I rewatched our first outing in this preseason, and two things stood out to me: the ease and cleanliness with which Devin Booker maximized each offensive possession (7 assists and just 1 turnover). Yes,
it’s just a preseason game, but DBook may have shown us the first outlines of what his new version could be this season.
Clip by Clip: Booker vs. Lakers
What first caught my eye was the quality and consistency of his passes, and more specifically, the last one, which led to a shot. They were precise, sharp, and quick passes that originated from the legs, and always after that brief moment of hesitation to create uncertainty in the opposing defense.
Booker has always been a good playmaker. He has vision, technique, and precision. But he sometimes lacked consistency, especially in games with no real stakes. These shortcomings prevented him from being recognized as an elite playmaker by public opinion, but we will see later (perhaps in a future article) that statistically, he definitely belongs in that category.
Let’s go back to his game against the Lakers and what we might see this season in Phoenix’s play: the kick-out.
This action involves flattening the defense after a drive to pass the ball to a teammate, usually in the corner. The skip pass is next. It has the same principle as the kick-out, but this time, the ball handler makes a pass that crosses the court (skipping is an easier option). It’s riskier but devastating if the pass is successful.
Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen (approximately 38% on corner shots for the first and up to 47% for the second over the last three seasons) will be heavily involved in these actions. We also hope for good development in Ryan Dunn’s shooting so that he is just as effective on his cuts to the basket.
Like we saw against the Lakers, we’ll see plenty of passes from Devin to cutters or players stationed in the dunker spot. There’s the drive and dump-off, an aggressive drive followed by a quick pass inside. Then the drop pass, a smoother, more technical variation of the same action with added finesse. And finally, the pocket drop, which comes after a drive and threads between two defenders as the defense collapses, finding the cutter or the man in the dunker spot.
It’s the big men or Ryan Dunn who will be most served by DBook in these actions.
For example, among players with over 1,000 minutes this season, Oso Ighodaro has an 80% success rate from less than 3 feet from the rim (96th percentile). Mark Williams is at 72% but with approximately five cuts per 75 possessions (the best in the league in this area) and 9.24 shots at the rim per 75 possessions (98th percentile).
For our second sophomore, his stats are also very good: 71% success rate for 1.21 cuts per 75 possessions (in the 76th percentile in both statistics).
With Maluach and Richards in the paint, in addition to those already mentioned, Phoenix has everything to turn Booker’s vision into easy points. It’s this outside-inside connection that could make a difference this season.
If Phoenix can capitalize on this connection between Booker and his big men, the offense could finally find the continuity it has been lacking. The preseason may just be a preview, but the game plan is already starting to take shape.
