The Phoenix Suns were one of those teams coming into the season that people thought had a chance to compete for a playoff spot but they were considered a mediocre Western Conference team. To start this season they have basically followed suit as they are 3-4 with all of their losses coming against very good teams and all of the wins coming against decent or not so good teams.
The Suns have a rookie, Devin Booker, whom they are very high on and head coach Jeff Hornacek has continuously talked about how mature he is and that he could play right away but that has yet to happen. For the most part the Suns have been going with a nine man rotation meaning they don't play a backup shooting guard which has Booker playing very sparingly.
Hornacek has said all along that he doesn't think Booker is like other rookies and that he can come in and play right away. He is sticking to that but now he's coupling it with saying that he doesn't want to throw a rookie right into the fire, according to Paul Coro of Arizona Republic.
"You don't want to throw the guys in there. Some guys can handle it, some can't. Maybe with all the coaches I've been around, it's always good to get them in slowly so they can understand it and see it happen. He's not a guy that first time through the league, he's going to be intimidated or in awe of anybody. He's got great confidence. He might be a little quicker to the table than most young guys," said Hornacek.
In Hornacek's defense Booker is the youngest player in the NBA having just turned 19 so the idea of easing him in makes sense but the head coaches words don't match up with his actions. He thinks Booker is fine to play yet he has only played him in four games and he is averaging 10 minutes per game. In the first game of the season Booker played 22 minutes but since then he hasn't gotten more than 10 in any game.
Booker was the 13th overall pick in the draft and the Suns have spoken very highly of him since draft day but the inconsistent playing time has been a mystery. When Booker has been on the floor he has played really well as he has made 8-14 from the field (2-3 from three) and he has also been a plus defender so far. Yes it is a very small sample size for him but the way he has played while on the court coupled with the fact that Hornacek thinks he's ready should mean more minutes for Booker going forward. It's not like Phoenix has been getting great play from P.J. Tucker this season so Booker's time may be coming if Hornacek truly does feel he is ready.
