Phoenix Suns: 5 early signs Devin Booker is making the leap

5. Rebounding

Among Booker’s four main areas for improvement, rebounding was probably the least important. With that being said, his 3.2 rebounds per game last season ranked 67th out of 72 players who were at least 6’6″ and logged at least 2,000 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.

So far in 2017-18, Booker’s well-rounded production has been apparent, as he’s averaging a career-high 5.6 rebounds per game, 4.9 of which are coming on the defensive end.

For the most part, there’s nothing glamorous when it comes to Booker’s improved rebounding. He’s not crashing the offensive glass with reckless abandon, nor is he leapfrogging teammates to secure boards and pad his stats.

A lot of it has simply been Devin Booker being in the right place at the right time. Going through his 39 defensive rebounds, one can’t help but notice how many of them simply fall right into his lap (via 3ball):

There’s a similar pattern on the offensive end, with Booker simply being in perfect position to rebound a few of his own misses, or rerouting his own path when a long rebound is within reach:

However, it’s not just good fortune that accounts for Booker’s early rise in rebounding. Part of rebounding is being in the right position, and thanks to improved help defense, Booker has found himself near the rim — where he should be — when shots from the weak-side go up.

This not only accounts for some of the rebounds gravitating towards Booker, but has also made it easier for him to put in the extra effort to track down some of the longer rebounds:

Those extra couple of steps may not seem like much, but over the course of a 48-minute game, it adds up.

Luckily, with Booker no longer being forced into isolation after isolation on the offensive end, he seems to have the extra energy to track down some of those long balls and either find open shooters in the chaos that ensues after an offensive rebound or start the fast break upon closing out defensive stops.

Booker was pegged as someone who contributed very little outside of the scoring department. By simply putting himself closer to the rim when shots go up and chasing down long rebounds, he’s starting to cross one area for improvement off his list.