Phoenix Suns: Booker, Bledsoe Shine Again in Loss to Nuggets
Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe are beginning to form a wicked backcourt for the Phoenix Suns this year, and bode well for the team’s future.
Despite the Phoenix Suns 120-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe shined by dropping a combined 65 points.
Booker scored 30 points, while Bledsoe racked up 35 of his own. Regardless of their scoring surges, it was not enough to take down the Nuggets. Forward Wilson Chandler lead his team with 25 points, with guards Jameer Nelson chipping in with 21 and Emmanuel Mudiay with 19.
It was their second consecutive loss, dropping their record to 5-13 and falling to 14th place in the Western Conference out of 15 teams.
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Although the Suns are off to another slow start to the season, Booker and Bledsoe have been carrying the offense. Booker leads the team with 19.6 points per game, while Bledsoe trails him with 18.8.
Sunday’s affair with the Nuggets was the fourth time this season Booker has scored more than 30 points. The 35 points Bledsoe racked up is now a season-high, beating his 31-point effort against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 8.
Just how dominant have these two been this season? In the Suns eighteen games played so far this year, one of the two guards has been the team’s leading scorer in ten of those.
This shouldn’t really come as a surprise to the Suns and their fans. Bledsoe averaged 20.4 PPG last season, and was a career-high for the 26-year old. He only played in 31 games as he was hampered by a knee injury that ended his season in December. When he was healthy though, he was a frequent scorer over his 34.2 minutes played per game. He played good minutes and scored often, so it’s no shocker that he’s thriving this season after finally being healthy.
And, Booker, too. In his first season in the NBA last year, the then-19 year old dropped an average of 13.8 PPG. Booker was quiet in the first few months of his career after scoring 14 in his debut. He averaged 7.6 points in December and then skyrocketed to 17.3 in January. He was fantastic for the Suns in March, when he averaged 22.4 per game. Booker began to fit the role as the Suns’ face of the franchise and future star.
Booker and Bledsoe are beginning to form a wicked backcourt. It wasn’t as easy to identify last season due to Bledsoe’s injury, but these two are dangerous when they’re on the floor together.
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The Suns may not be playing all that well this year, but the production from Booker and Bledsoe is a good sign for the team’s future.