Booker Discussion, news and highlights

[bwgood77]

Your statements age just flat out ignorant.

I think top 20 is fairly reasonable given his lack of all NBA (and not even close in voting particularly behind a number of other guys) combined with not getting chosen initially for all star games.

But he is on an ascension to be in top 15 soon. I think in a realgm poll at the beginning of the year he was 15th and Paul was 14th, and that's on the GB.

However, he dropped a bit this year in his #s and impact..of course I'm not including the playoffs where he's had some phenomenal games and a number of subpar shooting games.

I don't think it's a knock on him to call him a top 20 player but maybe not quite top 15. That's still damn good in a league with 30 teams and a bunch of super stars, including 4 or 5 that will probably end up in the top 15 or 20 ever players.

I don't think he's dropped it all in his impact. His numbers are down slightly because he has better teammates which he trusts and can therefore share the ball more than he had in the past. For example, his assists were down because he plays off the ball more with Paul in the line-up. I put him easily in the top 15 players in the league. I don't care at all about those silly advanced stats that people like to quote. Don't come back with the refrain that I don't understand them. I do understand them, but I find them pretty useless for the most part.

More importantly, he's not a "low tier talent" as described by SaintEstacion. His statements and judgment are just illogical and ignorant. And, I stand by that judgment.

I was confused by the "low tier" part but when he still said top 20 I agreed, so I guess I figured maybe he meant "low tier superstar" but what constitutes a superstar is different for many. Some might say the only ones are LeBron, Curry, Durant, Harden and Doncic or something. Those that get ridiculous numbers of fan votes for all star games and everyone has heard about.

Anyway, he's a Phx superstar. I was mainly talking, in regards to Booker, that his efficiency dropped a lot. He scored just as much. With better teammates and more threats, theoretically the efficiency should go up. He did improve quite a bit on defense though.

Even Booker kind of snapped back at a media person who suggested he was playing better this season than last. Booker responded with "Did you watch me last season?" and then the guy said "Yes" and Book said "Never mind".

And overall I think he learned a lot this season. Anyway, it's just different opinions and I don't imagine too far off. And I'm not surprised some Suns fans put him in top 15..he's pretty close. But he's never been the best player on a winning team before Paul. Maybe he surpasses Paul in the next few years (in their current play).

[saintEscaton]

Your statements age just flat out ignorant.

I think top 20 is fairly reasonable given his lack of all NBA (and not even close in voting particularly behind a number of other guys) combined with not getting chosen initially for all star games.

But he is on an ascension to be in top 15 soon. I think in a realgm poll at the beginning of the year he was 15th and Paul was 14th, and that's on the GB.

However, he dropped a bit this year in his #s and impact..of course I'm not including the playoffs where he's had some phenomenal games and a number of subpar shooting games.

I don't think it's a knock on him to call him a top 20 player but maybe not quite top 15. That's still damn good in a league with 30 teams and a bunch of super stars, including 4 or 5 that will probably end up in the top 15 or 20 ever players.

I don't think he's dropped it all in his impact. His numbers are down slightly because he has better teammates which he trusts and can therefore share the ball more than he had in the past. For example, his assists were down because he plays off the ball more with Paul in the line-up. I put him easily in the top 15 players in the league. I don't care at all about those silly advanced stats that people like to quote. Don't come back with the refrain that I don't understand them. I do understand them, but I find them pretty useless for the most part.

More importantly, he's not a "low tier talent" as described by SaintEstacion. His statements and judgment are just illogical and ignorant. And, I stand by that judgment.

Booker was always and remains a low tier talent. There's a reason he was drafted only 13th overall and was an afterthought in his draft class. He greatly outperformed his draft position and I'm happy for him that he did, but he is right now a homeless man's Kobe without the explosive athleticism, defensive instincts/All-NBA defense getting obliterated off the ball and a sporadic killer instinct that comes and goes. He is a B tier talent for me but still has so much room to grow and is still a baby in NBA age. Is he even decisively better than Bradley Beal or Donovan Mitchell right now? He probably is but barely and can lay claim to the accolade of second best SG in the league behind Harden by a huge margin

[saintEscaton]

Ayton is more valuable to me and will overtake Booker soon. Booker is a perennial All-Star, great second or third offensive option and secondary initiator/playmaker of an offense who can score on a high volume on decent efficiency and contend for a scoring title but you just can't build a team around him. There's a reason our teams were historically awful and cellar dwellars with him doing everything as the number 1 option and he needed the dynamism and veteran savy of CP3 to get the playoffs and the Finals. We still need that franchise player. Will it be the young PG who replaces CP3 or another Wing or Power Forward?

