34 pawns on the heads of champions, no doubt he has a future for this little one

By taking the Lakers by the throat on Sunday in Game 1 of their series, the Suns immediately showed that their good regular season was not an aberration. And if there’s one who has proven he’s made for the Playoffs, it’s Devin Booker. First match of postseason for Book, the first small masterpiece.

He had been waiting for this for a long, long time. Arriving in Arizona in 2015, Devin Booker went through the seasons in the Western Conference slums. Admittedly, he quickly became one of the offensive references of the NBA but when you lose, again and again, difficult to be recognized for its true value. So, this Sunday, May 23, 2021, Book wanted to prove to everyone that he had the shoulders to shine on the most beautiful stage, that of the Playoffs, the one where legends are written. For its great debut in postseason, the 24-year-old rear has donned the boss costume. In front ? There were just the reigning champions. There was just LeBron James. There was just Anthony Davis. But the star that shone the most is Devin, with 34 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists (6 loss of ball), all at 13/26 shooting, 3/7 from parking and 7/8 on free throws. The stats line speaks for itself, and he’s even allowed himself to set a new franchise record for most points scored in a first Playoffs game. All this with a 99-90 victory at the end of the day. In short, the perfect evening.

???? Devin Booker: most points in a playoff debut in Suns history pic.twitter.com/Pq0plRRH5x

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) May 23, 2021

But more than the numbers, more than the record, it was especially Booker’s ability to take matters into his own hands that was impressive. We don’t know many 24-year-olds capable of carrying a team on their shoulders in their first Playoffs game, moreover against the defending champions, moreover with a leader injured in the shoulder. Chris Paul, Devin’s backcourt pal and one of the main reasons the Suns have made great strides this season, actually couldn’t activate Point God mode this Sunday. On the contrary, he grimaced strongly because of his sore but it didn’t matter in the end, because Booker was desperate to make this moment his, Mamba Mentality style : 17 points in the first half to put his team on the right track, 14 of his team’s 16 points between the end of the third quarter and the second half of the fourth to shatter any hope for the team opposite, clearly Devin had circled this game on his schedule for years. With his buddy Deandre Ayton, who was also a hit for his first Playoffs meeting, Booker can finally let his talent explode in front of the eyes of the whole basketball world, and we can only appreciate.

Big big start in the Playoffs for Devin Booker, and something tells us it’s just the start. The Suns full-back has shown he doesn’t need any adjustment time to be able to shine in postseason, a rare quality when you are only 24 years old. But we know, this guy is not really like the others.

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