Valley of the Suns
Fansided

2016-17 Player Reviews: Devin Booker

By Matthew Daniels

Apr 11, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Devin Booker made his mark as one of the elite scorers in the NBA, and he still hasn’t even hit his ceiling.

Devin Booker stepped up every facet of his game this season. After a promising rookie campaign, fans expected great things from Booker, and they got just that. He Increased is totals in points by 8.3 to 22.1, rebounds by .7 to 3.2, assists .8 to 3.4, steals by .3 to .9 and three-pointers percentage by 2.0 to 36.3. Between January 3rd and February 4th Booker scored at least 20 points in every game, including four 30 point games, finishing with an average of 26.6 points per game. Even with an inconsistent start and amongst all the roster uncertainty, Booker was even able to keep the fire going for the majority of the season scoring 20 or more points in 47 of the 78 games he played.

It did not matter who was guarding him, Booker was able to put on a show regardless of who he was playing. Whether it was Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan or Klay Thompson, scoring was never an issue for Booker. Then of course, his great scoring season was capped with a 70 point performance in Boston at the TD Garden.

Mar 26, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) reacts to a foul call in the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Suns 120-106. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) reacts to a foul call in the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Suns 120-106. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

Improvement

While his improvement in scoring the basketball and ability to create his own shot is something to marvel at, two crucial parts of his game need serious work – his passing and defense. Booker did improve his assist totals, but 3.4 assists isn’t going to cut it, even for an off guard. Far too often Booker goes into an isolation mode which is great when he is on fire shooting, but even on cold nights he would continue to isolate himself with the ball. Defenders could pressure Booker into forcing bad passes and he really couldn’t distribute very well.

However, improvement in ball movement will only take Booker so far. What will catapult him into the discussion as the best two guard in the game will come from improvement defensively. He truly fails to set himself apart on the defensive end. Booker cannot play man-to-man D to the level he needs to, in order to stop players like Butler and DeRozan. He looks off balance when being taken off the dribble and fails to recover when he gives up ground. His steals number needs to improve as well. 0.9 steals is good enough for 63rd in the league, but in order to take his game to superstar levels, that needs to at least be doubled.

Mar 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker greets young fans following the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Thunder 118-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker greets young fans following the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Thunder 118-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Summary

At age 20 Booker is already one of the NBA’s elite scorers. If he can improve defensively and gain a wider field of vision, he will easily be considered a top-10 player for many years. With the entire Valley of the Suns behind him, the future is very bright for Devin Booker.

Home/Suns News