Why Suns' season is on line vs. Mavericks
Yesterday at 02:02 PM
The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks square off on Sunday, with lots of implications. The Suns lead 2-1 in the season series, winning the first two. The Mavericks won the last game, 99-89, in Phoenix.
In that game, former Suns center Jusuf Nurkic was ejected after a fight with Naji Marshall. That fight swung the momentum of the game and showed a glimpse of the internal frustration within the Phoenix organization.
That was toward the end of 2024 when some changes were incoming. For instance, the Suns benched Bradley Beal and Nurkic. They found out though, that neither player was the problem, as Beal was put back into the starting lineup following the trade deadline. Nurkic has since been traded to the Charlotte Hornets, but the team is still meandering along in mediocrity.
Here are some reasons why the Suns need to win over the Mavericks on Sunday.
Suns control the tiebreaker with a win
As mentioned earlier, the Suns are 2-1 in the season series. This season, they play four games instead of their usual three. This makes a big difference because of the record.
If the Mavericks win, the season series is tied, but they hold the tiebreaker with the conference record. Heading into play Sunday, Dallas is 2.5 games ahead of Phoenix for the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference.
After a gritty win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, the Suns lost in overtime to the Denver Nuggets. Center Nikola Jokic made NBA history with the first 30-20-20 game, which was gut-wrenching for Phoenix.
Whenever there has been a tough win, the Suns have followed it up with an untimely loss. Granted, they have the toughest schedule in the league. Since the beginning of the season, though, they haven't capitalized on those marquee wins.
Sunday's game is that instance where they need to take advantage of a depleted Mavericks team.
What if the Suns lose to the Mavericks?
If the Suns lose, it'll be a synopsis of how the season has gone and would put them 3.5 games behind the No. 10 seed, plus the loss of the tiebreaker. While not an insurmountable gap to close given the Mavericks’ injuries, it would make things way more difficult in what has been a mostly disastrous season.
There have been plenty of reasons for the struggles. The constant rotation changes and benchings, as well as friction within the organization, aren't a good look.
Bradley Beal's name was thrown around in trade conversations from November until the trade deadline. While he has a no-trade clause, it presented plenty of distractions to the team.
Furthermore, there was a lot of noise about a possible Kevin Durant trade. Even though Durant ultimately didn’t want to be traded in-season, the specter of him getting dealt in the summer is hanging over the franchise. Despite Durant's professionalism, it's hard to deny the impact on the team.
Then there were the recent incidents involving Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, with a report of friction between Bud and Devin Booker plus a spat involving Bud and KD. While the people involved have tried to downplay this drama, it’s still a distraction.
Overall, a win against Dallas would put Phoenix in prime position to secure a play-in spot. The Suns are the much healthier team and should be able to pull it off, but not much has come easy for this team this season.
The post Why Suns’ season is on line vs. Mavericks appeared first on ClutchPoints.
