The Phoenix Suns continue to struggle without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, losing, 109-99, Monday to the Orlando Magic before a sellout crowd of 17,017 at Footprint Center.

The Suns (9-6) dropped to 1-5 minus Durant, who remains out with a left calf strain. They’ve lost their past four without Durant and Beal, who last played in Phoenix’s most recent win at Utah on Nov. 12.

Beal has a left calf strain as well while 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic sat out Monday with a left ankle sprain.

The Suns elected to go big for a second straight game, starting rookie Oso Ighodaro along with Mason Plumlee, Devin Booker, Tyus Jones and rookie Ryan Dunn.

Ighodaro, a Desert Vista graduate, posted a career-high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with seven rebounds in his first career start.

Jones caught fire early from 3 in a 16-point effort and Bol Bol even saw meaningful minutes, but the Suns continue to skid.

The Magic also have key injuries to All-Star forward Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique) and Wendell Carter Jr. (plantar fasciitis), but they’ve won six straight games.

Franz Wagner paced Orlando (9-6) with a season-high 32 points fresh off winning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors while Anthony Black added 20 off the bench.

Grayson Allen and Booker each scored 17 to lead the Suns.

Here are three takeaways as the Suns end a seven-game stretch in 11 days Wednesday against the New York Knicks at Footprint Center.

Missing Durant, Beal

This five-day break can’t come soon enough.

The Suns will have that much time between Wednesday’s game against the Knicks and Nov. 26, when they host the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA Cup West Group B game.

They hope to have Durant and Beal back by then. Durant is due for a re-evaluation this weekend while Beal has been progressing toward a return.

They need them. Badly.

The scoring is one thing. Both guys can go for 30 at any time, but with Durant and Beal, Booker doesn’t have to carry the load as he did in Sunday’s 120-117 loss at Minnesota.

Booker followed his 44-point effort against the Timberwolves with a 5-of-14 performance facing multiple defenses. The Suns, as they did against Oklahoma City, shot poorly from 3, this time hitting 29.3%.

Booker was 1-of-7. So he didn’t have the touch either, but instead of Jones taking 11 shots from 3 and Dunn hoisting four, Durant and Beal would have been launching some of those.

Jones hit three in the first quarter, but he cooled down. He can make 3s, but his main job is setting the table for everyone else and then taking the open shot while playing off Booker, Beal and Durant.

Royce O’Neale started the season 20-of-38 from 3. He’s gone 8-of-34 since after an 0-for-5 effort Monday. The Suns haven’t made opponents consistently pay for how Booker is being defended minus Durant and Beal.

Durant’s defense has been missed just as much as his offense. He’s not only Phoenix’s best perimeter defender, but Durant helps on the weakside as far as rim protection.

Beal has taken the challenge of guarding the league’s best guards. He’s accepted this role, but Beal has shown what made him a certified bucket in Washington by scoring on all three levels.

They miss Nurkic as well in terms of his size and rebounding, but the combination of Plumlee and Ighodaro is making up for it in terms of production. Nurkic is a bleak 3-of-23 from the field in his last four games as the lingering ankle injury continues to bother him.

The Suns are better than their record, but they must get healthy to show it. Between the congested stretch of games in such a short time frame and being down key guys, their resolve is being tested.

Suns hit with rookie class

The Suns last started two rookies April 9, 2019, the final game of the 2018-19 season that ended with Devin Booker injured and Jamal Crawford scoring 51 points at age 39.

Then-rookies Mikal Bridges, Elie Okobo and Ray Spalding got the start. Bridges became a key player for the Suns in their run to the 2021 finals and winning a franchise-best 64 games the next season. The Suns traded him to Brooklyn as part of a blockbuster deal to acquire Durant. He’s now with the New York Knicks and will make his return to Phoenix for Wednesday’s game.

Okobo and Spalding are no longer in the league, but the Suns got wins out of the class with Deandre Ayton, the top overall pick who is now with the Portland Trail Blazers, and Bridges.

The Suns have hit (Cam Johnson, 2019) or missed (Jalen Smith, 2020) or traded picks away since, but landed two solid ones with Ryan Dunn and Ighodaro.

Right now, they’re role players.

The athletic Dunn is primarily a defender who has shown the ability to hit 3s. He’s taking on the challenge of guarding the other team’s best offensive perimeter player.

His follow-up dunk in the second half got Durant up out of his seat on the bench.

Ighodaro is a connector who is good at dribble handoffs, can screen and either finish or pass out of the pocket on the dive. Very versatile s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set for someone his size.

His pass to Grayson Allen out of the pocket for 3 shows his IQ.

Beyond that, they are bringing energy and positivity. Ighodaro is always clapping and encouraging while Dunn competes with tremendous effort.

Plus, they’re wearing those sparkly backpacks filled with snacks for everyone else quite nicely.

Their future in Phoenix

The league seems to be moving away from having three high-priced stars to one or two with really good talent around them.

The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics have that with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers (15-0) have Donovan Mitchell surrounded by young, talented players who are early in their careers.

The Magic have Banchero and Wagner leading a young squad equipped with unique size and s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁.

The Suns have Booker, Durant and Beal with a win-now mentality due to a small championship window.

The 36-year-old Durant is in Year 18.

Beal, 31, is in his 13th season and Booker, 28, is in Year 10.

The Suns need the youthful exuberance of Dunn and Ighodaro now.

In the future, they’ll need them to embrace their current roles and really excel at it with the potential to become stars themselves.

Right now, they’re giving Phoenix all they have and that’s more than enough – and necessary when considering how injuries have plagued the Suns early this season.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.