The Phoenix Suns managed to get back on track with a 116-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, a much needed win after dropping two straight.
More importantly, the team saw the return of Devin Booker – who has battled the injury bug all season – with his latest ailment coming in the form of a sprained right ankle.
Initially ruled questionable, Booker eventually was a game-time decision before he received the green light to play.
Booker didn’t waste any time on the night, leading the team with 34 points to go along with ten rebounds and seven assists, picking right back off where Suns fans and teammates last saw his level of play.
“Overall, happy with the win. Our guys played basically a heavyweight game last night. Came in second night of a back-to-back and toughed it out,” Frank Vogel said following the game. “I was proud of how Kevin (Durant) responded. Kevin played a really solid efficient offensive night, Book (Devin Booker) gave us a big lift, obviously with coming back and just happy to get a win.”
Durant – who chipped in 27 of his own points in the win – says Booker adds a different dynamic to each part of the game:
“He’s just another guy the defense has to pay attention to. Can’t just leave. The energy around the team, the arena, the fanbase, the media is just better when Book plays. It just feels better when Book plays. Everybody feels that and when he’s not out there you can definitely see the difference. So with him he opens the floor, he attacks, makes the right plays and he scores the ball at a high rate so that’s all you want from your star players is being able to create shots for others and that’s what he does.”
Booker’s evolution as a playmaker has been nothing short of notable, as he’s now taken the wheel as Phoenix’s point guard and has thrived in most opportunities. Booker himself touched on what it’s been like establishing himself in a new role:
“Just reading defenses, being thrown into the fire as a young player where I would have to play through mistakes and turning the ball over, seeing a bunch of different coverages. Then just reading and reacting,” Booker said.
“I get to a point every year where I feel like the game is slowing down a bit. I watch the game more than ever. I keep falling in love with it every day. So, it is just something I love to do and pull back the layers of it. Learning who you are playing against, tendencies of other teams is important.”
Without stating the obvious for the tenth time, the Suns sure did miss Booker on the court.
