The Suns Are EXACTLY Where We ALL Expected Them To Be And Why Devin Bookers Needs To Get Selfish!

On today’s show, the Phoenix Suns start out their road trip 0 and2. Is the proverbial house on fire? I’ll tell you why it’s not on this edition of Locked on Phoenix Suns. You are Locked On Suns, your daily Phoenix Suns podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What is up? Welcome back into Locked on Phoenix Suns. My name is Benjamin Garcia, host of the Ben Garcia Show mornings on YouTube at 7 a.m. Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as well as a credentialed Phoenix Suns media member covering your Phoenix Suns 365 days out of the year. That’s why they call it your team every day here at the Lockdown Podcast Network. Thank you so much for joining me on this beautiful Sunday night, Monday morning, however you may be listening, wherever you may be listening. Thank you so much for making me and this show a part of your day. Reminder, locked on Phoenix Suns is free and available on all platforms, so including YouTube. So, click that follow or subscribe button to do it. Thousands, dare I say millions of Suns fans are done becoming every day. Get locked on the Phoenix Suns right here each and every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by the lovely folks over at Game Time. The Game Time app today. Green account. Use pro promo code locked on NBA for $20 off what your first purchase. Okay, last time we were here, I told you to overreact. I told you that you deserve that win against the Sacramento Kings. I didn’t expect the last two games to Well, maybe the Nuggets game. I didn’t expect both games to start out this road trip to look like they did for the Phoenix Suns, but everyone needs to take a chill pill. This is like I don’t know if you guys are Marvel fans, but I’m a big Marvel guy, you know, to the extent of like I still have a life and job and I can’t watch every side quest and everything on the side. Everything big I’ve seen. And I the only thing I could think of when I was coming up with topics for the show is when in Marvel’s Infinity War, Avengers Infinity War when, you know, Star-Lord is fighting with Iron Man and Spider-Man, you know, they’re all fighting on the on the big moon and I think I don’t know what the even moon was called, but they’re all fighting in that fight scene and you know, everyone’s got a you know, something pointed at each other. Everyone’s about to just blow up on each other and you know, Star-Lord’s like, “All right, all right, everyone chill the f out. That’s how I feel right now. Everyone chill the f out. I don’t know why all of you thought that this team was starting off 3 and 0, especially on a road trip that featured the Los Angeles Clippers who might implode in the playoffs, but have a pretty good roster. like one through five. Like if you listed the top eight players in the Clippers Suns matchup before that game, how many of them are Phoenix Suns? One, Devin Booker. I mean, Mark Williams, does he make the list? I don’t know. I would probably lean towards No. So, like there is a a saying that my all-time favorite paved feels like, you know, he doesn’t know this, but he paved the way for me. I feel like in sports media was Colin Coward and oftentimes I’ll take little tidbits of what he says and he and he always says something like say it out loud. If it sounds crazy, it’s crazy. The Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings, but then immediately lose to one team who a bunch of people, the national pundits, the trendy pick is they’re going to win the championship in the Denver Nuggets on the road, by the way. And they played the Los Angeles Clippers in their home opener after being brutally annihilated by the the what is the meme? The exciting whites of the Utah Jazz. Like everyone needs to chill out a little bit. Yes. Were did the Suns lose brutally in both those games? Yeah, they kind of got their ass kicked in seven of the eight quarters. The Suns look good in the first quarter against the Clippers. They, you know, I think they got out of that quarter, if my notes are correct, up here ahead in that quarter. No, they didn’t. They They lost that quarter by one point. But seven out of the eight quarters, the Suns looked abysmal. They didn’t look good. And I’ve seen, you know, it’s so funny. Social media is is a beautiful place. I’ve seen Kevin Durant fans like are like, “Oh, I told you. Oh, I told you. Congratulations. Go win a game. Win a game before you come at the former team. Why you’re still paying attention to your ex-girlfriend is beyond me, but whatever. Everyone needs to chill out. Say it out loud. The Suns lost two games in a row on the