Playoffs - WC Semis - G1 - Mavs @ Suns (Mond. 10 PM ET)

[Dirk]

"We have played a lot of games in the playoffs and still haven't got to the second round. But we feel like we can do something great this year, so we all expected to get this win," Finney-Smith said.



Preview from nba.com

3 Things to Watch

1. Clutch performances: If you’re unaware, “clutch” time refers to games in which the score is within five points in the last five minutes. In this series, we’ve got two of the league’s very best in that department so far in the postseason. Phoenix is 2-1 in clutch time in the playoffs, good for third among postseason participants, while the Mavericks rank just below with a record of 3-2. The Suns finished the regular season with the league’s best mark (33-9) in clutch games, while Dallas won 57.9% of its outings under those circumstances. Both teams can thank steady play at point guard from Doncic and Paul for their success in games that come down to the wire, and there’s a good chance we’ll see plenty of close finishes in this series.

2. Defending the stars: Doncic and Booker are prolific scorers, but both teams have defensive stoppers capable of slowing down these superstars. Bridges likely gets that assignment for Phoenix against Doncic when needed, but the Suns forward won’t be guarding the Dallas point guard exclusively. After struggling to handle Brandon Ingram in the first round, Phoenix sent plenty of double teams his way in Game 6, holding him to 8-of-17 shooting for 21 points. You can expect the Suns to employ multiple strategies to neutralize the playmaking Doncic. Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith likely takes on the role of stopper against Booker, who led the Suns in scoring in each of their regular-season wins over Dallas. An All-Defensive Team candidate, Finney-Smith can effectively guard every position on the floor. His defense on Jazz star Donovan Mitchell proved significant in the opening round, as Mitchell shot just 37.7% from the floor over the last three games of that first-round series.

3. Battle of the bigs: Ayton averaged 15 rebounds against the Mavericks during the regular season, and Doncic carried the burden on the boards (8.0 rpg) in these meetings for Dallas. In this series, the Mavericks will also need to deal with Ayton’s scoring, especially if they’re devoting extra attention to slowing down Booker. Ayton played in just two of the three Suns-Mavs games this season, shooting a combined 13 of 20 for 27 points. Dallas has just two true centers on its roster in Dwight Powell (who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2020) and Boban Marjanovic. Neither of them is athletic enough to consistently defend Ayton, who has a Hall of Fame point guard in Paul to deliver the ball inside. The Suns also appear to have more depth at the position with JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo. The Mavs did employ a small-ball lineup in the second half of Game 6 on Thursday with Finney at center, and that played a crucial role in the team’s comeback victory over Utah.

Number to know

17.4 — The Mavs ranked last in pace in the regular season, averaging just 95.6 possessions per 48 minutes. And their series against the Jazz was the slowest-paced series of the first round, with the two teams averaging just 91.3 possessions per 48. Overall pace is about both offense and defense, but according to Second Spectrum tracking, the Mavs averaged a league-high 15.8 seconds per offensive possession in the regular season. And over their six games against Utah, that number jumped to 17.4 seconds per possession.

For the third straight year, Luka Doncic leads the postseason in time of possession. Dallas likes to play slow and control the ball. And fewer possessions can help shrink the gap between a very good team and an elite one. Of course, fewer possessions can also make it more likely that the score is close down the stretch.

And with their win in Game 6 in New Orleans on Thursday, the Suns are now 35-10 (.777) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes. They were 2-0 in clutch games against the Mavs in the regular season (Doncic played in only one of those two games), scoring an amazing 30 points on 17 clutch possessions. Dallas is 25-18 in clutch games after their Game 6 win in Utah, but ranked 27th in clutch defense (117.8 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the regular season.

[BlueSan]

Yeah well I hope for a miralce. I think Suns are way better and Luka is going to have problems and how much Brunson gets this offseason will in majority depend on this series.

Just ouch stuff for Dallas. Good luck!

[arkuo]

Bridges will be on Luka the whole game and series. That means their best defender is already attached to someone, CP3 and Booker are not very good defenders. Which means it's time for Dinwiddie and Brunson to go off. If Bridges will stick to Luka all game, I expect him to rack up his fouls though. Bridges will be wasting his time stick to Luka when he will just dump passes for.corner threes. LOL

[41Dirk41]

We have only one hope... The Laser.

