The Phoenix Suns have seen another season end with a horrible elimination game loss at the hands of a European superstar, as the Denver Nuggets won Game 6 125-100 to advance to the second round.
Devin Booker scored 12 points on 30.8% shooting while Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 42.1%, with both being outscored by teammate Cameron Payne. Fans roasted them for not being able to close this out.
What are Kevin Durant and Devin Booker thinking as the Suns are eliminated in blowout fashion for the second year in a row? š¤ pic.twitter.com/Y6o1gwfo6K
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 12, 2023
Fans mocked the failed Suns experiment this season.
Kevin Durant yet again failed super team pic.twitter.com/9Qhqa8kEAI
— Mink Flow (@currypistonn) May 12, 2023
KD’s iconic midrange offense collapsed on the night as he couldn’t score enough.
āKEVIN DURANT FADDING AWAY!!ā pic.twitter.com/KzpbCd9Wgp
— Coopz (@Coopz___) May 12, 2023
Devin Booker reprised his disappearing act from Game 7 last season.
Booker was mocked even more.
The Booker Special š«¶
Getting clapped in elimination games https://t.co/taTVukDYjk
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) May 12, 2023
The mockery continued.
Devin Booker and KD in elimination games: pic.twitter.com/IPUn5yC3ta
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) May 12, 2023
Fans kept drawing parallels to what happened last season with the Suns against the Mavericks.
Phoenix suns really added Kevin Durant to their roster just to lose the same way they did in game 7 last yearšš pic.twitter.com/gDZvr4qDIH
— Raps genāļø (@RaptorsGen) May 12, 2023
Another meme from last season was recreated as Kevin Durant hit a big shot to cut the lead to 27 points.
āKevin Durant isnāt clutchā pic.twitter.com/jr1DodkMXi
— Heat Clips š¬ (@Demar305) May 12, 2023
This season should never have been a priority for the Suns after they made that trade given the lack of their depth. But when the two stars you expect to carry you to wins completely disappear, it indicates a graver problem for next season. The Suns are extremely limited on how they can improve their roster, so they are stuck with the Booker-Durant duo, as they hope next season goes better.
From Historic Production To Collapsing
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were standing tall as the best duo in the playoffs through the first two rounds. Booker averaged 33.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists these playoffs, historic numbers by modern standards. Scoring 12 points in an elimination game after these numbers is beyond embarrassing.
Durant was letting Booker be the primary star for most of the playoff run, with his passive play shocking fans even more. KD averaged 29.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. They traded all those assets and picks for you to be the Finals MVP-level production and not second-option production.
This experiment has just started, so it’s too soon to say it failed. But the summer of 2023 is going to be make-or-break for the franchise’s competitive future.
Source: fadeawayworld.net
