The Phoenix Suns saw their four game unbeaten streak end on the road on New Year's Eve, as they fell to a Cleveland Cavaliers group that have some similarities to this group in how they play.
With head coach Jordan Ott having been hired away from Cleveland last offseason, this was to be expected. The Suns can have no complaints about the loss either, they started the game slowly and were down by as many as 20 before halftime.
Booker doesn't want to go back to Kevin Durant type offense of the past.
Franchise cornerstone Devin Booker spoke to the assembled media after the game, and the always excellent Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic was on hand to get his thoughts on what went down.
The lack of offensive cohesion came up, and Booker mentioned that he had been a part of a "my turn, your turn" offense in the past, and that he didn't think it was a way to be successful as a team.
"We had a terrible first quarter. On the road against a battle tested team, that's a tough deficit to get out of."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 1, 2026
Devin Booker as Suns cut a 20-point, first-half deficit to two late in the third quarter, but lost 129-113 to Cleveland to end four game road trip with a 3-1 mark.… pic.twitter.com/DDHyYZSca8
Although he didn't mention Kevin Durant by name here, it sure feels like he's talking about the last two seasons before this one, when he had to change his game to accommodate the all-time great.
Booker likely didn't even mean it as a dig either, that's never been his style plus Durant has been doing Phoenix favors going back to before he left for Houston, but that doesn't mean it's not true.
It's alright for the 29-year-old to be frustrated about how that portion of his career both unfolded and how it turned out. Bradley Beal might claim he was the one who had to sacrifice the most to make that whole deal work, but it was actually Booker.
He became more of a traditional point guard, often gave the ball up to Durant in big moments and had to be ok with being the face of the team but no necessarily the offensive focal point.
To counteract that Durant would then take a step back in games, sometimes standing in the corner which is not a good way to use one of the best scorers ever, so that Booker could cook.
He would return the favor and... the Suns didn't even make the play-in last season. So he's right, it didn't work and the roster is in a much better place now with so many guys contributing.
Yes it wasn't Dillon Brooks' night, and Booker himself has struggled from the 3-point line this season, but there's no taking turns here. That is best left in the past, Booker was simply reminding us how bad trying to win games was doing it that way.