Three Takeaways from Phoenix Suns' Game 3 Victory
The Phoenix Suns came away with the 129-124 win against the Los Angeles Clippers last night as they now lead 2-1 in the series.
What were the main takeaways from last night’s victory?
Devin Booker benefits from KD
Over the past two games of this series, Devin Booker has been borderline unstoppable. In Game 2 Booker dropped 38 points on top of nine assists and in Game 3 he one-upped his performance scoring a whopping 45 points.
It's clear that the presence of Kevin Durant has benefited Booker in a big way. With the attention that Durant has drawn from the Clippers defense in this series, Booker has been able capitalize on the single coverage he has been getting especially last night.
Booker just seems to be more comfortable. He has been attacking the rim with ease and continues to shoot unconsciously from the field, last night shooting 62.1% FG.
Despite Booker being the main scorer throughout the series, it's not like Durant has been bad at all. In Game 3, Durant quietly dropped 28 points and over the course of the series, he has scored 25 or more points in each of the games.
Changing the bench rotation:
In the first two games of the series, Monty Williams utilized Landry Shamet a lot of the bench which was not a successful strategy.
That all changed in Game 3 when Shamet only logged four minutes while Josh Okogie played 21 minutes putting up six points and seven rebounds. Damion Lee also made his imprint on the series seeing the floor for 11 minutes scoring eight points.
It may not have been perfect, but William’s new bench rotation last night certainly was an improvement from the prior two games.
If players like Okogie, Lee and Bismack Biyombo can produce the way they did in Game 3 at a consistent level, the Suns will be a much more balanced team and won’t need to rely on their starters nearly as much.
Deandre Ayton needs to be more aggressive
Phoenix may have won last night but still have a lot of work to do before they reach their highest potential.
Throughout the entirety of Game 3, Deandre Ayton continued to show his lack of aggression and passion while playing. Ayton only put up 12 points going 4-9 FG which is just simply not enough from a guy who the Suns depend on to be the third option.
Ayton was weak going up for shots and when the pressure was on him to hit two clutch free throws to essentially ice the game, he missed both letting the Clippers hang around and almost costing his team the win.
If the Suns want to make a deep playoff run, Ayton will have to step up his game and play like the 7’0’’ foot center that he is. The way he is playing now is unacceptable and could ultimately cost Phoenix their season if he continues to go down this path.
