Durant "relegated" to the corner still had the most FGAs per game since his 21-22 season. And his attempts number was almost exactly the same as Booker's.
I actually agree this loss isn't all on KD (unless we're counting initially forcing the trade to the Suns). The Suns problem is that their key guys all do the same thing. KD is a scorer/jump shooter, Booker is a smaller version of KD, Beal is a smaller less good version of Booker, EG is a less good version of Beal. When all these guys are on the court they're just waiting for their turn. It's nothing like other good teams that have mix of playmakers/post players/shooters/defenders/etc. They don't fit. And, the CBA doesn't allow you to just aggregate contracts to add depth anymore. Zero chance the Suns trade Booker unless he demands it. And even then he probably goes somewhere of his choosing that has a ready made contender. They'll either retool around Booker/KD or rebuild around Booker.
A strictly jumpshooting team against the likes of Gobert, Towns and Naz Reid......lmao. What could go wrong.....
I think there is almost no chance, but I don't think it's zero. I agree it would require that Booker demands a trade. It would also require that he doesn't eliminate the Rockets as a possible destination. That makes it very very unlikely, but not entirely impossible. I have no doubt that the Rockets can put together a more attractive package than any of the contending teams if the Suns decide to fully rebuild. And I also think we are currently the most competitive team that can offer the assets they would need to consider unloading him if they went the picks and young talent route. OKC is obviously more competitive, so if they want him they would trump us, but I'm not sure Presti goes all in on Booker when he already has SGA at the same position. All that said, I'd put the odds at something like .009%. =)
The Beal move was one of the dumbest in recent history. Why would you acquire a lesser and more expensive version of Booker to play alongside Booker?
I like Beal but he is redundant. He would have to be a strong #2 . .. a reluctant #3 Never a #1 Rocket River
The roster was just poorly constructed. There was no inside presence for offense and no defensive anchor in the middle. It was easy to score on the Suns. And their offense consisted of too much ISO which limits what Beal, Booker, and Durant can do. Their games don't complement well, rather they are all very strong shooters. They can co-exist in the right system, but ISO isn't it. The offense was so stagnant. Everyone could tell they were not contenders. Too many 4th quarter collapses when the defense turns up, they aren't able to score but get killed on defense.
Ok, I'm in agreement with the 0.009% since it rounds down to 0% But, I would also say this is Booker's first year as a PG and he's actually not that great at it. He's a natural SG. Shai is a PG. They would, unfortunately for us and other teams, fit together perfectly.
Embarrassing sweep and shows you what happens when you just acquire names and throw away good role players. Still, KD deserves some flack for sure.
When healthy, definitely not, but his lack of consistent availability makes it impossible for a team to rely on him. The fact he was their primary defender against Ant proves how poorly their roster was put together. Still, Beal finished the regular season on a VERY strong note and wasn't bad in the first 3 games. But everyone will remember his very stupid fouls, brainless TOs and bad shooting in game 4. For a seasoned vet like him to lose his mind in the 2nd half to that extent was Westbrookian and out of character for him.
Frank Vogel was never the man for the Suns job. He's been a bad offensive coach since his Pacer days and there was no reason to think he could figure out how to get KD, Booker and Beal synchronized.
The whole first part of this is about the Suns. A good watch IMO. According to these guys, the Suns future looks pretty gloomy.
According to the Hoop Collective, Vogel was brought in to get them to play defense and they ranked 13th in the league.
But when you are literally going for broke and have a team with 3 very gifted scorers who get in each other's way, offense is actually the most difficult challenge. The most important thing for KD, Booker and Beal to feel comfortable on a team is finding their groove on offense. He was not available, but Rick Carlisle would have had the Suns humming like a finely tuned engine. IMO, they would have definitely been a top 4 team in the West. The minute they hired Vogel, I wrote them off because he's isn't creative enough to maximize a flawed roster like theirs. He is an average coach, at best.
