Today the Sun reversed the 76ers at one point behind 14 points, and Booker remains the mainstay. He scored more than 35 points, made 4 of 4 free throws at key moments, and scored 10 points in the final quarter. After the baptism of last year's finals and the difficulties at the beginning of this season, Booker is now more and more stable, is already a top star in the league, and will surely rely on the Suns to compete for the first crown in team history in the future.
For the Rivers 76ers, taking a 10-plus lead and then being reversed is no longer news, but for the Suns, it's still a boastful victory, even if they've already led the league in terms of wins. And Booker's imminent danger after the game was also supported by the data. According to Stat Muse, the Suns have won 22-3 in games this season until key moments (within 5 points of the final 5 minutes difference), and Booker's shooting rate in key moments is as high as 67.7%. Booker, who was once Kobe's disciple, now has some idol style.
Before this game, Booker played in 46 games this season, averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1 steal per game, shooting 44.9% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range, of which rebounds and steals were career highs, and the three-point shooting rate was the second highest in his career. In addition, Booker averaged career records (20.7) and three-pointers (7.1) this season. At the same time, this season is also the first time in Booker's career that he has played an average of 25+5+4 performances.
At the beginning of the season, Booker also underwent adjustments. At the beginning of the new season, perhaps affected by the offseason infection with the new crown, Booker only handed over 41.6% of the total shooting rate and 28.6% of the three-point shooting rate in October 2021; by November, Booker recovered, and the two shooting rates returned to 47.3% and 43.8%; by December, Booker's three-point shooting rate was the highest in the season, reaching 46.3% despite missing seven consecutive games due to strained hamstrings. (7.7 shots per game); Booker's shooting percentage fell slightly in January, but his single-month 23.6 points was the season's highest; so far this month, Booker's total shooting rate has crossed the 50% threshold, also setting his monthly record for the season.
In addition to getting better over time, another interesting aspect of Booker's performance this season is that it is better to play away than at home. This season on the road, Booker averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 47.8% overall and 38.4% from three-point range; at home, Booker averaged 20.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, shooting 41.9% and 36.2% respectively.
As for why there is such an interesting contrast, fans have given a more interesting reasoning: Perhaps because there is no Jenna on the road, Booker is not easy to be distracted?
This season, Booker's offensive efficiency (115.4) is the second highest in his career (after the 2020-21 season), while his defensive efficiency (106.7) is a career high, which is really gratifying. As a result, Booker's net efficiency this season (+8.7) also hit a new career high. In addition, although Booker's assist rate (19.9%) this season is not high, the assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81) is a new career record, and his average of 2.4 turnovers per game this season is also the fewest since the rookie season.
In terms of offensive distribution, Booker has reduced his interior attack this season, accounting for only 10.7% of his career-low shots in the three-second zone, and averaging 7.1 points per game on the interior line is far less than last season (9.8 points). But this season he averaged 1st, 2nd and 3rd career points, respectively, taking advantage of his opponent's turnovers ( 4.5 ) , as well as second offense (1.9) and fast-attacking ( 4.1 ) . In addition, Booker's three-point shooting percentage (34.3%) this season ranked second in his career, and this did not affect his three-point accuracy in the slightest, which can be described as quality and quantity.
The mention of secondary offensive scoring leads to another statistic that Booker has highlighted this season, that is, rebounds. Booker's total rebounding percentage (7.5 percent), offensive rebounding rate (2.3 percent) and defensive rebounding rate (12.3 percent) all hit career highs this season. From defense and rebounding to the peak of his career at the same time, it is becoming clear that Booker is now influencing the game in ways other than scoring.
Looking back at Booker's career, he shot extraordinary in the rookie season, and the second season of his career began to enter the room, stepping into the threshold of 20+ points per game in the season, which is impeccable in terms of personal performance. But as the season's dismal single 70-point performance demonstrated, Booker was still immature at the time, with a stark contrast between technical and psychological maturity. More importantly, Booker's inability to respond to external doubts with his achievements is seen as a typical example of being alone.
The 2020 rematch is a step up for both Booker and the Suns. Although still blocked out of the playoffs, the eight-game victory in the rematch shows that the emerging forces in the league are about to emerge, and Booker, who was selected as an All-Star for the first time in the season (albeit a replacement), also reversed the stereotype of the world. Perhaps catching a glimpse of this, the Sun's upper echelons hit the iron while it was hot, took Paul in the middle, and took him to Phoenix. Everything that follows is history. After Paul took a ride to the Finals, Booker finally grew into what Phoenix fans expected.
After two transformations, Booker is no longer Wuxia Amun, and the third transformation he is looking forward to will be to climb the championship podium. Maybe this is this season, maybe it's in the not too near future. (Supine Braces/Hairy)