Phx-Suns.Net

#7 Suns - Phoenix went 3-1 in a week that saw Devin Booker return to the court after a four-game absence. Booker averaged 22.5 points and 3.8 assists on 35 percent 3-point shooting, while Chris Paul continued his steady production with 19.8 points and six assists per game. It's clear the offense still isn't fully clicking, but the Suns defense has been tenacious enough to keep them in the win column. Frank Kaminsky has been a nice offensive spark off the bench, averaging 10.3 points in 18 minutes per game this week, while shooting 61.5 percent from the field.

#6 Suns - With Chris Paul and Devin Booker on the roster, one would think the Phoenix Suns would be extremely difficult to beat in close games. But that has not been the case. In 13 clutch games (three-point differential with three minutes left), the Suns are 6-7, and they are 0-3 in overtime, as well. Phoenix needs more of the magic it got against the Dallas Mavericks on this Booker game-winner. The Suns nearly let their poor play in clutch situations cost them against the Boston Celtics. They were up eight with less than two minutes left and let Boston cut the lead to three before closing it out. They came away with the win, but Sunday’s game should not have been as close as it was down the stretch. That said, the Suns went 3-1 last week and deserve to move up a few spots in the rankings.

#8 Suns - In his first game back from a four-game absence, Devin Booker drained the game-winning 3-pointer off a pretty play design from Monty Williams, expert in pretty play designs. Interestingly, with Chris Paul’s move to Phoenix, Booker has seen only a minimal increase (from 24% to 25%) in the percentage of his jump shots that have come off the catch and no increase in the percentage of his buckets that have been assisted (amazingly 45.9% in each of the last two seasons).

Booker has seen drops in both effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage from career-best marks last season, because he hasn’t been getting to the basket or to the free throw line as much. As a team, the Suns rank 29th in both the percentage of their shots that have come in the restricted area (23%) and free throw rate (21.2 attempts per 100 shots from the field), having seen the league biggest drop from last season in the former (33%, 13th) and its second biggest drop in the latter (27.1, eighth). The lack of layups and free throws wasn’t much of an issue when the Suns ranked in the top 10 offensively a few weeks ago and they’ve still won five of their last six games with their top-five defense. But Mikal Bridges has cooled off from 3-point range (6-for-36 over the last eight games) and they certainly have guys — Booker and Deandre Ayton (four free throw attempts in the last four games) — who could be getting to the cup and to the line more than they have.

#7 Suns - On Sunday, the Celtics frequently pressured or trapped Chris Paul and Devin Booker to force the ball elsewhere. But the Suns won 100-91 thanks to Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson combining for 36 points. “If teams want to play junk defenses against me and Chris and get the ball out of our hands, [Bridges and Cam Johnson] can make them pay,” Booker said after the game. This is probably the play that was on Booker’s mind:

Boston trapped Booker, and then Bridges and Johnson took care of business. Bridges drove then passed the ball against Kemba Walker’s momentum, forcing a defensive rotation that gave Johnson time to unleash a 3. Plays like this one have the Suns firmly in the West playoffs, because this roster is deep with talent beyond Booker and CP3.

#7 Suns - The preseason prediction: Devin Booker makes All-NBA.

The update: This is a tough one to project so far. We haven’t really seen the supernova version of Booker for the Suns. They also haven’t really needed him to be most nights. Booker has been good. He’s been a solid star. But All-NBA typically requires a truck load of wins or some ridiculous performances. The Suns are winning but not dominant. Booker has been good but not ridiculous. He may not be headed for All-NBA just yet, but if the Suns keep having success throughout the season, he’ll be more likely to get that recognition.

Why this ranking? Loss to New Orleans was tough, but they had a great 3-1 week overall. The Suns survived four games (2-2) without Booker and continue to win with him

ShelC wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 08, 2021 5:05 pm

I hate that the Spurs are still in that top 10 range of these rankings. Not that the rankings mean anything, but more that the Spurs just never go away.

Split T wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 08, 2021 5:20 pm

The suns have the 6th best record in the nba, so hard to argue we don’t deserve a power ranking in that 6-8 range...just a ton of parity right now early in the season.

Split T wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:00 pm

Are the Spurs gonna make the playoffs? They’re right behind us at 14-10 in the 5th seed. I kinda like their team. Just a bunch of wings and Derozan operating as an efficient scoring point forward. I don’t even find myself having any ill will towards them anymore. Guess the wounds from 2004-2010 have healed.

Cap wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:47 am

How did the refs call it?