[JDLAW]

I think top 20 is fairly reasonable given his lack of all NBA (and not even close in voting particularly behind a number of other guys) combined with not getting chosen initially for all star games.

But he is on an ascension to be in top 15 soon. I think in a realgm poll at the beginning of the year he was 15th and Paul was 14th, and that's on the GB.

However, he dropped a bit this year in his #s and impact..of course I'm not including the playoffs where he's had some phenomenal games and a number of subpar shooting games.

I don't think it's a knock on him to call him a top 20 player but maybe not quite top 15. That's still damn good in a league with 30 teams and a bunch of super stars, including 4 or 5 that will probably end up in the top 15 or 20 ever players.

I don't think he's dropped it all in his impact. His numbers are down slightly because he has better teammates which he trusts and can therefore share the ball more than he had in the past. For example, his assists were down because he plays off the ball more with Paul in the line-up. I put him easily in the top 15 players in the league. I don't care at all about those silly advanced stats that people like to quote. Don't come back with the refrain that I don't understand them. I do understand them, but I find them pretty useless for the most part.

More importantly, he's not a "low tier talent" as described by SaintEstacion. His statements and judgment are just illogical and ignorant. And, I stand by that judgment.

Booker was always and remains a low tier talent. There's a reason he was drafted only 13th overall and was an afterthought in his draft class. He greatly outperformed his draft position and I'm happy for him that he did, but he is right now a homeless man's Kobe without the explosive athleticism, defensive instincts/All-NBA defense getting obliterated off the ball and a sporadic killer instinct that comes and goes. He is a B tier talent for me but still has so much room to grow and is still a baby in NBA age. Is he even decisively better than Bradley Beal or Donovan Mitchell right now? He probably is but barely and can lay claim to the accolade of second best SG in the league behind Harden by a huge margin

No point debating with you. You're just wrong on many levels.

[cberry78]

I think top 20 is fairly reasonable given his lack of all NBA (and not even close in voting particularly behind a number of other guys) combined with not getting chosen initially for all star games.

But he is on an ascension to be in top 15 soon. I think in a realgm poll at the beginning of the year he was 15th and Paul was 14th, and that's on the GB.

However, he dropped a bit this year in his #s and impact..of course I'm not including the playoffs where he's had some phenomenal games and a number of subpar shooting games.

I don't think it's a knock on him to call him a top 20 player but maybe not quite top 15. That's still damn good in a league with 30 teams and a bunch of super stars, including 4 or 5 that will probably end up in the top 15 or 20 ever players.

I don't think he's dropped it all in his impact. His numbers are down slightly because he has better teammates which he trusts and can therefore share the ball more than he had in the past. For example, his assists were down because he plays off the ball more with Paul in the line-up. I put him easily in the top 15 players in the league. I don't care at all about those silly advanced stats that people like to quote. Don't come back with the refrain that I don't understand them. I do understand them, but I find them pretty useless for the most part.

More importantly, he's not a "low tier talent" as described by SaintEstacion. His statements and judgment are just illogical and ignorant. And, I stand by that judgment.

Booker was always and remains a low tier talent. There's a reason he was drafted only 13th overall and was an afterthought in his draft class. He greatly outperformed his draft position and I'm happy for him that he did, but he is right now a homeless man's Kobe without the explosive athleticism, defensive instincts/All-NBA defense getting obliterated off the ball and a sporadic killer instinct that comes and goes. He is a B tier talent for me but still has so much room to grow and is still a baby in NBA age. Is he even decisively better than Bradley Beal or Donovan Mitchell right now? He probably is but barely and can lay claim to the accolade of second best SG in the league behind Harden by a huge margin

Booker, coming out of high school was ranked anywhere between #15 and #30 in the nation, after 2 minutes of internet searching. In searching the 2015 Mock Drafts, he was consistently viewed as a top 10 talent, as high as #5 in one draft, and only one draft had him slotted lower than #13, and that was a single mock draft done the day of the lottery. Every single draft analysis done since then has Book as the top pick in any sort of redraft of the 2015 draft.

