Phoenix Suns: 2016-17 First Quarter Grades

Devin Booker

There are no secrets about the future face of the franchise inside or outside the Suns organization — it’s obviously Devin Booker, a 20-year-old phenom coming off an incredible rookie season where he became the team’s No. 1 option on offense thanks to a plethora of injuries.

Calling what we’ve seen from Booker so far in 2016-17 a “sophomore slump” would be unfair and inaccurate, but he hasn’t quite made the strides some were anticipating when he was named the team’s starting shooting guard.

Averaging a team-high 19.0 points per game is great, and a significant improvement from last year’s 13.8 points per game, but he’s also playing 32.9 minutes per game and shooting just 42.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.

Originally pegged as a knock-down shooter in the 2015 NBA Draft class, Booker has actually been more impressive in the other areas of his game, like driving to the basket, operating as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls and making the right pass with exemplary court vision. His three-point stroke looks as good as it ever has, but the shots just keep rimming out.

Booker still needs work on the defensive end, but offensively, he’d probably be better off if the Suns actually, you know, ran offensive sets, or maybe even plays designed to free Booker up for easy catch-and-shoot looks a la Klay Thompson. As of right now, Booker’s offense primarily comes from post-ups to capitalize on his 6’7″ size advantage, and iso plays, where he ranks in the NBA’s 75th percentile.

Games like his career-high 39-point night in L.A., or his 38-point outing in an overtime win in New Orleans (which included the step-back jumper at the buzzer to force OT) show the future is still bright for Devin Booker, but finding that night-in, night-out consistency is still a work in progress.

Grade: C+