The Phoenix Suns did not see a 46-point molly-whopping at the hands of the Golden State Warriors after trailing by a point at the end of the first quarter. Even less-so as they realized their head coach, Steve Kerr took a step back and let his players coach themselves throughout the game.
Devin Booker, who sat out a fourth straight game with a hip pointer injury, was unbothered by the coach-less tactic, unlike his teammate Jared Dudley — noting it would be something he would put in play in hopes to switch it up a bit.
“You can look at it two ways: You can say anybody can coach that team, or you can say it's a [good method],” Booker said, according to ESPN's Chris Haynes. “I liked the move personally. If I was a coach, I'd do that throughout the year, so I wouldn't even look at it as disrespectful.
“I'm sure people are going to say it's disrespectful, but I think Steve is an easygoing guy who has that relationship with his guys. But if he didn't have four All-Stars, I don't think he'd be doing that.”
The Warriors took a strong lead at halftime and didn't let go of their throat the whole way through — an attitude that these Warriors had not had at all this season, allowing comebacks against the Sacramento Kings, the Dallas Mavericks, and other teams below the .500 mark.
Even Suns coach Jay Triano, who was at the opposite side, coaching his team through a barrage of made shots by this potent Warriors offense, took no offense to the tactic.
“I noticed their plays were a little better out of timeout tonight,” Triano said jokingly. “Nah, I didn't have a problem with what Steve did.”
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