Stop making things up, being a fake Suns fan, or trolling, whichever you consider it to be.

[bwgood77]

I don't think he's dropped it all in his impact. His numbers are down slightly because he has better teammates which he trusts and can therefore share the ball more than he had in the past. For example, his assists were down because he plays off the ball more with Paul in the line-up. I put him easily in the top 15 players in the league. I don't care at all about those silly advanced stats that people like to quote. Don't come back with the refrain that I don't understand them. I do understand them, but I find them pretty useless for the most part.

More importantly, he's not a "low tier talent" as described by SaintEstacion. His statements and judgment are just illogical and ignorant. And, I stand by that judgment.

Booker was always and remains a low tier talent. There's a reason he was drafted only 13th overall and was an afterthought in his draft class. He greatly outperformed his draft position and I'm happy for him that he did, but he is right now a homeless man's Kobe without the explosive athleticism, defensive instincts/All-NBA defense getting obliterated off the ball and a sporadic killer instinct that comes and goes. He is a B tier talent for me but still has so much room to grow and is still a baby in NBA age. Is he even decisively better than Bradley Beal or Donovan Mitchell right now? He probably is but barely and can lay claim to the accolade of second best SG in the league behind Harden by a huge margin

Booker, coming out of high school was ranked anywhere between #15 and #30 in the nation, after 2 minutes of internet searching. In searching the 2015 Mock Drafts, he was consistently viewed as a top 10 talent, as high as #5 in one draft, and only one draft had him slotted lower than #13, and that was a single mock draft done the day of the lottery. Every single draft analysis done since then has Book as the top pick in any sort of redraft of the 2015 draft.

Stop making things up, being a fake Suns fan, or trolling, whichever you consider it to be.

I don't see it as that big of deal. If he was ranked 15th-30th and went 13th that was good. I don't think in mocks he was picked significantly higher or anything.

He also said he was better than Beal and Mitchell, and is the 2nd best SG in the NBA which some would disagree with. Many probably say he is on par with Beal...very similar, on a better team...and then Mitchell is just different, better at some things (3pt shooting overall this past year and playoffs. Mitchell shot 43.4% on like 11 3pta per game in the playoffs and Book 35.3% so far on about 6. Even with more 3pta, Mitchell had better overall fg% and scored over 32 a game to Book's 27. He also averaged 5.5 ast and 2.8 to per game to Book's 4.9 and 3.8. Then there is defense and overall consistency, so Mitchell really performs in the playoffs and is the #1 guy for them. During the season he was better at the same things. Book is better at other things.

Anyway, saintEscaton is still saying he's ahead of Beal and Mitchell and just behind Harden, and has gotten there after being 13th in one draft class. Seems more a compliment to be, though I don't know why with such compliments "low tier talent" keeps being used...that doesn't seem right to me given what is said afterwards.

As far as Kobe goes, Book is more efficient offensively in the regular season than Kobe ever was. But the defense and athleticism is obviously a lot different. It's only Book's first playoffs, so the inconsistencies are to be expected and most all players have or are inconsistent anyway.

I think of Harden as a PG really anyway...even Kyrie has said so, so in that respect you'd probably have to put those 4 pgs (Kyrie and the other PGs in some kind of tier)..Kyrie has the best #s so maybe him first then the others in some order.

