The Phoenix Suns absolutely collapsed in Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks. It really doesn’t get much worse than losing 123-90. No matter which way you spin it, the Suns should have won this series. They were up 2-0 at the beginning of the series and hadn’t lost a game at home until this infamous Game 7 matchup. They also have a star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker to pair up with arguably the best depth in the entire league. Somehow, they were just dismantled in their most important game of the season and can’t even make it into the Western Conference Finals.
First things first, we have to cover Chris Paul. The Point God just disappeared throughout these last five games of the series. You would think that he would become more aggressive in Game 7, but that would be wrong. He ended with just 10 points, one rebounds and four assists. That simply isn’t going to get the job done here. Then you look over at Devin Booker, he had just 11 points, three boards and two assists with four turnovers. He also hit just three out of his 14 shots from the field.
Now let’s take a look at the Suns roster as a whole. They shot just 37.9 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from behind the arc. Both of these stats are well below average. Even their free throw percentage was dipping at 66.7 percent. Their highest scorer on the roster was their backup forward Cam Johnson with 12 just to further prove how rough of a night they had. All five starters on the team ended with a plus/minus of –20 or more, with the worst being Booker at –41. Just an absolutely horrible night all-around for them.
We got to give some credit to Dallas though. This Mavericks team played hard and did not want to see their season come to an end just yet. Luka Doncic did his usual, dropping 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 12 for 19 shooting from the field. It was their bench that really stepped up and contributed though. Jalen Brunson added a very efficient 24 points and Spencer Dinwiddie dropped an additional 30 points on 11 for 15 shooting from the field including five threes. As a team, the Mavericks shot 56.8 percent from the field and 48.7 percent from behind the arc. They also didn’t miss a single free throw. It’s pretty clear why they were able to walk out of this game with a victory under their belts.
The Mavericks now look ahead to the Golden State Warriors, while the Suns think about the future. Will Phoenix keep the band together and run it back for a third season? Is there going to be significant changes made to the roster or coaching staff to try and get them over the hump? Only time will tell, but there is definitely decisions to be made over in Phoenix moving forward.