PLAYOFFS ROUND 2: #1 PHX (3-4) vs. #4 DAL (4-3) | DAL advances to WCF!

[cow]

1) JB and SD have to give the Mavs more moving forward. Saw some glimmers from both to give me a little hope.

From JB, sure.  But from Dinwiddie???

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Ayton cant cover Maxi on defense at the 3. Maxi can cover Ayton when we play defense and give him plenty of trouble.

To me that sounds like we have the upper hand in this matchup.

Maxi is key to this series, as his skills translate to counter Ayton. More than Powell. Although pick and roll with Luka and Powell will be hard for Ayton as well.

Maxi is decent defensively, but he can't guard Ayton in the paint. Can he make a play or two against him ? Sure. He'll hit some 3's if Ayton is in drop coverage, and he may even contest shots.   But for the most part, that's a net-negative. Powell doesn't even have a chance. Ayton said in the press conference after the game, that he was glad he didn't have to tussle with Valanciunas anymore.

[Kammrath]

Valanciunas

Massively underrated player.

[Smitty]

Before I read or listen to anything, my observations from last night:

Powell is borderline unplayable, the Suns play the pick and roll very well and DP's inability to shoot clogs up driving lanes for all three of our guards. I would start Dinwiddie over Powell and live with Ayton getting his buckets on that end. Foul trouble and early turnovers were a major factor in the loss. The Suns came out with way more intensity and now that the Mavs know to match that, I expect different first quarters going forward.

The Suns made 100 mid-range shots and a lot of fortunate bounces, whereas the Mavs blew 5-6 layups and/or fast break attempts. It was the perfect storm of doom. JB missed a lot of shots he normally makes, much like Game 1 against Utah. I expect that will work itself out but Dinwiddie looks so passive and lacking confidence, if he doesn't find "it" soon then a lot of what we're discussing doesn't matter. He is the only player left, capable of stepping up his game to levels that result in W's.

If Maxi is out for days/weeks, I don't know that there's anything the Mavs can do. The fact that Maxi is THAT important is reason enough to get another Maxi this offseason and every offseason afterwards.

[ItsGoTime]

Before I read or listen to anything, my observations from last night:

Powell is borderline unplayable, the Suns play the pick and roll very well and DP's inability to shoot clogs up driving lanes for all three of our guards. I would start Dinwiddie over Powell and live with Ayton getting his buckets on that end. Foul trouble and early turnovers were a major factor in the loss. The Suns came out with way more intensity and now that the Mavs know to match that, I expect different first quarters going forward.

The Suns made 100 mid-range shots and a lot of fortunate bounces, whereas the Mavs blew 5-6 layups and/or fast break attempts. It was the perfect storm of doom. JB missed a lot of shots he normally makes, much like Game 1 against Utah. I expect that will work itself out but Dinwiddie looks so passive and lacking confidence, if he doesn't find "it" soon then a lot of what we're discussing doesn't matter. He is the only player left, capable of stepping up his game to levels that result in W's.

If Maxi is out for days/weeks, I don't know that there's anything the Mavs can do. The fact that Maxi is THAT important is reason enough to get another Maxi this offseason and every offseason afterwards.

I don’t see how Maxi can be that important if you’re suggesting start Dinwiddie over Maxi when pulling Powell out.

[Smitty]

I don’t see how Maxi can be that important if you’re suggesting start Dinwiddie over Maxi when pulling Powell out.

If you don't think Maxi is important, then I can't help you. There are several reasons to start Dinwiddie and leave Maxi in his role.

[DanSchwartzgan]

The point I wanted to make is Luka could certainly win or lose this series with good or bad play.  But, he could also average an outrageous number (say 45 a game) and Dallas still lose.  Phoenix has the personnel (Bridges) to take Brunson out of this series and the length elsewhere to hedge toward Luka and still get back to contest open shots by DFS and Reggie.   

So far my best prediction

Dorian shot fine (when he finally started shooting in the second half).  Reggie and Brunson were both .375 from the field.  

So, we got punched in the mouth.  The question is how we react.  Do we come out with energy like we did in game 5 of the Utah series?  The 4th seed isn't supposed to beat the one seed in their gym.  So, 0-2 is the expectation.  The disappointing thing is how thoroughly we were whipped.  You only have to win one in their gym, but man it makes life easier if you get one of the first two.  I'll still have hope unless we are having these same conversations after game 3, but this was always a tall order.  Phoenix just doesn't have any holes.

[ItsGoTime]

If you don't think Maxi is important, then I can't help you. There are several reasons to start Dinwiddie and leave Maxi in his role.

