Devin Booker has all the potential to be the NBA’s next great scorer, but that won’t happen if he fails to fix his finishing problem.

The Phoenix Suns had a lone bright spot last season. Devin Booker, in just his second year, captivated us with a scintillating scoring ability that we didn’t foresee. As a rookie, he averaged a modest 13.8 points a night and shot 42.3 percent from the floor in 27.7 minutes. It wasn’t bad. As a sophomore, the points saw an astronomical rise to 22.1, and Booker managed to boast the same exact field goal clip.

He improved slightly from three (36.3 percent from 34.3) while dipping from two (44.7 from 46.4), but Booker more than made up for it by totaling 441 foul shots in his 78 games. By the end of Phoenix’s dreadful campaign, the 20-year-old compiled 1,726 points, tying him with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal as the second-youngest players ever to crack 1,700 points in a season, according to Basketball-Reference.

Those numbers are why we can speculate and consider Booker the next point generating superstar. He’s already adept at getting to the line and is only going to improve as a shooter, but there’s an inability to finish around the basket that’s going to hinder Booker’s progress.

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According to NBA.com, Booker attempted 351 shots inside of five feet last year, connecting on 187 of them. That works out to a clip of 53.3 percent. Of the 36 players who had at least 250 shots from that zone, Booker had the fifth-lowest clip. Under him was Ish Smith, Tony Allen, Jeff Teague and Dion Waiters. For argument’s sake, let’s say that Booker converted on 60 percent of those looks. He would’ve made 211 shots, 24 more than the actual number. Times that by two, and Booker adds 48 points over the course of the season, bringing his total to 1,774 and his nightly average to 22.7. It’s a small increase, but what’s harder to quantify is the opportunities it’d create.

When the defense is facing a dynamic finisher, they’re going to focus their energy on stopping him. The rotations are going to be harder, and the defense is going to have him kick it out to the three-point line. Booker’s (or whoever) man would also be sagged off a bit more to prevent him from getting the step. If said player is money from mid-range, that cushion makes them just as lethal.

The former Wildcat did an excellent job balancing his offense and countered that piddling clip by shooting more jumpers, and he’s on his way to mastering the middle zone. Booker’s not “money” just yet, but he’s getting there. It’s discouraging looking at inefficiency on what are supposed to be easy shots, but there’s a silver lining. Booker isn’t forcing his way into the paint, and he’s comfortable with whatever the defense is giving him; pushing the issue on a consistent basis is the last thing Phoenix would want.

Thanks to his size, it’s bizarre seeing Booker struggle around the basket. Basketball Reference estimated that he spent 79 percent of his minutes at shooting guard last year, making him a bit oversized thus creating matchup problems. Contrary to his peers, Booker’s not a phenomenal athlete, and that also plays a role in his struggles.

Luckily, nothing about this situation is too serious. It’s like being sick with bronchitis and having a fever; there’s no cure but it’s going to get better with time, and there are some steps you can take to expedite the process. Booker can solve a lot of his issues in a summer or two depending on hard he works at it. Some of it is skill related. The rest is because of inexperience. For every hour he spends on the court working out, he’ll need to spend the same amount of time in the film room studying how defenses play him and how he can make the easy play.

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The first thing I noticed is that Booker takes a lot of wild shots. It’s not from just one spot either. (You’ve got to love the consistency!) Some of those attempts look like ones you’d see at an LA Fitness on Saturday morning; runners from the right elbow that hit the left side of the backboard. Or a reckless drive into three defenders where the ball hits the rim, but everyone knows the guy should’ve passed it. I know, it’s not the ideal scouting report for an NBA player.

I doubt the coaching staff cares as much given their circumstance. The Suns want Booker to become the guy. They’re going to let him shoot as many times as necessary. Chucking up wild shots in traffic is more of an IQ thing than a skill thing. The assistants need to sit with Booker and help work on his awareness when it comes to passing. He doesn’t worry about that because he’s a score-first player, but it’s the key to a well-balanced offense.