The best version of Devin Booker is the one attacking early

Sometimes all it takes is a spark, however small, to start a fire and change a team’s trajectory. Even if that spark comes against an opponent you wouldn’t necessarily consider quality.

The Phoenix Suns’ 117-104 victory over the Orlando Magic might be that spark, although with Houston and San Antonio staring them down on the schedule over the next few days, there’s a chance we won’t look back at this game as the moment that ignited some great blaze. But there were things we witnessed that can be deposited into the old adjustments bank, lessons that could serve as valuable reference points when trying to manufacture future victories.

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One of those lessons, as obvious as it might seem, is that feeding Devin Booker early remains one of the best ways to give this team an opportunity to win basketball games.

Booker is the $57 million man, and constructing a roster that forces him to assume duplicative responsibilities within the starting lineup isn’t exactly ideal. Too often, we see Booker drift away from his natural role as a shooting guard and become the primary playmaker, tasked with creating opportunities for everyone else rather than focusing on what he does best.

Against Orlando, we saw something different. In the first half, Booker went 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, scoring 23 points while establishing himself as the focal point of the offense. 

Granted, this was the Orlando Magic. Quality opponents have demonstrated the ability to scheme Booker out of games, as we saw earlier this season against a shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder team. And that’s precisely why the argument for having a quality facilitator persists.

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When you have somebody capable of assuming the responsibility of distributing the basketball, opposing defenses have another variable to account for. They have to dedicate attention to disrupting that player’s ability to initiate the offense, which can create more opportunities for Booker to operate as a scorer. And when Booker gets going early, it creates opportunities for everyone around him. As…

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Publish date : 2026-11-06 18:00:00

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