But I don't think this thread he started on the GB that he is asking about here is really knocking him much at all, but rather complimenting him. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2101508#p92365604

[suns12345]

Booker was always and remains a low tier talent. There's a reason he was drafted only 13th overall and was an afterthought in his draft class. He greatly outperformed his draft position and I'm happy for him that he did, but he is right now a homeless man's Kobe without the explosive athleticism, defensive instincts/All-NBA defense getting obliterated off the ball and a sporadic killer instinct that comes and goes. He is a B tier talent for me but still has so much room to grow and is still a baby in NBA age. Is he even decisively better than Bradley Beal or Donovan Mitchell right now? He probably is but barely and can lay claim to the accolade of second best SG in the league behind Harden by a huge margin

Booker, coming out of high school was ranked anywhere between #15 and #30 in the nation, after 2 minutes of internet searching. In searching the 2015 Mock Drafts, he was consistently viewed as a top 10 talent, as high as #5 in one draft, and only one draft had him slotted lower than #13, and that was a single mock draft done the day of the lottery. Every single draft analysis done since then has Book as the top pick in any sort of redraft of the 2015 draft.

Stop making things up, being a fake Suns fan, or trolling, whichever you consider it to be.

I don't see it as that big of deal. If he was ranked 15th-30th and went 13th that was good. I don't think in mocks he was picked significantly higher or anything.

He also said he was better than Beal and Mitchell, and is the 2nd best SG in the NBA which some would disagree with. Many probably say he is on par with Beal...very similar, on a better team...and then Mitchell is just different, better at some things (3pt shooting overall this past year and playoffs. Mitchell shot 43.4% on like 11 3pta per game in the playoffs and Book 35.3% so far on about 6. Even with more 3pta, Mitchell had better overall fg% and scored over 32 a game to Book's 27. He also averaged 5.5 ast and 2.8 to per game to Book's 4.9 and 3.8. Then there is defense and overall consistency, so Mitchell really performs in the playoffs and is the #1 guy for them. During the season he was better at the same things. Book is better at other things.

Anyway, saintEscaton is still saying he's ahead of Beal and Mitchell and just behind Harden, and has gotten there after being 13th in one draft class. Seems more a compliment to be, though I don't know why with such compliments "low tier talent" keeps being used...that doesn't seem right to me given what is said afterwards.

As far as Kobe goes, Book is more efficient offensively in the regular season than Kobe ever was. But the defense and athleticism is obviously a lot different. It's only Book's first playoffs, so the inconsistencies are to be expected and most all players have or are inconsistent anyway.

I think of Harden as a PG really anyway...even Kyrie has said so, so in that respect you'd probably have to put those 4 pgs (Kyrie and the other PGs in some kind of tier)..Kyrie has the best #s so maybe him first then the others in some order.

But I don't think this thread he started on the GB that he is asking about here is really knocking him much at all, but rather complimenting him. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2101508#p92365604

Dragan Bender went #4 overall and therefore is a high tier talent.

Wish we had him in our starting lineup for this playoff run - we'd win for sure.

[cberry78]

Booker, coming out of high school was ranked anywhere between #15 and #30 in the nation, after 2 minutes of internet searching. In searching the 2015 Mock Drafts, he was consistently viewed as a top 10 talent, as high as #5 in one draft, and only one draft had him slotted lower than #13, and that was a single mock draft done the day of the lottery. Every single draft analysis done since then has Book as the top pick in any sort of redraft of the 2015 draft.

Stop making things up, being a fake Suns fan, or trolling, whichever you consider it to be.

I don't see it as that big of deal. If he was ranked 15th-30th and went 13th that was good. I don't think in mocks he was picked significantly higher or anything.

He also said he was better than Beal and Mitchell, and is the 2nd best SG in the NBA which some would disagree with. Many probably say he is on par with Beal...very similar, on a better team...and then Mitchell is just different, better at some things (3pt shooting overall this past year and playoffs. Mitchell shot 43.4% on like 11 3pta per game in the playoffs and Book 35.3% so far on about 6. Even with more 3pta, Mitchell had better overall fg% and scored over 32 a game to Book's 27. He also averaged 5.5 ast and 2.8 to per game to Book's 4.9 and 3.8. Then there is defense and overall consistency, so Mitchell really performs in the playoffs and is the #1 guy for them. During the season he was better at the same things. Book is better at other things.

Anyway, saintEscaton is still saying he's ahead of Beal and Mitchell and just behind Harden, and has gotten there after being 13th in one draft class. Seems more a compliment to be, though I don't know why with such compliments "low tier talent" keeps being used...that doesn't seem right to me given what is said afterwards.

