Atlanta Hawks: 4 keys to victory against the Phoenix Suns
Atlanta Hawks key No. 4) Key matchup De’Andre Hunter vs Devin Booker
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Devin Booker is by far the Suns’ best offensive player. Up until the addition of Paul, Booker was running the offense despite having other point guards around him. He has intelligently handed the main playmaking duties to a first-ballot hall of fame point guard.
Booker is still a threat with or without the ball in his hands. He is averaging 23.0 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 35.5 minutes per game. He is shooting the ball with great efficiency going at 48.6 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from deep, and 81.3 percent from the line.
His defender is almost certainly going to be De’Andre Hunter who so far this season has taken on Kyrie Irving twice and Gordon Hayward twice. He was able to keep Irving to two inefficient nights and only had his colors lowered once to Hayward.
Hunter loves the challenge of defending the opposition’s best player and will gladly accept the responsibility of making life difficult for Booker. He will most certainly be helped by Reddish and Collins and if Booker gets past him, Capela is an incredible help defender. Hunter will also challenge Booker at the other end of the court as his game has taken a huge leap this season at that end.