road in a backtoback where the Los Angeles Clippers is a trendy pick to do well in the playoffs this year. aside from the fact that they have a bunch of playoff noshows on their team and then the Denver Nuggets who are everyone’s darling, the trendy pick to win the NBA championship. I didn’t watch that game for one second and say to myself, “Oh well, start breaking out the Devin Booker mock the mock trades, guys. What are we doing here? The Suns are in the middle of building a foundation and building a culture.” Has it looked like how I thought it was going to look in those games where the teams that played the Suns were going to feel like, damn, you know, that team’s tough? No. But it’s not going to look like that right away. This is a bunch of new guys all getting together trying to come together for the common good of the Phoenix Suns. They’re still building a system. We don’t even know who the rotations look like right now. Mark Williams, you know, he’s already I thought one of the funniest things that came out of last year was was the PTO man stuff when it came to um um Bradley Beal last year. Like Mark Williams already got some PTO. Like he’s already taken a little bit of time off. The Suns lost to the Denver Nuggets also short-handed without Mark Williams. Like it happens, guys. If I would have told you before the season the Suns were going to start off the season one and two, what would you have said to me? Yeah, yeah, sounds about right. Clippers team’s pretty good. Zubot, Harden, Kawhi Leonard, if you want to add, you know, Suns legend Bradley Beal to that mix, you can as well. Derek Jones Jr., very fine player. John Collins, like if you listed the top eight players in either of these games, do the Suns have more than one player in either one? Nuggets are a buzzsaw. Really like their head coach. Clippers are a buzzsaw with again another really good head coach. It happens. Relax. Take a chill pill. Star-Lord. Everyone chill the f out. We’re going to see this Utah game coming up on Monday. And if it looks more of the same, we’ll have some more tougher conversations. We’re going to get to the Deon Booker thing. We’re going to get to where I was wrong about Jaylen Green already. We’re going to get to come on Malawatch. But what were you expecting through the first three games of the season? Three and 0, two and one. Like I told you, if you could steal this game against the Clippers on Friday, you’re playing with house money. But there’s a lot of scheduled losses on this team’s resume. One of them or on this team schedule. One of them is the Denver Nuggets. The Suns are fine. As of right now, the Phoenix Suns are exactly where they should be, one-2 on the season. Now, it’s a little different when you play Utah coming up on Monday. That kind of needs to be a scheduled win. Utah’s not better than you. You’ve got better players than Utah’s. Sure, you’re going to be on the road, but that’s a game you got to win, but I’m not killing the Phoenix Suns for losing to two really good teams. I’m not going to do that. It’s a first three games of the season. How about I not overreact just yet to those three games? The Suns are going to be just fine. I know a loss to the Clippers hurts Bradley Beal’s quote unquote revenge game with a whopping six points. And I know getting beaten up by the Denver Nuggets, who was everyone’s trendy NBA Finals pick was hard. But the Suns are in the middle of building a foundation, building a core. They’re not there yet. They’ve got a lot of new employees, guys that are trying to figure out what works, what doesn’t. We still haven’t seen Mark Williams in the starting lineup yet. This is what growing pains look like. You were the one that told me no vibes is, you know, no expectations, better vibes. This is what it’s going to look like sometimes. You’re going to walk into games where you’re bringing a plastic knife to a bazooka fight. You’re bringing a Devin Booker and Dylan Brooks to a Jamal Murray, Nicole Joic fight. Sometimes you’re going to get your doors beaten off the hinges. That’s okay. There’s no expectations for this team to be an NBA championship contender or hell, a Western Conference Finals or Western Conference semi-finals contender. They are in the middle of building a foundation. They’re in the middle of finding and getting some signature wins. If it still looks like this 20 games into the season, I would love to bring out the pitchfork and torches and start running everyone out of town. You guys know I got no problem with that. I enjoy doing that. But I think I’m the only son’s like, here’s another Colin Coward thing. He always likes to say he’s America’s honesty broker. If if Colin Coward