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Shaquille O’Neal Refuses to Spare Devin Booker After Two-Straight Losses Threatens Playoffs Spot

Published 04/10/2024, 2:03 AM EDT

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The Phoenix Suns have lost their place as the 6th seed with two back-to-back losses against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers. These two wins could have helped them avoid the play-in tournament, but they have already slipped to the 7th seed, and have only three games left this season. Who’s to be blamed for this volatile performance from the Suns? In their 105-92 loss today, Bradley Beal was the only superstar who was efficient in the team. Kevin Durant shot 8-22 and then comes Devin Booker, who Shaquille O’Neal thinks was the weak link of the Suns in their last two games. 

Booker shot 1-11 from the field today and that caught Shaq’s attention. Co-host Adam Lefkoe went through the shooting percentages to call it an “off night” for the Suns. However, the Lakers legend believes a player of the superstar caliber cannot have a bad shooting night in multiple games. Shaq said about off nights, “There is no such thing. When you are a superstar, you can’t have a bad shooting night. Not multiple.” 

Booker shot 0/6 from the three-point line against the Pelicans last night, although he finished the game with 25 points. Now that they have slipped to a play-in spot, the worst-case scenario for the Suns is elimination. 

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With a mediocre performance from the start of April, the Suns’ chances for the playoffs are at 50/50. However, Booker believes “the story” starts next week, and he is sure he can make it to the playoffs. 

“Pissed” Devin Booker sees another “chance” against the Clippers

Devin Booker and the Suns have a perfect chance for revenge. They are playing the Clippers once again tomorrow, which will be their third-last game of the regular season. Moreover, 6th seed is not too far from reach for the Suns. So, Booker is still confident. When asked about the frustration after the loss, he said, “Chilling. Another chance tomorrow. However, he was obviously not happy about his performance. 

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Booker has not made a three in the last two games. The shooting guard has missed 10 straight threes, and he attempted only three shots in the second half of the game today.

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This shows us that the scoring inefficiency took a hit at his confidence. Booker said he didn’t talk to anybody on the team, and he is “surely pissed”. However, he is confident that the Suns will reach the playoffs next week. Let’s see if Booker and Co. can deliver. What do you think? 

 

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Written by:

Rohan Dharmalingam

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Rohan Dharmalingam is an NBA beat writer at EssentiallySports, who extensively covers the Lakers. Be it a multimillion dollar deal breaking or a classic throwback, Rohan has covered the many themes and formats. Most notably, his coverage received a shoutout from the Purple & Gold icon Shaquille O'Neal and the rap legend 50 Cent, on Instagram.
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Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra