Though Devin Booker doesn’t have quite the reputation of a guy like Luka Doncic in terms of arguing calls, his frustration with referees seems to have boiled over after the Game 2 playoff loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He was asked postgame what explanation he got after receiving a technical foul late in the third quarter because “even the broadcast was confused by your tech.”
“I still haven’t got one,” Booker said of any kind of explanation. “It’s definitely something that has to be looked into. I heard (Alex) Caruso tell him to call the tech and, you know, he ended up doing it.”
Opposing players and coaches fish for both personal and technical foul calls by pleading with refs all the time. The thing is, there’s usually a valid rule or reason for them to do so, such as a player hanging on the rim, a player spiking the basketball on the court, etc.
But as the reporter asking the question noted, even the broadcast was confused that Booker was T’d up.
On the play in question, Booker drove to his left and took a bump from OKC big man Jaylin Williams. As Booker’s momentum took him out of bounds, he flipped the ball behind his back before bracing himself on OKC’s coaching staff. Booker walked calmly back onto the court but was ultimately called for a technical foul.
“In my 11 years I haven’t called a ref out by name,” Booker said, “But James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through. It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as the WWE if they’re not held responsible.”
The Suns and their fans are not strangers to seeing bad or outright corrupt officiating, having been a key cog in the Tim Donaghy scandal that rocked the NBA years ago.
The Suns are already a heavy underdog against the Thunder. They need all the help they can get to compete with the juggernaut that is the defending champs. All that being said, as Suns legend Charles Barkley said during the regular season, Phoenix needs more from their superstar.
Devin Booker’s playoff stats show the Suns need more from him
Suspect technical foul call aside, Booker’s stats in the first round series leave something to be desired.
In the Game 2 loss against OKC, Book shot a steady 7-of-14 from the floor for 22 points, but he missed all three of his 3-point attempts and turned the ball over five times.
Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green each had 23 field goal attempts to Book’s 14, which is not a recipe for success for this Suns squad.
As talented as Brooks and Green are, Booker simply has to be the go-to scorer for Phoenix now that we’re in the postseason. Him taking nine fewer field goal attempts than both of those guys just isn’t acceptable at this point in the year.
Book deserves credit for picking his spots and shooting an efficient 50% from the floor, but now is the time for him to turn on the Kobe Bryant “Mamba Mentality” of one of his idols and put the team on his back.
Through the first two games of a series that could be trending toward an OKC sweep, Booker is averaging 22.5 points and 3.0 assists per game. Both of those marks are well below his regular season averages of 26.1 points and 6.0 assists, respectively.
On the other side, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points on 25 field goal attempts while sinking all nine of his free throws — which was right at his season average for attempts at the charity stripe.
If the Suns are going to fight back against OKC before the series is over, that effort starts and ends with Booker’s ability to score in bunches.
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