is America’s honesty broker, I’m Arizona’s honesty broker because I feel again, we’ll get to it in a second here. been right on a lot of stuff. I didn’t lie to you about the Clippers and Nuggets game. I told you you need to win that Kings game. It’s very likely you’re coming out of there one and two. Chill the f out. Chill the f out. Well, the Nuggets scored 71 points. Yeah, teams with Nicole Joic and Jamal Murray and Cam Johnson and Aaron Gordon are going to do that. Christian Brown’s going to do that. Really good head coach. Like, it’s going to happen sometimes. Sorry. I I should have warned you that sometimes that’s going to happen. Well, the Clippers, yeah, Harden got hot. Kawhi Leonard looked really good. The Suns don’t have the bandwidth to keep up with those teams offensively. Those are the games that you’re trying to steal, but it’s not always going to happen. Like, guys, if there’s anyone here that’s not going to lie to you, it’s Uncle Ben over here. It’s Arizona’s honesty broker. I’ve got no problem going after players. I’ve got no problem going after Deon Booker like I will in a second here. I’ve got no problem going after Matt Ishbia. God, if there’s anyone that enjoys doing it, it’s me. I like being honest with you. And let me be honest with you again. For now, the Suns are fine. For now, with big old capital letters for now. If it looks like this 20 games into the season, we’ll have a different conversation. But for now, you knew coming into the season you were likely starting off one and two. In fact, there was a scenario you started off 0 and three. You got to win. I projected this team to win 37, I believe. What? 38 games this year. You know what that means? They’re going to lose more games than they win. They’re going to lose more games than they win. Everyone, Star-Lord, chill the f out. Chill the f out. They lose to Utah in the same fashion they lost to the Clippers and the Nuggets. Let’s have some fun on Monday night, Tuesday morning. But for now, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that. I’ve got a lot of time to overreact and freak out. You can do that, but I’m not I’m not doing that right now. Let’s get to Devin Booker. The woes from him have been a little concerning. I think I have an explanation for it as well as where I was wrong on Jaylen Green. Let’s talk about that next. Today’s show is brought to you by the wonderful folks over at Monarch as I bring up their lower third here. I want to make sure I shine the the lights bright on them. Let’s be honest, most of us can’t even name all of our financial accounts, let alone what they’re worth. between 401ks, savings, and investments. It’s easy to lose track, and that can mean leaving money on the table. That’s why I started using Monarch, an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together on one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or on your phone. 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Easy and stress-free. I use Game Time whenever I want to go to a game. Uh uh Diamondback, Suns, Cardinals. I always use Game Time. Typically, you know, I’ll watch games at home. What I normally use Game Time for is concert comedy shows, those types of things. They do everything and I always get the best ticket and the best seats at the best price. So take the guess word out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use code Loc for $20. Loc NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s code L K D O NA for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Okay, let’s let’s get into the Devin Booker thing. Booker clearly has too much on his plate right now. He’s clearly too focused on doing everything. And I think that is causing Devin Booker to have some mental lapses. He is, I think, actually getting to the cup more efficiently, more more I guess I should say more effectively than prior. But you can tell when Devin Booker at this point in the season, three games in is shooting and is trying to find the open man. There is too much on Deon Booker’s plate right now. Now, I know there’s the very loud audience of they need a point guard. No, they don’t. Devin Booker, even with what he’s doing right now, is better than your proverbial traditional point guard. He’s not better than what, Chris Paul in his prime or Steph Curry. That’s not what I’m saying. But the point guards that are available, Devin Booker, you’d rather have him out on the court than them. Just like Tyler, not Tyler Ulis, um Tus Jones last year. If Taius Jones was on this team, I’d rather have Devin Booker there. In a lineup that could already be seen as a in a starting lineup as a little bit smaller, like Ryan Dunn’s a little undersized