The Phoenix Suns Need More From Devin Booker, Plain and Simple

The Phoenix Suns Need More From Devin Booker, Plain and Simple

On today’s episode of Locked on suns coming off of the most disappointing loss of the sun season it’s clear now more than it has ever been that the Phoenix Suns simply need more from Devin Booker how do they get it let’s go you are locked on suns

Your daily Phoenix Suns podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day We are back this is lockon Phoenix Suns we are part of the lockon podcast Network I’m your host Brendan clean a credential media member covering the Suns for the past seven seasons a writer at suns.com and the host of the just basketball show wherever you get your

Podcast thank you for making locked on suns your first listen Tuesday morning we are free and available everywhere you get your podcast including YouTube so just hit that follow or subscribe button wherever you’re finding us get a new episode in your feed every single Monday through Friday become an every dayer an

Everyday listener and that is what we have for you that opportunity is right there for you considering there is a new episode every day and if you do I will promise you you will stay locked on to the Phoenix Suns all season long really from now through

August the NBA news the sun’s news does not slow down today’s episode brought to you by Linked In jobs which helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster so post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NBA that’s linkedin.com loock on NBA to post your

Job for free terms and conditions apply all right that was an ugly one on Sunday huh 14129 they won the fourth quarter which is actually kind of crazy I recommend go watch the recap show we did Sunday afternoon Brandon Dwayne yes and I check that show

Out because that was a good reaction I thought emotionally uh X’s and O’s y’s everything else but this one is going to be forward looking if you did not believe it already I feel like a clunker like that in game number 68 should show you that the

Suns I don’t their opportunity to be looked at as the class of the league is just about expired and honestly if their schedule wasn’t so hard the rest of the way they would have no chance to prove it anymore but I actually feel like the fact that their schedule is somewhat

Difficult gives them a little bit of an opportunity because if they string together some wins over the last few weeks with the just complete murderer row of teams that they have to face then I could see us all turning our tune changing our tune a bit but that’s not going to happen unless

Devon Booker steps up that’s not going to happen unless it comes from the one guy who has been steady and consistent across this chaotic organization as it has completely changed around him over the past four years three three four years and that’s Devon Booker I have three areas where they need more from

Book and I will get to all of them as we go but the first one is not really a basketball thing it’s not some pick and roll look or aspect of his shot diet or defensive matchup or anything like that it’s just about intensity it’s just about intensity

And I mean it’s 70 games into year number three year number four of the Suns Championship window okay I have not made a show like this or made an argument like this since the day after game seven against Dallas but I bring that game up to say

That I don’t think any of us should feel the same energy from this team that we did in that game seven against Dallas and we do feel it and it is literally impossible unless you want to make a compelling case for James Jones and maybe there’s some Credence to the lead

Executive and the types of players he targets or the culture that he creates behind the scenes I I would hear you out but this is the NBA the players determine what happens and the best players more than anyone determine what happens and Devin Booker is the only

Player left to have been through all of these different slogs that we have watched this team go through whether it is the Dallas series whether it is The Following season when well he was hurt which is another story which we will get to and then game six against Denver early this

Season late November early December when we were all talking about is this thing working should a coach be fired whatever else or to right now where since the All-Star break I believe the suns are six and six JJ reic had it today that the suns are seven and seven

In the last 14 games games that the big three have played together so if you break it down that way it is even kind of worse uh they’re six and seven after that Bucks game since the break and again seven and seven in the last 14

That the big three have played so even that silver lining of well when they all play their they’re good is going away I think I speak for all of us when I say that we would feel better if they went down with a fight everybody would an a third-party completely

Uninvolved fan who likes the Hawks or something would respect the Suns more if they went down fighting but they have not done that for the past two years and it does not feel like we are at a point in the season where that seems to be on the table

Either and to watch it happen in such a familiar way with bad body language inconsistent effort just a general helplessness I have to pin that on the one constant across all of that I don’t know if that’s fair you cannot make one human being responsible for the actions

