As has been the case for the last two seasons, the Phoenix Suns are dominating the regular season, boasting a 15-6 record (boosted by a 12-1 record at home) after blowing out the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
That they’re doing this in spite of Chris Paul missing the last 11 games with a heel injury, Cam Johnson tearing his meniscus eight games into the season, and the continued absence of Jae Crowder, who the team agreed to let stay home while they seek a trade for the veteran forward, makes it even more remarkable — not to mention an offseason full of terrible vibes. The biggest reason the Suns have not only stayed afloat but continued to be the best regular season team in the West is the play of Devin Booker, who came into Wednesday averaging 27.9 points per game.
That scoring average will be on the rise after his best performance of the season, when he lit up the Bulls for 51 points in just three quarters of play, hitting 20 of his 25 shot attempts from the field to lead to the lopsided victory.
51 PTS (20/25 FGM) | 6 AST | 6 3PM@DevinBook WENT OFF for 51 PTS in just 3 quarters of play! pic.twitter.com/BWd4Vs6y15
— NBA (@NBA) December 1, 2022
It is Devin Booker at his absolute best, knocking down contested midrange bucket after contested midrange bucket, while mixing in just enough drives to the rim and stepback threes to keep the defense off balance. I will forever contend that he has as aesthetically pleasing a game as any scorer in the NBA, and this is arguably his greatest masterpiece. It didn’t matter what the Bulls threw at him, as they tried length with Pat Williams and a pest in Alex Caruso and Booker shrugged all of it off to go get buckets. It’s honestly a shame that the Bulls couldn’t keep this thing closer because we might’ve seen Book contend for his second 70-point outing of his career had he needed to play the fourth quarter.