The Phoenix Suns have been disappointed in Jalen Green's play this season, and a major pain point has been his chemistry with Devin Booker. This duo should be the Suns' starting backcourt and the team's two best players, but they haven't been able to elevate each other. If this problem persists, the Suns' season could end in a huge disappointment and they might not even make the playoffs.
Jalen Green and Devin Booker need to fix their synergy
Although both Green and Booker are talented scorers, neither is an elite playmaker. Other great backcourts commonly have at least one player who is a very willing passer. But that natural instinct eludes both Booker and Green, although Booker has done his best to lead the team's offense by dishing out 6 assists per game.
This shared weakness for the Suns' starting guards has led to inconsistent team results. It seems that whenever one of the two gets going, the other struggles to score. Recently, the woes have extended to both players during the Suns' poor stretch of play. Over the last 5 games, Booker is shooting just 45% from the field and 28% from three. Green is doing even worse: 39% from the field and 29% from three.
The compounding poor play of the Suns' leading scorers has put them at risk of slipping further into the Play-In and potentially missing the playoffs entirely. Although the playoffs were not initially expected for the Suns this season, they have been firmly in the seventh seed for most of the year. At this point, missing the playoffs would be a disastrous scenario.
Booker and Green's chemistry has been worst in the clutch
The fit issues between Booker and Green are even more concerning when you dive deeper into their clutch play together. Both of them tend to settle for tough shots in the clutch instead of playing off each other to exploit advantages. Despite the Suns' great clutch play from role players, they still have a poor 9-17 record in clutch games because their stars haven't come through.
These clutch issues are likely to come back as the Suns fight for a playoff spot. The Play-In Tournament will be a war with other hungry teams in the Clippers, Warriors and Blazers. The games to decide playoff seeding could easily come down to clutch scenariors, and the Suns are not the team to trust.
The combination of Devin Booker and Jalen Green could easily define the Suns' foreseeable future. They will be relied upon to generate the team's offense in coming seasons, but they must do a better job of amplifying their strengths rather than clashing when they share the court.