Devin Booker Is Proving He’s A Force To Be Reckoned With

There’s really no other way to say it — Devin Booker is becoming a complete offensive player right in front of our eyes.

It only took 35 games of playoff experience for him to blossom into this caliber of a superstar, fine-tuning his tendencies along the way and expertly dissecting every defense known to man.

The physical tools are one thing. Booker continues to leverage his strength and size to create advantages for himself that allows him to mirror his idol, Kobe Bryant, in certain areas. In terms of discovering the perfect combination of footwork, balance, and change-of-pace on his downhill attacks, he’s already struck gold. There is no better scorer at his position — certainly not one that can diversify his scoring and cause a lot of stress for opposing coaches.

While the main story of Game 3 between the Phoenix Suns and LA Clippers was the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who is sidelined with a right knee sprain, the primary takeaway from the Suns’ victory should be Booker’s brilliance as a player that solves equations on the fly.

After the Clippers stole Game 1 with dynamite Leonard performance and crucial defensive stops by Westbrook in the clutch, the Suns responded with the most electric mid-range shooting output the league had ever seen. That’s not hyperbole – Phoenix shot 21-of-29 on two-pointers outside of the paint in Game 2, a 72.4% clip that left you wondering if the Suns could win a championship with a shot profile from the mid-2000s.

Now, with Leonard’s status up in the air, it may not matter.

Without a doubt, the Clippers were not given a fair shake in this series because of the availability issues and, honestly, just terrible luck with Leonard and Paul George’s knee injuries. But if there’s one thing we know about Ty Lue’s Clippers, it’s that being down two All-NBA wings never stopped them from scratching, clawing, and trying to out-grit opponents in games they aren’t favored to win.

LA still had an aggressive defense on Thursday with more youth on the floor, and they already showed they were capable of disrupting the Suns’ offensive flow with assistant coach Dan Craig leading a shrewd defense that never lets you get comfortable in the halfcourt.

However, what makes top-tier talent so special is the ability to render any defense useless when it’s winning time. Booker had (yet another) moment of rising to that occasion on Thursday night.

Booker registered 45 points on greater than 70% true shooting in Game 3, becoming just the 12th player in NBA history to hit that combination in at least two playoff games. He converted eight of his nine (!) rim attempts, shot 4-of-8 in the floater range, 3-of-5 on mid-range jumpers, and 3-of-7 from three. It was the most versatile offensive attack we’ve seen from Booker in a postseason game.

“All-time great performance,” Durant said of his teammate’s supreme shotmaking. “In the playoffs like that, on the road, Game 3, 45 points with that efficiency. I expect stuff like that from him at this point of his career. But he set the tone. Getting to the rim, making plays for others, just controlling the whole game.”

Durant has repeatedly mentioned Booker’s poise as one of his top traits and it appeared once again in the Suns’ first road game of this series. After the Game 1 letdown, Phoenix was determined to reclaim homecourt advantage and refused to take the Clippers lightly in Game 3.

Early in the afternoon when Leonard was officially ruled out, Torrey Craig texted the Suns’ group chat saying, “It’s going to be a dog fight tonight.” Every team around the league is aware of how those games can become a trap for an overconfident group that tries to downplay the competition.

But the Suns are not messing around. Knowing they were in for a war, it was only fitting their franchise leader took control and guided them through the trenches.

Booker was on the court for all but three minutes of rest, and somehow never looked exhausted late in the fourth quarter. If Steph Curry is the gold standard for stamina, Booker is knocking on the door and doesn’t get enough credit for how intense he plays on both ends of the floor.

“I told him after Game 1, he was the thermostat for the team,” Williams said of Booker. “He set the tone and temperature for 48 minutes. For him to play that many minutes (45) — and we needed it — and have that kind of production, speaks to his ability to not just physically grind it out, but mentally grind it out.”

Of course, the Clippers’ defensive strategy was responsible for making Booker score in a variety of ways. Leading a team without its two superstar wings, Ty Lue had to get creative and throw the kitchen sink at Phoenix’s main actions.

With Booker often bringing up the ball and flowing directly into their sets, the Clippers had tough choices to make defensively. They tried trapping him. They went back to drop coverage with the bigs stepping up higher at the level of the screen. They went to a ‘show-and-recover’ technique. Sometimes, they switched. Just to make the Suns feel uncomfortable, Lue would yell out different coverages after a handful of possessions.

No matter what they did, Booker had answers. If there was a way to exploit a weak defender, he would find it. Every time the Clippers would trap, he’d hit the release valve and trust his teammates to make plays in those 4-on-3 scenarios.

Unless … he knew there was a gap available for him to split the trap and put pressure on the interior:

Arguably nobody in the league has a smoother Euro-step that deceives opponents with his incredible use of the gather step.

Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, the Suns tried picking on Bones Hyland and wanted to involve him in the action. To counter, the Clippers went to their ‘show’ coverage, meaning Hyland would come up to ‘tag’ Booker before retreating back to his man. Booker would simply take advantage of the speed difference between him and Gordon. Watch how the subtle hesitation allows Booker to get a clear first step on Gordon, and he easily turns the corner:

The funny thing is, because of the Suns’ personnel, Booker can ease himself into games by letting the offense come to him. He doesn’t need to be the initiator every time. On some possessions in the first quarter, he would simply be a spacer for Paul and Durant.

