The Phoenix Suns expected to be a contestant this season, but after a defeat of 124-116 against the Pelicans of New Orleans on Thursday, there are 27-32 and 11 in the west, 3.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the final game. The loss against the movie at home was his seventh in his last eight games and his tenth in his last 12.
Asked how they found themselves in this position, the star of the suns devin Booker He said to journalists“I would say that omitting the details and always taking the mentality of Get-Em-Next-Game. At some point, you have to draw a line, and it should have been drawn a long time ago.”
Booker regretted that, while they had spoken before the game about forcing Zion Williamson of the Pelicans to their right hand and provide help at the beginning of their units, they did not execute the game plan. Williamson, who He scored 27 points in a shooting of 13 of 17 and recorded the first triple-double of his careerIt is a “difficult task,” Booker said, but “you still want to take away what you see every night.”
This kind of thing is the “history of the season so far,” Booker said. “You could solve a little more to talk, I would say. Things become difficult, we shut up as a team and, for my experience and what I have seen, that is not the way to overcome it.”
Booker said there must be a “constant communication” in the Huddles. He said he starts with him, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and coach Mike Budenholzer, but “everyone has to be on the same page” and there should be a conversation “throughout the game.”
Essentially, Booker’s problem is that Phoenix has not created an environment in which he can effectively solve problems, and that the team has not addressed errors as fast or directly as he would like.
“I prefer that two people say something wrong to each other that nobody speaks around and leaves the gray area,” Booker said. “So it’s like any work or any group project you do. They must do it together.”
He asked if he was hinting that he I should have done something different to draw the line, Booker said: “Yes, I always look at myself first.” He paused for a few seconds before adding: “But I also talk a lot.”
Since the possibilities of the suns of making the game become increasingly thin, it is understandable that Booker is frustrated. This has been a deeply disappointing season in Phoenix: in 1,091 minutes With Booker and Durant on the courtIt has surpassed opponents for only 2.2 points per 100 possessions, below 5.7 percent last season and 15.9 percent (in just 180 minutes) in 2022-23.
But there may be more in this story. On Friday, Chris Haynes reported that Budenholzer had “implored to” Booker who was less vocal “on the court and during the waiting time hits” so that the coach could speak more. According to reports, this took place weeks ago and “completely shocked” Booker.
Haynes did not directly report that Budenholzer was the audience scheduled for Booker’s comments after the game or even Booker was upset or offended after the meeting, only that the meeting “provides context” for the press conference. This is a fun way to say it, since Booker complaint referred to a clear and forceful lack of communication.
