Fans were surprised when Mike Budenholzer and the Phoenix Suns benched Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic ahead of Monday’s win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Not only were the fans shocked, but so was Beal himself. It caught him off guard, but he said he wouldn’t protest or become distracted. The 31-year-old is going to let things play out for now.
However, Beal said he was a starter and that nobody could take that away from him.
“I’m a starter in the league,” Beal said. “I firmly believe that. I don’t believe that — no disrespect to anyone, but I’m a starter. That’s what I firmly believe. But Coach made his decision. I’m not gonna sit here and argue with it. I’m not gonna sit here and be a distraction. I’m not gonna sit here and be an a–hole. He made his decision. I live with it. He’s the coach, know what I’m saying? I just gotta go out and play my game, and whatever happens from there, happens from there.”
Head coach Budenholzer said the roster changes were made because Phoenix had to change something to snap their four-game losing streak.
Rookie Ryan Dunn replaced the veteran in the starting rotation.
Despite being benched, Beal had a phenomenal game. He put up 25 points off 10/15 shooting, three rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. Not only that, but he did not turn the ball over once.
He led Phoenix in scoring and plus/minus.
Beal has played 24 games this season and averages 18.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.
