On Saturday, the Devin Booker-less Phoenix Suns lost 107-117 to the Boston Celtics at home despite a 45-point outing from their superstar Kevin Durant. This was Durant’s third straight game with 35 or more points, where he surpassed his previous season-high of 43 points, which came in January against the Chicago Bulls. Despite his incredible performance and an excellent supporting role from Beal, the Suns fell to the Celtics convincingly. The veteran forward diagnosed the reason why they couldn’t get the win at home after the game.
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During the post-game press conference, Durant lamented his team’s tendency to move the ball too often to create an opening, instead of being aggressive and taking shots. As seen in this X clip posted by Suns reporter Gerald Bourguet, Durant said,
“I realize I’ve been doing that lately, trying to make interior passes when I’m already in my spots to shoot. So some of them, you’ve just gotta shoot ‘em. A couple of times it happened in transition, I should have slowed down a bit and wait for my teammates to set up. So just wanting to be aggressive regardless of it all and play through anything.”
Durant’s assessment is spot on. The Suns attempted 87 shots in the game, seven fewer than the Celtics, but took more shots from the perimeter and inside the paint than their opponents. The home team attempted 39 three-pointers and banked 15, while the visitors registered only 31, sinking nine. Durant even credited the Celtics for making big plays and draining the big shots.
The turnover differential was a +2 in the Celtics’ favor, which isn’t back-breaking for any team. However, their hesitancy to attempt shots from beyond the arc and try to create easier scoring opportunities cost the Phoenix side the game.
Suns HC backs Kevin Durant’s claim
Like Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel was also frustrated with his team passing up three-point shots to look for easier buckets from inside the arc in the team’s loss to the Boston Celtics. In the post-game press conference, he said,
“I thought a big problem with our offense tonight was overpassing in the paint. I think the quality of 3s – I’ll have to look at the tape – was pretty good for the most part.”
Vogel noted that overpassing in the paint cost the Suns at least five turnovers, which proved to be the difference in the game.
The Suns’ three-point shooting has been a concern since the start of the season. Despite having three elite shooters in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, and three excellent catch-and-shoot specialists in Grayson Allen, Yuta Watanabe, and Eric Gordon, Phoenix ranks 26th in the league in three-point attempts per game.
Per Teamranking.com, their 37.6% conversion rate from beyond the arc ranks sixth in the league, which makes their penchant for not attempting more three-point shots even more perplexing. Durant and Vogel have already identified the Suns’ shortcomings on offense. Expect Phoenix to be more aggressive and take shots when the opportunity presents itself in the upcoming games.
