Subscribe
Follow Us
Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker has been lighting it up from the field for the majority of the 2019-20 NBA regular season. However, he still finds it hard to produce buckets at times, particularly when going up against Los Angeles Clippers stopper Kawhi Leonard or the entire Denver Nuggets team.
Speaking to Liam McKeone of The Big Lead, the 23-year-old smooth operator admitted that Kawhi locks him up best as an individual, while the Nuggets deal with him most effectively as a unit.
“In terms of overall defenses, I think some teams have better gameplans for me than others, Denver being one of those. I struggled in all my Denver games this year. Obviously, playing against Kawhi for five years now, he’s physically gifted and dominant on both sides of the ball, so he’s a tough matchup,” D-Book shared.
In 62 games this season, Booker tallied incredible averages of 26.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists, on 48.7 percent shooting from the field, 36 percent from three, and 91.6 percent from the foul line.
Obviously, it's not just Booker that struggles to find his rhythm against the “The Klaw”. Leonard, a two-time DPOY winner, is still the league's premier wing stopper who can practically clamp down even the best scorers in the entire league, regardless of position.
The Suns only managed to win one of their first three match-ups against Leonard and the Clippers prior to the league's lengthy hiatus. Booker only had 14 points and shot a woeful 5-for-19 from the field and 1-for-8 from downtown in Phoenix's 102-92 loss to the Clips in February.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, also have several wing defenders capable of slowing down Booker's offensive exploits. Denver's starting shooting guard Gary Harris is also a good two-way player, while the pesky Will Barton usually covers Booker. With their success in containing Booker, the Nuggets already swept its season series with the Suns.
