Landry Shamet appreciates support from Suns coach Monty Williams during shooting slump

Landry Shamet hears the critics.

So does his head coach, but Monty Williams is standing up for him.

“Landry always gets this bad rap if he doesn't knock down three or four threes, but I think he's more than that," Williams said after Tuesday’s win over San Antonio. “His ability to defend and we can switch a lot more with him because he’s 6-5 and he’s pretty strong, and then he spaces the floor. He hasn’t shot it as well as he’d like to, not tonight, but I think having him on the floor, teams have to honor that.”

A 37.4% shooter from distance this season, Shamet has shot 2-of-15 from the field (2-of-11 from 3) in the last four games he’s played.

Shamet didn’t see action against Minnesota or Denver last week, but Williams has called on him in Phoenix’s last three games.

“Obviously, that’s the easy thing to look at is the ball going in or not,” Shamet said after Wednesday’s practice as Phoenix (44-38) plays West leader Denver (52-27) Thursday at Footprint Center.

“Even average basketball fans don’t understand the game in totality and that’s fine. That’s basketball. Put the ball in the hole, I get that from a fan’s perspective, but it feels good to know that my head coach and our staff trust me in all the facets of basketball that matter. Obviously, I take my job serious. I know I don’t want a night where I’m 0-for-2 from 3 (vs. Spurs). That’s a small sample size, but I should never miss a shot.”

Often saying he’s his biggest critic, Shamet continued by adding he wants to “make every shot,” but understands there’s more to winning than just scoring.

“It feels good that my teammates support me,” Shamet said.

Williams had Shamet play Tuesday with Booker as the backup point guard, a role Cameron Payne has held down since joining the team before the 2020 Orlando Bubble.

Payne was the only active player who didn’t see action Tuesday.

“He’s fine,” said Williams about Payne being a healthy scratch. “Just a decision that I made to try to do something else with that second group. Defensively, having bigger guys out there. The other part is putting the ball in Book's hands a little bit and letting him play point and orchestrate. It’s just something that we’re looking at.”

Williams said he’s seen Booker’s growth as a playmaker since he became head coach in May 2019.

“You can see what he’s doing when he’s attacking and then he makes the pass that nobody sees but him,” Williams said after Wednesday’s practice. “I think that’s something that has allowed him to grow as a player, but it’s allowed us to get better just based on continuity.”

Booker closed the first quarter of Tuesday’s game with reserves Bismack Biyombo, T.J. Warren, Torrey Craig and Shamet and finished the third with Ish Wainright, Biyombo, Craig and Shamet.

Between the trades and injuries, Booker has closed those two quarters with an inconsistent rotation.

“Just figuring it out and that’s my job as one of the leaders of the team to make sure the new guys are on the same page,” Booker said after Tuesday’s game. “Even the second unit, we keep the team afloat or push the lead. That’s always been the goal for the next group in. We’ve had good spots and we’ve had bad spots, but we have something to learn from.”

Shamet feels as if his job when playing along with Booker is to help space the floor with his shooting – but first things first.

“Get the hell out the way,' Shamet said. “Truthfully.”

Then space the floor.

“He’s so good,” Shamet continued about Booker. “Space the floor for him. That alone that defenders are going to honor me as a shooter is going to give him space. I take that seriously, too. Space the floor. Thinking about times when he’s brought the ball up three or four times, going and getting it from him and try to put him in a position where he can be more of himself. And then just be solid on the other end.”

Shamet got himself in trouble Tuesday on one possession when over-dribbling. He seems to work better on either catch-and-shoot or catch or launch after a dribble or two.

“He plays with great force,” Williams said. "He understands what we do. He plays in point 5 really well. So it's something that we hope to grow because we think having those like-size guys that are like 6-5 to 6-8, 6-9, being able to switch, it may help us keep teams out of the paint and hopefully, we don't give up as many 3s."

Shamet missed two months with a foot injury before returning on March 19 at Oklahoma City.

“Basketball is a rhythm and if you’re not playing for two months,” Shamet said. “With the injury I had, wasn’t like I could really ramp up. Just getting a feel. That and your conditioning, but I feel like I’m in good shape now. Still a little bit of rust to knock off, but that’s fine by me. We've got a couple of games left until it’s showtime. So, I’ll be right and ready here.”

Shamet scored 10 and 15 points, respectively, in his first two games back from injury, but managed just five total in his next three with those five coming against Sacramento.

Not scoring in the next two games on 0-for-6 shooting (0-for-4 from 3), Shamet didn’t play in Phoenix’s next two games against Philadelphia and Utah before returning to action Sunday at OKC.

“That’s professional sports and the reality for a lot of guys who aren’t marquee guys,” Shamet said. “It’s our job to keep our spirit high and be good teammates regardless of what circumstances are, situations are. I’ve been fortunate to know that just because you’re pulled from the rotation for a game or two, it always comes back around."

Shamet is averaging 8.7 points on a career-low 37.8% shooting in 37 games (seven starts) this season.

“That’s what I try to communicate to all these guys,” Shamet continued. “Regardless if you’re out for the last couple of games in the regular season, whatever the case may be, it’s going to come back around and you’re going to have your chance, your moment where we’re going to need you not only for a game, but a stretch of games. That’s the mindset I try to carry. As competitors, we all want to play, but that’s what I try to carry. Really trying to get back into a rhythm.”

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Payne is one of those competitors.

“If guys weren’t upset about that or competitively upset about it, I’d be surprised,” Williams said. “Everybody has accepted it. When I have conversations with guys about their roles and what I’m planning to do, I go directly to those guys, so they know what to expect. I wouldn’t like it, but they understand what we’re trying to do.”

Averaging 10.4 points on 41.6% shooting (37.2% from 3) in 46 games (14 starts), Payne committed five fouls in his last game Sunday at OKC. The Suns have made it a point of emphasis to defend without fouling after losing the free throw battle by a large margin in recent games.

“It takes a great deal of sacrifice and sometimes, you have to give something up to get what you want and I’m asking guys to do that,” Williams continued. “At the same time, we’re learning a lot about our team. This is our way of trying to find a rhythm because we don’t have 30 or 40 games to do it. Once we got Kevin (Durant) back, we had seven games (left in the regular season).”'

Suns vs. Nuggets: NBA game blacked out on TNT in Arizona

Durant missed 10 games with a left ankle sprain after playing three with him following the blockbuster deal that brought him from Brooklyn to Phoenix before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

The Suns are 7-0 with Durant in the lineup and have the longest active win streak in the NBA going at six in a row.

“So, you’re just trying to figure out the combinations, what looks good from the eye test and what looks good when we watch film when we go home and then the numbers based on those combinations,” Williams concluded.

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Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Landry Shamet hears critics, looks to impact Suns going into playoffs