3 Takeaways From Devin Booker in Return with the Phoenix Suns

Takeaways From Devin Booker in Return with Phoenix Suns: No Holding Back with Workload

In the age of load management, one might have expected Phoenix to take things slow with Booker during his initial game back. However, this contest’s first few minutes made it clear that he and the Suns wanted no part in that agenda.

With this game’s results decided well before the final horn, it did not feel practical for Phoenix to leave Booker out after the fourth quarter, but beforehand, the Suns let him run and gun quite a bit, still playing him 26 minutes during the first three periods.

That allowed Booker to field the second most minutes by anyone on the team through those first three quarters, only slightly behind Mikal Bridges. By consequence, he and the Suns hushed any talks about him being put on a pitch count or shortened leash.

But even outside his playing time alone, the way in which Booker played during those minutes also illustrated a full return for him, rather than a partial one.

Booker’s aforementioned defensive work first showed off his freedom on the court, jumping around and leaping for loose balls without drawing any concerning looks from his coaches or trainers. His shot volume did the same though, with Booker putting up 15 field goal attempts, which represents a difference of just 1.9 attempts per 100 possessions compared to his entire average for the season.

No matter how you chop it up, we got an uncut Booker last night. He threw on his normal jersey, started at his normal position, played a normal amount of time, and took a normal amount of shots. By all accounts, he is back.