for a four. Dylan Brooks is about the right size for a three. I don’t think you want to bring in a 6’2, 63 point guard to run the show. That guy’s going to get picked on defensively. What I think it is is Devin Booker’s got a little too much on his plate right now and he really is looking for that secondary score. The best versions of Devin Booker, he’s always had like, and I’m talking about 2020 final, 2020 NBA Finals run. I’m talking about 2022 NBA Finals. I’m not talking about the bubble where he just went scorched earth. I’m talking about 2021, 2022, and then every, you know, year after that. He has normally had a running mate. Like this is one of the things where I’ve said Devin Booker is not a one. He’s a two. He’s a fantastic number two on a championship contender, but he’s not a number one. He can’t do it all on its own. This is where Jaylen Green comes into play. I’m willing to take arrows on this. I’m not willing to take arrows on. We’ll see on Jaylen Green’s efficiency and if he can play winning basketball, actually shooting the ball. But this is where I’ll take some arrows. Devin Booker clearly misses Jaylen Green. Asking Devin Booker to do everything offensively is not a recipe for success. It’s the only recipe they have right now. And you don’t want to ask Dylan Brooks to start taking the ball up the court. You’re going to keep it in Deon Booker’s hands. But it’s clear when opposing teams can blitz, trap, throw three guys at Devin Booker and make everyone else beat them around them, it just is really tough for Deon Booker to get going. He needs his running mate. He needs Jaylen Green. And this is where I was wrong. I don’t know if Jaylen Green is going to fit fantastically with this team. I’m more excited for it than I was when it initially happened. But they need him. Devin Booker’s doing far too much on the court. Too many instances are we seeing him over these last three games put his head down and go into okay I’m going to score mode. That’s where he ended up with 31 points last night or you know I think it was 30 points in the season opener. Didn’t have it in the beginning. Kind of found it towards the end. Booker in the beginning of the games is going into playmaking. make everyone else better around you mode. The problem is, and this is the thing again that I feel vindicated on, you’re kind of living and dying by Grayson Allen and Dylan Brooks three-point jumpers going in. And then when these teams are or and when the Suns are missing, you know, they can’t get back set their defenses, like it’s all one big problem. The Suns offensive woes through the first three games of the season. Now, we we know that they found it in the second half of that Kings game, but in the Nuggets game as well, they shot, you know, 34% from three. They shot 50 of them. God, this team should not be chucking up 53s a night. They just don’t have the bandwidth to be doing that. But they chucked up 53s. They made 34% of them. When that happens, what typically happens with three-point jumpers, ball is it’s normally a longer rebound. Team can get out in transition. The Suns can’t set their defense. They need that secondary scoreer alongside Devin Booker to kind of make teams pay a little bit. It’s not just when you’re missing the opposing team is going out and and scoring obviously more than you are. There’s also a key to like you score, you get that extra buffer three, four seconds to set your defense on the other side of the court. The Suns aren’t getting that opportunity to do that. So, a little bit is on Devin Booker not letting the game kind of come to him come to him and instead forcing the issue with errant passes and, you know, bad shots. I don’t like a lot of Deon Booker’s three-point jumpers this season. They feel like forced and that’s not his game. Part of it is he just misses Jaylen Green. Part of it is he needs that second running mate. Part of it is, and I think this is the biggest thing, not Jaylen Green, the jump shooter, not the pull-up jump shooter, not the off the dribble, not the catch and shoot jumper in Jaylen Green, the ball handler. I’ve got no problem with Jaylen Green’s ball handling. Dude has the ability to put that ball on a string and get to the and get to the cup at will. Deon Booker misses that. Devin Booker needs someone he can share the ball handling duties with instead of every play down the court he’s bringing it up and teams are throwing two or three guys at him. They need Jaylen Green to take that pressure off Booker and to bring the ball up the court and to set the offense and to because when Devin Booker is bringing the ball up the court hard to set plays up for him. It’s all ISO ball. It’s all high