Of other human beings but that is what comes with being the best player on the team it just is to have a team an organization a salary cap built around you being the best that means you set the tone whether it whether it’s fair or not fair you’re better than everybody on the

Team relatively speaking and within the big three you’re the guy that has has the ball in his hands if you’re Devon Booker and so book is the guy that I look at when they have performances like they did Sunday in Milwaukee it just can’t go down that way

Poor shot selection I tweeted a clip of two and a half minutes ago in the third quarter the suns are in the middle of the only push they made all game game long Dame hits a bucket to go up three to sorry to go up

10 book calls for a screen gets a switch on poris and takes literally a foot on the line pull up two with 14 seconds left on the shot clock not long after the Suns would cut the lead a bit from there and then watch as Milwaukee

Went a 90 run to extend it back Out Of Reach and basically put the game away that is the moment of the game that I selected on the recap show that’s just a it it is a perfect encapsulation of the mentality that I think this team

Just lacks to in the middle of a run when things are going your way to take a bad shot like that and then have the mental lapse right right after to foul an opposing team team repeatedly and allow them to get six points at the free

Throw line in the bonus to end the quarter with a flurry that eliminates all the work you just put in to make that run not to mention poor effort going through screens on defense lack of communication and understanding on the defensive end of the coverage that they were trying to

Do a overall lack of force which this team has to have in order to compete on defense because they are undersized they are limited athletically compared to the best teams in the league these are all issues that are unavoidable these are all issues we knew going into the season

We going to plague the team and to overcome them was going to take determination being very deliberate about what you were doing and playing hard as hell and to be 70 games in and have that not happening that has to fall on somebody I think it’s not just one

Person but if it’s going to flip I have to think it flips because book wills it into existence we’ve seen this guy in the playoffs last year not only put the team on his back with shot making and passing and everything else but set the tone from

Top to bottom in a Do or Die type of situation on the road in Denver at home against Denver down 20 whatever you want to point to you know down against the the Clippers one 01 set the tone with his intensity and his effort and his energy we’ve seen him do

It it’s now or never let’s get a little more specific what does that actually look like on offense and defense we’ll get into it coming up next first Today’s Show brought to you by Stitch fix with Stitch fix you get a stylist who understands your style size

And Bud budget they do all the shopping for you and it’s the easiest way to update your wardrobe this season easily upgrade your wardrobe this year with a professional stylist that helps you find new on Trend favorites that work for you just give your stylist your size style

And budget preferences order boxes when you want and how you want and all of that with no rescript subscription required they send Five Just For You pieces plus outfit recommendations and styling advice you keep what works and send back the rest your stylist always sends just right pieces and the fit is

On point it’s like they have style ESP they don’t know they might not know you but they get you Stitch fix makes it all so easy if you like to shop and save time and effort while doing so Stitch fix is the place to go you get outfits

That make you look and feel good and if you don’t love something you just send it back shipping returns and exchanges are always free so style that makes you feel as good as you look get started today at stitchfix.com slocked on that’s stitchfix.com lockon stitchfix.com lockon let’s keep it rolling

So went on a little bit of a rant there not like me to be calling anybody out or getting on my high horse but I hope what I said was fair and I’m going to back it up with a little bit more concrete which is my more uh comfortable zone right you

Know you know me if you’re an everyday listener here if you’re an everyday that I tend to be a little more analytical and I tend to be a little bit more fact based rather than emotion and and opinion base but we’re at that point guys uh you you hear me maybe a March

April May every season if you’ve been around long enough this is what happens I I have a Breaking Point too but we’re not there yet game 69 is coming up home backto back against two beatable teams the Sixers without embiid and the Atlanta Hawks without Trey Young starting with those two

Games here’s what I think book can do here’s what they need from him is a better way to put it rather than me pretending like I’m a basketball Savant and know everything here’s what I from watching this team watching how book has played in the past let’s start with

