Kevin Durant, Devin Booker Named Biggest Winners of NBA Playoffs Thus Far
When the Phoenix Suns traded for Kevin Durant, they took a gamble.
They gambled on the health of Durant to stay on the court for the long haul. They also gambled on his ability to mesh seamlessly with his new teammates with little time before the postseason began.
The absence of Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson (along with Jae Crowder, but he didn't play this season) left the Suns with little depth to work with down the stretch, too. Their bench play was perhaps their biggest red flag heading into their first-round series with the Los Angeles Clippers - and in fairness, those concerns have had merit thus far.
Phoenix really is banking on Durant and Devin Booker to carry much of the load, and through four games it's worked. The Suns are up 3-1 against the Clippers and the duo of Durant/Booker looks stronger with each minute they spend together.
Bleacher Report listed the duo as one of the postseason's biggest winners thus far.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker Named Biggest Winners of NBA Playoffs Thus Far
"Yes, the Phoenix Suns have depth issues. And yes, they're benefitting from an LA Clippers team that, after spending the season load-managing stars to avoid exactly this predicament, is dealing with injuries to both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
"But that doesn't detract from the symbiotic dominance we're seeing out of KD and Booker, with the Suns stars most recently combining for 61 points in Game 3—all on a collective 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from deep (6-of-10).
"So far, Booker has been the more productive of the two. He racked up 38 points in Phoenix's series-evening Game 2 win as he and the rest of the Suns combined to shoot a preposterous 21-of-29 from mid-range. The three-time All-Star followed that up with 45 points on a cool 62.1 percent from the field in Game 3.
It was telling that he so readily credited Durant, who had eclipsed 25 points in all three contests and was shooting 51.0 percent for the series, after that incendiary Game 3 effort."
The Suns can wrap things up in Tuesday's Game 5 at home. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:00 PM PST.
