PHOENIX– Two close wins in a matter of five days, but the Phoenix Suns have more work to do. After starting the season 1-5, they've won the last four of five, and registered a trademark win thanks to Devin Booker.

The latter has played at perhaps an All-NBA level to begin the 2026-27 campaign. He's shooting nearly 50% from the field, 38% from deep, and 94% at the line.

With the statistics aside, Booker has put on some Suns masterclasses, evidently, with his 43-point explosion in the home opener. On Thursday, he added another signature moment to the season.

He was fouled by Charlotte Hornets big man Naz Reid, but the foul wasn't called. It looked like an intentional foul to send Booker to the free-throw line, but the officials didn't call it.

Moments after, he stepped back and drained a 28-foot nuke from beyond the arc and almost lifted the roof off the arena.

A close game against a depleted Hornets team isn't a good look. Still, with it being the 11th game of the season, Booker knows that this early in the season is all about figuring things out.

“It's important for flow, supporting the feel, seeing what lineups mesh well with each other and which ones don't,” he explained postgame. Every night it could be different. So we have a deep roster; we have a bunch of talent on the team. It's our job to make it a plug-and-play.

We still need to keep our standards and what we do the same no matter what, no matter who's on the court, and we've seen that a bit tonight.”

The Suns might be figuring it out at the right time

Maybe the main concerning thing is how Booker has put the team on his back during multiple stretches this season. Before Thursday, he had another 30+ point game against the San Antonio Spurs.

As mentioned earlier, he had 43 points in the home opener. His productivity has been there, along with the Suns' second unit. But even then, there needs to be a clear dichotomy in that starting lineup.

After Booker, it's a little bit of a question mark as to who the second option is. Some nights it could be Miles Bridges, Dillon Brooks, or even Jalen Green.

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That being said, the bench has been the engine in some of these close games. Head coach Jordan Ott made that clear by playing Jordan Goodwin the full fourth quarter, Luke Kennard nearly ten minutes, and Collin Gillespie around seven minutes.

Yes, Booker enjoys playing with group unit. But having the bench as the engine is a tad alarming, given the talent and potential production of the starting five outside of Booker.

Part of this figuring-it-out stage could be him closing the game with part of that bench mob.

“It was really from the bench,” Ott said. “It was like the bench, the players trying to find new ways on the fly. Again, when Book (Devin Booker) is out there communicating to the group, that makes it a lot easier for all of us, and that, that's healthy. That's all healthy.

That's part of that figuring-it-out stage that we're currently in.”