WeekapaugGroove wrote:ImNotMcDiSwear wrote:Keith_myath wrote:2 keys for me in this game:
1. Booker taking a back seat. Said it a few times now, but we play better when Booker plays his role and doesn't play to get his touches. Team ball makes it harder to predict for the defense.
To me, Booker taking a back seat means taking all available open threes. If defense closes out, then and only then go to work.
My view on how Booker (or any star player) should approach things is they have to read the flow of the game. When the O is cooking and others are hitting shots you step back and just take what comes. But that isn't always going to be the case, the O might bog down or the other team makes a run and a star can see that and know it's time for them to be a little selfish and take over for a stretch. It's a balancing act and each game is a little different.
It's also about the defensive strategy of the opponent. So far teams have packed the paint because Booker, Ayton and even Paul can beat you there. They have basically dared the suns to make 3s and as we saw on Tuesday the suns have a roster that can do that. Now if they keep doing that teams will stay home on shooters more and that's when Booker can cook some single coverage.
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It's easy to pack the paint with Booker because you know he's going to drive. Most games, that's all he wants to do, and he only starts shooting the 3 ball when all else has failed. Makes the drive less effective.
He needs to reverse that approach. Great shooters are always threatening the long ball. I'm not aware of any time or situation when it's appropriate for a defense to leave Curry, Trae or Lillard (eg) open from three. But most of the time, a defense can be pretty sure that if Booker catches the ball 28 feet from the basket, he'll pump fake and drive.
I'm just saying he needs to do what those other guys do and take that shot every time it's open because it's necessary to give him the breathing room he needs to make plays without turning it over all the GD time. Booker shooting the long long ball was one of my favorite things about the bubble. I don't want him to regress.