Phoenix Suns: Final regular-season grades

Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker final grade: A-

Devin Booker continued his strong season increasing his points per game from 24.9 prior to the All-Star break to 26.1 after the break. One big improvement from before the All-Star break to now is getting to the free-throw line. Booker is notorious for not getting calls but he did a better job at getting to the line attempting 6.2 up from his previous 5.4.

One aspect from Booker’s game that took a hit was his 3-point percentage. Dropping to 32% his 3-point game was just off. It’s time to start looking past Booker’s 3-point contest trophy and understand it’s not the foundation of his game.

While his field-goal percentage dropped to 47.5 percent, that number is still top six in the NBA among shooting guards. The basis of Booker’s excellence is his midrange game and he continued to shine in the paint this season. He can get almost any shot he wants whether it’s off a pick and roll, one on one, or off the dribble. Every night he seems to score a nearly impossible bucket.

Booker isn’t needed at his absolute best every night to win games, something Phoenix hasn’t seen before.

At times he played second fiddle to Paul who took the scoring load in crunch time but that isn’t an insult. In order to take Phoenix deep into the playoffs, Booker will need to elevate his game and in particular his 3-point shot. For now, his regular season grade is an A-.