Suns are being ‘really careful’ with Booker
Devin Booker hopping around on the sideline during Phoenix’ second-half comeback win Saturday night at Dallas didn’t give his head coach a heart attack.
“I thought it was funny, actually,” said Monty Williams about seeing Booker celebrating on film. “I didn’t think much about the injury. It’s good to see your best player over there just locked in and celebrating and encouraging and coaching.”
Booker has been sidelined with a left hamstring strain he sustained in overtime of the Suns’ Jan. 22 home loss to Denver. The All-Star guard been progressing in practices that Williams said has consisted of individual workouts, group activity and film work.
Sounds like Booker put the latter to productive use Saturday night.
“He gave me a hint on one play last night that really helped me out of a timeout,” Williams said. “We changed it up and Chris (Paul) ended up making a play off of it.”
Booker seems closer to playing, but whether he does in Monday’s 6:30 p.m. game against the Mavericks (8-12) at American Airlines Center is uncertain.
He’s listed as questionable for the third and final meeting between Dallas and Phoenix.
“He has done more each day in his shooting, and drills today, he looked pretty good,” Williams said. “What that means in relation to playing, I can’t speak on that because that’s something for our training staff and him (to determine).”
The only that’s certain is Booker always wants to play regardless of his health.
“If you gave him the question like, ‘Hey where are you,’ Book would be like, ‘I’m ready to go’ even when he’s hurt,” Williams said. “So we have to be really careful with him.”
The Suns (10-8) have won their last two games without their leading scorer
as Paul and Deandre Ayton each posted huge double-doubles in Saturday’s 1111105 win they trailed by as many as 15 points in the third quarter.
Paul finished with 29 points and 12 assists while Ayton added 18 points, 17 rebounds and four assists.
“We just executed on both ends, offensively and defensively,” Paul said after the game as he had 16 points and five assists in the fourth quarter. “It was nice to put it together and show that we’re capable of doing it. Made some timely plays, big shots.”
Phoenix has found a better balance between its make offense, pick-and-roll and calling plays without Booker. When asked about how that’ll work when Booker returns, Williams noted early conversations he had with him when becoming head coach in 2019.
“That was the way he wanted to play,” Williams said. “We feel like it keeps teams from keying on him as much when we have other guys touching the ball and he’s able to get it after two or three passes and then attack. I think it
helps him.”
Williams doesn’t see it being “an issue at all” once Booker returns because that’s how Phoenix has played under Williams. Having new players has slowed down the process of finding consistency on offense, Williams said.
“It’s still taking us time to figure out a consistent balance of calling plays, make offense and then getting into pickand-roll after we get a stop and we’re just taking off and we don’t have a layup, we can go right into pick-and-roll and just play,” Williams said. “I think it’s still a work in progress, but it’s something I believe all our guys want to do.”
Paul executed the pick-and-roll during Phoenix’s game-sealing 9-0 run Saturday to break a 96-96 tie as he had his hand in seven of those points.
● Ayton dunk.
● Paul jumper.
● Ayton dunk off Paul lob assist.
● Jae Crowder 3 off Paul assist.
“He controlled the game,” Crowder said as his 3 gave Phoenix a 105-96 lead with 1:05 left in the game. “He was putting everybody in position to close the game. He was getting guys in pick-androlls that he wanted. He just showed you what he’s capable of doing with the ball in his hands late in the game.”
Booker will have the ball in his hands when returning to the lineup as he’s the team’s best player. How Phoenix makes that work is between him, Paul and everyone else will be critical to the team’s success moving forward as Phoenix hopes to have power forward Dario Saric back when beginning a seven-game homestand Friday against Detroit.
“Those guys, they’re talented enough to just fit in,” Crowder said. “We’re not changing too much of anything. Just a couple of things with ball movement, but at the same time, those guys know how to play.”
Saric, who has missed Phoenix’s last seven games under the NBA’s health and safety protocols, didn’t make the three-game road trip that ends Wednesday in New Orleans.
“They play the right way and it should be an easy transition,” Crowder continued about Booker and Saric. “But if it’s not, we’ll continue to have those uncomfortable conversations of trying to get better and trying to put our team in position to succeed, but I have no doubt that getting Dario back and getting Devin back, we’re more dangerous in that style of play with those two guys on the court.”
Crowder’s “uncomfortable conversation” comment stems from the team trying to fix the miscommunication that’s played a role in Phoenix’s narrow defeats that included last week’s meltdown loss to Oklahoma City in which the Suns blew a 17-point lead.
“Just being honest with each other,” he said. “Coach did a good job of letting us have it after that loss against Oklahoma because that was the game we felt like he we? had control over, but it slipped. So just having that uncomfortable conversation that we need to get better and the things we need to get better at. It takes men to do that.”