Let’s dive into this ongoing series between the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks. The Suns sprung out of the gates with two statement wins over the Mavericks at home. That was followed up by two strong wins by the Mavericks on their own court, tying the series up at two. Heading into a pivotal Game 5 now, it’s anybody’s guess what could end up happening here. Now is the best time to dive a little deeper into this series and figure out why the Mavericks are giving Phoenix such a difficult time.
First things first, Dallas is trying to use the Suns strengths against them and it’s working. The transition game has just been ten times better for the Mavericks than it has for Phoenix in Games 3 and 4. Their recent Game 4 loss saw them turn it over 17 times, the third straight game that they have done that. Dallas has turned those 51 turnovers into 64 points in the series. Because Dallas is scoring more on the fast break, Phoenix has to take the ball straight out from the net. Meaning they are getting defended by the Mavericks from the half court while the Suns are stuck playing catch up in any fastbreak that occurs. The Suns need to stop giving them easy buckets.
The second reason for this is simply Luka Doncic. Doncic provides such a massive offensive threat on offense that is completely opens the door for other role players. In the first two games, Phoenix did a great job of shutting them down and allowing Luka to drop 40 plus. However, it has changed lately. Jalen Brunson for example dropped 28 points in Game 4 and Dorian Finney-Smith knocked down a career high eight three pointers for 24 points. The Suns head coach Monty Williams admitted that their defensive changes weren’t helping. He said, “You’re not gonna stop Luka. The last two games, we’ve given Luka and Brunson, Luka and Finney-Smith opportunities. That’s been a thing that’s hurt us.” It’s hard to argue to that. This group needs to allow Doncic to operate individually so that they can shut off the rest of the role players and force him to beat them on his own.
Everybody in that Suns locker room knows damn well that stopping Doncic is the primary concern. They just really need to keep their heads on straight otherwise this whole season will be for nothing. So often nowadays we see teams face hard adversity in a postseason series and just crumble under the pressure and get into their own heads. Phoenix is led by the Point God himself Chris Paul. This shouldn’t be happening with him on the roster. Let’s face it, Phoenix is a much better overall team and should be winning this series heading into Game 5. While it’s a little worrying, they should be able to bounce back and secure this next home matchup. At least, that’s what I’m expecting to happen.