The Phoenix Suns are on a roll right now.
Mike Budenholzer’s team has won eight of their first nine games of the season, including seven in a row.
The team didn’t have a lot of wiggle room to make moves in the offseason, but it’s not like they needed to make plenty of adjustments.
Clearly, adding Tyus Jones to the mix opened up a lot of things for them, as it freed Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant from their playmaking duties.
Notably, that might be the biggest adjustment the team made, especially Booker.
As pointed out by Evan Sidery of Forbes, Booker is currently carrying his lowest usage rate since his rookie season at 26.8%.
Devin Booker is carrying his lowest usage rate since his rookie season at 26.8%.
Booker is fully embracing the style he played during the Olympics for the betterment of the Suns.
New head coach Mike Budenholzer has this group of stars fully bought in to their playing style. pic.twitter.com/KJmdMFGSsP
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) November 9, 2024
Per Sidery, Booker has embraced the same role he had with Team USA, sacrificing some touches for the sake of the team, and that has clearly worked out perfectly.
Despite not being involved as much as he used to be in the past, his numbers haven’t taken much of a dip.
Through the first nine games of the season, he’s averaging 23.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.6 three-pointers per game on 42% from the floor.
Booker is a leader, and he’s the kind of player who can put an offense on his shoulders night in and night out; he’s proven that.
Then again, he’s also a much more mature player at this point in his career, and he knows that iso-heavy basketball rarely gets the job done.
Also, while capable of running the point at times, he’s not a natural playmaker, and this role is better suited for him.
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Fans React To Suns’ 8-1 Start To The Season