Devin Booker at point guard has been a revelation for the Suns. He’s fixed many of the early season issues that plagued the team.
Still, with the absence of Bradley Beal, some new problems have arisen that even Point Book and Kevin Durant have been unable to solve. Now with Beal finally back, the last piece of the "Big 3" will do his part in making the Suns a complete team.
1. Taking more threes
Like Durant, Booker is not taking nearly as many threes as he should be. He’s currently taking 4.6 per game, which is almost identical to KD’s attempts. His efficiency isn’t as otherworldly as Durant’s, but it’s still elite at 42%.
Booker’s focus has been elsewhere as he’s assumed the full time point guard duties. He’ll continue being the team’s primary ball handler with Beal back, but he’ll at least get a bit of a break and play off-ball more, which he did comfortably for his entire career.
Book should have no problem getting threes up in these situations: in the three previous seasons in which he played next to CP3, Booker averaged 6.2 3s per game. Now shooting the three ball better than ever, Booker's next goal should be getting his attempts up to where they usually are.
Taking more threes shouldn’t just be a goal for Booker and KD though. The Suns as a team have to find a way to get up more threes collectively. They rank just 22nd in the NBA in attempts, yet are the 3rd best team percentage-wise from deep. This has been a bit surprising since the Suns targeted and acquired a lot of role players who’s specialties are three-point shooting.
Those players have had to adjust their play styles with Booker, Beal, and KD in and out of the lineup, and have taken less threes because of it. With everyone back, they’ll be able to play the way they intended too, and will get more looks from three as the Suns’ stars draw the attention away from them.