Luke Kennard is cleared for his Suns debut against the Warriors after left knee tendinopathy kept him out of the opener

Luke Kennard was upgraded to available for the Phoenix Suns‘ home game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, October 24, clearing the left knee tendinopathy that kept him out of the opener and putting him in line for his first regular-season game in a Suns uniform.

The decision came late. Phoenix beat writer Duane Rankin reported in the afternoon that Kennard was a game-time decision, with the Suns waiting to see how the knee held up in his pregame work. At his pregame news conference, coach Jordan Ott said the guard was trending the right way, and the league’s injury report moved him from questionable to available about an hour before tip-off.

Why the knee kept him out

Kennard hurt the knee during the preseason, the week before opening night, and sat out Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Tendinopathy is irritation of the tendon around the kneecap, the kind of problem teams usually manage with rest and a careful ramp-up rather than a fixed timeline, which is why his status changed day to day all week.

Phoenix signed the veteran guard as a free agent in the summer for one reason above the rest: shooting. Now in his 10th NBA season, Kennard has been one of the league’s most accurate three-point shooters for years, and he said the Suns’ style of play was a big part of why he chose them. “One of the big reasons why I wanted to come here was the way that they play,” he said.

What it means for the rotation

Kennard comes off the bench behind a starting lineup of Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Khaman Maluach. His minutes are most likely to come out of Jordan Goodwin‘s share in the second unit, and his spacing gives Booker and Green more room to attack when they share the floor with him.

The Suns are still without Oso Ighodaro, who is out with a right oblique strain, and Mark Williams, who is recovering from left shoulder surgery. Drew Timme is also out. Golden State is in far worse shape on the second night of a back-to-back, missing Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford. The full list is on our NBA injury report page.

What comes next

Follow Saturday’s game, which tipped at 10 p.m. ET (5 a.m. Sunday in Cairo), in the Warriors at Suns Game Center. The bigger test of how the knee responds comes next: Phoenix visits the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, October 26, at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Tuesday in Cairo): Suns at Thunder Game Center.