Game 44: Phoenix Suns (25-18) vs. Dallas Mavericks (24-19)

[SleepingHero]

Grant Afseth
@GrantAfseth
Kyrie Irving (right thumb sprain) and Luka Doncic (lower back tightness) are both questionable to play against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

Dante Exum (right plantar sprain) and Seth Curry (left ankle sprain) remain questionable.


Bol Bol is OUT, Eric Gordon Questionable, and Damion Lee OUT for PHX

[omahen]

Bol Bol is OUT

Luka and Kyrie playing or not, Phoenix doesn't stand a chance

[SleepingHero]

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Dallas Mavericks Updated Injury Report vs Phoenix Suns:

Dwight Powell - out (left eye corneal abrasion)
Luka Doncic - questionable (low back tightness)
Kyrie Irving - questionable (right thumb sprain)
Dante Exum - questionable (right plantar sprain)
Seth Curry - questionable (left ankle sprain)


Something is wrong in the universe. Powell got hit in the face and was affected. Should be impossible according to Physics.

[chaparral]

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Dallas Mavericks Updated Injury Report vs Phoenix Suns:

Dwight Powell - out (left eye corneal abrasion)
Luka Doncic - questionable (low back tightness)
Kyrie Irving - questionable (right thumb sprain)
Dante Exum - questionable (right plantar sprain)
Seth Curry - questionable (left ankle sprain)


Something is wrong in the universe. Powell got hit in the face and was affected. Should be impossible according to Physics.

Powell did not play in the BOS game.  Does that mean he gets hit in the face in practice too?

[DallasMaverick]

Powell did not play in the BOS game.  Does that mean he gets hit in the face in practice too?

Not sure the Mavs can win without Powell.

[loki]

Powell did not play in the BOS game.  Does that mean he gets hit in the face in practice too?

It appears the cornea is Powell's achilles' heel. Only his orbital bones are made of titanium.

[SleepingHero]

I feel bad for whatever object that hit Powell's face. It is almost surely destroyed after such a collision.

Maybe it was Seth's ankle...?

[bodhisattva]

Good day to start the tank.

[SleepingHero]

@GrantAfseth

Kyrie Irving will warm up soon before determining if he can play against the Phoenix Suns.

Luka Doncic, Dante Exum, and Seth Curry are available to play.

[KillerLeft]

Grant Williams getting another crack at starting. Worth a try, I guess.

[HoosierDaddyKidd]

Kyrie is out.

[Chicagojk]

Ouch...one of the drawbacks with Kyrie is he misses a lot of games. You really need to have a backup plan of action when he misses games. I thought Jaden would eventually fill this role and more, but he needs to show some signs of life as the year goes on.

It makes me wonder if you are ever going to get a long playoff run from Kyrie. It seems like things pop up quite a bit.

[KillerLeft]

Ouch...one of the drawbacks with Kyrie is he misses a lot of games.    You really need to have a backup plan of action when he misses games.  I thought Jaden would eventually fill this role and more, but he needs to show some signs of life as the year goes on. 

It makes me wonder if you are ever going to get a long playoff run from Kyrie.  It seems like things pop up quite a bit.

He has not put in an honest season's work for a looooonnnnng time. Almost a decade. This is one of the reasons I was so against the trade, originally. 

Having said that, he has been better than I expected, so far. At least when he's missing games I'm not glad.

[Chicagojk]

Grant Williams getting another crack at starting. Worth a try, I guess.

He is?  Well he certainly hasn't earned it.    But Jason may be thinking that he is a rut and coming off the bench may be impacting his confidence as well.  Sometimes small things like that can impact you when you are struggling.   

My advice for Grant is make some hustle plays:  rebounds, offensive rebounds, cuts, nice pass.   Just make some simple, positive plays and let the rest of the game come to him.    The defensive lapses need to improve.  I can deal with the poor shooting stretches but I was expecting better help defense/rotations and a few more rebounds.   For his role, those are the plays he needs to make and be relied on for moving forward.

[KillerLeft]

He is?  Well he certainly hasn't earned it.    But Jason may be thinking that he is a rut and coming off the bench may be impacting his confidence as well.  Sometimes small things like that can impact you when you are struggling.   

That's what I meant by "worth a try." A shakeup, to get him out of his rut (hopefully). That, and I suppose Kidd thinks he's best suited to guard Durant.

[BoredAssistant]

Love hearing the crowd engagement w/Luka's passes. Maybe they can will the team to some home wins down the stretch.

[KillerLeft]

Three straight turnovers by Jones. Yuck.

---

As per usual, thank God for Tim Hardaway Jr.

[BoredAssistant]

What up w/Durant tonight? A bit emotional I see. Okogie did that same clamping ankles thing Durant did. Soft. Nurkic can kick rocks too.

[KillerLeft]

I really do not understand people who want to dump Hardaway. I really, honestly don’t.

[BoredAssistant]

Tim God! (Reference to a rapper no one remembers or cares about)