We last saw Dillon Brooks on February 21. That night, he scored five points on 2-of-7 shooting, played only seven minutes, and exited the game against the Orlando Magic with what was later diagnosed as a fractured left hand that would require surgery. The timeline that followed placed his return somewhere in the four to six week range.
If everything progresses on schedule, that points toward a late March return in the best-case scenario. Healing takes time, although the early signs suggest the process
is moving in the right direction.
On Monday morning, we saw the first small indicator of that progress. Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic shared a video of Brooks during morning shootaround. The detail that stood out immediately was simple. There was no cast on his left hand.
That is the same hand he fractured, and it is the first visible step that suggests the recovery process is moving forward.
One thing I found interesting surfaced last week when Brooks was arrested and later released without charges following a DUI stop. When the bodycam footage came out, a small detail caught my attention.
As the Scottsdale police officer was placing the handcuffs on him, he asked about Brooks, “What’s wrong with your hand?” Brooks responded, “I had surgery on it. On my knuckle”.
That was new information.
Up to that point, the injury had been described broadly as a fractured hand. Hearing Brooks say it was a broken knuckle helps clarify things a bit. It suggests the damage occurred in one of the fingers rather than the palm area. That lines up with the casts we have seen him wearing, which appeared to protect both his middle finger and ring finger.
Fast forward to now, and seeing him at shootaround without the cast feels like a positive step.
There is still time left on the recovery clock. A couple of weeks remain before a potential return window opens. Although the Suns could certainly use him when that moment arrives. Brooks brings something that is difficult to quantify. He brings edge. He brings defensive intensity. He brings disruption on both ends of the floor.
Phoenix has won four of its last five games, which speaks to how the team has steadied itself. Even so, having Brooks back adds another layer to the identity of the group. For now, it remains a waiting game. The hope is that his recovery continues moving in the right direction and that he can return to the floor before the calendar flips to April.
