We know we told you not to worry about the inevitable ups and downs of Devin Booker's season with the Phoenix Suns, but three points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder raised obvious cause for concern. In the aftermath of the defeat, which dropped the Suns to 1-2, Booker appeared to drop a not-so-subtle hint that he is still not being used to the best of his offensive abilities by the coaching staff.
Booker tells media he needs "to get the ball so I do what I do"
The soon-to-be 30-year-old spoke to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic in the locker room in the aftermath of the defeat. He addressed the fact that he only took only seven attempts by saying, "We've just got to be more creative and finding ways to put me in different spots to get the ball so I can do what I do."
Booker has never been one to publicly call out the coaching staff or express any unhappiness he may have with the organization, and his delivery of the above was in his usual calm, composed way. But surely the remedy for your best player not receiving the ball in the spots where he can do the most damage is to have a pure point guard alongside him for most of the game, right?
The best version of Booker the Suns ever got was when Chris Paul was in town, and while neither Collin Gillespie nor Jordan Goodwin can ever come close to the level of "The Point God", we know they would feed Booker the ball at his spots. In the case of Goodwin, he would also be a defensive upgrade over Green and make Booker's life easier on that end of the court as well.
Gillespie has already put forward a strong case in the early goings of the campaign to start over Green, and Head Coach Jordan Ott must surely consider making a switch soon if Booker is already talking about the need for the Suns to get more creative in how he gets the ball after only three games.
Suns offense moving away from Booker's preferred mid-range game
It is unfortunate for Booker that the Suns are moving away from his mid-range game in favor of 3-point shooting. In the loss to the Thunder, they went 18-of-50 from deep, while he has struggled from that territory going back to preseason. Of more concern is the fact that the court is, in theory at least, opening up for him to get more looks in the paint, and that is still not happening.
When Kevin Durant was in town, and both he and Booker operated in the same areas, the Suns had clear spacing issues. Now the court is being spread to the best of Coach Ott's ability with the players at his disposal, and it is still not helping. Not even a true floor general next to Booker will help to change that, which makes these comments so early in the season a real concern for the Suns.
Yet, as they try to sort this all out, putting him next to a real point guard could be worth trying in an effort to spark something more creative.
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