportedly has no structural damage but will leave him day-to-day ahead of the Sunday Game 3.
Saric’s absence forced the Suns to go more small ball. They clearly do not want to play Frank Kaminsky, who lost his rotation spot against the Denver Nuggets. The only action Kaminsky saw against the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals was after Patrick Beverley shoved Paul from behind, and he played just one minute over the first two Finals games despite the injury to Saric.
Instead, Cam Johnson and Craig got minutes off the bench as the Suns used wing-heavy lineups when center Deandre Ayton took the bench.
If Craig misses time, Nader may be the player to step in.
The former Thunder wing appeared in three games against the Clippers and then had just under a minute of play in Game 2 against the Bucks.
He spent quite a bit of time this season injured, only appearing in 24 regular season games, but he posted 6.7 points while shooting 41.9% from 3 in about 15 minutes per appearance.
The Suns need that floor spacing, and if he can provide versatile defense, he would have more value than Kaminsky.
Nader played in 55 games for the Thunder last season, during which he averaged 6.3 points and shot 37.5% from 3 in 15.8 minutes per game.
While he hasn’t had much run with the Suns, last season gave him familiarity with Paul, who is the lead ball handler for Phoenix.
The Suns hope Craig will be able to roll. He has been a productive part of the team, particularly on defense.
But if both Craig and Saric are out, Phoenix would have a question mark for their eighth man. Nader may be in position to step up.
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