Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns are dancing their way to the second round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, as they took care of business in the first round with a gentleman's sweep of Russell Westbrook and the banged-up Los Angeles Clippers.
Booker was fantastic from the beginning to the end of the series versus the Clippers, who had no answer to Phoenix's attack. With Paul George missing the entire series and Kawhi Leonard sitting out multiple games, Booker and the Suns were able to take advantage of a Clippers' team that missed the services of their best perimeter defenders. So good was Booker in the series that he managed to join a Michael Jordan stats club in the NBA Playoffs.
Via OptaSTATS:
“Devin Booker of the @Suns is the second player in NBA history to average 35.0+ PPG while shooting at least 60% from the field and 80% from the line in a playoff series. The other was Michael Jordan in the first round in 1992.”
Booker concluded the first round with an average of 37.2 points on 60.2 percent shooting from the field. He shot 46.7 percent from behind the arc and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. With the Clippers so focused on slowing down Durant, Booker was able to find plenty of opening in LA's defense and consistently exploited those cracks.
Devin Booker's excellent first round could also mean that regression is imminent with regard to his shooting efficiency, but the Suns should still be fine even if his percentages dip a little against the Denver Nuggets in the second round.
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