Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Suns fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
When injuries hit, the math changes. The vibes change. The pecking order gets shoved into a blender, and someone hits “high.” And when the guy who normally calms the room, the one who bends defenses just by standing there and breathing, goes down, the ripple effects are impossible
to ignore.
That’s Devin Booker. Fringe All-Star or not, the Suns orbit around him, and Sunday in Miami was our first real reminder of what life looks like when the sun disappears behind the clouds.
Booker hasn’t had his most efficient shooting season, and that’s fine. That’s not the point. His gravity still warps the floor. His decision-making still lubricates the offense. With him out there, everyone else knows where to stand, when to cut, and why the ball is coming their way. Through 41 games with Booker, the Suns average 41.8 made field goals on 25 assists per night, good for a clean 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Things make sense. The ball hums. The gears stay oiled.
Take him out, and the picture gets fuzzier. In the five games he’s missed, that drops to 37.4 made field goals and 22.8 assists, with the assist-to-turnover ratio dipping to 1.5. Not catastrophic. Not a five-alarm fire. But noticeable. You feel it. You see it. The offense hesitates, like it’s waiting for someone to raise their hand and say, “Alright, I’ve got this.”
And that’s the real question now. If Booker isn’t there to conduct the orchestra, who’s grabbing the baton?
Is it Grayson Allen, leaning harder into his ability to put the ball on the deck, touch the paint, and kick it back out before the defense can blink? Is it Royce O’Neale, quietly keeping things organized and unsexy while doing the connective tissue work no one puts in the box score? Is it Jordan Goodwin, turning pressure into playmaking? Or does Dillon Brooks need to embrace his inner point forward and focus less on shot hunting and more on keeping the ball alive?
Because against Miami, the ball stuck. It stalled. Possessions ended in isolation purgatory instead of movement and advantage. That’s not who this team has been, and it’s not who they can afford to be while Booker heals up.
That’s what this week’s Suns Reacts is all about. If the offense has to run through someone else for a stretch, who do you trust to steer the ship? Who should Jordan Ott lean on to initiate, organize, and keep the whole thing from drifting sideways?
Sound off. The floor is yours.
