It may be just one game but the Suns looked good!

[dhsilv2]

He put up 24.9 PPG and 4.7 APG on 56% TS last season as a 21 year old. So no, it's not false. The guy already has four 40+ games and thirty-nine 30+ games, including a 70 point game, under his belt. He's gone unconscious scoring the ball plenty of times.

He may not have been as good as his raw stats suggested, but he was nowhere near as bad as his advanced metrics suggested, either. He's a great outlier example for advanced metrics.

None of this changes that scoring wasn't why booker looked great last night alone.

Was it playmaking? He's been doing that pretty well, too. His improvement as a playmaker went completely unnoticed last year and I saw plenty of Suns fans being mad about that being the case here on GB.

He just let the offense flow, made good decisions, and in general just was playing at what looked like a more mature level. Now I didn't grade his defense which I know is his real issue. Still he looked like a smart headsy guy last night and while he's had moments in the past, my statement that we'll see if he keeps it or (or something along those lines) remains the same. Everyone looks a bit smarter when the ball is falling after all.

[Hesh]

He just let the offense flow, made good decisions, and in general just was playing at what looked like a more mature level. Now I didn't grade his defense which I know is his real issue. Still he looked like a smart headsy guy last night and while he's had moments in the past, my statement that we'll see if he keeps it or (or something along those lines) remains the same. Everyone looks a bit smarter when the ball is falling after all.

it may have seemed that way because the suns of recent have never had any real "flow" or to be frank, any offense at all. lol

[dhsilv2]

He just let the offense flow, made good decisions, and in general just was playing at what looked like a more mature level. Now I didn't grade his defense which I know is his real issue. Still he looked like a smart headsy guy last night and while he's had moments in the past, my statement that we'll see if he keeps it or (or something along those lines) remains the same. Everyone looks a bit smarter when the ball is falling after all.

it may have seemed that way because the suns of recent have never had any real "flow" or to be frank, any offense at all. lol

or he didn't appear to be forcing shots which he does at times.

[SlowPaced]

He just let the offense flow, made good decisions, and in general just was playing at what looked like a more mature level. Now I didn't grade his defense which I know is his real issue. Still he looked like a smart headsy guy last night and while he's had moments in the past, my statement that we'll see if he keeps it or (or something along those lines) remains the same. Everyone looks a bit smarter when the ball is falling after all.

it may have seemed that way because the suns of recent have never had any real "flow" or to be frank, any offense at all. lol

or he didn't appear to be forcing shots which he does at times.

He was forcing shots because nobody on the team besides him and Warren could put the ball in the basket. They were atrocious when he was out.

[MrSparkle]

Well Mavs-Suns were the most interesting for me last night.

They still need a PG but the Suns are ready to start winning. They have a serious wing rotation — Warren has stepped up, Ariza wins wherever he goes, Booker hangs with Curry/Klay, Josh Jackson is a hell of a bench prospect... and Ayton is the real deal. His offense looks smoother, better than Embiid’s. His consistency and defense will be tested, but as far as offense goes, he’s quite a talent. But again, they don’t have a floor general. They should target Rozier, Dragic, Conley, Kemba or Rubio in trade or FA.

Mavs need another tank but I like their pieces. They need a quick guard in the next lottery to take ball-handling pressure off Doncic, cause he’ll be overwhelmed trying to create magic every night with his lack of speed.

[Raps2018Champs]

Ayton is the real **** deal. Congrats Suns fans, happy for you guys. NBA needs more pacific time teams to be exciting.

[MGB8]

Wow, people are really sleeping on G/F Josh Jackson because he started off slow last year, and Tatum looked better.

Jackson still looks like a very legit wing to me - a long term piece and potential star.

So with Booker-Jackson and Ayton, and a solid depth piece in TJ Warren, that's a nice core group. We'll see if Mikal Bridges adds anything - I was high on him going into the draft (floor of Danny Green type, ceiling if he developed more of a handle significantly higher) but he didn't look very good in pre-season - and the fit on the wing-heavy Suns is weird.

Will also see if Ellie Okobo has talent. But assuming both Bridges and Okobo aren't more then reserve types, Suns still have a nice future group to build on (and still need a point guard - but guys like Rozier, Tyus Jones and Milos T will be RFAs next year, with guys like Dinwiddie or lesser guys like Baldwin, TJ McConnell as UFA... not to mention bigger names like Kemba Walker, Goran Dragic [change in GM means reunion possible?] and Ricky Rubio)

[Hesh]

Wow, people are really sleeping on G/F Josh Jackson because he started off slow last year, and Tatum looked better.

Jackson still looks like a very legit wing to me - a long term piece and potential star.

So with Booker-Jackson and Ayton, and a solid depth piece in TJ Warren, that's a nice core group. We'll see if Mikal Bridges adds anything - I was high on him going into the draft (floor of Danny Green type, ceiling if he developed more of a handle significantly higher) but he didn't look very good in pre-season - and the fit on the wing-heavy Suns is weird.

I like JJ a lot, oozes with potential and just has that non-stop hustle. That being said, he still has a lot of improvements to make to even become an acceptable starter in this league. He's uncontrollable, great speed and athleticism but can't control his pace yet. Jumpshot might be irreparable. Decision making on offense is always questionable. Turnover prone.

[clyde21]

So what protection do the Mavs have on that 1st they sent to ATL?

Top 5

[Maze]

Booker was out of control amazing. But lets see if this was a fluke or not with him. Dallas has some upside but they're still not good.

Booker plays like that every other week.It's nothing new for him.

Hell, I think he once dropped 30 in a quarter against the Mavs.

Edit:

Watch on YouTube

That's from when he was 19.Back when it was obvious he should be

the star of the team despite the Suns trying to market Bledsoe & Brandon Knight

as such.