The next play below is a perfect example of Booker knowing the Clippers are about to double CP3 (after Mason Plumlee switched onto him), and he’s waiting to attack from the second side. By cutting ferociously and giving Paul the passing angle, he gets two feet in the paint and uses that exquisite balance and body control to finish over Terance Mann:

From a physical standpoint, this is the most explosive and aggressive Booker has looked since entering the league. This next possession is just a straight line-drive against Mann, with the floor spaced around him. He takes Mann all the way to the restricted area and finishes despite the foul:

Mix in the laughably difficult shotmaking with limited airspace, and you get a magical offensive night:

How’s this for a crazy stat? Booker is now 31-of-46 against “tight” or “very tight” coverage in this series (0-4 feet of space). That’s 67.4% versus some of the most aggressive defense he’s faced.

To remain that efficient without getting an extended breather is pretty absurd. But, as Durant detailed after Game 3, Booker doesn’t ever want to sit.

“He just loves to play the game, so he doesn’t want to come out,” Durant said. “Every possession matters to him. And he wants to leave his mark on the game. So if you throw all of that in the pot, you get a great performance like that. We all rallied around him, and we’ll continue to rally around him and try to provide as much space and help for him as he needs.”

Booker’s energy level was off the charts in Game 3 and it was fascinating to see him read the defense in real time, anticipate where the gaps would be, and fire back every time the Clippers made a little run. His poise as a decision-maker is why Williams couldn’t afford to pull him.

“I don’t want to have to play him that many minutes every night, but I felt like tonight we needed it,” Williams said. “We’ll rest up tomorrow, but his ability to not just shoot the ball, but get to the basket and take the contact is where I’ve seen him grow the last two years. He’s getting all the way to the rim, guys are hitting him, and he’s still finishing plays.”

In the first three games of this series, Booker is averaging 36.3 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.7 steals. His shooting splits are scintillating with 70 shot attempts in three games: 66% on two-pointers, 41.2% from three, and 85.7% at the foul line.

Just flat-out silly production from a guy Durant labeled an “oversized point guard” after Game 2. How he’s able to toggle between scoring and playmaking duties — hunting for his own opportunities in single coverage and then making defenses pay for loading up on the strong side or overhelping — is a skill that takes time to develop. Sometimes it takes nearly a decade worth of reps to fully master. It also requires an offensive system that knows the value the spacing, as well as other scoring threats around you to occupy some of the defensive attention.

As the on-court chemistry continues to build for the Durant-Booker-Paul trio, the Suns have been focused on simplifying their actions. For the most part, that comes down to reading the coverages, recognizing who can create the biggest advantage, feeding them the ball, and playing off one another.

Because of the attention Durant draws on the perimeter, particularly when he’s a receiving a quick pindown early in the shot clock, Booker has found avenues into the paint without much resistance:

Booker had 17 drives into the paint in Game 3, up from his 12.8 per game during the regular season. And when he did attack the paint, he did it with a purpose. Although the Suns appreciate what Booker can provide as an initiator and drive-and-kick talent, his downhill scoring prowess is what they need in this particular series. He shot the ball on 15 of those 17 drives, converting 10 of them (66.7% efficiency).

With Lue knowing his Clippers were going to need more speed and shooting on their side in Game 3, he experimented with a super small lineup consisting of five guards. He trotted out a lineup featuring Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Norm Powell, Bones Hyland, and Terance Mann for roughly nine minutes in the second half, and the Clippers actually outscored Phoenix by eight points in that stretch.

But it wasn’t a big enough advantage as it left the restricted area largely unguarded and invited the Suns to get clean looks in the paint.

“Yeah, when they go small, it takes away the rim protection,” Booker said after the game. “Just trying to exploit that and get to the rim. You know, I missed a layup, and I’m telling Deandre to clean it up. That means someone came to help, and I missed a layup, so you should feast.”

Game 3 was the total offensive package for Booker and the Suns, including some highly favorable calls that swung in their direction. The whistle was indeed strange all night long, and it led to 46 free throw opportunities for Phoenix — 21 more than the Clippers in a game that was decided by five points.

But in terms of their approach, what stuck out was the intentionality of the Suns. They are done wasting time in the halfcourt figuring out what they want to do. Led by Booker, they are quicker with their cuts, better with their screens, and more direct with who they want to target in the pick-and-roll.

The Suns are also aware of the benefit of playing faster. By ramping up their physicality on defense and forcing more turnovers, they are creating easier shots to make up for their mid-range heavy diet.

So far in the playoffs, 16.5% of Phoenix’s possessions have started in transition. That would’ve been a top-five mark during the regular season, where the Suns only ranked 28th with a 13.6% rate:

“When we get stops and get out and run, that’s the other place where (Booker) has been really dynamic,” Williams said. “Once you show him a crack or an alley, he’s going to take it.”

At 26 years old, Booker is approaching the prime of his career. Eight years after being drafted and five head coaches later, he’s evolved into an All-NBA caliber guard that continues adding new elements to his game. He never stops refining his skill-set and always comes back the following year with offensive counters he didn’t have before.

Booker said after Game 3 that he expects the Clippers to adjust once again, trying to take him away from most of the actions. If that rings true, it will be Durant’s turn to step in and take advantage of the geometry problem the Clippers will have — you can’t load up on two superstars at the same time.

This series is proving to be a great learning experience for Booker and the Suns as they navigate through many defensive looks, just trying to pinpoint what works best. If there was a solution to the lack of chemistry they had with Durant going into the playoffs, this two-week stretch could be the perfect medicine.