Game 31: Dallas Mavericks (19-11) vs. Phoenix Suns (15-14) | 8:00pm CST

[SleepingHero]

[KillerLeft]

Funny how quickly the temperature changes. It feels like we were all riding pretty high about this team just a few days ago. One nationally televised loss and some news of Luka missing significant time has us all staggered a bit (well, speaking for myself, at least). Hopefully, this team will rally (again) and surprise us (again) by playing great basketball in Luka's absence.

They need to get Marshall going again, for sure.

[SleepingHero]

Funny how quickly the temperature changes. It feels like we were all riding pretty high about this team just a few days ago. One nationally televised loss and some news of Luka missing significant time has us all staggered a bit (well, speaking for myself, at least). Hopefully, this team will rally (again) and surprise us (again) by playing great basketball in Luka's absence.

They need to get Marshall going again, for sure.

I will say this is the only time I have ever felt in the Luka era that his current team as assembled could survive without him for a bit. 

A lot of it hinges on Kyrie just being the man and carrying the team. He can do it. Even still they have Klay, Naji, Grimes, and even Lively who all could potentially step up.

I just want a healthy Luka back because we need him the most.

[KillerLeft]

I will say this is the only time I have ever felt in the Luka era that his current team as assembled could survive without him for a bit. 

The frustrating flip side to that coin is that this is the only time I have ever felt in the Luka era that his current team as assembled could actually win a championship...with a healthy Luka, which they're not going to have. Can they maintain a top 4 seed without him for this extended period? Is he ever going to be healthy this season? If he does get healthy, will he have enough runway left to get in shape and find his rhythm? If he can do those things, will there be enough runway for the team, with many new parts, to reach elite chemistry and cohesion? I'll admit falling victim to a growing skepticism about some or all of that, though I'm fighting against it. 

But the worst part for me is that it's starting to feel like the ticket buying Mavs community is paying Luka to rehab for whatever the next big Slovenian national team event is. I know it's not like that, but that's what it's starting to feel like.

[JamesConway912]

Booker out per ESPN game notes. Lively a game time decision. 

Curious to know who they intend to start. Grimes, Marshall, Dinwiddie maybe even Hardy are all options.

[SleepingHero]

@MavsPR
Mavs Injury Update:

Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (left hip contusion) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) will be OUT tonight against the Phoenix Suns.

[Smitty]

Good start!

[Smitty]

Klay hasn’t scored but his rebounding, passing and defense have been great! He’s +10 so far for a reason.

[Mavs2021]

They scored 39 points in the 1st half and I swear 10 points were on lucky bounces. What a defensive effort in the 1st half. PJ (and Naji) made KD work for every shot.

[The Jom]

Whoa!!!

[The Jom]

Devin Harris likes it

[ThisIStheYear]

That was idiotic. Things are going your way then you do something stupid, get yourself thrown out and suspended. Get other people suspended who came off the bench. Get PJ thrown out. Get the crowd into it. Now you have to play short handed. Dumbass team.

[Mavs2021]

We´ll miss Naji a lot more than they´ll miss Nurkic for the rest of the game. Only player that has a positive +/- on Suns is Plumlee.

[Mavs2021]

Nice. Just fixed the game for Phoenix. Washington did f*** all. Even the Suns announcers are confused.

[The Jom]

Nurk is a punk. That foul was like his 4th cheap shot in the last 3 minutes.

[Mavs2021]

Nurk is a punk. That foul was like his 4th cheap shot in the last 3 minutes.

Still Mavs f***** this up. We lost a won game. We lost our two best defenders on KD and they upgraded from Nurkic to Plumlee, who punked Gafford three times already on the boards. So annoying. Gotta be smarter than that.

[The Jom]

Still Mavs f***** this up. We lost a won game. We lost our two best defenders on KD and they upgraded from Nurkic to Plumlee, who punked Gafford three times already on the boards. So annoying. Gotta be smarter than that.

You give up easy

[Mavs2021]

Nurkic slapped Naji so hard that now it´s Spencer making the smart decisions and Kyrie throwing crazy passes.

[GATA]

Irving killing us out there

[GATA]

Why isn’t Hardy playing?