Phoenix Suns things to avoid in next year: Too much hero ball for Devin Booker
With Chris Paul either limited or absent for a multiple reasons, Devin Booker took a lot onto his shoulders during Phoenix’s most recent playoff run. Almost every other time down the floor, the Suns offense more or less revolved around Booker just going out and getting a bucket. Booker even ended up with 4.9 isolation possessions per game, the tenth most by anyone during the postseason.
PJ Tucker guarding Devin Booker is great but the impact isn't the same if you can just force a switch off the matchup. Suns put Forbes in action, Johnson screens. Bucks give the switch and Booker goes right to work on the ISO to score. Have to defend with purpose this series. pic.twitter.com/lzWNLhTTgC
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) July 7, 2021
Due to Booker’s incredible shot-creating skills, the strategy worked out more often than not. But still, team-oriented offensive attacks make things far more difficult for defenses to stop, and typically lead to greater shooting efficiency numbers.
As a team, the Suns shot 49.0 percent on field goals last season, but during isolation based plays, they only shot 43.8 percent, proving this notion on their own terms. It might not create as many show-stopping moments or highlight-reel plays, but team basketball undoubtedly works better for the Suns.
With this considered, Suns cannot let Booker playing “hero ball” become common practice for them. Just because it got the job done often during the postseason, does not mean that more beneficial options do not exist.
After acknowledging how far it got them, this might become a habit difficult for the Suns to break away from next year, but they still must do so.Especially during close game situations, just putting the ball into Booker’s hands might feel like the right thing to do as a safe and familiar option. Most team’s would love to have that luxury.
But the numbers do not lie. With a healthy team, Phoenix needs to still feature Booker, but within a free-flowing offense that plays off his teammates’ skills as well.