The Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns fell short against the Los Angeles Clippers in Sunday night’s Game 1 matchup between the two sides.
Durant recorded 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists in the 110-115 defeat vs. the Clippers. KD shot 7-15 from the field, including 3-7 from the three-point line. NBA analyst Colin Cowherd called out the Suns for not letting Durant shoot enough shots as Deandre Ayton had 16 attempts from the field.
“I didn’t think the Suns were ready to play,” Cowherd said. “They took too much time off. KD wasn’t playing the last couple of regular season games. They just had too much time off, they got buried early, it happens. … KD had fewer shots in this game than Deandre Ayton. That can never happen again. And he also, in the last six-and-a-half minutes of the game, had one shot.
“Monty Williams, not good. Bad coaching afternoon for Monty Williams. You cannot allow that to happen. You call timeouts. Bark from the sideline. You can’t be just observing the game. You gotta be into the game. … Chris [Paul], Get him shots. Deandre Ayton can never have more shots than KD.”
(Starts at 0:21)
"You cannot allow that to happen… Get him shots."
— @ColinCowherd on Kevin Durant taking just one shot in final 6 minutes pic.twitter.com/FTREWWELsU
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 17, 2023
Cowherd didn’t sugarcoat his analysis of the Suns’ Game 1 defeat against the Clippers. He also called out Chris Paul for failing to get Kevin Durant more shots than Deandre Ayton in the fourth quarter of the game.
Hopefully, CP3 and Williams will learn from their mistakes and run the offense through KD in the second game of the series.
The Phoenix Suns Are Still The Favorites To Win The West
Adding a player of Kevin Durant’s talent to the roster comes with increased expectations from the fans. Obviously, Suns fans were hoping to see a near-perfect run from their team in the postseason.
Following the Game 1 defeat vs. the Clippers, many are already starting to question whether the Suns can reach the 2023 NBA Finals. But Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller still believes the Suns are the favorites to represent the West in the finals.
“It’s hard for me to bet against them,” Miller said. “The West is wide open other than Phoenix, in my opinion. Any team that Kevin Durant is on should be a favorite. Now you pair him with Devin Booker and probably the best floor general that we’ve seen over the last 18 to 20 years in Chris Paul.”
While, in theory, the current roster of the Suns is stacked, they haven’t had a lot of time to build chemistry amidst Durant’s injury in the regular season.
Moreover, resting their superstar players during the final segment of the regular season has seemingly hurt the Suns. At the end of the day, the Suns’ true potential will start to reveal in Game 2 vs. the Clippers.
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