As far as Kobe goes, Book is more efficient offensively in the regular season than Kobe ever was. But the defense and athleticism is obviously a lot different. It's only Book's first playoffs, so the inconsistencies are to be expected and most all players have or are inconsistent anyway.

I think of Harden as a PG really anyway...even Kyrie has said so, so in that respect you'd probably have to put those 4 pgs (Kyrie and the other PGs in some kind of tier)..Kyrie has the best #s so maybe him first then the others in some order.

But I don't think this thread he started on the GB that he is asking about here is really knocking him much at all, but rather complimenting him. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2101508#p92365604

Dragan Bender went #4 overall and therefore is a high tier talent.

Wish we had him in our starting lineup for this playoff run - we'd win for sure.

Kendall Marshall was also a #13 pick, therefore he's on the same level as Book.

[bwgood77]

I don't see it as that big of deal. If he was ranked 15th-30th and went 13th that was good. I don't think in mocks he was picked significantly higher or anything.

He also said he was better than Beal and Mitchell, and is the 2nd best SG in the NBA which some would disagree with. Many probably say he is on par with Beal...very similar, on a better team...and then Mitchell is just different, better at some things (3pt shooting overall this past year and playoffs. Mitchell shot 43.4% on like 11 3pta per game in the playoffs and Book 35.3% so far on about 6. Even with more 3pta, Mitchell had better overall fg% and scored over 32 a game to Book's 27. He also averaged 5.5 ast and 2.8 to per game to Book's 4.9 and 3.8. Then there is defense and overall consistency, so Mitchell really performs in the playoffs and is the #1 guy for them. During the season he was better at the same things. Book is better at other things.

Anyway, saintEscaton is still saying he's ahead of Beal and Mitchell and just behind Harden, and has gotten there after being 13th in one draft class. Seems more a compliment to be, though I don't know why with such compliments "low tier talent" keeps being used...that doesn't seem right to me given what is said afterwards.

As far as Kobe goes, Book is more efficient offensively in the regular season than Kobe ever was. But the defense and athleticism is obviously a lot different. It's only Book's first playoffs, so the inconsistencies are to be expected and most all players have or are inconsistent anyway.

I think of Harden as a PG really anyway...even Kyrie has said so, so in that respect you'd probably have to put those 4 pgs (Kyrie and the other PGs in some kind of tier)..Kyrie has the best #s so maybe him first then the others in some order.

But I don't think this thread he started on the GB that he is asking about here is really knocking him much at all, but rather complimenting him. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2101508#p92365604

Dragan Bender went #4 overall and therefore is a high tier talent.

Wish we had him in our starting lineup for this playoff run - we'd win for sure.

Kendall Marshall was also a #13 pick, therefore he's on the same level as Book.

Nash too...or I guess 15. The point was he wasn't looked at the talent he has come to be and drastically outperformed expectations, which is great.

[cberry78]

https://arizonasports.com/story/2721392/lets-give-nod-devin-bookers-defense-during-suns-playoff-run/

[bwgood77]

https://arizonasports.com/story/2721392/lets-give-nod-devin-bookers-defense-during-suns-playoff-run/

He has improved a ton especially 1 on 1, though those guys have been either really cold or really hot all postseason. It's kind of like giving a defender on Crowder credit for his cold streaks.

But he is almost a neutral defender overall including help and team defense compared to being one of worst in NBA last year and before, so that is a major improvement and definitely is great.

[Saberestar]

https://arizonasports.com/story/2721392/lets-give-nod-devin-bookers-defense-during-suns-playoff-run/

“He’s not like a lot of these guys who can only score. He defends, he understands defensive concepts at a high level, he doesn’t back down from a matchup. We put a lot on him defensively. There’s games where Book is guarding a point guard, he’s guarding the primary ball-handler, and that’s a lot."

“His conditioning is about as good as I’ve seen from a player I’ve been around. He’s one of those guys who doesn’t get tired. … he doesn’t get enough credit for defense he displays every game.”

“Just preparation, taking care of your body. There’s a whole list of it,” Booker said after the Game 2 win against Milwaukee. “But I think the adrenaline and me and Mikal, we’re some young guys, we’re young and getting it and trying to get after it. So, I don’t feel tired, for real.”

