The Dallas Mavericks were hit by the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, losing Game 2 by 129-109. Chris Paul showed an incredible performance, scoring 28 points, grabbing six rebounds and eight assists. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 35 defeats.
The match started just like Game 1, with the Mavericks looking somewhat shocked and the Suns jumping to a quick 9-0 lead. Luka Doncic himself kept Dallas in the game, along with some solid shots from Reggie Bullock, but the Suns punished the Mavericks at both ends. Both Jaylen Brunson and Dorian Feeney-Smith got into trouble at the start, with the latter taking three in just nine minutes. Somehow the Mavericks were down by just four points, 32-28 behind the Suns after a quarter.
With Doncic on the bench, Spencer Dinuidi and Davis Bertans helped Dallas take the first lead of the series at 41-38 in the 8th minute. A quarter were overwhelmed by false accusations, most of which were somehow offensive. Jae Crowder remained in the fire to keep the Suns away from the shot, hitting a three-pointer and free throws. Doncic finished the quarter with three big threes, but Chris Paul and Suns answered each time. Dallas entered the half with a score of 60-58.
Devin Booker started at the beginning of the second half, shooting from three and long pairs, hitting everything to regain the lead for the Suns. The game plunged into the mud for a while, foul after foul seemingly causing every possession, including a screaming possession of DeAndre Ayton on a quick break, when he caught Dwight Powell with his elbow in his face. With Dallas losing by eight, a series of three-pointers by Reggie Bullock pulled the Mavericks right back into it, leveling it at 78. The Mavericks lost their focus a little lower and some misses led to a 89-83 lead after three quarters.
Things fell apart in the fourth quarter for Dallas, with Chris Paul taking both ends of the floor. Doncic was repeatedly targeted by Paul. Suns definitely ran Dallas off the floor, continuing 23-2 after Doncic hit a three-pointer and made 99-93. Three after three of the full variety of Suns to put the game out of range. Dallas broke away from the floor 129-109 and headed home for Game 3 on Friday night 2-0.
Luka Doncic learns a different lesson about the playoffs
The Los Angeles Clippers had two of the best defenders on the planet and many bodies to throw against Luka Doncic in the previous two playoffs. We will never know what could have happened in the first series with the healthy Christaps Porzingis, and in the second series the hot shooting stopped and the former coaching staff corrected, after which Cowie Leonard played one of the best basketball games I have ever seen in Game 6. .
This series, really this whole playoff, something different is happening. Luka Doncic is focused on defense again and again. Against Jazz, he endures, against Suns it is much harder. By the fourth quarter, he looked absolutely exhausted and had only played 30 minutes so far. Although he needs to keep improving his defenses, he really needs to keep improving his cardio. This is a small but significant thing that will pay off, because if he wants to play the ball in a dominant way, he can’t afford to get tired.
Challenging some key coaching decisions
The Mavericks outscored 18-4 in the first three minutes of Match 1 and Match 2. These points can largely be put at the feet of center Dwight Powell, who plays hard but is simply not a physical match for this whole series. He is caught by switch guards and is muscular by all Phoenix players. It started both the first quarter and the third quarter when the Mavericks were absolutely blown away. I’m not sure how much more the coaching staff needs to see to keep trying the same thing that doesn’t work.
It’s also worth asking why Dorian Feeney-Smith played two fouls in the first quarter. His first was a cheap whistle without a ball that should not be called, the second came after a foul on a three-point shooter. The third happened in a situation with a loose ball with three or about minutes left until the quarter and he did not have to enter. The Mavericks mitigated the effects with a steady play by Davis Bertans and others, but there was no reason for them to be in this situation.
Dallas needs Jalen Brunson
This is obvious, but Brunson is already 9 out of 28 in the series with almost as many personal fouls (8) as there are baskets. I’m sure I’ll be saddened by the comments that he didn’t get the ball enough and I think Brunson was planted in the corner too often this game, but he didn’t take advantage of the attack. This bleeds into other elements of his game, and he was caught in defense and gave up a few offensive fights, which is something I’ve never seen.
It’s easy to get into a story we talked about about how Brunson struggles with length. But as one person on Twitter told me, everyone in the NBA is taller than Brunson, so what are we talking about? While we have in mind that he fights with higher defenders who are actually good defenders, I think that’s simpler than all this: Brunson just needs to play better.
Here is our latest episode of Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you can’t see the embedding below, click here to be taken directly to the podcast. Or go to your favorite podcast app and search for Mavs Moneyball Podcast.
Add Comment