The Whiteboard: Be prepared for a Devin Booker slow start

By Ti Windisch | Sep 11, 2018

MIAMI, FL - MARCH 5: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns is seen before the game against the Miami Heat on March 5, 2018 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Devin Booker might need a little more time than normal to get going this season, which is completely understandable.

Devin Booker recently underwent hand surgery, and according to Shams Charania he will miss about six weeks of action. That’s a silver lining in this unfortunate news for Phoenix Suns fans, who should have their star guard back right around the start of the regular season.

Hopefully that’s how Booker’s recovery goes, and he’s back and raring to go by Phoenix’s first game on October 17. Either way, his recent surgery will be something that has to be kept in mind when discussing Booker’s season, especially the start of it.

The injury and subsequent surgery was to Booker’s right hand, which is his shooting hand. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the surgery happened when it did because of some unexpected swelling in that dominant hand. That’s obviously far from ideal.

Even when the sharpshooting guard is cleared to play again, Booker will likely take a while to truly be back to his former self. A slow start to the NBA season shouldn’t be any true cause for concern for Devin Booker in 2018-19.

The Suns have added some good players this summer, both for the now and the later, but it’s pretty obvious Phoenix wasn’t really going to compete anyway. There’s no reason to rush Booker back, and it’s not going to completely ruin the Suns’ season if it takes him a while to get his form back.

The most important thing in this and any injury situation is patience. As tempting as it can be to throw hot takes out about a player who just signed a huge deal, the context of this surgery means Booker should get some slack on the coming season.

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