They don’t have a lockdown defender even though that’s harder to determine considering teams switch everything, but Bridges, a runner up for the 2021-22 NBA defensive player of the year award, was their best defender.Ĭam Johnson and Jae Crowder were also solid defenders, but both were in the same trade for Durant.Ĭrowder didn’t play a single game for the Suns in 2022-23, but he, Johnson and Bridges were part of the 2021-22 team that ranked third in the league in defensive rating behind Boston and Golden State. In this year’s postseason, they’re 13 th in defensive rating out of 16 playoff teams. Oops: NBA insider roasted after Phoenix Suns' Frank Vogel hire: 'It's gonna be Kevin Young' Three of Vogel’s 11 teams finished first in the NBA in defensive rating while two more ranked third.Ģ012-13 Pacers – 1 st in defensive rating, reached Eastern Conference finals, lost to Heat.Ģ013-14 Pacers – 1 st in defensive rating, reached Eastern Conference finals, lost to Heat.Ģ015-16 Pacers – 3 rd in defensive rating, made playoffs, lost to Raptors in first round.Ģ019-20 Lakers – 3 rd in defensive rating, won NBA championship.Ģ020-21 Lakers – 1st in defensive rating, made playoffs, lost to Suns in 1st round. 9 trade deadline played a role in that defensive dip, too, but they’ve hired Frank Vogel, who has won with defense. Moving their best perimeter defender, Mikal Bridges, to Brooklyn as part of the blockbuster Durant deal right before the Feb. Having Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, two of the game’s premier scorers, can lead to that. The Phoenix Suns became more offensive driven as the 2022-23 season progressed under Monty Williams. The second and third best are Lanier High alum Monta Ellis (17.8 points from 2006-2017) and Hattiesburg High alum Purvis Short (17.3 from 1979-90).View Gallery: The Phoenix Suns have hiredformer Lakers' coach Frank Vogel as their new head coach. He scored 47 against the Los Angeles Lakers in a first round game and 40 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a conference finals game.īooker has the highest scoring career average of any Mississippian in NBA history. Booker is averaging 27 points in 16 playoff games this season. He has a career scoring average of 23 points per game and averaged 25.6 points this season. Booker became the youngest player to have conseuctive 50 point games in 2019. He became the youngest player in NBA history to score 60 points (he scored 70) in 2017. There have many Mississippians to play in the NBA finals, the latest being Meridian High alumnus Rodney Hood in 2017, but they have never started in a Finals game after extensive research on basketball reference website, which lists 67 players who played high school basketball in Mississippi since the NBA began.īooker, 24, is in his sixth season in the NBA after playing one year at Kentucky. Other players who have scored more than 42 points are Jordan, Barry, West, James, Bob Pettit, Allen Iverson, Steph Curry, Wilt Chamberlain, O’Neal, Kevin Durant, Kevin Westbrook and Dwayne Wade.īooker became the first Mississippian to start a game in the NBA finals in history when he scored 27 points to help the Phoenix Suns to a 118-105 victory in Game 1. Those 13 players had 20 games where they scored 43 points or better.Įlgin Baylor scored the most, hitting 61 points for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1962 Finals against the Boston Celtics. Only 13 players in NBA history have scored more points than Booker did Wednesday night, only seven in the past 20 years. Jordan scored 40 in four consecutive games, the only player to do more than two straight.
Devin booker career high series#
The Bucks lead the series 3-2.īooker, who scored 42 points in Game 4, joins Michael Jordan (1993), Rick Barry (1967), Jerry West (19), LeBron James (2016), Shaquille O’Neal (2000) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (this year) as players who have scored back to back 40 point games in NBA Finals. Moss Point High alumnus Devin Booker became the seventh player to score 40 points in back to back games in the NBA Finals history Saturday night when he scored 40 points in a 123-119 loss to the Milawaukee Bucks in Game 5.
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