Where would the Phoenix Suns be without Devin Booker this NBA postseason? The answer is very likely on their couch watching the playoffs from home. Booker has had some truly eye-popping performances this postseason as arguably the best player in a star-studded playoff field.
Booker has taken his game to another level in the postseason, leading the Suns in scoring in five out of the nine games they have played. In the other four, it has been Kevin Durant leading the way.
The scoring output Booker is producing has put him in rarefied air. He has scored 331 points in those nine games, a number that only Michael Jordan has achieved in a nine-game stretch in the postseasons since the 1976-77 merger.
The highest-scoring nine-game stretch since that time was 362 points by Jordan in 1990. In 1988 he had 338 and in 1989 he recorded 335. Booker’s 331 is the fourth most as he is the only player other than Jordan to break the 330-point plateau.
The most impressive thing about Booker’s hot stretch is how efficiently he has been shooting the ball. No matter what kind of defense the LA Clippers or Denver Nuggets have thrown at him, no one has been able to slow him down.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns & Denver Nuggets Updates
Booker has scored at least 26 points in every postseason game, scoring at least 45 points on three separate occasions. He has shot under 50 percent only twice this postseason and in both instances, he would have surpassed the 50-percent threshold with one more made shot.
Thus far this postseason, Booker is averaging 36.8 points per game with a shooting split of .617/.510/.870. He is averaging 5.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game as well, doing all of the heavy lifting offensively for the Suns along with Durant.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns & Denver Nuggets Updates
With him performing at this level, the Suns are a dangerous team even with Chris Paul sidelined. This is the hottest shooting stretch of his career and it could not have come at a better time as Phoenix has needed every point that Booker has provided.
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