The toughest decision in head coach Earl Watson‘s short tenure is already paying dividends after Devin Booker‘s 34-point explosion during Friday night's 115-110 preseason loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Phoenix Suns‘ young star turned heads in both sidelines as he haunted the Blazers' defense with an incredible array of shots from all over the floor. Booker was 15-of-23 from the floor in his 30 minutes of action, including 1-of-4 from deep and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Watson recently opted to make the 19-year-old Kentucky product the permanent starter at shooting guard along with point guard Eric Bledsoe, opting to bring former starter Brandon Knight off the bench in a sixth-man role.

The move seems to have paid off, as Booker has scored at a 22 points-per-game clip during the Suns' three preseason games, shooting over 50% from the field and most importantly making 17-of-18 from the line, showing he's more than just a talented shooter but can also get to the line effectively.

This is hardly the first time the Grand Rapids native has put this type of shooting performance on display, as he had six 30-plus scoring games last season, including back-to-back 30-point games against the Knicks and the Nuggets.

To put it in perspective — that's the fourth-most 30-point games by a teen after LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the 6-foot-6 swingman is his maturity when it comes to shot selection and one-on-one situations, which is unusual for someone his age.

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Aside from Booker's emergence on the scouting report, Knight will also be someone to keep an eye on, as he's excelled during the preseason and flourished in his bench role along with rookie Marquese Chriss who's scored in double figures in each of the Suns' three games.

Watson has plenty of talent on the roster and if he can manage to put it together in harmonious fashion, the Suns are bound to win much more than the 23 games they won last season.