Booker shines early, fades late in Sunday’s loss

Booker scores 44 against the Wolves Sunday night, but is that enough to show he can be trusted?

Where has Devin Booker been? With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal absent, Booker struggled in the two games leading up to the Phoenix Suns Sunday night last-second loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, he rediscovered his scoring touch, putting up 44 points.

Despite this offensive explosion, I still see a lack of trustworthiness in Booker’s ability to rise above the opposing team’s best players when the game is on the line. On Sunday night, it didn’t happen. While the 44 points are impressive, the Suns’ inability to close out games like this without Durant leaves me questioning their long-term viability as a team.

We can point fingers at the no-call on Julius Randle’s push-off before his game-winning shot or blame the Suns’ short-handed roster.

However, despite Devin Booker’s offensive explosion, the focus should be on his ability to finish games strong and go head-to-head with players like Anthony Edwards. Proving that he can win these types of games without Beal and Durant is the critical next step for Booker if he wants to elevate his career to the next level.

Then again, perhaps the reality is that a healthy Suns team, with Booker embracing his role as Robin to Durant’s Batman, is what I — and anyone else with higher expectations for Booker — will have to accept. But the bigger question remains: is that enough to win a championship? How will this team fare against the top seeds in the West? You might argue they’ve proven their mettle with an 8-1 start, competing against teams with the highest winning percentages in the league through nine games. Still, when the stakes are higher and the postseason looms, will that dynamic hold up?

Looking at last season’s clutch-time numbers, Booker performed decently overall, shooting 46% from the field and posting a +21 rating. However, his three-point shooting was a glaring weakness, as he hit just 18% from beyond the arc in those situations. Over 32 games, the Suns managed an 18-14 record in clutch moments. So while it wasn’t stellar, it wasn’t terrible either.

This season, however, things have started off rough for Booker in clutch situations. Through nine games, he’s shooting just 20% from the field and an abysmal 12.5% from three in clutch time. Despite this, the Suns are 7-2, thanks in large part to the addition of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. With those two on the court, Booker hasn’t needed to be “the guy”—that role has belonged to Durant.

But I’m looking for more. No matter how great Durant has been, it still might not be enough. I need to see this team led by Booker in a way that gives me confidence they can hold onto leads and close out games. So far, we haven’t seen that. Maybe it’s coming, but what we have seen are injuries, and those will likely remain a recurring issue. For the Suns to truly contend, Booker must show he can consistently step up and take control when it matters most, regardless of who else is on the court.

Maybe I’m being a bit grumpy, but I don’t want to see this team fall back into their old habits of battling constant injuries and barely hanging on to games, leaving us with no clear sense of what this team really is. Right now, everything we’ve seen over the last five games (1-4) suggests that the Suns are still the same old Suns. It won’t feel real again until they can deliver a dominant 20-game stretch that makes them a team the league truly fears once more. Until then, skepticism lingers.