Monty Williams Encouraged by Suns' Effort Even in Loss
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Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams has had to deal with plenty of adversity already this season.
Between juggling the navigation of a new owner, sorting out his squad with Jae Crowder still on the sidelines and a constant rotation of injuries through his lineup, Williams' coaching has undoubtedly been tested this season.
That was again the case as the Suns fell just short of defeating the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day. Phoenix held an eight-point lead with minutes to play before losing control of the game and ultimately stumbling in overtime.
The Suns were notably without Devin Booker for most of the game, as the shooting guard attempted to come back from a three-game absence caused by groin issues. He played just four minutes before being subbed out.
"I didn't even see it. They came to me; I was walking the sidelines and they said 'We got to get Book,' and I looked up, and he had that look on his face and I knew something had happened," Williams said after the loss.
It's not as if Phoenix was dramatically outplayed; Denver simply made more plays down the stretch.
"It was 15-12 in overtime. I mean, it wasn't like we weren't competing. We had a few mistakes on off-ball screens in situations where we couldn't afford it. We lost Murray a couple of times. Jokic had 41 and you know, you had three with that many points," Williams said.
"But for the most part, I thought in overtime especially, we kind of got down a little bit when they scored a bucket, not thinking there was enough time to make a run. And then we got within three points and had a chance to tie it up and I told our guys to get their heads up, you can compete like that. Compared to the other night, that's the kind of competition we have to put on the floor every night. So, from that standpoint, I was not pleased because we lost, but I was encouraged by the effort. We had a chance, we just had a really tough second half. We gave up 62 points after giving up a 23-point second quarter.
"We just got to build on that. Like I said, we had a few mishaps and off-ball screen situations where we lost Gordon, where we lost Porter [Jr.]. The big three where we lost Murray, where he sets the back pick and he slips out and gets a three. Those are like-size screening situations we got to get better at. I was proud of the way we competed, it just wasn't enough to get the win."
The Suns are back in action on Tuesday when the Memphis Grizzlies play host to them.
