Devin Booker makes a statement as he defeats the Clippers in today’s NBA news, and some shocking behind-the-scenes information surfaces on Twitter.
Jimmy Butler might be the favorite to win a fictitious award for “MVP of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs” after his incredible shooting performance against the Bucks. Devin Booker, however, is currently proving to be as essential as any other star thanks to his masterpiece 47-point, 10-assist, 8-rebound performance to defeat the Clippers.
Devin Booker is not just scoring, either.
The most obvious aspect of Booker’s skill set has always been scoring, and he more than delivered in this series, averaging 37.2 points per game on splits of 60.2/46.7/85.7 shots. He was aggressively assuming primacy and driving much more frequently than he did during the regular season.
Having Durant on the floor as a finisher and another draw on the defense undoubtedly makes things easier for Booker. But he’s making things easier on Durant as well — Booker assisted him 13 times in this series, nearly a third of all Durant’s made baskets.
As impressive as Booker’s passing and offensive control were, his defensive effort and execution in this series might be the most important factor in the Suns’ championship hopes. Booker racked up 16 deflections in five games (Chris Paul and Anthony Edwards are the only players with more in the first round), along with five blocks and 13 steals. He was repeatedly able to turn deep drives by the Clippers into turnovers and transition opportunities going the other way.