pick and rolls and slip screens, you know, high slip, you know, set a pick, slip screen, try to find someone down low. Like, that doesn’t work. They need another person to hold on to the ball, i.e. Jaylen Green so that Devin Booker can get set up in um in situations to allow him to succeed. Like, I think that’s as simple as it is. I think when Jaylen Green shows up, Devin Booker’s turnovers are drastically going to come down. Here’s the other thing, and I’m going a little long here. Devin Booker, I know this is hard for him, needs to become more of a selfish basketball player. Dylan Brooks against the Kings, I believe, shot the ball 24 times in the Clippers game. I know he played well, but still shot the ball 17 times. Golly. and um against the Denver Nuggets shot the ball 18 times. That can’t happen. Dylan Brooks and I believe every game this year has had more shot attempts than Devin Booker. I don’t have the Kings game upright in front of me. But I believe that’s the case. That cannot happen. I know Devin Booker is a very unselfish player. We’ve seen that before. You know, there was that one like segment for a long time that like ESPN would do. Is Devin Booker just a ball hog? Like I think you can make that case with Cam Thomas. I don’t know. I don’t watch a lot of Brooklyn Nets basketball. I focus on the Suns, your team every day here at the Lockdown Podcast Network. But with Devin Booker, he’s a very unselfish player. Welcomed in Chris Paul. Welcome in Bradley Bill. Welcome in Kevin Durant and shared the ball with them. Let his numbers go down. We need you to access a little bit more of the mamba mentality. meaning my ball, my shot attempt, this offense is mine. He has not acted like that. Instead, he’s trying to get everyone involved in this offense. That can’t happen. That can’t happen. Booker needs to be a much more aggressive version of himself. Needs to tap into the 2021 bubble season of Devin Booker. Yeah, I like Ricky Rubio, Male Bridges, Cam Johnson. this team runs through me. And I think a part of his struggles as well is just like he hasn’t had to do that in five years, six years. Devin Booker is having a hard time. He is struggling with accepting this is his team. It’s three games into the season. It’s okay. Things can get fixed. But that’s the only thing where I’m like Booker needs to become more of a selfish basketball player. Not an inefficient selfish basketball player, but an efficient selfish basketball player. You guys all play off me, not the other way around. Hint hint, Dylan Brooks. Let’s talk about those rookies. I love Dylan Brooks. I’m not I don’t want to go after him. I love Dylan. Um let’s talk about those rookies. Why Kaman Malawatch should be playing way more. Let’s talk about that next. Today’s episode brought to you by the glorious, glorious folks over at FanDuel. The NFL season is or the NBA is back and there’s no better place to get back in the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Right now, new customers are right now FanDuel is giving new customers $3 in bonus bets when your f first $5 bet hits. So, head to fanduel.com to down to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Again, listen, I’m just referencing this again. Like again, if Colin Coward is the America’s honesty broker, I’m Arizona’s honesty broker. I I I read the comment section. I never go after you guys. You You know, fan is short for fanatic emotional responses and I love and cherish every person that watches the show. You ever see me out in public, come say what’s up. I’m not asking for an apology. This is a sports take, but old Ben here has been right about a few things. One, Nigel Hayes Davis can’t play, at least right now. Rasher Fleming should be playing over him. Said that in the preseason. I also said like cool the expectation the first couple of games. They’re probably going to start one and two. And there’s been other stuff, but nothing has been bigger than the Oso Agadaro stuff. I said before the season started, I also said that, you know, just want to point it out there. I also said like, hey, watch for Ryan Dunn to make a big secondyear leap. Ryan Dunn has looked great thus far into the season because someone that athletic and that good at getting to the rim can’t bust that and that, you know, defensively stout can’t bust. Um, here’s the other thing. Oso Gadaro. This is why when the Jonathan Kaminga stuff came up and it was like oh soaro and grace now and I was like oh I do that and I got some push back. You can’t trade OSO. Didn’t we already learn something from trading our young guys? Yeah. Yeah. Like if you consider Male Bridges and Cam Johnson to be on the same level or uh if you if you