devin booker Is in despair. He loves to reflect on vintage cars, vintage fashion and his growing rivalry with the contemporary star luka doncicEven some old NBA Bad Blood.
Taking advantage of his rapidly growing popularity, Nike has started selling a Booker-themed version of its Zoom GT Cut 2. but for Phoenix Suns game, he’ll be wearing his longtime favorite vintage Kobes (thank you very much).
Booker likes to immerse himself in the past. He often talks about his recent history, though not always with fondness. He smiles when he thinks about being drafted by the Suns in 2015; He had never spent much time in the desert and knew nothing about the city. But many of those memories don’t come with a smile.
He spent most of the first four years of his pro career in the swamp, cycling through coaches and averaging 22 wins a season. Surya was worse than a laughing stock; They were irrelevant.
The crowning moment of that period came when Booker spent a magical night in Boston in March 2017, getting 70 marks In a brilliant playmaking display. He and his teammates, thirsty for anything to accomplish, celebrated all around him and it left Booker awkwardly having to defend his historic night – the Suns still lost that game by 10 points.
Booker can’t clean up those scars and doesn’t want to.
But it seems like a lifetime ago now. Booker added another file to his elite playoff resume on Friday night, saving the Suns’ season for the time being with one of the flawless offensive plays he has developed into his trademark.
Booker down 0-2 with top-seeded Suns, clearly sensing denver nuggets and guard chris paul Out with a groin injury, put up 47 points on 20-of-25 shooting Friday night Crucial 121-114 Game 3 win in Phoenix.
The usually even-keeled Booker scored his final hoop of the night when he made a driving layup in traffic that thwarted the Nuggets’ attempts to throw the body at him one last time.
That basket gave him 45 points, the third time in the last six games he hit at least that number.
Surya is still in a lot of trouble in this series. They look forward to the offensive production of Booker and Kevin DurantWho scored 39 of his own in 31 attempts.
This was Booker’s third outstanding performance in the last two weeks. He had 45 points in a crucial Game 3 road win against LA Clippers The one who levitated the sun. He shot 18-of-29 in that game.
Then he notched 25 points in a storming third quarter in Game 5 of that series’ closeout, part of a 47-point masterpiece that matched a playoff career high he tied again on Friday. He made 19 of 27 that night.
That performance capped the most prolific playoff series of his career: 37.2 points on 60% shooting and 2.6 steals per game.
He’s slumped a bit in three games against the Nuggets, averaging 36.6 points on 60% shooting….
But in these moments in which he would be able to celebrate the present properly, he swims back again and again.
After eliminating the Clippers, Booker said, “I don’t want to take a chance on something special.”
“Just being from a youth team to an established team is completely different now. But I wouldn’t change my journey for anyone else. … It’s tough to get them in the beginning. But I think I need to develop my game.” Is.” , And I had people that believed in me, organization that believed in me and I just took it from there.”
Even with the challenges that come with this series, which are threatening to end Booker’s run early, those around him in Phoenix believe he has never pitched a more complete game. have played Especially after returning from a needed hiatus to address hamstring and groin injury issues in early February, averaging 29.7 points on 53% shooting.
Then they had the most impressive playoff series in team history against the Clippers. He is working on paring it down to take the Suns with Durant in this series.
He has also been the team’s most active playmaker on defense. Against the Clippers, he often took on the top defensive responsibility, whether it was kawhi leonard, Norman Powell Or Russell Westbrook, He showed that he really is the current Alpha of the Suns, playing 43 minutes a game, even playing alongside future Hall of Famers Durant and Paul.
Sons Center said, “It’s crazy to see the kind of two-way superstar he’s turning into.” Deandre Ayton, now playing his fifth season with Booker. “I can’t even sit here and explain to you.”
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Devin Booker fumes after hitting floater over Jeff Green
The Nuggets call a timeout after Devin Booker and the Suns lead 7–0 early in the fourth quarter.
Teammates have sometimes observed that when he is on point, Booker will call a play before receiving instructions from coach Montee Williams. And when Williams calls a second time or simultaneously, they are similar (especially for out-of-bounds plays).
“Sometimes I think he’s reading what I’m reading, or maybe we coincidentally say the same thing, which is scary,” Williams said. “He’s saying exactly what I’m saying.”
True to his character, Booker shies away from the concept that he has made some sort of recent jump. Regardless of statistics or anecdotes, the Vintage Book was like this too.
“Early in my career there was always a reputation that I couldn’t [defend]Booker said years ago about a belief among NBA scouts. “Being a part of a losing team was tough and put a lot of weight on my shoulders. … I always thought I was a good defender.”
Fair enough.
And this is the story. In 2019, at the start of Williams’ first season as Booker’s fifth coach, he woke up in the middle of the night to a text from Booker. The night before, Booker had not been assigned to defend a superstar on the opposing team.
Williams chose not to identify the player, but remembers that Booker was upset that his new coach did not give him responsibility.
“He was like, ‘Coach, I want them,'” Williams recalled. “And that speaks volumes for me.”
Because Williams didn’t even see him as that type of player – at least not at the time.
Not that he is new to the game at this level; Booker made first team All-NBA the previous year. Two years ago, his dominant playoff performance propelled the Suns to the Finals. milwaukee bucks,
But Williams and Booker’s teammates are watching her grow, regardless of how the star herself wants to portray her career.
Durant said, “You look at someone like Bucs and you look at his journey, you look at his work ethic and love of the game and you try to take a few things out of him.”
Booker said, “Having the opportunity to play with some of the best players of all time, it’s something that’s only going to make my game better and make my story better.”
“I don’t want to take it lightly.”
