Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson has had enough of his team being bullied, he told reporters Tuesday. After the Suns’ 130-112 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, in which Grizzlies swingman Vince Carter was ejected for elbowing Suns guard Devin Booker, Watson pleaded for the front office to sign someone who can “protect our top offensive players.”
From the Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller:
“We have to find someone in free agency or the first chance we get who can protect our top offensive players,” Watson said. “That has to happen. If not, Book is going to see a lot of elbows. It’s the reason Kobe went out and got Ron Artest and Matt Barnes. It’s the reason why Jordan went out and got guys who could protect him.”
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“Who’s going to protect our young guys?” Watson said. “It’s the situation we’re in. We have to find a guy who can come in and make another team think twice about doing that. That should be a top priority for us moving forward.”
This is becoming a habit. For the Suns, it marked the third consecutive game – and the fourth in eight contests – that they had to be separated from an opponent. The run started Feb. 8 in this very building. That night, many Phoenix players said Memphis reserve guard Troy Daniels talked too much trash late in the game, which led to pushing and shoving. Three players were ejected and three others got technical fouls. After the game, Booker slammed Daniels – undrafted out of college – for having the nerve to talk trash to him.
Since then, the Suns have tangled with the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, although both were minor incidents. Are opponents taking advantage of them? Are the Suns short-tempered? That’s up for debate, but Watson seems convinced, saying Carter’s elbow “changed the momentum of the game and sent a message.”
“Every playoff team we face, they find a way to create a physical play with technical fouls and get tangled up,’’ Watson said.
Is there something about this time of the season? Almost exactly a year ago, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving said the Cleveland Cavaliers needed an enforcer, and they were reportedly upset that the team didn’t re-sign Kendrick Perkins the previous offseason. Despite this apparent hole on the roster, they somehow went on to win a championship.
In the big picture, I would argue that it’s a good thing that the NBA doesn’t really have goons anymore. Toughness, however, is still a valuable trait. Phoenix gave up some toughness when it traded forward P.J. Tucker to the Toronto Raptors just before the trade deadline, and Watson took some toughness out of the rotation when he decided to bench Tyson Chandler in order to give more minutes to young players last week. The Suns could look at the free-agent market, I guess, but they definitely won’t find someone better and more physical than Chandler.