Added Monty Williams: “You know, there are times where I get the look when I even ask him about (being tired). It’s like insulting to him when I ask him about his stamina. I’m sure it does happen, but the really good players, great players in this league don’t allow being tired to keep them from doing what they have to do.”

It is ridiculous how hard Book plays and it is true that he never looks tired. Props to his amazingly high motor.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

The big difference I saw between Booker's awesome shooting in game 2 and his horrendous shooting in game 3 was the timing. Everything in game 2 was relaxed, feet set, calm and in rhythm. Everything in game 3 was rushed. If they're going to push him off the 3 point line, he needs to get back to that bread and butter of getting to his short shots and taking the ball to the basket.

Hard to find that balance and adjust to whatever the defense gives you. He went into game 3 with the same plan as game 2, but the Bucks adjusted, and Booker didn't.

Hoping for a big improvement in game 4.

[bwgood77]

The big difference I saw between Booker's awesome shooting in game 2 and his horrendous shooting in game 3 was the timing. Everything in game 2 was relaxed, feet set, calm and in rhythm. Everything in game 3 was rushed. If they're going to push him off the 3 point line, he needs to get back to that bread and butter of getting to his short shots and taking the ball to the basket.

Hard to find that balance and adjust to whatever the defense gives you. He went into game 3 with the same plan as game 2, but the Bucks adjusted, and Booker didn't.

Hoping for a big improvement in game 4.

The starts were nearly the same...3-11 vs 2-11. The main difference was starting to really get hot from 3 in the first one, which happens maybe every 5th game or so. When he does get hot it's like Crowder and he goes like 4-5, or 6-7 or something, to boost his avg, and then he normally is more like 1-4 or 2-6. I think we just have to kind of expect that unless he really works on his 3 or something changes. He will shoot 20-35% from 3 often and then shoot like 80%-90% to boost the average to 35% overall.

If he could just his 40% consistently it would help a lot.

If he can get really hot in one more game then we should be good. He's done it 1 or 2 games per series so far...had those huge games with high percentage shooting.

He's shot 25% or less from 3 in 10 of our playoff games so far and 15% or less in 6.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) Tweeted:
Devin Booker before he broke his nose (11 playoff games):

29.0 PPG
7.4 RPG
5.4 APG
49.1 FG%
38.2 3FG%
92.4 FT%
7.2 FTA/gm

Booker after breaking his nose (8 playoff games)

22.6 PPG
4.4 RPG
3.9 APG
35.9 FG%
29.1 3FG%
88.2 FT%
6.4 FTA/gm

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[bwgood77]

Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) Tweeted:
Devin Booker before he broke his nose (11 playoff games):

29.0 PPG
7.4 RPG
5.4 APG
49.1 FG%
38.2 3FG%
92.4 FT%
7.2 FTA/gm

Booker after breaking his nose (8 playoff games)

22.6 PPG
4.4 RPG
3.9 APG
35.9 FG%
29.1 3FG%
88.2 FT%
6.4 FTA/gm

Read on Twitter

?s=20

I think this is largely due to tougher opponents and like 3 great games before (including the 90% TS% game), and then the two big slumping games when Paul got back against Clips (where they combined shot 10-40 and 14-44)...however, those two were right after broken nose I think.

Always been streaky though.

[Calvin Klein]

Lakers/Nuggets backcourt defense is quite different than Clips/Bucks backcourt defense.

He will pull through though

[saintEscaton]

He better bounce back and have the game of his life tonight to in essence win us title taking it back home. He owes us that.

[Saberestar]

Read on Twitter

[Mulhollanddrive]

9-0 in playoffs when Booker shoots 42%.

Just has to do it, he has the excuse of injuries and rookie playoff run that no-one will blame him for but there's no guarantee he / we will be back here again.

Would like him to script his early shots, see how the defense feels on the mid-range jumper and see if he can hit a pull up 3, if they aren't falling know what his plan b, c, d is which has to include just attacking the rim and getting some easier points.

The games he's been elite level in is where he's done other stuff than just the 2 point jumper, whether it be 12 free throws, 7 threes or 10 assists being a multi level player takes the risk off the contested jump shot.