[G-Man]

It should not be such a surprize that the Mavs are 2-2 with the Suns. PHX may have the best record for the season, but since 2022 started, they are only 2 wins better than Dallas. They went 37-10, while Dallas did 35-12. Since the Porzings trade, the Mavs were actually a half game better than the Mavs, going 19-7 compared to the Suns 19-8.

Much is made of how good Chris Paul and the Suns are in clutch time. But, again, season stats are deceptive. The 2021 Mavs sucked in clutch time, winning only 3 of 14 such games. But after that, Dallas played 24 clutch games and won 19.

I understand why the Suns are favored. They have 3 all-stars, one of whom is a top 75 all time player. They also have the coach of the year, a DPOY candidate and a 6th man candidate. Luka is probably the only Mavs player good enough to start for PHX. But, in 2011, Dirk was the only Mavs player who could have started for the Miami LeBrons. And we know how that turned out. Sometimes a team is better than its collection of parts would indicate. No one knows that better than Jason Kidd.


No one will be shocked if the Mavs lose the next two. But they could win 2 of 3, and shock the world. Again.