[Hesh]

Booker was out of control amazing. But lets see if this was a fluke or not with him. Dallas has some upside but they're still not good.

Booker plays like that every other week.It's nothing new for him.

He gets hot quite often, but his performance in the 4th quarter gave flashbacks of the 76ers game

Watch on YouTube

[Maze]

Booker was out of control amazing. But lets see if this was a fluke or not with him. Dallas has some upside but they're still not good.

A fluke for Booker? Hes done what he did tonight multiple times in the last few years. Always seems to cook Wesley Matthews especially though lol.

I'm not a huge suns follower, but we're talking about a guy who had a negative RPM last year and was a boarder line starter by RAPM numbers.

I only caught some of tonight's game and I didn't focus on his defense.

Booker however looked absolutely brilliant in his decision making which was more important to me in terms of him than shots going in. That is why I made my comments, though I was jaded by all those shots going in too I'm sure. But anyway context behind what I said/saw. Both good and well me admitting I'm not an expert on booker.

That's why I always trust my eyes over stats.I also watch how players respond to high pressure moments.

Booker has a killer instinct & seems to thrive in situations like that.If a guy like Andrew Wiggins had Booker's mentality,

he'd probably be the next Kobe Bryant.Booker had absolutely 0 help last year.Teams just focused their entire defense on him.

He's one of the highest unassisted guys in the league.Who was he supposed to feed off of, Dragan Bender & Marquese Chriss?

He's been in a fukked up situation his entire career in Phoenix.I think he's definitely a 1st option player because he's a triple

threat on offense(can post, hit the mid, range out to 35+ ft).Plus he's an excellent ISO player who can facilitate for his others.

[Maze]

He put up 24.9 PPG and 4.7 APG on 56% TS last season as a 21 year old. So no, it's not false. The guy already has four 40+ games and thirty-nine 30+ games, including a 70 point game, under his belt. He's gone unconscious scoring the ball plenty of times.

He may not have been as good as his raw stats suggested, but he was nowhere near as bad as his advanced metrics suggested, either. He's a great outlier example for advanced metrics.

None of this changes that scoring wasn't why booker looked great last night alone.

Was it playmaking? He's been doing that pretty well, too. His improvement as a playmaker went completely unnoticed last year and I saw plenty of Suns fans being mad about that being the case here on GB.

It's not just on this site.NBA fans in general mostly have a low opinion of Devin Booker.

Most of them don't even watch the guy or realized how he's been surrounded by lousy teammates.

They just point to some new age stat on go "He's not even better than Robert Covington!"

Or "I didn't realized he was that good at getting his shot off!" when he's one of the most prolific ISO

players in the league.You're right, tho.When it comes to "analytics"I can't think of a better outlier than

Devin Booker.

[dhsilv2]

it may have seemed that way because the suns of recent have never had any real "flow" or to be frank, any offense at all. lol

or he didn't appear to be forcing shots which he does at times.

He was forcing shots because nobody on the team besides him and Warren could put the ball in the basket. They were atrocious when he was out.

I think you're missing what I"m saying. The gap in great and good is often just subtle differences in decision making.

[dhsilv2]

Booker was out of control amazing. But lets see if this was a fluke or not with him. Dallas has some upside but they're still not good.

Booker plays like that every other week.It's nothing new for him.

Hell, I think he once dropped 30 in a quarter against the Mavs.

Edit:

Watch on YouTube

That's from when he was 19.Back when it was obvious he should be

the star of the team despite the Suns trying to market Bledsoe & Brandon Knight

as such.

Not relevant to why he was better last night than what is normally is. if you think a highlight video is going to explain why booker looked better last night or it was his norm then you're missing why he looked better. Everyone knows Booker can score. Everyone knows he's a great iso scorer. Nothing with that really matters. Consistent play requires a player to have a better feel for the game, read the defense, and often slow down certain parts of the game (unless they're manu). Booker looked like a mature player last night in that 4th. It's a subtle difference but it is a huge one for him reaching that next level.

[Kurosawa0]

One thing I do think you can take away is that all the people criticizing the Suns for maxing Booker were total idiots.

[Midnight_Suns]

they played the mavericks...

so many overreactions after 1 game... cant say im surprised

Lol do you just lurk realgm waiting for any opportunity to **** on the Suns/Booker? Get a hobby my dude.

Sent from my SM-N920V using RealGM mobile app

[rotty]

they played the mavericks...

so many overreactions after 1 game... cant say im surprised

Lol do you just lurk realgm waiting for any opportunity to **** on the Suns/Booker? Get a hobby my dude.

Sent from my SM-N920V using RealGM mobile app

No i am not hating, I am speaking of the overreactions for all teams after 1 game. Also the mavericks are a bottom western conference team.

I wish the suns good luck. they deserve a good team. just cant overreact over one game

[Duke4life831]

The positives:

Hopefully looking like they finally found a good coach
Jackson's jumper looks so much better
Having Ayton is huge for them offensively

The Negatives:
It was Dallas. Another rebuilding team
It is only one game

I definitely think PHX is going to take a nice step forward this year. But one game against Dallas doesnt really show you much about yourself.

[Wilber85]

they played the mavericks...

so many overreactions after 1 game... cant say im surprised

Lol do you just lurk realgm waiting for any opportunity to **** on the Suns/Booker? Get a hobby my dude.

Sent from my SM-N920V using RealGM mobile app

No i am not hating, I am speaking of the overreactions for all teams after 1 game. Also the mavericks are a bottom western conference team.

I wish the suns good luck. they deserve a good team. just cant overreact over one game

We can talk about the pros/cons of the play for that one game!

We need to build a wall on the north border!