Preferred 2nd Round Opponent, Mavs or Jazz?

[Shaggy]

Man am I happy that we don’t have to talk about the damn Pelicans anymore!

I'm with you. That was a crazy series and NOP played nothing like a 8 seed.

 

[leclerc]

I don't like Luka at all so I'm glad we play them. Will be a fun series. Hope Ayton is in playoff mode.

 

[Phrazbit]

We've done very well against both... I might have preferred the Jazz because they are a complete disaster in the clutch, I don't see any chance we'd lose a competitive game against them.

But I am cool with Dallas. We've got a lot of good defenders to throw at Doncic, we don't have anyone they can hide Doncic on when they're defense. The small ball routine they did against Gobert won't work against Ayton, as great as Gobert is on defense he specializes in the paint, Ayton is better at chasing little dudes, and if Ayton continues his shooting he displayed in this series he will score anytime we are remembering to feed him. I doubt we will see much of McGee though, I love the guy but he is NOT proficient at defending small ball teams.

9 wins in a row against the Mavs, they have not beaten us since 2019.

Lets get it on.

 

[Hoop Head]

9 wins in a row against the Mavs, they have not beaten us since 2019.

I don't believe the Suns have lost to Dallas since Monty was named our coach. That's just 3 years but impressive none the less.

This is also the first time Luka has made it out of the first round. Which only happened because they faced an imploding Utah team. I think virtually any other Western playoff team would have had a solid chance of beating the Mavs.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

The one thing that worries me is the Mavs are a different team without Porzingis. We struggle at times with small ball. I live in Texas so I watch a ton of Mavs games. Luka is the best player in the series.

I give the Mavs a puncher’s chance if the Suns don’t come out and impose their will. This should be a 4-5 game series but for some reason, I’m not gonna count the Mavs out. Looking forward to Monday. Game 1 is the tone setter for the series. If we win game 1, we’re good.

Slowing down Brunson, Dinwiddie and Kleber will be the key. Luka’s going to get his, can’t let everyone else go crazy too.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Suns have won 9 in a row against the Mavericks. Monty is 9-1 as the Suns coach vs the Mavericks. The last game they lost was in 2019. We didn't have Ayton due to his PED suspension and Mikal wasn't a starter yet.

Here's the boxscore...

Mavericks vs Suns, November 29, 2019 | Basketball-Reference.com

DAL (120) vs PHO (113). Get the box score, shot charts and play by play summary of the Mavericks vs Suns, November 29, 2019.

www.basketball-reference.com

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

The Suns have won 9 in a row against the Mavericks. Monty is 9-1 as the Suns coach vs the Mavericks. The last game they lost was in 2019. We didn't have Ayton due to his PED suspension and Mikal wasn't a starter yet.

Here's the boxscore...

Mavericks vs Suns, November 29, 2019 | Basketball-Reference.com

DAL (120) vs PHO (113). Get the box score, shot charts and play by play summary of the Mavericks vs Suns, November 29, 2019.

www.basketball-reference.com

I do think Dallas is a better team now than for most of that 9 win streak. That being said I just don't think they match up well with us and I fully expect us to win this in 5.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We have not played Dallas since the Porzingis trade. They improved significantly with that trade. I think this could be a more difficult series than people think. They are as good as the Pelicans IMO.

 

[ajcardfan]

The Suns have won 9 in a row against the Mavericks. Monty is 9-1 as the Suns coach vs the Mavericks. The last game they lost was in 2019. We didn't have Ayton due to his PED suspension and Mikal wasn't a starter yet.

Here's the boxscore...

Mavericks vs Suns, November 29, 2019 | Basketball-Reference.com

DAL (120) vs PHO (113). Get the box score, shot charts and play by play summary of the Mavericks vs Suns, November 29, 2019.

www.basketball-reference.com

I don't like hearing about the 9 straight victories over Dallas. That is the past and it won't win game 1. Statistically, it is basically inevitable that the W-L record of those last 10 games you mentioned will even out some over the next 10.

That said, i think we win the series in 6 games with a little more trouble than expected.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Cumulative +/- is an interesting way of comparing players on the same team. Reggie Bullock has really made something of himself. He had a cup of coffee in Phoenix years ago.

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[95pro]

The guy I’m worried about is Brunson. Guys like this have good games against us. I look for them to try and make booker work.

Crowder should be more useful this series as he has the strength to deal with Luka. Lukas lack of athleticism also helps that cause.

Ayton has been getting points. This is a series where we need that to be more consistent. No one can really deal with Ayton on this team.

I’m expecting Dinwiddie to be a non factor in this series. We don’t have to double on Luka who will be busy with crowder or Mikal. We still have defenders to take away Din, no way he matches what the Pels shot.

 

[SirStefan32]

The one thing that worries me is the Mavs are a different team without Porzingis. We struggle at times with small ball. I live in Texas so I watch a ton of Mavs games. Luka is the best player in the series.

I give the Mavs a puncher’s chance if the Suns don’t come out and impose their will. This should be a 4-5 game series but for some reason, I’m not gonna count the Mavs out. Looking forward to Monday. Game 1 is the tone setter for the series. If we win game 1, we’re good.

Slowing down Brunson, Dinwiddie and Kleber will be the key. Luka’s going to get his, can’t let everyone else go crazy too.

