Suns coach on Booker’s 70: We’re not trying to be liked on the road
Mar 28, 2017, 1:30 PM
Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, in Phoenix. The Timberwolves defeated the Suns 98-85. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson got some criticism from the media and others after keeping Devin Booker in to score 70 points in a losing effort to the Boston Celtics on Friday, but he had no regrets.
“It just is what it is,” Watson told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Tuesday. “I don’t care if they like me, I don’t care if they’re fired up. We aren’t trying to go into arenas trying to be liked.”
Watson gave Booker a bigger spotlight at the end of the game by keeping him in so he could continue to score. He also called timeouts and had players foul, which lengthened the game even though it basically was out of reach.
“I don’t care about being accepted. I care about one thing, and that’s developing our players,” Watson said.
Booker took advantage, scoring 51 of his points in the second half and taking 16 of his 40 shots in the fourth quarter.
Watson, who has a 31-76 overall coaching record, is still finding his way as an NBA head coach, and this has been one of his most notable moves.
He also mentioned that he called his first timeout toward the end of the game when Booker “was at almost 65 or 66 points,” meaning Booker had already done most of the scoring at that point.
Additionally, Booker would have taken a high volume of shots anyway since there weren’t many scorers on the floor for Phoenix.
T.J. Warren (13.9 per game) was out that game with a foot injury and Eric Bledsoe (21.1 per game) is shut down for the rest of the year.
“Strategically, you have to know Devin is going to take all of the shots since no one else hardly played who was offensive-minded,” Watson said.
