Face it: Anyone paying attention knows why Devin Booker was benched in Game 3 of NBA Finals
If you were looking for Phoenix Suns all-star Devin Booker in the final 12 minutes, 48 seconds of the Game 3 in the 2021 NBA Finals, you were not going to find him without turning your eyes from the action.
Booker grabbed a rebound with 1:59 left in the third period and fired a 3-point shot seven seconds later that did not connect. That was the Suns’ last chance as they went on to lose badly, and it pretty much was Booker’s final meaningful activity in the game, save for how much significance one invests in his walking toward the bench 70 seconds after that last shot attempt and remaining there as the final accounting was transacted on Bucks 120, Suns 100.
Suns coach Monty Williams made a point of talking directly with Booker before those final dozen minutes took place.
“Just talking to him about the game, the kind of force we have to play with, just normal stuff,” Williams told reporters. “This is one of those games that you typically, in NBA-speak, say, ‘Flush it.’ But you can’t, in the Finals. We’ve got to watch the film and learn and get back to playing our kind of basketball consistently.”
MORE: Suns’ Monty Williams seems frustrated by Game 3 free throw disparity
Booker finished the game having played just 29 minutes, scored 10 points and shot 3-of-14 from the field. All three figures represented career playoff lows for Booker which, in his defense, only involves the 2021 season because the Suns hadn’t gotten to the postseason in his first five seasons. Also in his defense, Booker is just 24 years old. And, before the defense rests, remember that Booker is playing with a broken face.
