After it was announced that the NBA would be implementing an In-Season Tournament in order to make regular-season games more meaningful, there was plenty of speculation on whether or not the players would actually buy into the idea.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Now, it has been made clear that the players care.
Against the Grizzlies on Friday, the Suns entered the 4th quarter with an 8-point lead.
However, knowing that they would need a point differential win in order to move on to the knockout round in the In-Season Tournament, it was all gas and no brakes even as Phoenix began to pull away.
Typically, in a regular-season game like this, against a team that, at the time, held a 3-11 record, Frank Vogel would signal to his bench with his squad holding a comfortable lead.
Instead, Devin Booker remained on the court, fighting to boost the Suns winning margin by as many points as possible.
With 13 seconds left on the clock and the Suns holding an 18-point lead, Booker banked a 27-foot three-pointer, bringing the Suns total point differential in the tournament to +34.
Which ended up making a huge difference as the New Orleans Pelicans ended their group play with a differential of +33. This has set the Suns up in a great position to move on to the knockout round.
After the Suns win over Memphis, Devin Booker spoke with Duane Rankin at AZCentral about his mindset during his last-minute shot from beyond the arc.
Booker explained, “No disrespect to the Grizzlies. I wouldn’t take a shot if it wasn’t an In-Season Tournament, but we needed it.”
"No disrespect to the Grizzlies. I wouldn't take shot if it wasn't In-Season Tournament, but we needed it."
Devin Booker as Phoenix Suns won 110-89 over Grizzlies to improve their point differential total for wildcard hopes. #Suns #Grizzlies https://t.co/aQvtkf5PNz pic.twitter.com/kth2qoVQgq
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 25, 2023
If the Suns do advance to the knockout round, games for this single-elimination tournament will begin on December 4th.
In the first round, the Suns would play the team with the best record during group play, so they would either be up against the Los Angeles Lakers or the Sacramento Kings.
