Phoenix Suns: 5 Midseason Takeaways

1. Devin Booker Is The Light Of Suns Fans’ Life

The Suns seem destined for a top-five pick this summer, and their best player moving forward is still Eric Bledsoe. But at the moment, Devin Booker is not only the best part of this dismal 2015-16 season, but he’s also the franchise’s cornerstone moving forward.

Yes folks, the 13th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft is that good. He lights up the life of most Suns fans at this point.

On the season, Booker’s 8.7 points in 19.4 minutes per game hardly scream “Rookie of the Year.” But he’s shooting 48.3 percent from the field and an unbelievable 44.6 percent from three-point range on 2.0 attempts per game, while slowly gaining confidence from game to game.

With the Suns being unbearable to watch as a whole, their rookie has been the exception, averaging 15.4 points in 30.4 minutes per game on .485/.364/.787 shooting splits since the Philly game when Phoenix lost Bledsoe. Booker’s defense still needs some work, but he’s rapidly becoming the best player the Suns put on the floor on a nightly basis.

Wednesday’s 32-point outing against the Pacers was just the latest example of Booker bringing sunshine to a gloomy season.

Booker dropped a career high 32 points (the most scored by any rookie this season, by the way) while going 9-for-16 from the floor, 6-for-10 from three-point range and 8-for-8 from the line. Those were career high makes in all three categories, and even though the Suns didn’t get the win, Booker joined some pretty darn elite company in the process:

Before Booker’s career night, Hornacek talked about how, in watching tape from earlier in the year, he noticed that Phoenix’s rookie was slightly tentative, always trying to make the “perfect play” rather than just shooting the ball when he created enough space. Now that he’s moved into the starting lineup to replace Bledsoe as a more traditional 2-guard, he’s letting the shots fly.

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But even on a night where Booker scored 32 of his team’s 94 points, Hornacek was more pleased with his effort on the defensive end than anything else.

“He’s going to score points in this league, but I was much happier with his defense tonight.” Hornacek said. “I thought he got after it, he got up into guys. Still there were times that we want him to fight over chasing a guy off a pick a little bit harder, run through that screen. Don’t always be the nail, hammer into somebody once and let them take the brunt of the blow. And he did that a few times and he made strides tonight defensively.”

Booker has taken his licks defensively at times this season, which is part of the typical learning experience for any rookie. But he’s got the high basketball IQ, athleticism and size at 6’6” to improve on that end as he continues to mature and get stronger.

Even more importantly, Booker has been more than just a spot-up shooter, which is what he was pegged as coming out of college. His intelligence to attack off the dribble with defenders closing out too hard, not to mention his ability to effectively work pick-and-roll sets, makes him far more well-balanced than most people outside of Phoenix realize.

“He’s learned to make plays,” Hornacek said. “When he is involved in the pick-and-roll and comes off, he’s got the size, he can make those extra passes. I think that’s where his growth has come and his defense is getting better.”

Booker has reached double figures in 10 of his last 12 games, his three-point stroke is like witnessing a unicorn and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. Proving himself this quickly to a despondent fan base despite being the youngest player in the NBA is no small feat, making him the team’s most prized asset — and possibly their best player — as he continues to learn the ropes.

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“It comes with experience,” Booker said after his career night. “When you’re fresh out there, you’re a rookie, you don’t know what’s going on. As the season’s going on, I’m getting a lot of experience. Obviously there’s a lot of games that we play, but I’m getting a lot of time out there. I’m getting that opportunity so I’m learning the game every day.”