THE FLATS – Josh Okogie’s role off the bench is key un Suns’ first-round series win in NBA playoffs … Check out a 2022-23 season in review for Jose Alvarado … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
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OKOGIE’S ROLE OFF BENCH KEY IN SUNS’ SERIES WIN
After the Suns eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers at home in Game 5 on Tuesday, Devin Booker said his team emphasized not wanting to return to L.A. and have to close out the first-round series in a potential Game 6.
Josh Okogie’s late fourth quarter steal from Clippers’ Norman Powell with about one minute left to play was a big reason why the series wasn’t going back to California.
“I thought JO’s (Josh Okogie) steal was one of the biggest plays in the fourth quarter and we just were able to make enough plays to win the game,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said.
Okogie had his postseason career highs 11 points and three assists plus two steals and two rebounds. He had hit best shooting performance (4-of-7 shooting, including a 3-pointer) and the most time he’s played for the Suns in the playoffs.
Okogie was back in his sixth man role like earlier this season before he became a starter for their final 25 games before the playoffs. Okogie, who signed a one-year deal with Phoenix last July, started in all of Durant’s eight appearances for Phoenix after he was acquired from Brooklyn on Feb. 9.
“Book, CP (Chris Paul), D.A. (Deandre Ayton), Kev (Durant), they get so much attention, when they just get me open, I just try to get in a position that I know I can knock down my shots,” Okogie said.
JOSH OKOGIE WITH THE PUTBACK DUNK😳 pic.twitter.com/VrMgpjovkT
— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) April 30, 2023
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JOSE ALVARADO’S 2022-23 NBA SEASON IN REVIEW
Due to a leg injury, New Orleans fans were denied the fun and enjoyment of watching Alvarado play in any March or April games. Partly as a result, basketball aficionados everywhere were denied the thrill of seeing Alvarado and the Pelicans participate in the NBA playoffs, after “Grand Theft Alvarado” had emerged as a 2022 postseason darling while facing Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns. “It’s very emotional, because now we have to watch the games,” Alvarado said during his April 14 exit interview on the season concluding. “And we know we should be playing.”
After appearing in 61 of the regular season’s first 62 games, Alvarado was sidelined by a stress reaction in his right tibia. He tried to return to the court – half-jokingly saying that he was giving the team’s trainers “headaches” in the process – but couldn’t get back in uniform by NOLA’s April 12 play-in loss to Oklahoma City. The Pelicans lost five of the first eight games Alvarado missed from March 1-17, a span that proved costly in the Western Conference standings.
“We missed Jose a lot these last couple stretches,” forward Trey Murphy said. “He definitely was a difference-maker, and his presence definitely was missed. I know he’s going to come back and have that same hunger that he always has, especially (after) missing those games, thinking he could contribute.”
“The season was disappointing for all of us,” Alvarado said of the Pelicans going 42-40 after a 23-12 start. “We knew we were better than (the team’s final record). We dealt with a lot of adversity. For right now, you’ve just got to move forward, learn from this year. Injuries, you can’t control. Stuff is going to happen. It’s what you do with it.” Some of Alvarado’s top performances took place as the Pelicans were building the West’s best record, showing significant promise despite only having their top three scorers together for 10 games.
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USING OKOGIE AS A SCREENER ONE WAY SUNS SOLVING PROBLEMS
Over the course of the rest of the regular season — and moving past the departure of Mikal Bridges — Josh Okogie became progressively more and more integrated in the Suns’ offense. Monty Williams had to pick his spots and get a little more creative in some instances because of Okogie’s limitations as a true offensive threat, and one of the ways to do that is utilizing him in that Bridges-adjacent screening role.
However, when it came to the round 1 series against the Clippers, Okogie was almost completely a non-factor on offense, at least to start, averaging just 4.8 points and 1.0 assists over the first four games before an 11-point, 3-assist game 5. Part of that is, of course, due to minutes (averaged 16.8 in the first four and played 32 in the fifth), but that also speaks to a willingness to be more creative with his utilization in the fifth game.
In the first example of the Okogie screen from game 5, it closely resembles some of those Bridges plays. He slips — instead of setting — the screen and in the split second the defense is reacting, Booker finds him near the nail where he’s able to dump it off to Ayton for an easy finish.
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