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Phoenix Suns: Please, Monty, go easy on “Point Booker”

By Adam Stratton

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 14: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns controls the ball in front of defender Kevin Huerter #3 of the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter at State Farm Arena on January 14, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 14: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns controls the ball in front of defender Kevin Huerter #3 of the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter at State Farm Arena on January 14, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Monty Williams said he’d like the get Devin Booker more time at point guard for the Phoenix Suns next season, and it seems like a bad idea.

Recently, Phoenix Suns General Manager, James Jones, and Head Coach, Monty Williams, sat down with local media via a conference call and dished out a variety of info. Valley of the Suns was not in attendance, but FanSided veteran Gerald Bourget was. One of his top five takeaways was Monty Williams’ desire to play Devin Booker at point guard more, which makes me channel my inner Larry David and make a series of alternating, very exaggerated, “I’m not sure about that,” faces.

In the 2018-2019 season, Devin Booker was forced to play point guard out of necessity. With that, his assist numbers shot up by more than two per game from the previous season.

Insert Ricky Rubio in the 2019-2020 season, the first legit point guard the Suns have had in years, and Booker assist numbers should have plummeted, right?

They didn’t.

Booker’s assists went from 6.8 per game two seasons ago to just 6.6 per game and he rarely spent time at point guard. When Rubio wasn’t running the point, it was whoever’s turn in was on the Phoenix Suns’ backup point guard carousel who took the reigns.

Sure, the Suns played with the ball in Booker’s hands during some crucial stretches. That just makes sense. It’s the oldest basketball play in the book called, “Give the ball to your best player and let him go to work.”

That was only sporadic, and they should continue to do that no matter how many top-tier point guards they have on their team. Look at LeBron James. He’s not a point guard, but when the game is on the line, guess who brings the ball up the court to run the offense?

I’m not saying Booker is the King, but the idea is similar. Give him the ball when it counts. However, I seriously question Williams’ desire to play Booker at point guard more next season, according to him, 10-12 minutes per game.

I just don’t see the benefit.

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The entire Suns fan base has been clamoring for a viable backup point guard for some time now, but that implied someone not already on the team, and preferably an actual point guard, which, even though he is capable of playing with the ball in his hands, that is not Devin Booker.

Again, that’s not taking anything away from Booker’s passing ability. In18 out of the 62 games he played, he had nine or more assists. That’s really good.

But that was when he primarily played off the ball. Monty should look at those numbers are impressive, not a trend he should play point.

Besides, if Booker plays point guard, who plays shooting guard? Was this the grand scheme behind trying to trade for Luke Kennard?

As the roster currently stands, the team doesn’t really have a go-to backup shooting guard. Are the Suns really going to revert back to yesteryear when they made Booker do everything? I don’t see a ton of logic in that. Instead, they should bring in a high-quality point guard to fill in minutes for Rubio and let Booker do this thing off the ball.

But now that I mention it, some reliable scoring off the bench would be a good thing too.

Next. Grades for every Suns player this season. dark

Regardless, Monty should go easy on Point Booker. Playing him off the bal worked this year. Why mess with it?

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