The Game 7 meltdown of the Phoenix Suns was a shock to many in the basketball world. Not just because of the result but the way it happened as the Suns were embarrassed on their home floor by 33 points. This loss spelled the end of what many thought would be a championship season for Phoenix and with Paul just turning 37 their championship window is being questioned more than ever. This series loss cannot be simply be blamed on one particular person or player as no one showed up for the Suns in the Game 7 loss. The disappointment of the collapse to me starts with the Suns blowing a 2-0 and 3-2 series lead to even get to a Game 7. I will breakdown what went wrong for the Suns and highlight what Mavericks did to take them down.
To understand the collapse of the Phoenix Suns it starts with first understanding and giving credit to the Mavericks game plan adjustments. Luka Dončić and Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd were both very effective as on the floor Dončić played incredible averaging 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7 assists per game. With this spectacular performance Luka stamped himself as a top five player in the league. Still, as great as he was individually, it was Jason Kidd's ability to construct a game plan to get other players involved to play more team basketball to be less reliant on Luka. The adjustments started before the series headed to Dallas for Game 3 as Kidd highlighted the need for other players to step up offensively. In the postgame press conference Kidd said "He(Dončić) had a great game but no one else showed...We can't win with just him out there scoring 30 a night." This clearly inspired players like Jalen Brunson, Reggie Bullock, and Spencer Dinwiddie to step up and allowed them to build confidence over the remainder of the series especially in Games 6 and 7.
A major reason why the series took such a massive shift for the Suns is due in part to how Chris Paul's performed over the last 5 games of the series compared to the previous 8 playoff games. Through the first 8 games of the playoffs starting with the series against the New Orleans Pelicans and first two games against the Mavericks, Paul averaged 22 points and 9.9 assists per game. Then over the next 5 games, Paul would average just 9.4 points and 5.8 assists per game. His defense also suffered as the Mavericks targeted him in isolation matchups which seemed to wear him down as the series went on. The Suns went on to lost 4 out of the 5 games once Paul started struggling. costing them the series. It was later reported the Paul was suffering through a quad injury which may have been a factor in his declining play over the course of the series.
Paul's poor play does not excuse the two young stars, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton who both were less impactful in the last couple games of the series. With Paul less effective, the Mavericks perimeter defense was able to make things tough for Booker; especially in the last two games of the series. In Game 6, Booker shot just 6-17 from the field and followed up with an abysmal Game 7 where he made just 3 of 14 shots. He was especially ineffective from 3 as he missed all of his 3-point shot attempts in both games. As for Ayton, he did not take advantage of the Mavericks undersized frontcourt and it showed from his lack of impact rebounding. In the regular season, Ayton averaged 15 rebounds per game against the Mavericks compared to just 8.1 against them in the postseason. Ayton's lack of impact rebounding and inability to dominate matchups his clear advantages had a negative impact on the Suns down the stretch of the series. Ayton served up arguably his worst performance of the season scoring just 5 points and grabbing 4 rebounds in 17 minutes before being bench in the second half of Game 7.
The Mavericks were able to take advantage of the few weaknesses Phoenix had to defeat them in a surprising upset. Whether it was Chris Paul finally looking like an aging point guard or their great scorer in Booker looking like an offensive liability in the final two games, the Suns were left with no answers. In the end the disappointing result left them with a lot of questions regarding their future. This matchup showed how unpredictable the playoffs can be as the team that looked destined to avenge their finals loss last season is now left with the possibility their championship window may be closed.
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