The Twitter reaction is justified.
Devin Booker is an NBA All-Star who deserves to be selected as a reserve by the coaches. Period.
The outcry can turn into cheers when Anthony Davis is out of the game due to a calf strain supposed to put him off for four weeks and Booker is selected to replace an injury, but that may not fit Booker well again.
Another possible response could be a great blessing for the Phoenix Suns.
Booker is already focused on getting Phoenix into the playoffs for the first time since 2010. He spoke of having more on his mind than possibly becoming an All-Star again before the reserves were announced on Tuesday.
Now he’s not good enough in the eyes of the Western Conference coaches who didn’t choose him as an All-Star despite having played an important role in the Suns, who have the fourth-best record in the NBA?
That should add fuel to the fire so Booker can play at an even higher level. This is more than a good thing for Phoenix.
“Book is already playing with a chip on his shoulder,” said Sun’s all-star point guard Chris Paul. “We’re good here.”
Booker’s teammates will go out of their way to show that their guy is an All-Star, starting with Paul, who made it for the eleventh time in his NBA career.
Don’t see this breaking the team’s chemistry as many say Booker should have made it through Paul. If anything, it will bring these two closer together and bring the team together as a whole, as the Suns believe Booker and Paul should both have made it through.
Firmly believing Booker should be an all-star, Monty Williams said he couldn’t see a coach argue that Booker is not an all-star.
Now his husband has not made it to a coach vote?
Add that up and Phoenix should have extra motivation to really ruin the NBA.
Now the league offers a breakdown of the votes of the fans, players and media for the All-Star starters. They don’t give names, but show how each group voted.
The same should be done for the coaches.
Again, there is no need to reveal the names, although that would send Twitter across the stratosphere, but it would be nice to see a breakdown of the coaches’ votes.
The coaches had to select two guards, three front court players and two wild cards that can be in any position. Here is a look at the results of the Western Conference:
Two guards: Donovan Mitchell (Utah) and Damian Lillard (Portland)
Three forecourts: Anthony Davis (LA Lakers), Paul George (LA Clippers) and Rudy Gobert (Utah).
Two placeholders: Chris Paul (Phoenix) and Zion Williamson (New Orleans).
Utah would have two players. That goes without saying for the top team in the NBA.
Lillard averages 30 and wears Portland.
Anthony Davis is a top 5 NBA talent.
The Clippers have the second best record in the NBA, which justifies two players, but George is a guard to me, not a striker.
So it probably came down to Paul, Williamson, and Booker.
Look, Paul made a huge difference in Phoenix. His guidance and attention to detail have mentally brought the suns to another level.
And he has concentrated. Started slowly but has improved his game by one notch.
So people can say that Booker should have been picked up through Paul, but without Paul, Phoenix doesn’t have such a season. That’s why he did it.
Williamson is a tremendous talent at making numbers on a bad team, but think about what he did in that 22 point win over Phoenix. The pelicans were a quarter away from knocking down the suns before being destroyed in the fourth.
So that works in the eyes of the Phoenix supporters against Williamson. He put up all-star numbers, but the format of having to pick three front-court players in a guard-driven league makes voting harder.
That was Booker’s point when he was passed over last season before being used as a substitute for an injury. Pick the best players regardless of their position, he said.
Booker is an all star. Plain and simple.
He would have to play back every night as a substitute for injuries, but that should only make him and the Suns even more focused and motivated not only to keep winning, but also to have one of those special seasons that lead to a different All-Star result next year.
Do you have an opinion on the current state of the sun? Reach Sun’s Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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