Devin Booker Already Flashing Greatness in New Role
PHOENIX -- There were never many questions surrounding Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and his abilities heading into the 2023-24 season, though a new opportunity did bring questions as to how he would adjust to a different role.
For the last few seasons, Booker had the privilege of Chris Paul's presence in the backcourt. Despite failing to capture that coveted championship, the Suns saw a lot of success with Paul running the offense, and his departure this summer left a hole in terms of having a traditional point guard.
Who would run the point in Paul's absence - and if Booker is the guy - how would he adjust to more of a playmaking role? Booker has established himself as one of the league's top scorers, proving capable to go for 30 on any given night and joining the likes of Michael Jordan in terms of postseason numbers.
It was first reported Bradley Beal would be the primary ball-handler in Phoenix for the upcoming season, though preseason action revealed Booker would be running Frank Vogel's offense.
Point guards obviously have the capability to score at will (see: Steph Curry), but the responsibility of organizing chess pieces and running the show would be a first for Booker, at least on a full-time basis.
Through one game, Booker is already thriving in his new role.
Booker pushed the Suns to a 108-104 victory over the Golden State Warriors to begin the regular season, finishing with 32 points on 13-21 shooting with six rebounds, eight assists and one steal in the win.
“It’s a good start to the new phase of his career, where he’s going to be the primary ball handler, where he’s really embraced taking the leadership role on this team. Playing more traditional point guard where he can, where he’s a threat to go into kill mode at any point, and he has the savvy at reading defenses where he can pick them apart with a pass, which was the beauty of this game, where there were a lot of positives from this game but that was probably the biggest one," said Frank Vogel following the win.
Booker is used to taking the final shots ahead of anybody in Phoenix, yet in the final 1:09 it was his three assists that helped the Suns maintain a slim margin over one of the best teams in basketball.
“Just trust building with the team, this is game one and we understand that we have the depth/the talent all the way around. Just using that - I had it going in the first half. We knew that they were going to throw a different kind of defense at us, and they did that down the stretch," said Booker following the game.
"Credit JO, (Josh Okogie) credit EG (Eric Gordon), Nurk (Jusuf Nurkić) for finishing those plays. This was a good win for us, I think tests like that in the first game - how we can see the energy sway and the game go back and forth and tighten it up down the stretch - to get a win, that was big for us.”
Booker's night wasn't perfect, however. His six turnovers didn't leave his performance squeaky clean, though Booker isn't worried about that becoming a habit.
“Just understanding that I was tired as hell, it was the first game. I've been out for over a week now with the toe [injury] so this is my first time getting back on the court going up and down," Booker said when asked about the mishaps.
"So that first win was tough, but you know that will build through the season and you know we will figure out spacing and I won't be turning the ball over six times a game.”
Ideally, Booker will be able to cut down on those turnovers with more time on the court and more experience with teammates. It's a fine balance Booker will have to learn through the course of the season, though his ability to score and create for others has already flashed greatness.
“It was incredible. He started off just flaming hot, 15 points in the first quarter and just got us going," Kevin Durant said postgame.
"He just kept us there the whole night. We’re going to need that from him all season. Running the offense, making the great plays late, making those three assists late, we’re going to need that going forward."
The Suns are back on the road for Thursday's battle against the Los Angeles Lakers.
