Phoenix Suns: What’s behind Devin Booker’s slow start?
Nagging injuries
It’s not just a lack of help or playmaking that’s hampered Devin Booker’s start to the season, however. Nagging injuries have also played a significant role.
Devin Booker is only shooting 38.9% since returning from his hamstring injury.
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) November 18, 2018
For starters, Booker missed all of training camp with a broken shooting hand and rushed back to make sure he was able to suit up for the Suns’ season opener ahead of schedule. The hand hasn’t been an issue, but a strained hamstring four games into the season kept him off the floor for three games and has limited his burst ever since.
No one’s making excuses for him, least of all Booker, who insists “it’s fine” and that playing through minor injuries is “just the NBA.” But it’s very clear he lacks the same burst that makes him such a deadly scorer, and he even admitted — unprompted — that he’s still not 100 percent after Phoenix’s loss to the Thunder Saturday night.
"“I’m a step slow right now, so getting everybody else involved is kind of my go-to right now,” he said."
Booker is still learning to trust his hamstring again, which explains his recent emphasis on facilitating since he’s been unable to create separation off the dribble when driving to the basket or looking for his shot.
His dedication to helping his team is admirable, and it’s true Phoenix needs him out there to have any shot at being competitive, but this stubbornness of playing through pain is also worrisome. This isn’t the first time he’s played through nagging injury when he probably should’ve rested, and it won’t be the last.
"“He doesn’t talk to me [about that],” Kokoskov said. “He’s never complained. He wants to be on the court, he wants to help his teammates. “This is a [situation where] you can feel it sometimes, but he didn’t say one word. He stayed on the court and this is another game, back-to-back, where he’s gotten double-digits in assists. So he’s playing team concept, he’s unselfish, trying to find his teammates. And attacking Paul George is not easy.”"
That’s where the sheer weight of this dysfunctional franchise comes into play.