Devin Booker must set tone for Phoenix Suns against red-hot Pelicans

New Orleans has been rolling lately. Four straight victories in their building have turned Smoothie King Center into a place where opponents feel rushed before the opening tip. Not only that, but the Pelicans have won five of their last six games. Phoenix arrives without Grayson Allen, removing spacing and secondary shot creation from the rotation. That absence doesn’t just affect lineups; it clarifies responsibility. When the Suns are stripped down, the offense narrows. That’s where Devin Booker becomes less an option and more a requirement and a necessity for Phoenix’s offense to get established.

Booker has long treated New Orleans like a proving ground. His scoring spikes here aren’t about volume alone; they’re about control. He slows the game, hunts mismatches, and forces defenses into choices they don’t want to make. For a Suns team that can drift when possessions fragment, Booker’s presence becomes psychological ballast. It has been known that Booker enjoys playing there, especially with all of the success he has had in the past.

For Suns fans, this matchup matters beyond one night. It’s about whether Phoenix can still dictate terms against a confident opponent on the road. It’s about whether star-driven teams can bend momentum without full depth. It’s also about having trust, trust that when variables change, the constants still hold.