Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal to return from calf injuries vs. Lakers

The Suns will get quite the boost as both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal look set to return from injury just in time to play the Lakers.

In a move that will surprise no Lakers fans, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are both expected to return from their calf injuries for the Suns in time to play Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Durant has been out since Nov. 8 with a left calf strain and Beal has missed the past five games also with a calf injury.

This is a common occurrence for the Lakers, where players will decide the game to come back from an injury whenever L.A. is on the schedule. Beal himself has this already this season, missing an Oct. 26 game versus the Dallas Mavericks due to an elbow injury and playing the following game versus the Lakers.

Even reporters saw this scenario as an inevitability earlier in the week when KD was seen putting up shots after Suns practice.

It seems that if an opponent has a chance to ball out against the Lakers, they never pass it up.

The Suns have a back-to-back coming up and play the Brooklyn Nets the day after the Lakers game, so if they miss that to manage the injury, then it’s clear KD and Beal’s priority was to play against Los Angeles.

Or maybe they are just big fans of the NBA Cup and want to honor the tournament.

Regardless of the timing of their return, with Beal and KD back, this game will be much harder for the Lakers. Fans know what Durant is capable of as he’s averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and scored 30 points in a Suns win the last time these two teams faced each other earlier this season.

Beal has been much less impactful compared to KD, but he’s still putting points on the board, averaging 17.8 per game.

While it’s unknown how Redick is strategizing for this game, hopefully, by now, he’s caught on that if a player can at all go against the Lakers, they will.

The good news for the purple and gold is that they will also have people returning, with Jaxson Hayes set to be back from his ankle sprain.

So, the Lakers will be as healthy as they’ve been this season when they take on the KD-led Suns on Tuesday.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.