I didn’t weigh in on how important I think Maxi is. I was suggesting you were minimizing his importance by passing over him when taking out Powell, then saying later he is THAT important.

[Smitty]

I didn’t weigh in on how important I think Maxi is. I was suggesting you were minimizing his importance by passing over him when taking out Powell, then saying later he is THAT important.

I'm not minimizing Maxi's importance at all. He is invaluable. To my other point, Dinwiddie is the only other player on this team that has the ability to raise his level of play enough to win games (other than Brunson, which I've also already mentioned)... He needs to start and have plays drawn up for him to get going... regain his confidence from the jump and see if it ignites something. Maxi and his role are perfect and as important as anything the Mavs have going.

[ItsGoTime]

So far my best prediction

Dorian shot fine (when he finally started shooting in the second half).  Reggie and Brunson were both .375 from the field.  

So, we got punched in the mouth.  The question is how we react.  Do we come out with energy like we did in game 5 of the Utah series?  The 4th seed isn't supposed to beat the one seed in their gym.  So, 0-2 is the expectation.  The disappointing thing is how thoroughly we were whipped.  You only have to win one in their gym, but man it makes life easier if you get one of the first two.  I'll still have hope unless we are having these same conversations after game 3, but this was always a tall order.  Phoenix just doesn't have any holes.

We only have to win 1 in their gym…if you beat them every game at your place. That’s gonna also be a pretty tall order, maybe not insurmountable, but tall for sure.

[Chicagojk]

The looks last night were much harder to come from than the Jazz series.  Even a lot of our open threes were not quite as open as they were in the Jazz.    I am going to pencil in Luka for 35 a game in this series.  Can Brunson and Dinwiddie get 35 combined with efficient offense?   I think that is needed.   Is it enough?

Jalen got ok looks but the Suns did a good job making it difficult to finish.   They were real disciplined not going for his fakes.  Nice job by PHX.  We need to get Dinwiddie going.    Both him and Brunson need to give PHX something else to worry about besides building their whole defense around Luka.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...5071976448

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...3174597634

[KillerLeft]

I think the talent factor is in PHX's favor for this series, but I'd say the bigger gap, roster wise, is actually about experience. 

The biggest problem in Game 1, imo, wasn't roster related at all. It was that PHX's coaches and players seemed to understand going in how hard Dallas was going to hedge on those dribble hand-offs to Booker and had a plan to roll Ayton hard into the paint at just the right time to exploit Dallas' approach. It will be interesting to see how Kidd and staff respond in game 2, but I thought it was pretty obvious which team had a better plan for game 1. 

[michaeltex]

FWIW, I view the first game as a learning experience. Nobody on the Mavs has any experience beyond the first round. You can watch film. You can talk to Kidd and Dirk and Finley and still not feel internally what it's like to deal with the increased pressure. Now everybody knows what to expect and can decide how they personally will respond.

In addition, they got a look at what PHX was going to do on either end. Now they actually have something to game plan for, so it will be interesting to see what changes Kidd makes for Thursday.

Not saying I'm content with the loss, just trying to find a bit of silver lining.

[cow]

Massively underrated player.

His a lesser version of the guy like Lopez we should be on the lookout for.  Dudes that were supposed to be the guy and the ended up getting passed around once their initial teams realized that wasn't the case.

[ThisIStheYear]

Picked Phoenix in seven. Sticking with it.  If the Pelicans gave them as much trouble as they did, the Mavs should give them more. But if the Mavs lose tomorrow, we’re most likely looking at the gentleman’s sweep.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/sixfivelando/status/...06432?s=21&t=jy-ncGWIZ4ViZxFFb4QIZw

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https://twitter.com/shot_quality/status/...05473?s=21&t=nsf1Q-bI1YHWm7KvTgCKhg

Take this with a grain of salt.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Picked Phoenix in seven. Sticking with it.  If the Pelicans gave them as much trouble as they did, the Mavs should give them more. But if the Mavs lose tomorrow, we’re most likely looking at the gentleman’s sweep.

Some teams matchup differently with other teams. Pelicans are young, long and athletic. That's why they gave Phoenix some problems. I didn't expect them to beat the Suns twice, but they did even though Booker missed a game or two.

[Mavs2021]

Some teams matchup differently with other teams. Pelicans are young, long and athletic. That's why they gave Phoenix some problems. I didn't expect them to beat the Suns twice, but they did even though Booker missed a game or two.

You mean raw, inexperienced and stupid.