consider Oso Gdar to be on the same level as Cam Johnson and Male Bridges. Sure. I told you guys in the summer league. I told you in the preseason, remember bowl? I was right on that one, too. Dude can’t play. He’s not an NBA level player. Maturity not there. You guys all laughed at me. Oso Migodaro. What does he add? What is he adding now? Is Oso the worst player on this in this center rotation? Like I’m not trying to act like he’s terrible, but he’s obviously a much more he’s obviously a much better four than a five. He’s not great down low. He’s not banging bodies with everyone. He needs to be Kavon Looney if he’s going to be a five. An undersized big that breaks your back defensively because he’s grabbing a bunch of offensive rebounds and he ends up every game with 16 rebounds a game. If that was Oso, I would lay off of him. What does he add offensively? He does pass the ball really well. He keeps it moving. Keeps it moving. That’s great. Kamal Malawatch is a better alternative than he is. Nick Richards is a better alternative than he is. And I’ve already started see like come on Malaw’s got to play over OSO. I’m like yeah I’ve been saying that for you know two months now. I like Oso guys. I like him. A fine player. I don’t know where he fits on this team. Much more of a four than a five. But I don’t want him playing over Rasher Fleming. I don’t want him playing over Ryan Dunn. And I sure as hell don’t want him playing over Come on, Malawatch, Nick Richards, or Mark Williams. I’m sorry. I know he’s one of those young guys and you want to embrace that young core, but like he doesn’t have a fit. What does he do offensively outside of keep the ball moving, very intelligent passer, sets good screens, I’ll give you that. can’t shoot the three ball, can’t shoot an elbow jumper, isn’t big enough to, you know, bully guys inside. He’s not breaking your back defensively by grabbing offensive rebounds. He’s got a push shot. Come on. Match is more um athletic. I think he’s I mean, not I think he’s got a better stroke from three and he’s the clearly vastly better defender. I don’t. Some things I’m willing to be patient on. This one I’m not. You got to move OSO out of here and not like off the team. Clearly good depth. I think he would play the four fine on this team. He’s got to be moved to the bench in a rotation that features Mark Williams, Nick Richards. Come on, Malawatch. It needs to go Mark Williams. He’s just the starter for now. I think that can change later on the season. I’ve said that before, too. Keep that in the back of your minds. Malawatch coming off the bench too. We’ll deal with the growing pains. This is not an NBA championship level team. Nick Richards three. Find Oso Vodaro minutes elsewhere. Maybe you want to go small. And Oso is like that featured four or five in a small ball lineup. I’m not saying he’s terrible. He just doesn’t have a fit here. And fit matters in the NBA. So listen, if you’re keeping score, Ryan Dunn so far, Nigel Hayes didn’t love that when it when it happened. Kept on trying to tell you guys Rasheed Fleming should be playing and he should be the Osoaro stuff. Never got it. Never got him starting. But like I I think the biggest thing is just like Jordan not values smart basketball players. I think Oso is a smart basketball player. I also just don’t think he’s aggressive enough. So, um, we’ll see how it goes. Sun’s got Utah tonight. By the time you’re watching this, they’ve got Utah tonight. Um, I need to make sure um before I sound like a crazy person that Utah is indeed um tomorrow night. It is. Okay. Just making sure. On the road in Utah, just so we’re clear, I’m gonna take the Suns to win that game. I think the Suns will go on the road, weather the proverbial, you know, rain and wind up on this sailboat that some people think is is drowning. Like, listen, you’re three games into the season, you got more winds than the Rockets. That at least feels good, right? At least one Rockets dig, right? At least one. With that being said, guys, follow me on all social media platforms. Bengarcia Show. Don’t forget to like, share, subscribe to the show. Also, like I’m kind of thinking about live streaming after games. Let me know if you’d be interested in that. If you’re not, if you like this format better, let’s just stick with that. But I’m all for what the audience wants. The beautiful, awesome, and amazing Everyday. I love all you guys. That being said, don’t forget to like, share, subscribe, follow me on all social media platforms. Bengarcia show. I will talk to you guys tomorrow. But until then, it’s been locked on. I’m Benjamin Garcia and it’s been locked on Phoenix Suns. See you guys tomorrow postgame.