[Apz]

Bridges will be on Luka the whole game and series. That means their best defender is already attached to someone, CP3 and Booker are not very good defenders. Which means it's time for Dinwiddie and Brunson to go off. If Bridges will stick to Luka all game, I expect him to rack up his fouls though. Bridges will be wasting his time stick to Luka when he will just dump passes for.corner threes. LOL

Ever seen a defender being able to stick to 1 player? Specially when luka plays? Saw some show on youtube that also talked like that. Luka will get who he wants guarding him. Luka will decide how the chesspieces should stand, thats what he do.

Now, im unsure if we can win the series. Even whrn suns were tanking and lost like 70 games or so we still couldnt beat them. Not explainable, but its just how sports are

[41Dirk41]

Luka needs to show because he is the best player in the business.

The Luka Legend starts here.

[arkuo]

If Luka plans to be the best player in the business, he has to have a killer mindset like Kobe and MJ. Just bury the opponents every chance you can. Make them feel they're all just competing for 2nd place.

PHX will play extra hard because this is within their window for a championship. CP3 will just age every year. Father time is unbeaten. Kidd will have to pull out tricks every game. Monty is not as dumb as Snyder. Mavs are in for a long series chess match.

[Apz]

If Luka plans to be the best player in the business, he has to have a killer mindset like Kobe and MJ. Just bury the opponents every chance you can. Make them feel they're all just competing for 2nd place.

PHX will play extra hard because this is within their window for a championship. CP3 will just age every year. Father time is unbeaten. Kidd will have to pull out tricks every game. Monty is not as dumb as Snyder. Mavs are in for a long series chess match.

He does, but many years til MJ won his first title

[Absinthe]

Ayton is a better offensive player than Gobert but isn’t anywhere near the defensive threat he is. I think Dallas will be able to get at the rim easier. This series comes down to three point percentage. I can almost guarantee that the single most important factor will be looking at the box score and seeing who shot better from three.

Also, there are questions about Booker’s health. He could be completely fine but he could also aggravate his ham string again. It’s a major concern for the Suns. Could go either way.

[BlueSan]

Suns actually don't take many three-point shots. But they do take jumpers and it makes them dangerous

[Michaellam1987]

Ayton is a better offensive player than Gobert but isn’t anywhere near the defensive threat he is. I think Dallas will be able to get at the rim easier. This series comes down to three point percentage. I can almost guarantee that the single most important factor will be looking at the box score and seeing who shot better from three.

Also, there are questions about Booker’s health. He could be completely fine but he could also aggravate his ham string again. It’s a major concern for the Suns. Could go either way.

But Bridges and Crowder is way better defensively than any Utah's wing player, Luka is going to have a hard time to be able to get to the rim. DFS/Bullock will be super tired trying to guard the best backcourt in the league in Paul and Booker, which makes me worrying about their abilities to make the open 3pt in decent rate.

[wolfram]

Hard series for our Mavericks. Kokoskov revenge tour?

[Maverick41]

Bridges will be on Luka the whole game and series. That means their best defender is already attached to someone, CP3 and Booker are not very good defenders. Which means it's time for Dinwiddie and Brunson to go off. If Bridges will stick to Luka all game, I expect him to rack up his fouls though. Bridges will be wasting his time stick to Luka when he will just dump passes for.corner threes. LOL

Imo I think there's a good chance they stick Bridges on Brunson to really limit his capability. They'll put Crowder on Luka. Bridges will likely be on Luka during the last 6 mins of the 4th quarter though. We shall see. In any case, this will be a tough series. That Suns team is built so well.

[Apz]

If they put bridges on luka, what should bridges do? Teleport past the screen? If luka dont want bridges defending him, he wont defend him. Those 6min migh more be like 6 sec per posession, and not the important part

[SOUNDCHASER]

Get ready for it. Im feeling a mavs win tonight. We are hitting threes better lately and they did not do very well from the 3 last series.

[Michaellam1987]

Get ready for it. Im feeling a mavs win tonight. We are hitting threes better lately and they did not do very well from the 3 last series.

DAL already down big in the 1st quarter, seems more likely a lopsize loss to PHX, then an unlikely mavs win, all Sun starters scored already.

[fuller4379]

Suns are playing at a different level than the Mavs right now.

[ejs78]

2 on Bullock already... ugh.

Hopefully the small lineup works

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Michaellam1987]

bad defense, not organized offsense, unlimited low efficient Luka 1 on 1 against top perimeter defender in Brdige.

[Darren]

Pheonix crowded the paint. And it pay dividend. Luka is playing 1 on 5 so far. The only glaring weakness of Pheonix defensively is Ayton. But when the spacing is not good, then the Mavs is easily defendable. And the Mavs lack size upfront. The paint defense is awful. Start with Powell. And Bullock.