Offense a few things the shot selection is in his hands as the guy with the ball the most the shot selection is in his hands okay and so when I zoom out and I look at Rim frequency the suns are 25th three-point frequency the suns are

22nd on the whole this season the only Improvement that they have improvements that they have made from their frustrating shot diet in previous seasons is getting to the free throw line more which has not even been there recently but on the whole of the Season it has and

Making more of the hundreds of mid-range shots they take every week so they’re better at what they used to do and they’ve added the free throw aspect that is a big part of why they continue to put themselves in a hole we’ve been saying it for four years it’s still

True the Bucks are a team that can beat you that way I get people were a little bothered by the fact that the suns were trying to kind of turn it into well you know without Giannis they take more threes and guys feel comfortable and

Like need to step up and they did it yeah it doesn’t sound great maybe if you cut it a certain way to say you know they’re more scary without their best player I get it feels like an excuse but I’ll tell you what makes it more

True than ever is when you as the team facing that type of Milwaukee Squad with those with that personnel and and that confidence is to take eight fewer threes than them and make life harder on yourself in that way and so rather than just trying to Pile in midies book can be the

Catalyst we know when he’s determined the end of the 64 win season the playoffs last year we’ve seen it when he wants to get downhill get to the line more get layups and dunks he can do that and that really brings us to the next thing because they’re connected

Pace the pace is in Booker’s hands okay we all felt like getting rid of Chris Paul for this team was going to be a Big Boon for one thing in particular about how they were going to play on offense and it was that they had an opportunity to finally play faster they

Have not done that and there’s probably a lot of reasons for it and they’re not all Booker’s fault but again as the guy with the ball in his hands the most it can be his opportunity to fix it they are middle the suns are middle of the pack

In terms of offensive seconds per shot so how much time are they killing on the shot clock each time down they’re in the middle they’re right around teams like Boston and Chicago there’s no Rhyme or Reason per se to the teams that play the fastest are always the best right Indiana leads

The league in Pace no surprise Washington is second that’s a mediocre team and a bad team you have the Thunder good team the Kings mediocre team the Raptors the Spurs bad teams okay playing fast doesn’t equal winning but for this team with the lack of a true point guard

Who is necessarily going to orchestrate and execute to perfection in the half court playing fast is a cheat code at the same time for Booker in particular playing fast is his best way of using the whole Court of scoring at all three levels he has an eye for it

He has aention to it and he has the skill set to play in space like that beat the defense on the court and get those cherry-picked offensive opportunities at a really high level we saw him do it all playoffs last year it really helps and it would also help the

Other guys on this team it would help the Suns control Tempo and just feel that sense of ownership over these games in a way that they just a lot of the time do not it feels like they are just reacting all the time and dictating pace

Is a big way to regain control of this stuff the last thing is okay so shot selection Pace the last part and and I think both of those things to me would go a long way you’re probably thinking well crunch time fourth quarter to me if the shot selection’s better the pace is

Better that fixes a lot of the offensive problems in the fourth quarter in and of itself another thing that has crept up and become a problem in fourth quarters lately but really is on Booker period regardless of what portion of the game it happens is setting putting Kevin Durant in position to

Succeed think back to last postseason we were all very frustrated watching the idea of Durant being a decoy at times the idea that for quarters at a time Durant’s main shot opportunities would be Corner threes right we all just were kind of wondering what was going on there let me say this

At least it felt like there was a plan and a lot of the time this season outside of dump it to KD and cross your fingers it has not exactly felt like there is been a a plan and so I don’t feel like there is a full answer because

I’m advoc I have advocated for spontaneous basketball I think that’s the best way for this team to play but spontaneous is a lot different than random right I’ve called it purposeful Randomness right you need to know what you’re trying to attack you need to know what’s working and what’s

