05-10-2022, 03:01 PM
It’s interesting to me to compare Mavs/Suns by couplets in this series. It surprises me how many similarities there are.
Offenders: Doncic/Brunson vs. Booker/Paul. Advantage Mavs, no? If Luka continues to be the best player on the court, and Brunson continues to be more than a role guy, Mavs could complete the upset.
Defenders: Finney-Smith/Bullock vs. Bridges/Crowder. A wash? This group is about as good as you could hope to match up with the opposing stars. Crowder’s ankle may have slowed him half a step. But I don’t see meaningful separation here. Similar players in similar roles.
Bigs: Kleber/Powell vs. Ayton/MacGee. Advantage Suns, but not to the extent we expected, eh? Suns bigs defend the rim and dunk the ball. The Mavs switch screens successfully and, in Maxi’s case, stretch the floor. Mavs’ strategic advantage here seems to be mostly neutralizing the advantage of having the #1 pick in the draft. Completely unexpected.
Bench: Dinwidde/Bertans vs. Payne/Johnson. Whatever. Bertans and Johnson have been up and down. Dinwidde and Payne have been bad and badder, respectively.
Not sure there are any conclusions to draw from this about the likely outcome of the series. But it sure makes me think the Mavs are a lot closer to contending than I would’ve believed a few months ago.
Offenders: Doncic/Brunson vs. Booker/Paul. Advantage Mavs, no? If Luka continues to be the best player on the court, and Brunson continues to be more than a role guy, Mavs could complete the upset.
Defenders: Finney-Smith/Bullock vs. Bridges/Crowder. A wash? This group is about as good as you could hope to match up with the opposing stars. Crowder’s ankle may have slowed him half a step. But I don’t see meaningful separation here. Similar players in similar roles.
Bigs: Kleber/Powell vs. Ayton/MacGee. Advantage Suns, but not to the extent we expected, eh? Suns bigs defend the rim and dunk the ball. The Mavs switch screens successfully and, in Maxi’s case, stretch the floor. Mavs’ strategic advantage here seems to be mostly neutralizing the advantage of having the #1 pick in the draft. Completely unexpected.
Bench: Dinwidde/Bertans vs. Payne/Johnson. Whatever. Bertans and Johnson have been up and down. Dinwidde and Payne have been bad and badder, respectively.
Not sure there are any conclusions to draw from this about the likely outcome of the series. But it sure makes me think the Mavs are a lot closer to contending than I would’ve believed a few months ago.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)