How Devin Booker could've been 'better' in Suns blowout loss to Kings
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On Wednesday, the Phoenix Suns and Devin Booker dropped the second game of a back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings. For the all-star shooting guard, he scored 18 points on 6-for-16 shooting, with five assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
After the game, he spoke to AZCentral’s Duane Rankin about how he could’ve been ‘better’ in the blowout loss to the Kings. “Just playing to our advantage,” Booker said. “They were putting two on the ball every time. I could’ve done a better job through the night of not trying to force it and get off it and trust my teammates a little bit more.”
Booker isn’t joking about putting two on the ball every time. Nearly every time he called for a screen, Booker was trapped and had to force the ball out. Sometimes, he would make the right read and make the defense pay. Other times, he would force a play which resulted in a bad shot or a turnover.
This performance is an anomaly from what Booker has done this season. With Bradley Beal being injured, as well as Kevin Durant, it forced Booker to do a bit of everything. Not to mention, Jusuf Nurkic was playing hurt, and Grayson Allen was also out for the game.
Devin Booker’s performance wasn’t the reason the Suns lost to the Kings
Although Booker has a bad game for his standards, a depleted roster and playing on a back-to-back don’t help. Not to mention, they flew from Utah to Sacramento late Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday. The Suns broadcast explained that the team didn’t land in Sacramento until about 1:00 a.m. Throughout the night, they played like they were tired. Also, the Kings shot the ball as well as they have all season.
The Kings shot 64% from the field and 53% from three. During the first 11 games, they struggled with their shot but that wasn’t the case on Wednesday. The three-point barrage was too much for Phoenix to handle. Also, the transition game killed any chances of a Suns comeback, especially in the fourth quarter.
Durant’s calf injury put a damper on the team, as well as his MVP run. Not having a true mismatch doesn’t help Phoenix, especially when their star guard is being double-teamed. Regardless, a top-tier performance by the Kings was too much for Phoenix to handle. They’ll travel to Oklahoma City and take on the Thunder in the second game of the NBA Cup on Friday.
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