Not you need to know how everybody’s vibing out there a lot of the teams that have tried to play random basketball on offense you know Memphis has talked about this Boston has talked about this they’re pretty egalitarian right and the problems crop up when that pattern is disrupted and book disrupts it too

Often he just does he slows things down he runs a lot of one zero and one pass possessions and that is when Durant gets out of these opportunities he gets out of sorts he is not impacting the game he’s cold the suns are only going to be at

Their best if all three of the big three are in Rhythm being put into position to succeed and the way the roster is built right now the way this team is designed to play yes some of those opportunities are just going to come from cooking your man in isolation post-ups isos transition

Basic pick and roll book Beal and a rant can all do that on their own but to make this thing the some better than the sum of its parts it is going to take deliberate purposefully random playmaking and book is the guy that’s going to do that we know it we know what

The best assist numbers on this team have come from we know what the best moments of this team have come from and they are still when in those moments when some when a good possession just needs to be manufactured book is the guy who can break his opponent

Down who can make the most highlevel passes on this team who is combines that with footwork and quickness it has to be him it also has to be him to take on more of a defensive workload and we’ll talk about that coming up next first Today’s Show brought to you

By LinkedIn when you’re hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role and that’s why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools that you need to help find those Professionals for your team the right ones faster and for

Free LinkedIn jobs isn’t just another job board it has a vast network of more than a billion professionals including yours truly I found my job through indeed I was able to look at the qualifications look at the benefits frankly and know that it was something I

Wanted to do I applied I popped up on the interface for the managers at the company I wanted to work for they were able to check my qualifications my profile was updated and spruced up We messaged each other we got on an interview I followed up after the fact

With them them because I knew who the right people were to be talking to I knew the right things to say because I knew what the position entailed and all of it was courtesy of LinkedIn with an interface and a set of descriptions and slots for managers and salaries and

All those types of things that are prompted for you on the dashboard it all worked perfectly I got the job it has been great lifechanging everything I could have asked for all thanks to LinkedIn they know small businesses are wearing a lot of hats they want to find ways to make

It easier and they have 2. million 2.5 million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring so post your job for free become one of them at linkedin.com lockon NBA that’s linkedin.com lockon NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply Devon Booker also needs to do more

On the defensive end the Suns need Devon Booker to do more on the defensive end I keep doing it as a call out I really don’t mean that I’m doing it from the team standpoint I’m doing it grading Book on a curve of what we know he’s

Capable of and once again I have to look no further than multiple high-profile moments right there is a reason that it is such a bummer to see this odd season from book there is a reason that he has held to such a high stand standard there’s a reason that Suns fans

Are still split and often make the argument that the best player on the team is not the guy that’s about to be eighth in NBA history in scoring and is a lock to be in the Hall of Fame and Kevin Durant book has proven that much

And so I’m hardly even asking him to do more than he ever has I’m asking him to play to the level that we know he’s capable of and that includes on the defensive end talked about this a little bit on the recap show with Brandon on Sunday afternoon after that Bucks

Game been calling for it for a while frankly I get that people have an issue when I ne push back on Grayson Allen as a Defender it’s not even really calling that dude out it is just to say that we never really thought he would be the

Starter on this team and and for good reason he is not an ideal point of attack Defender we saw it against Steph Curry we have seen it against numerous opponents Luca donic all season long he is under sized to be playing to be guarding players like that a lot of the time he

Is not quite the change of Direction laterally explosive Defender to navigate screens and not the absolute strongest guy I thought he played well against Jamal Murray who’s a little bit of a different player right not quite as quick a little more angular a little more physical so

Grayson can keep up Dame is not that guy Luca is too big Steph is too energetic let’s say book is not necessarily going to stop those guys either but we have seen him reach a higher Peak as a Defender than Grayson Allen or Bradley Beal or anybody outside

Of Josh aogi on this roster ever have and so in order for this defense to stabilize I think Roy starting and just giving more size overall would go a long way but you still need 48 minutes of point of attack defense maybe Grayson can be part of

