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Phoenix Suns: What’s behind Devin Booker’s slow start?

By Gerald Bourguet

Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images /
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Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images /

Devin Booker hasn’t looked like himself and the 2018-19 season is already slipping away from the Phoenix Suns. What’s going on with the face of a failing franchise?

After signing a five-year, $158 million max contract over the summer, Devin Booker is not having the most reassuring start to the 2018-19 NBA campaign. Aside from the Phoenix Suns‘ obviously poor 3-12 record, the face of a failing franchise has similarly struggled.

Coming off a breakout third season in which he averaged 24.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game on .432/.383/.878 shooting splits, Book seemed poised to cement his place in the league as an undeniable superstar entering his age 22-season.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t exactly panned out through the team’s first 15 games, with Booker’s numbers looking more like the “empty stats on a bad team” variety that people (inaccurately) labeled him with last season.

Aside from a 19-point fourth quarter in the season-opening win over the Dallas Mavericks, a game-winner against the Memphis Grizzlies and a 38-point performance in an overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, Devin Booker really hasn’t been very good this year.

So far in 2018-19, Book’s scoring has dropped to 22.7 points per game on .425/.329/.848 shooting. His rebounding has dropped to 3.8 boards per game, he’s committing 4.5 turnovers a night (third-most in the NBA) and the Suns’ defense has been 5.7 points stingier per 100 possessions with him off the court.

To suggest Phoenix is a better basketball team without him is sheer lunacy, regardless of what the on/off numbers might indicate, but it’s very clear something isn’t right with Devin Booker at the moment.

There seem to be three main problems converging during this slow start:

  • The current state of the roster
  • Nagging injuries
  • The sheer weight of leading a dysfunctional franchise

Booker shouldn’t be let off the hook for his underwhelming start to the season, especially after earning the payday of a franchise star in the offseason, but ignoring the surrounding context wouldn’t be painting a fair picture either.

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