Phoenix Suns: 5 Takeaways From Win Over Mavs
The Phoenix Suns picked up a huge road win over the Mavs — what did we learn?
If you’ve watched the Phoenix Suns at all this season, you’ll realize that they have a tendency to play to their competition. Already in this young season, they’ve got great wins over elite teams (vs. Spurs, vs. Warriors) and they’ve got bad losses against lottery squads (at Jazz, vs. Hornets, vs. Magic). Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Suns took it to the Mavs on the road from start to finish last night. What did we learn?
START FAST, WIN ON THE ROAD
The Suns scorched the Mavericks in the first quarter, setting an opponent record by scoring 40 points, as they took a 13-point lead. Every NBA team wants to play from ahead on the road, but it’s become even more important for the Suns this season. When the Suns are ahead at the start of the second quarter, they are 5-0 on the road this season. When they lead at the start of the fourth, they’re a lights-out 6-0 (for contrast, they’re 0-4 when trailing heading into the fourth).
SHOOTING IS CONTAGIOUS
I’m not going out on a limb when I tell you that the Suns will not lose when they put up a shooting line of .563/.500/.882. The key to beating the Suns is — and seemingly always has been — holding down their high-octane offense. This team seems to feed off each other’s success to the extent that making shots becomes contagious. Seven different players made a 3-pointer last night — that’s EVERY non-center that saw action.
THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BALANCE
Although Eric Bledsoe makes the lion’s share of the money and Goran Dragic has been playing out of his mind the last few games, there’s no one player that’s been standing out for the Suns on either end of the court this season. In fact, the Suns five leading scorers on the season range from 16.1 points per game (Dragic) and 14.5 (Green). Last night was a great example of that balance, as the Suns had 27 assists on 45 makes, with Markieff Morris (15 shots), Dragic (15), Bledsoe (13) and Green (12) spreading the wealth. This season, when the Suns have 23 or more assists, they are 6-1 (4-0 when over 27 assists).
DRAGIC IS A PLAYMAKER
There’s not much question about Dragic and his ability to score. He’s tremendous around the basket, is great finishing in transition and has become quite a good jump shooter over his career. One thing that has lacked has been his ability to setup his teammates. Dragic averaged a career-high 7.4 assists back in 2012-13, and has saw that tumble to 5.9 last season and 3.7 this year. Last night, Dragic found the best of both worlds, with 28 points and 13 assists. It was his highest assist total since February 18th, 2014, when the Suns won in Denver (Dragic, 14 assists).
SOME LINEUPS JUST JELL
With all due respect to Marcus Morris, coach Jeff Hornacek made the right move when he removed Marcus from the starting lineup in favor of P.J. Tucker. It’s not that Tucker is a vastly superior player to Marcus, but when he’s on the court, the entire team’s energy rises. Tucker is a better defender and 3-point shooter, which simply fits what the team needs better than Marcus and his athleticism. Last night, the Bledsoe/Dragic/Markieff/Tucker/Miles Plumlee lineup was a plus-14, scoring 39 points in 13 minutes on 65.2 percent shooting.
In summary, the Suns couldn’t take anything groundbreaking out of last night’s win over the Mavericks. These are all happenings that we’ve suspected, but couldn’t confirm. If anything, we got a glimpse of what the Suns are capable of. Did they play a perfect game? No — the 23 second chance points and 16 offensive rebounds allowed are proof — but we now know the Suns have the confidence and ability to go on the road in the West to get wins.