That answer aogi certainly will be maybe even Royce O’Neal can be depending on the matchup we know the Suns switch a lot so this is not a an end all Beall for the offense but two for the defense but too many times this season we have seen defensive player uh opposing

Players break down this team defensively and create absolute Havoc because once that initial penetration happens the suns are not big or athletic enough to really rotate at a high level and fly fly around and force turnovers and recover and reset as a defense they don’t have an elite rim protector to

Clean that stuff up and be that backline the way that they are built requires defense against the ball sometimes that’s in switches and you don’t always get to control who’s guarding the the ball at that point But at the very least having more stability at the point of attack in a more regular

Offensive environment typical pick and roll typical dribble handoff whatever it is transition just drives to the basket they need more and book can give it to them ask Russell Westbrook ask even Murray in a few possessions ask Chris Middleton in the finals we know what book can

Do I’ll close by saying this none of this is a surprise and that’s why I feel comfortable saying it this was the set of guidelin the the set of guidelines the set of qualities we knew book would have to bring to the table this season no matter what I openly asked in the

Preseason has this team been built to ask too much of him and I think you could make the same case for Durant although I just think Durant has kind of checked the boxes a little more so that’s why I’m not doing a show saying they need more from KD they’re kind of

Getting about as much as you could ask for from KD in my opinion they need more from book we knew he would have to engineer this offense and orchestrate this offense a handful of times per game when they really need a good possession we knew that he would

Often have to be defending the other team’s best guy we knew that with Chris Paul gone and his oversight and Leadership even with monyon and a little more of a hands-off coach like vogle with players who were kind of of the spirit of the team like Bridges or even

Like a campaign to be honest with you that book would need to replace a lot of what those guys were doing and this is all things we were talking about September October so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for it now when the season is on the brink it is becoming

Very clear this team is not an upper echelon title Contender and you need to save the season you need to avoid the playin cuz look you know what’s kind of looking breathing down the sun’s neck right now A playin game against Luca donic if that doesn’t give you a nightmare I don’t

Know what else would it’s time there’s been a lot of excuses a lot of adjustments a lot of Evolutions book himself has had another injury riddled type of season I get all of it we knew book would have to do this stuff for the team to reach its peak

And there’s only so much time for them to do that meaning there’s only so much time for him to give his all for him to give all of this which is an unbelievable amount to ask but that is what happens again when you’re the best

Guy that’ll wrap us up for the day don’t forget to hit follow or subscribe we’ll have Stephen pjon on bringing a lot of an ex ex’s and O’s analysis as he always does on Wednesday Show game recaps after that to close out the week enjoy your Tuesday

And I’ll catch you guys with Stephen tomorrow

Devin Booker has had an inconsistent season for the Phoenix Suns as their postseason destiny looks more unclear than ever.

Brendon Kleen of @justbasketballfans looks at past Booker seasons and his role on this Suns team to walk through what the Suns need from their franchise player over the final 15 games.

JOIN THE LOCKED ON SUNS SUBTEXT COMMUNITY: https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonsuns

📲 Follow Locked On Suns on TikTok
Locked On Suns https://www.tiktok.com/@lockedonphxsuns?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

📲 Follow Locked On Suns on X
Locked On Suns https://twitter.com/LockedOnPHXSuns
Brendon Kleen https://twitter.com/BrendonKleen14

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOSuns?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: lockedonpodcasts.com/offers

Jase Medical
Get $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase.

Birddogs
Go to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNBA or enter promo code LOCKEDONNBA for a free water bottle with any purchase. You won’t want to take your birddogs off we promise you.

Betterhelp
This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedonnba today to get 10% off your first month.

FanDuel
This episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, Official Sportsbook of Locked On. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#PhoenixSuns #KevinDurant #DevinBooker #NBA #BradleyBeal