Three HUGE lesson learned by the Phoenix Suns in their loss to the Spurs
By Adam Maynes
Devin Booker missed the game-winning shot for the Phoenix Suns at the buzzer against the San Antonio Spurs – which means he will never do it again.
There may be no moral victories in sports, but there are lessons learned.
And sometimes the lesson in a loss is far more important, and impactful, than the one learned in victory.
Devin Booker nearly single-handedly brought the Phoenix Suns back from the brink, carrying them from down 20 points early in the third quarter with 22 points (himself in that stanza alone – playing all 24 minutes of the second half), helping lead them to their first lead of the game with 2:55 remaining.
Through the first three quarters, Booker received little help.
While he was shooting 55%, his teammates were shooting a combined 46%, with his four other starters averaging a -16.5 in the +/- column, with Book at a manageable -5.
It was games like this one that should make every Suns fan clamber for another veteran point guard to be found somewhere, anywhere, because of the lack of impact that both Elie Okobo and Jevon Carter brought in this game.
That said, the Phoenix Suns were down two points with 5.6 seconds remaining, and the ball coming in from out of bounds inside half court (off of a timeout), with the entire viewing world knowing that somehow, someway, Devin Booker was taking the final shot.
And he did.
With about 3 seconds remaining. From about 35 feet out.
And he clanked it off the back of the rim.
It was, without question, a bad shot.
Bbut here is the beauty: Devin Booker knows that and he will never do it again.
If that shot were taken in game seven of a playoff series, or even if it meant that the playoffs were directly on the line, fans would have a lot to commiserate about.
But that wasn’t the case here.
This was game 43 of the regular season, and the Suns, for as underwhelming as their record is right now (18-25), even with the loss, remain just two games out of the eighth seed of the playoffs.
Anything can happen – and no doubt, something strange or exciting will.
Instead, while the missed shot means that the Phoenix Suns lost the game, there most certainly won’t be a major lesson learned.
In fact, there will be three: