The Phoenix Suns have had and up and down season so far, but one player is always on the up. And that player is Devin Booker, the Suns’ premier bucket-getter.
There is a thing that happens when a team like the Phoenix Suns, who had no expectations coming into the season, comes out of the gate strong: you start expecting more.
With the opening game thrashing they put on the Kings, losing by only a point in OT to a strong Denver team, then beating the odds-on favorites to win the title—and I can’t believe I’m writing this—the Clippers, Suns fans started to believe this was the year.
Then reality set in.
With a recent five-game losing skid, followed by a couple of impressive wins over the Kings and Trail Blazers, followed by a thrashing from the Lakers, followed by a solid win over the Knicks, followed by two bad losses to the Grizzlies and the Kings, the Suns have had an inconsistent go at consistency.
You might say the only consistent part of the Suns has been their inconsistency.
But you’d be wrong. Because you forgot about Devin Booker.
Blessed with a shooting touch softer than Charmin, Booker has been on a tear of late, averaging over 30 points in the last seven games—a franchise record. Over that time, he’s hit on an impressive 54.8% of his shots while averaging over seven assists in the last six games.
It is an historic run. Sometimes, with all the losing and the frustration and the looking back at what could have been, you need to take a step back and look around and try and appreciate a dude that has a complete and total understanding of the art of getting buckets.
Of the thirty-four games Booker has played this year (the Suns have played 37), he has led the team in scoring 22 times. And that’s after trying to play one-handed for a few games and a couple of Kelly Oubre explosions.
Still, he has his detractors. Some people, while acknowledging his offensive brilliance, claim that he’s equally as bad on the defensive end. I’m not saying he’s a top level defender or anywhere close, but isn’t that like taking the Mona Lisa and flipping it over and saying there’s nothing on the other side? Or that Tony Gwynn only hit singles?
Others like to call him DeMar DeRozan 2.0. I’m assuming because of his ability to score south of the 3-point line…which he can do…probably better than DeRozan…or any other player in the league right now.
So while the Suns try and work it out as a whole, step back and take in a guy who has it worked out offensively. That’s something at least.