The definitely are a different team, but mainly because Kristaps never played- he was consistently missing games. Their trade allowed them to have another good player on the roster. Luka is an outstanding player, and Brunson is very underrated. Dinwiddie is solid, but outside of that, they don't have much consistency. Keep in mind that they also lost Hardaway to an injury earlier this year. The rest of their roster is very streaky and the bench is short. Their rotation is about seven deep, and they are streaky. Kleber and Bartans remind me of Crowder on offense. It's feast of famine with those two. DFS is a PJ-Tucker type, or a homeless man's Bridges. Powell is a decent backup big who is forced to be a starter.Bullock is a decent player, but very inconsistent as well.

Assuming the Suns play at around 80% of what they are capable off, they'll take this in five games, assuming that Kleber and Bartans are going to be on for one game while their three best players also play well. Ayton should avarage 30 points in this series- Mavs don't have an actual center outside of Boban who would get destroyed in pick and rolls. Also, Luka might be the best player in this series, but it's not by much. Since Booker became a good defender, I don't think Luka is a much better overall player. CP3, while old, is still pretty damn good. Even if we concede that Luka is THE best player in this series, the next best players are Booker, Paul, Bridges, and Ayton. I'd say that dour out of top five players in this series are on the Suns roster.

I like Dallas a lot, but I don't think they are nearly good enough to hang with the Suns. I think that New Orleans would have put the Mavs doiwn in five games easily, and the Suns beat them in six. I will be shocked in Mavs win more than one single game in this series.

 

[Mainstreet]

Although it doesn't mean anything, every series is different, I think the Pelicans would have beat the Mavericks if they had met in the playoffs.

The Mavericks would have had trouble with the Pelicans size not to mention they had three really good players.

 

[SirStefan32]

The guy I’m worried about is Brunson. Guys like this have good games against us. I look for them to try and make booker work.

Crowder should be more useful this series as he has the strength to deal with Luka. Lukas lack of athleticism also helps that cause.

Ayton has been getting points. This is a series where we need that to be more consistent. No one can really deal with Ayton on this team.

I’m expecting Dinwiddie to be a non factor in this series. We don’t have to double on Luka who will be busy with crowder or Mikal. We still have defenders to take away Din, no way he matches what the Pels shot.

They need to stay in front of Brunson. Make him a shooter. Same thing with Luka (that is more difficult, of course.) Book can hide on Bullock or DFS- neither one of them can do much outside of shooting open threes, honestly. DFS can drive if you over-commit, but not a whole lot. Let Luka get his, make him work on defense, run him through a couple of screens every possession, and he will be beat by the fourth quarter.

 

[Chaplin]

They need to stay in front of Brunson. Make him a shooter. Same thing with Luka (that is more difficult, of course.) Book can hide on Bullock or DFS- neither one of them can do much outside of shooting open threes, honestly. DFS can drive if you over-commit, but not a whole lot. Let Luka get his, make him work on defense, run him through a couple of screens every possession, and he will be beat by the fourth quarter.

Why do you hide Book? He’s one of the best defensive SG’s in the game now.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

They need to stay in front of Brunson. Make him a shooter. Same thing with Luka (that is more difficult, of course.) Book can hide on Bullock or DFS- neither one of them can do much outside of shooting open threes, honestly. DFS can drive if you over-commit, but not a whole lot. Let Luka get his, make him work on defense, run him through a couple of screens every possession, and he will be beat by the fourth quarter.

I think the defensive assignments will be:

Luka/dinwiddie - bridges
Brunson - booker (if his hammy will allow)
Finney-smith/Bertans/kleber - crowder
Bullock - Paul (can hide him on the guy least likely to post him up
Powell - Ayton

Cam Johnson will also cover anyone from Brunson-luka-dinwiddie-DFS-bullock

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Why do you hide Book? He’s one of the best defensive SG’s in the game now.

Yup. If his hammy is fine I give him Brunson

 

[Chaplin]

These guys play super small. The question will be if Monty tries to match them or tries to make them match us. I don't know if you can keep Javale on the bench for an entire series. I hope we pound our will into those guys and get this over with quick.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

These guys play super small. The question will be if Monty tries to match them or tries to make them match us. I don't know if you can keep Javale on the bench for an entire series. I hope we pound our will into those guys and get this over with quick.

The interesting thing is Javale is likely better suited to matching up with Powell verses bertans/kleber on the defensive end, but he starts and will likely have Ayton against him most frequently.

 

[Chaplin]

The interesting thing is Javale is likely better suited to matching up with Powell verses bertans/kleber on the defensive end, but he starts and will likely have Ayton against him most frequently.

Length is so, so important. It's what New Orleans had on us. Now we are the ones with it against the smaller team. Need to take heavy advantage of that. Lob City.

 

[SirStefan32]

Why do you hide Book? He’s one of the best defensive SG’s in the game now.

I hide him because I don't want him to expand energy on defense more than necessary, get into foul trouble, or aggravate his hamstring. No need for him to run through screens and chase people around any more than necessary. To be fair, CP3 might need protecting more, so that's a valid argument too.

 

[SirStefan32]

These guys play super small. The question will be if Monty tries to match them or tries to make them match us. I don't know if you can keep Javale on the bench for an entire series. I hope we pound our will into those guys and get this over with quick.

I think in 10-12 minutes Ayton rests, you can try a big guy on the two smaller bigs Dallas has. If they start hitting shots, that could be a bit of an issue, but McGee should be able to punish them on the other end. Powell doesn't actually play much. Kleber plays more minutes than Powell even though Powell starts.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I don't expect Boyimbo to get much time in this series and JaVale's will be less as well. Ayton has enough foot speed to cover smaller players, but the other two do not. JaVale and Boyimbo could play in a zone situation if necessary. This is a series where Torrey Craig and Shamet need to show up.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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