Suns -6 – 1.5 unit Game 2
Game 1 wasn’t anywhere as close as the final score and the Suns give the Mavs problems that weren’t there in the Jazz series – Dallas can’t just spread out 5 wide and drive on Phoenix easily because Phoenix doesn’t have defensive liabilities on the perimeter like Gobert or Jordan Clarkson. They also have no answer for Ayton who had 25 points and helped the Suns outrebound Dallas by 15. Phoenix was up 21 in this game and Dallas is going to rely a lot on 3 pointers and on misses there’s going to be very little second chances. The Mavs can definitely get better games from Brunson and Dinwiddie (13 and 8 points) but Luka also scored 45 and Kleber was 5-8 from three. Dallas is a very good defensive team but this defense is a step down from what the Suns just saw vs New Orleans because there are no true shot blockers and they’re not facing the length that Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram and Jaxson Hayes gave them. There’s also nobody off of Dallas’s bench like Jose Alvarado or Naji Marshall who give the Suns’ guards as many problems as they saw last series and was part of the reason Cam Payne had his first good game of the playoffs last night. Last night was the best the Suns looked in the playoffs so far and with Booker coming back only 2 games ago there should be no letdown.
