PHOENIX – With Chris Paul out due to a right thumb avulsion fracture, Devin Booker’s playmaking abilities and on-court leadership have proven that the Suns are still a team to be feared in the Western Conference.
It was announced over the All-Star Break back in February that Chris Paul sustained a right thumb avulsion fracture and would be reevaluated in 6-8 weeks. Shortly after the news about his injury broke, questions began to swirl if the Phoenix Suns could continue winning at the pace they have been without their all-star guard and if the most tenured player of the team, Devin Booker, could lead the team the same way Chris Paul did.
Almost a month after the news broke, Devin Booker has proven that without Chris Paul, the Suns are still in good hands.
Booker had to sit out four games himself due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols but in the 10 games he has played in since the All-Star Break, he has averaged a team-high 28.2 points per game and is second on the team with 7.0 assists per game.
While it is hard to replace the veteran leader that Chris Paul is, Booker has stepped into the role of an on-court leader perfectly as he has led the Suns to a 10-4 record since the All-Star Break, clinching a playoff berth with their win against the Miami Heat on March 9 and still hold the number one seed in the Western Conference with a nine-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Booker’s stats speak for themselves when describing his impact on the team as a player, but fans watching the games have noticed a change in his mentality since Chris Paul has been sidelined. Phoenix Sun’s superfan Andrew Leezus said that Booker’s confidence and ability to control the pace of the game are key attributes that have led to the leadership Booker has established.
“It looks like everybody is going 150 miles per hour and it looks like he’s going 50 miles per hour,” said Leezus. “He’s barely getting his car revved up.”
Fans attending games have seen the leadership Booker has displayed in-person especially in situations before, during, and after the game where the cameras aren’t focused on the Sun’s star shooting guard. Sun’s season ticket holder Derek Price said that he tries getting to games early because Booker is always there early.
“He shows up every day early, That’s why I get here early to watch him work out and practice,” said Price before the Suns game against the Chicago Bulls Friday night. “He works hard all the time so I think if he does it everybody else is expected to do it.”
While fans were first unsure of what the rest of the regular season had in store for the Phoenix Suns, the team still finds themselves in a position to lock the number one seed in the Western Conference by the end of March. In the same interview, Andrew Leezus describes this stretch after the All-Star Break as a “blessing in Disguise”.
Andrew said, “When the Suns win the title this year, I think they’re going to look back at this stretch having to learn how to play without Chris Paul and they’re going to see that we’ve got this experience in the regular season, this isn’t a foreign thing in the playoffs, now we just got to go out there and do what we’ve done the whole time he was out.”
With only 10 games left in the regular season, the Phoenix Suns propel themselves into a stretch where seven of those 10 will be played away from the Footprint Center, but fans remain optimistic that Devin Booker’s elite playmaking ability and leadership will help the team be in a great position following Chris Paul’s return.
