The Phoenix Suns started their four-game home stand with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns defeated the Lakers, 123-113. Despite a double-double from LeBron James, Los Angeles could not build off their recent win against the San Antonio Spurs. After the game, Kevin Durant sat down with the media to share what opposing teams are doing to contain the stars on his team and how they’re taking full advantage of it.
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The Suns-Lakers matchup saw six Phoenix players in double-digits. Grayson Allen led the team in scoring with 24 points while Kevin Durant had 22 and Devin Booker had a 21-point game, sharing the ball exceptionally well with one another.
After their win, Kevin Durant spoke with the reporters during the post-game press conference. Durant addressed how the Lakers’ defense tried to double-team Devin Booker and him at every chance they got and what the Suns did to make the most of it.
“We got to make teams pay for selling out trying to stop me and Book. I think that’s what the Lakers had done and they had some success with it early on. But missing guys is that, getting away from all their defensive coverage. They were trying it harder to take the ball out of our hands and make our lives tough.”
“Guys came through today and made them pay for it. Grayson was open, Royce was open. AD, felt like he was leaving Nurk’s body a lot to come and maybe contest or give it a little something. And now we’re on the board, he tipping the ball out. So, I heard AD screaming to his teammates, ‘you got to help me, you got to help me’ cause he trying to track me and Book wherever we go.”
“We got to make teams pay for selling out trying to stop me and Book.”
Kevin Durant on #Suns win vs. #Lakers. Had 6 players in double figures.
“I heard AD screaming to his teammates, ‘you got to help me, you got to help me’ cause he trying to track me and Book wherever we go.” pic.twitter.com/XwqfAbXSGd
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 26, 2024
Kevin Durant addressed the Los Angeles Lakers’ defensive setting for a high-scoring Phoenix Suns team. Currently without Bradley Beal, the Suns still had two lethal scorers in Durant and Booker. The team did a great job at forcing these two All-Stars to get rid of the ball with double-team defense down the court.
While Los Angeles succeeded in its initial task, the team did not do well in terms of help defense. This is what Kevin Durant tried to emphasize while talking to the reporter about how they got the ball to the open man when the Lakers tried to double him or Devin Booker. And given the final stats of the game, it is clear that the Suns made the most of such situations.
“I don’t think we’ve won a game w/o him this year.”
“Playing the right way.”
Devin Booker on Jusuf Nurkic, who went for 18 points, 22 rebounds and 7 assists, and Royce O’Neale, who posted 20 (6-of-10 on 3s) and 10 boards in Suns win over #Lakers.
Phoenix 0-4 w/o Nurkic. #Suns pic.twitter.com/EHQlDeYVwX
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 26, 2024
KD, D-Book, Grayson Allen, and Royce O’Neal all had 20 points in the game or more. Jusuf Nurkic missed the 20-point mark by just two points but had an impressive 18 points, 22 rebounds, and 7 assists night. The Suns took advantage of the Lakers’ defensive preferences and will be looking to exploit the same with other teams as well.
Kevin Durant breaking down team defenses
The Phoenix Suns had a slow start to the season due to injuries sustained by both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The team heavily relied on Kevin Durant to take care of the load on offense those first few games.
However, the Suns did go on a seven-game win streak after starting with a mediocre 4-6 record. The team’s overall record took another dip as the Suns gathered themselves to pull off another seven-game win streak last month in the hopes of improving their conference standings.
Given the plethora of talent the Suns franchise possesses on right now, the team is nowhere near where it should be. Phoenix currently is at the eighth spot in the Western Conference with a 34-24 record. But a big reason for the team’s struggles has been nagging injuries to its star players.
Out of the three, Kevin Durant has been the most consistent on the floor this season, having played 51 out of 58 games so far. Devin Booker comes in a close second with 48 games played whereas Bradley Beal’s injury-riddled season has only allowed him to play a total of 30 games for the team.
The Suns haven’t had the best start to the games after the All-Star break, losing two out of the three. However, both Durant and Booker have displayed confidence in their teammates and one another as the season has progressed.
The trio of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker is as good as it comes on paper. All three players are versatile scorers who have the potential to put the teams on their backs and carry them to the finish line.
But based on the limited amount of games the three have played so far, this ‘Big Three’ still has some kinks to sort out to perform at their highest level. It would be premature to claim what these three could do when they’ve barely had the chance to play together. Let’s hope to see the full wrath of the Suns ‘Big Three’ if they can stay healthy in the future.
