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

2. Defense

The biggest obstacle to Booker’s ascendance to superstar status was always going to be his defense. He was often out of position, frequently burned for back cuts or simply taken off the dribble. For a player with his physical frame and high basketball I.Q., it often boiled down to effort.

Devin Booker doesn’t have a ton of lateral quickness on that end, but he has the tools to be passable. So far in 2017-18, he’s been exactly that, and it’s all thanks to a more dedicated focus on locking in.

"“I knew it was going to come with time,” Booker said after the Jazz win. “Obviously coming into the summer I knew defense, for me, is something I had to take seriously.”"

He’s not a lockdown defender by any stretch of the imagination, but Booker’s trying much harder on that end and in most cases, that’s been enough to get the job done. Here, he gets beat by Bogdan Bogdanovic thanks to Kosta Koufos‘ screen, but shows great resolve in getting around it, recovering on the ball-handler and forcing him to give the ball up:

Against a more established, veteran player, that’s probably a pull-up jumper or a runner through the lane, but last year, that’s the kind of play Booker would’ve taken off as soon as the screener made solid contact.

Defensive field goal percentage can be an untrustworthy stat, but it’s encouraging that opponents are only shooting 41.5 percent when guarded by Booker — 1.7 percent worse than they’d normally shoot on those shots, per NBA.com.

It’s not just on the ball where Booker is showing more resolve, as he’s consistently tracking his man off the ball as well. That’s no small feat on some of these plays, where his man is running around multiple screens and the Suns’ phenom sticks with it anyway:

This may seem like the sort of thing any capable defender would do, but keep in mind that for Booker, this kind of discipline is a new development.

On another play during Phoenix’s stunning win against the Washington Wizards on that second night of a back-to-back, Booker stays with Bradley Beal, denying him the ball and ultimately forcing the turnover:

Beal dropped 40 in that game, but not all of it came against Book and the improved stance and footwork is the key takeaway for such a young player who’s giving this whole “defense” thing a try for the first time:

Even in the Suns’ opening night massacre at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers, there were flashes that Booker was trying to establishe a renewed focus on the defensive side of the ball.

Here, he fights through two attempted screens from Jusuf Nurkic and stays in perfect position for the steal on Damian Lillard’s backdoor cut on the give-and-go:

"“In the years I’ve been here, I haven’t seen Devin this focused at the defensive end of the floor yet,” Triano said after the Jazz game. “I think he can be a very good defender and I think over the last few games he’s proved that.”"

Of course, there’s still the one rarely seen element of Devin Booker’s game that he’s always shown proficiency in: the chase-down block.

Against the Jazz, Booker lost his feel for Joe Ingles in transition for a second, but the way he turned the jets on to recover and ultimately send the shot attempt hurtling off the backboard was almost like he baited him into the chase-down block the whole way.

"“I’m a chase-down block artist,” Booker grinned after the game. “I may not be the best on the defensive end, but I have some chase-down blocks!”"

Surprisingly, the Suns have been 5.7 points per 100 possessions stingier with Booker on the floor this season.

They’ve been 1.4 points per 100 possessions worse with him out there since Jay Triano took over, but in any event, it’s not just the chase-down blocks where Booker is showing signs of life on the defensive end.

"“He’s chasing over screens, he’s in a stance, his work ethic at the defensive end has been great,” Triano said. “I was worried while he transitions into becoming a very good defensive player, his offensive game is going to go, but he was money down the stretch when we needed him.”"