'He did everything': Devin Booker on cusp of returning from hamstring injury as Suns face Hornets Sunday

Devin Booker is more than just closer to returning to action.

He’s right at the doorstep after participating in Saturday’s practice from start to finish going into Sunday’s game against Charlotte at Footprint Center.

“He did everything today,” Suns coach Monty Williams said after practice.

When asked if Booker would be available for Sunday’s game after missing the previous seven with a left hamstring strain for the Suns (23-5), Williams stuck with the same “he did everything” script.

Officially, Booker is listed as questionable for Sunday, but odds appear in favor of the two-time All-Star playing against the Hornets (16-15).

“He’s still been here day in and day out,” fellow Suns All-Star Chris Paul said. “His voice still rings loud in our locker room, throughout practice, but it’s always nice to have him out on the court. You just get a sense of security, I think, with everybody knowing he’s out there.”

The Suns are 5-2 without Booker as they’re coming off a 118-98 home win Thursday over Washington while the Hornets look to bounce back from Friday's 125-116 loss in Portland as they trailed by as many as 29.

“It’s all about responding tomorrow night,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “And we’ve done that for the most part this season. We’ve responded to tough losses. We’ve handled our losses better than we’ve handled our wins. Tomorrow is about responding to that loss and I trust our guys to do that.”

The return of Booker would make that an even more challenging response Sunday for the Hornets.

Averaging a team-high 23.2 points a game in his seventh NBA season, Booker injured his hamstring in the first half of Phoenix’s Nov. 30 win over Golden State.

Booker hasn’t played since, but he’s been making progress to return.

“We’ve still got to be careful and see how he responds to the day before and the next day, how do you feel,” Williams said. “When you’re dealing with a hamstring, it’s a weird deal because some people have the low, some people have the mid, some people have the high. I’ve only done like the high one so I only know how that felt like. It’s just a tricky, tricky injury.”

Booker pushing himself more and more throughout the week are more signs of progress. Then having him participate in Saturday’s practice was another huge step for him to return.

“He did absolutely everything today,” Williams said.

Sunday will be the start of 11 games in 21 days for the Suns, who’ll head back on the road for Tuesday’s game against the Lakers (16-14).

“I didn’t know that,” Paul said about the 11 games in 21 days. “Whew. You’ve got to do it. Got to get ready for it.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Devin Booker listed as questionable for Suns' game Sunday vs. Hornets