(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Devin Booker is one of the NBA’s best one-on-one scorers, and he can get just about as hot as anyone else.
His Phoenix Suns underwent serious changes this past season after trading lots of their depth and draft capital for Kevin Durant, yet they ended up exiting in the second round of the playoffs despite being picked by some to reach the NBA Finals.
With both Durant and the recently departed Chris Paul suffering injuries down the stretch, it sometimes seemed as if Booker had to carry the Suns almost by himself.
But general manager James Jones says that Booker won’t have to carry as much of a burden this coming season.
“It’s not all on his shoulders, it’s not just him.”
Phoenix Suns GM James Jones on Devin Booker.
“It’s more the collective will lead us, but Devin, Kevin and Brad have to play exceptionally well for us to reach our goals.” #Suns
Full story here: https://t.co/Dla93TB3AY pic.twitter.com/7ysYsPEQjv
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) July 24, 2023
This fall, Booker will not only have Durant, still one of the game’s greatest players, on his side, but he will also be joined by guard Bradley Beal, a three-time All-Star.
Beal brings career averages of 22.1 points and 4.3 assists a game to Phoenix, and he will give his new team as much star power as any team in the league.
During the 2023 Western Conference semifinals versus the Denver Nuggets, Booker went into volcano mode and gave the Suns a chance to win the series.
He went for 47 points on a ridiculous 20-of-25 from the field in Game 3, then followed that performance up with 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting the next game.
The guard also had nine and 12 assists, respectively, in those two contests, as Paul was unable to play due to a groin injury, and the Suns won both contests, tying the series at two wins apiece before dropping the next two.
Now that Paul has relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, Booker will likely have to pick up more facilitating duties in addition to his duties as a primary scoring threat for a very top-heavy Phoenix team.
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