Without Devin Booker, the Suns are looking for offensive solutions

this friday, Devin Booker injured his ankle facing Hawks and will be absent from the courts for at least a week. During this setback against Atlanta, Suns already paid dearly missed fourth quartermarked by a cruel lack of skill (5/20 shooting) for Jordan Ott’s men.

Deprived of their playmaker, the Phoenix showed the same limits against the Heat: 37% overall, including 20% ​​on 3-pointers, their second-lowest total of the season. More indigestible was only the match against Houston, on December 5, with 5 converted winning shots from 36 attempts. Already one evening, when Devin Booker was away.

“He is the one who drops the domino first, and then makes the right decision”, summarized by Jordan Ott on the impact of Devin Booker, capable of sucking up defenses and creating open shots for his partners. “I’ve said it all season: he releases the ball at the right time. His feel for the game and his understanding of his teammates is beyond anything I’ve seen. Without him, their ability to switch defenses really affected us. We wanted to get a rebound behind, but to no avail.”

In NovemberDevin Booker has already explained that he appreciates distributing assists to keep everyone involved. His absence was felt immediately: the Suns’ offense stalled, especially in the positional game. Phoenix struggled to generate quality shots, either from behind the arc or near the circle, and quickly fell behind by more than ten points in the first period.

Raid in search of landmarks

“It’s hard and, frankly, sometimes you feel helpless”admits Jordan Ott about the offensive struggles without their leader. “I already had that impression against Atlanta, where the Hawks really got into us. In the end, we found a few solutions. Mostly we were looking for space to attack the racket and get the ball out. We learn on the job, and the goal is to be able to find passes in the racket.”

After returning from the locker room, Phoenix briefly put on a better face, coming back two lengths early in the third quarter. But a 7-0 run by Miami to open the final period dampened the momentum of the Suns, who eventually won 111-102. The symbol of this busy evening: only 14 assists.

“Good for them, they did a great job defensively keeping us out of the paint”analyzed by a technician. “We had to make complicated 3-point shots. That’s why our percentage is so low and why we finished with only fourteen assists.”

This week without Devin Booker promises to be a tricky one for Phoenix. After an affordable duel against Brooklyn, the Suns will travel three times to Detroit, Cleveland and Los Angeles to challenge the Clippers. This season, the franchise he has already played five matches without his four-time All-Star: record, one win with four losses.