NBA Power Rankings: Week 3 brings forth the load-management debate … again
By Phil Watson
Last week: Beat Philadelphia 114-109, lost to Miami 124-108, beat Brooklyn 138-112
This week: Tuesday vs. Lakers, Thursday vs. Atlanta
OK, so the Phoenix Suns keep winning games and it’s starting to get almost freaky. This is a franchise, after all, that hasn’t had a winning season since 2013-14 and hasn’t even topped the 25-win mark since 2014-15. But here are the Suns, beating the 76ers and blowing out the Nets to improve to 6-3 already.
And Devin Booker seems well on his way to erasing the empty-stats, losing-team rep he’s carried around. He’s shooting a ridiculous 54.5 percent overall and 53.2 percent on 5.2 3-point attempts per game while also knocking down 92.9 percent at the line. Yes, it’s just nine games in, but a 50/50/90 would be something new.
Last week, Booker averaged 29.7 points, 5.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game, hitting 67.4 percent overall and going 9-for-13 from deep. Included in that was a season-high 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting in the win over Philadelphia on Monday.
The Suns can complete an early four-game sweep of the Pacific Division on Tuesday with a win over the Lakers, having already taken down the Kings, Clippers and Warriors already this season.
Phoenix at the top of the NBA Power Rankings. If you haven’t stocked up on non-perishable foods and bottled water, now might be a time to contemplate doing so.