The Suns have bigger needs than another Devin Booker eruption.
Phoenix is headed into a stretch that starts with Friday’s Emirates NBA Cup game against the Denver Nuggets and then quickly turns into a pivotal week with the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers waiting after that. The Warriors matchup, in particular, is the one that should force a different kind of night from Booker.
Another 43-point carry job would be impressive, sure, but it would also miss the point. The Suns need him to hand the steering wheel to someone else for a change.
That’s easier said than done when Booker has already had to do so much of the heavy lifting. In Phoenix’s 131-122 win over Golden State, Booker poured in 43 points on 15-of-18 shooting, and that remains the team’s only victory this season.
But if the Suns are serious about being a playoff team, they can’t keep treating his scoring outbursts like the entire plan. Mat Ishbia has already made it clear that the goal is to win a playoff series, and relying on Booker to rescue them every night is not a sustainable path to get there.
The cleaner version of this team has Booker functioning more as a distributor against the Warriors. His 5.3 assists per game are right in line with his career average, but this is the kind of game where Phoenix could use him to push that number way up.
Let Jalen Green take on more of the scoring load for long stretches and let Booker focus on getting everyone else involved. The Suns have stacked the roster with other players who are more natural scorers, and this is exactly the kind of night where that should show up.
Miles Bridges is one of the names who needs to answer the bell. Phoenix brought him in to provide nights where he can chip in 20 points, and this matchup feels like the spot for that kind of contribution. If the Suns want to look more like a group and less like a one-man survival act, this is the moment for it.
Defense is the other side of the equation, and right now it’s a problem. Phoenix has the worst defensive rating in the league, and that opening-night 41-point loss to Portland has already done plenty of damage. Beating the Warriors by locking them under 100 points would go a long way toward changing the mood around the team.
The Suns will see Portland again after this, and that game could be ugly too. The Blazers have the look of the fun, energetic upstart the Suns were last season, while Phoenix is still trying to find its footing.
Booker putting up another 40-piece would be fun to watch, and the Suns would take it in a heartbeat. But it would only cover up the bigger issues already in front of them.
In Other News...
Suns Enter Nuggets Matchup With A Problem Fans Can Feel
The Suns head into their matchup with Denver carrying a roster issue that has been hard to ignore, and it is the kind of problem fans can spot even before tipoff. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported internal frustration over the lack of a true point guard, a concern that has hovered around the team as it tries to find a steadier rhythm on offense.
Phoenix will also have to manage that issue while dealing with another absence, with starting center Mark Williams sidelined. Denver brings its own injury questions into the game, listing two players as questionable and two out, and the Nuggets have a little extra incentive with a chance to move their record above .500. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Have A Defensive Problem They Can't Ignore
The early returns on defense have been rough enough to demand attention, and the Suns have spent recent practices trying to clean up the issues before they harden into a bigger problem. Through the first three games of the season, Phoenix has sat last in defensive rating and has allowed opponents to shoot the highest three-point percentage in the league, a troubling start for a team that knows it cannot afford to give away easy looks.
Jordan Ott and the players have made the focus clear: better effort, sharper communication and more physical play on that end of the floor. Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Khaman Maluach have all acknowledged the need for improvement, and the timing matters with the Denver Nuggets up next, a matchup that will quickly show whether the Suns' defensive emphasis is starting to stick. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Have Reached A Devin Booker Debate Fans Dread
The Suns have reached the kind of uneasy place where even a star like Devin Booker can become part of the conversation around what comes next. With the team struggling and the locker room already described as unsettled, the noise around Phoenix has grown loud enough that outside voices are now floating ideas that would have sounded unthinkable not long ago. One of those came from Bill Simmons, who suggested on his podcast that a Booker-for-Bam Adebayo swap could help both Phoenix and Miami.
It is the sort of debate Suns fans dread because it forces a hard look at where the franchise stands right now and what kind of reset might actually make sense. Booker remains the face of the team, but the broader question is whether Phoenix can keep building around him as constructed, or whether the pressure around the roster has reached a point where even a player of his stature gets dragged into trade speculation. For now, there is no official move or confirmation, just a conversation that says plenty about how far the Suns have fallen into uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]