During the Suns’ loss against the Mavericks on Christmas, microphones captured a moment of frustration from Phoenix guard Devin Booker.
It was the second half and the Suns were trailing by more than ten points when big man Chimezie Metu committed a turnover. Dallas superstar Luka Doncic recovered the ball for an easy layup in transition to increase the lead for the Mavericks.
Booker tried to chase Doncic for the defensive stop but Metu did not. After the possession, fans could hear Booker chewing out his teammate for a lack of effort.
Devin Booker wasn't happy with the effort here, especially after Metu's turnover
"Why aren't you running back? You turn the ball over and don't run back?" pic.twitter.com/8aihVLVpCC
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) December 26, 2023
Here is what it sounded like Booker said to Metu, who finished the game with a career-high 23 points and a career-high 19 rebouds:
“Why aren’t you running back? You the turn the ball over and don’t run back?”
There is no doubt that Metu should have hustled back to try and make the stop on Doncic, especially considering he was the one who committed the initial turnover.
But is this emblematic of a bigger issue facing the team this season?
Opponents have added 2.5 points per 100 possessions through play in transition against Phoenix. That currently ranks No. 15 overall out of the 30 teams in the league, per Cleaning the Glass.
While that is slightly worse than their rate last season, it seems there are more concerning problems plaguing Phoenix.
