Suns Need Bench to Shine Now More Than Ever
Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker won't be stepping on a basketball court anytime soon.
The Suns announced Booker, who played just four minutes into Sunday's Christmas Day game vs. Denver before straining his groin, would be re-evaluated in four weeks with a groin strain. He missed the previous three games with groin problems.
As of now, the Suns (20-16) are fifth in the West but just three games back from first place in a very tight race for the top spot in the conference.
Phoenix, having lost their previous four-of-five, will now be without their best player for the foreseeable future.
Cam Johnson is rumored to return after the team's road trip that spans into early January, which should undoubtedly help the Suns regain some firepower.
Yet the onus to help keep Phoenix afloat as one of the top teams in the league will rest on bench players (again) stepping up when needed.
“I think guys are always wanting to play, but I don't think anybody's ever excited when [Devin Booker] is not on the floor. They want to win for him," Suns coach Monty Williams said on role players filling in for the absence of Booker.
"They know how much he loves to play; they know how much he loves his team, they know how much he gives to the program. I think they just want to win for him. By and large, everybody wants [Devin Booker] back here, but to your point, I think guys look for opportunities, but I think they were thinking, ‘We got to win this for the guys that are out.’
"Especially [Devin Booker], because we watched him grind to get back onto the floor, and he comes back on Christmas day, and he reinjures himself, and we saw his frustration. I'm sure our guys are texting him and FaceTiming him, and whatever they're going to do to let him know that those kinds of wins are for him and the guys who are out.”
Thankfully for Phoenix, a few contributors have proven capable of stepping up.
Although the Suns haven't turned to him as a starter in recent days, Damion Lee has brought another three-point shooting dynamic for the team. He currently tops the NBA in three-point percentage (48.6%) and has came through clutch for Phoenix on numerous occasions.
The scoring prowess of Landry Shamet shouldn't be forgotten, either. He scored 30+ points in his last two-of-three games played before getting injured as well. Cameron Payne also should be back from injury sooner than later.
Phoenix hasn't been afraid to roll with bigger lineups as of late, starting both Jock Landale and Deandre Ayton at the same time. Bismack Biyombo typically gets the rotation minutes behind Ayton, so Landale has been plugged into the four spot on some occasions.
After the win over Memphis, Williams spoke on what Landale brings to the table.
"He brings a level of tenacity along with some skill. I think when teams are switching and putting smaller guys on him, he's got the ability to take advantage of that. I thought he brought grit, toughness, edge. Any adjective you want to use tonight in that reference, you could have put it right beside his name and it would have been equal to Jock Landale tonight," he said.
"He was phenomenal. It was a great call by Patrick. He brought a physicality to the game tonight that helped us get off to a good start, and then the second quarter, we were really good, but I thought he helped us sustain when we couldn't score the ball that much.”
Lately, Duane Washington Jr. has stepped up to the plate in major fashion. Since seeing an increase in minutes the last three games, he's hit marks of 14, 26 and 10 points with an average of five assists in that time stretch.
Playing on a two-way contract, Washington has certainly made a case to be put on notice for the future.
"He was trying to run the team when he came in, which is what we need him to do. I felt like he was trying to do what I wanted him to do, as opposed to being himself. The one thing we don't want to do is force our agenda or our plan onto a guy and his game," Williams said of Washington.
"We feel like the system is built for guys to expand the system, not the other way around. And he's a guy that can score the ball, a lot like Cam Payne, and we needed every bit of it tonight. I thought he gave us a great deal of juice, he gave us a bit of an edge on the floor, and it really helped Chris [Paul] know when you can play a game like that."
Defensively, guys such as Biyombo and Josh Okogie bring a solid level of play to the floor. If their offensive counterparts can hold their end of the bargain, Phoenix just might be in business.
Nobody knows how long Booker will truly be out, yet the Suns can take comfort in knowing they've already seen a handful of bench players answer the bell when called upon.
