Devin Booker isn’t getting carried away after the Suns’ good start

After 12 games, they are ahead of the Warriors, Clippers or even their opponent last night, the Mavs. With seven wins, including four in a row, and five losses, the Suns are in 7th place in the West. Not necessarily the position they were expected to be in, especially since Jaylen Green spent more time in the infirmary than on the floor.

Dynamic contrast with the Texans he caught yesterday. While Jason Kidd, deprived of two key elements (Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving), multiplies experiments to best surround Cooper Flagg in his five, the Suns assume they use four shooters around the “classic” pivot. And the method works.

« We play hard, at both ends of the field. We started well tonight, we let them come back a bit in the fourth, but overall we controlled the match and put ourselves in a good position with a little cushion at the end of the match », sums up Devin Booker whose team was up to 18 points ahead, after leading by 10 units in the first quarter.

Asked about this good start to the season, the team leader does not forget where the Suns were a year ago. ” Last year we were in a good position at the same time. I think we were 9-1 in Dallas after we won. », he is wrong about the victory. A great start marked by brief successes where the Suns’ composure in the heat of the moment paid off. But their form did not withstand the injury of Kevin Durant.

“We are not carried away by euphoria”

That’s what puts Devin Booker in perspective today. “ So here we don’t get carried away with euphoria, but play with pride and urgency. We achieved several convincing victories. We didn’t really play the fourth quarter last game, so now we’re coming together, starting to function collectively, but we’ve still got work to do », notes the leader/guard.

As for the notable victory, of course, we have to mention this duel won against Spurs, where Victor Wembanyama was rarely lost. Then two successes in a row against the Clippers, even if in one of these matches Kawhi Leonard and James Harden were on the sidelines.

The difference between the current Suns and the “Big Three” version? ” We play at a faster pace, we can surprise more opponents in transition. We are well connected defensively, which allows us to have more open shots in transition and play faster “, analyzes the former playing partner of “KD” and Bradley Beal. His impression is modestly confirmed by the numbers: their pace is slightly higher (from 98.31 to 100.46), and they score more on average in the counterattack (from 12.7 to 13.9).

Another peculiarity of the Suns’ start to the season is that they have only faced teams from the West so far. Their first duel against a team from the East will take place the following night, and they host the Pacers. Therefore, the schedule was not easy. ” The West is still strong, it always has been. (…) Like I said, we still have work to do, but I like where we are. Devin Booker concludes.