{"id":1903517,"date":"2026-04-26T11:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T08:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1903517"},"modified":"2026-04-26T11:05:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T08:05:59","slug":"devin-booker-is-still-a-star-but-his-game-has-changed-and-this-series-proves-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1903517","title":{"rendered":"Devin Booker is still a star, but his game has changed \u2014 and this series proves it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

PHOENIX \u2014 If you missed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander here Saturday afternoon, do not worry. You\u2019ll hear plenty about it over the weekend. The Oklahoma City star was outstanding, scoring 42 points to lead the Thunder to a 121-109 win<\/a> in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series.<\/p>\n

For Phoenix Suns fans, it might have looked familiar.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Three years ago to the day, Devin Booker had a similar explosion. In a closeout game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Booker had 47 points and 10 assists<\/a>. He scored 25 in the third quarter alone, hitting 10 of 11 from the field. That night he was a superstar on the rise. Kevin Durant called Booker\u2019s performance \u201cspiritual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Booker is a different player. Not necessarily worse, just different. Not as aggressive, not as willing to take over when the moment demands it.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/span>
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n

Anyone doubting this just needs to pay attention to how clunky Phoenix\u2019s offense can become when he is not in the game, but this is not a new development.<\/p>\n

People here have waited for Booker to flip the alpha switch for a while now. To return to the player he was when leading the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021 and to the league\u2019s best record in 2022 and finished fourth in MVP voting. The fact that he hasn\u2019t has produced many theories over the last three years.<\/p>\n

Booker deferred too much to Durant. \u2026 He plays better with a pure point guard like Chris Paul \u2026 He has logged too many minutes over his career. \u2026 He\u2019d rather be Olympic Book, the perfect role player, than Killer Book.<\/em><\/p>\n

Phoenix coach Jordan Ott has been asked about this often during his first season, and in almost every media session over the last two weeks. After Booker dished to Jalen Green for a missed 3 in the final seconds of a Play-In Tournament loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Ott said he experienced this during his time as an assistant.<\/p>\n

Should Booker have been more selfish?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I was in L.A. with LeBron (James), and he would get all these questions,\u201d Ott said. \u201cI think you just got to make the right play consistently, and over time, that\u2019s going to work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Devin<\/p>\n
\n
\n Devin Booker went scoreless in the fourth quarter Saturday as the Suns fell behind 3-0 in their first-round series vs. Oklahoma City. (Rick Scuteri \/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At Friday\u2019s practice, after the Suns lost the first two games of this series, making Saturday\u2019s Game 3 in downtown Phoenix a must-win, Ott was questioned on the subject again.<\/p>\n

What do you want to see from Booker in these next two games?<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHe deserves to have our full effort to try and help him put him in a place to succeed,\u201d Ott said. \u201cI\u2019ve talked about it all season. Without his play-making and selflessness, we would not be here. I wouldn\u2019t be talking to you right now. \u2026 We trust him with the ball in his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need him to tap into that killer instinct?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTap in? I think he has the killer instinct right now,\u201d Ott said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s an on-off switch. I think he always has it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, it\u2019s telling that through three games of this series, the only thing Booker has done to get a national reaction is call out the officiating. Upset over a bizarre technical foul in Game 2, Booker unloaded on the refs<\/a>, particularly James Williams. The next day, the league fined Booker $35,000<\/a> and rescinded the technical.<\/p>\n

Booker\u2019s reaction: \u201cI read it as, \u2018You were right, but you can\u2019t say anything about it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

a.showcase-link-container {
\n display: flex;
\n gap: 20px;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n align-items: center;
\n padding: 20px 0px;
\n border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n text-decoration: none;
\n color: #121212;
\n cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n

.showcase-link {
\n font-family: nyt-franklin;
\n font-size: 14px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 700;
\n line-height: 13.8px;
\n letter-spacing: 1.1px;
\n text-transform: uppercase;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-image {
\n border-radius: 8px;
\n object-fit: cover;
\n width: 200px;
\n height: 150px;
\n margin: 0px;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n width: 120px;
\n height: 120px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inner-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: row;
\n gap: 16px;
\n width: 100%;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-text-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n gap: 20px;
\n justify-content: center;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n gap: 8px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-title {
\n font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
\n font-size: 24px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 500;
\n line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/
\n letter-spacing: 0.01px;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 16px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-excerpt {
\n font-family: nyt-imperial;
\n font-size: 16px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 400;
\n line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/
\n color: #323232;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 4;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 12px;
\n line-height: 121%;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inputs {
\n .showcase-link-input {
\n width: 100%;
\n font-size: 1rem;
\n background-color: white;
\n margin-bottom: 12px;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-indent {
\n margin-left: 25px;
\n }<\/p>\n

option {
\n width: 100%;
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
\n .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
\n background-color: #121212;
\n color: #f0f0ee;
\n .showcase-link-excerpt {
\n color: #c4c4c0;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

\/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
\n document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Shai<\/p>\n
\n
\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivers again as Thunder top Suns: Game 3 takeaways\n <\/div>\n
\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, playing without injured teammate Jalen Williams, carried the load for the Thunder on Saturday.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Saturday\u2019s loss, Booker was again hounded by Oklahoma City defensive ace Luguentz Dort. He struggled to find a rhythm. Three minutes into the third quarter, he cut to the basket and tripped over Dort\u2019s foot. Booker limped off the court and into the locker room but later returned to finish out the game.<\/p>\n

In the fourth quarter, Booker did not score in nine minutes, missing all three of his shots. He had only two field goals in the second half, scoring five points. Oklahoma City\u2019s defensive game plan is pretty simple \u2014 control Booker and take your chances with Dillon Brooks (33 points), Jalen Green (26) and everyone else. It\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

Booker finished with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Over the series, he is averaging 20.3 points, shooting 44.7 percent. He is 4 of 14 from 3-point range.<\/p>\n

Although Booker limped to the postgame news conference, he said his ankle was fine. He added he did not know if Dort tripped him intentionally, and he did not care to discuss it much. \u201cI mean, I don\u2019t want to make it a thing,\u201d Booker said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the first time it\u2019s happened, and it probably won\u2019t be the last.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Suns have one more chance to extend their season. Game 4 is here Monday. To win, they will have to find a way to slow Gilgeous-Alexander, seemingly an impossible task. Just as important, they\u2019ll have to unlock Booker, their best player, who has yet to force his will.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll take a look,\u201d Ott said. \u201cAgain, it\u2019s the same thing. They\u2019re putting their best defender on him. They\u2019re committing two to the ball. We got layups from that at some point. That\u2019s the high-quality shots we\u2019re looking for. It\u2019s always something that we\u2019re going to take a look at, and we\u2019re going to balance. Obviously, we want him, just along with everyone else, to play well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 If you missed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander here Saturday afternoon, do not worry. You\u2019ll hear plenty about it over the weekend. The Oklahoma City star was outstanding, scoring 42 points to lead the Thunder to a 121-109 win in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series. For Phoenix Suns fans, it might have looked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1903517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1903517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1903517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1903517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1903517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}