Suns fans, are you overreacting to early season losses? It’s time to hit pause on the panic button.

Benjamin Garcia (@BenGarciaShow) breaks down why the Phoenix Suns’ 1-2 start isn’t cause for alarm. He analyzes Devin Booker’s performance, arguing the star guard needs more offensive support. The host also evaluates the team’s rotation, offering candid thoughts on Oso Ighodaro. Plus, a look ahead to the Utah game and potential changes to the show format.

Tune in for Garcia’s Marvel movie analogy that perfectly captures why Suns Nation needs to keep calm and carry on through early season struggles.

0:00 Intro: Phoenix Suns start road trip
5:06 Suns building foundation and culture
10:14 Suns’ losses to Clippers and Nuggets
14:24 Devin Booker has too much responsibility
19:00 Booker needs secondary scorer Jalen Green
23:36 Brooks taking too many shots, Booker needs assertiveness
27:41 Oso Ighodaro fit and role on the team
31:15 Outro: Upcoming game against Utah Jazz

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34 comments
  1. I'm not 100% sold on being a top 15 defense. Only 3 games into the season, but specifically against Denver the Suns rotations on defense are horrible. They said they're preaching communication which is good, but they need to start doing. Brooks has impressed me with his play on both ends. Never paid attention to him, but he is an absolute dog on defense. I hope that kind of effort and energy rubs off on Dunn and Fleming.

  2. Ishbia destroyed a team that went to the Finals because he wanted to play a new owner's version of hero ball. Please stop sugar coating the situation. This is essentially a rebuild. It will take at least a few years to overcome the bad decisions that wrecked the Finals team.

  3. I think something that doesn’t get mentioned enough is this team has like 11 new players. Chemistry looks a little off which is to be expected, say they suck if it doesn’t start to look better by December, but way too early to tell. Also not having Green changes the dynamic of our offense. Williams not starting changes the dynamic of our offense and defense. Relax yall we will be fine.

  4. It's not about Devin Booker. The Suns need a true point guard. The reason why they reached the 2021 NBA Finals was due to the acquisition of Chris Paul. With Paul playing so many minutes, he just ran out of gas. While Booker is a very good shooting guard, he doesn't have the handles of a Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. I would say ride him all season long, but he isn't a creator who can finish at the rim at will.

  5. The Suns are not exactly where we all expected them to be. We expected them to be good on defence. And they are horrible. Pure effort of Brooks and Dunn is not enough. Suns are completely lost as a team. Maybe they will get there in time, but right now they are very far away from what we expected.

  6. This wasn’t going to be an overnight fix. Jalen Green isn’t even playing and none of these guys have their footing together. Oh man.. it’s like 2019/2020 when we had to find ourselves again and the rest is history. Let our draft picks find their NBA legs.

  7. I was wrong… I thought we had a super star, youth, length, bigs, hustle, a deep bench… I thought we were going to shock the NBA…BUT the fact is… we stink. Dillion Brooks shooting 50 times a game and Booker 5…. great

  8. Ben… the suns starting off 1-2 isnt the issue… its the eye test of us sucking balls and playing like garbage… turnovers, Booker passing and not shooting… Brooks shooting and not passing… not guarding the 3 point line… on and on and on… unless Jalen Green is the key.. maybe

  9. Ben Garcia you just don’t get it. People are not frustrated that we lost. People are more angry that what we were sold by the organization that this team is a whole lot different. They will play harder and tougher on the court win or lose. We didn’t see that this past 3 games except for the 2nd half against the kings. They were literally giving up 70 points deficit in the half. That is uncalled for. If you cannot at least play offense or don’t have enough weapons for offense, least you can do is keep the opposition from scoring a whole lot. That is what is really making people mad.

  10. It’s hilarious that people think the suns don’t suck😂😂😂😂. They will be last in the west by far. Trade bookers sorry ass and start the rebuild

  11. Plusses their young, Have a very sensible coach, core of good young players. minuses for fans like me it's a process takes time and players are learning in real time. Must take better care of the ball, and defense on both end. Don't wait too much for the game to come to you, work harder. I like the way Coach handles the team. I agree take a chill pill and make some popcorn.

  12. Devin Booker is not a super combo guard like Harden, SGA or Doncic. Book is an elite scoring guard. Get him a competent PG not 3rd string Gillespie or no string Goodwin. The Suns need a play making guard. I agree with you about Oso he shouldn't start.

  13. I’ve been saying all off season that this team won’t even win 30 games. Booker is a second option that we constantly treat like a superstar. Booker doesn’t help us win games. Trade Booker and start the full rebuild. What’s the point of keeping Booker and winning 25 games….. i don’t get it

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