Can the real Dallas Mavericks please stand up?

Another game, another struggle as the Dallas Mavericks have found themselves in a 2-0 hole against the number one seeded Phoenix Suns. If you remember last playoffs the team had a 2-0 lead against the Los Angeles Clippers before losing the series in seven games.

If the team can find a way to turn things around, then can push the Phoenix Suns to a game six or seven.

However, one thing the Dallas Mavericks must do is get back to their winning strategy.

So, who are the real Dallas Mavericks?

Before the season began, no one was sure of what this squad was capable of doing. You see having lost the past two first round playoff series and not getting much traction this season, left a lot of fans dazed and confused.

This season Dallas had seen themselves move up and down the Western Conference. At times they were the seventh seed and other weeks they moved up to number four.

However, one thing for certain is this Dallas team was one of the best groups of the 2022 year. Since January 1st, the Mavericks have positioned themselves as one of the best teams. During this new year, the Mavs finished with a 35-12 record. The only other team to have a better 2022 record was the Phoenix Suns with 37-10 standing.

One of the biggest highlights of this year was the trade of Kristaps Porzingis for Spincer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. The emergence of their news stars shifted the team’s focus to a new defensive mentality Dallas had not seen in quite some time.

This past season the Dallas Mavericks ranked as the fifth best defensive team in the NBA. They had a 19 defensive rating, while averaging 6.7 steals and 4 blocks. Some other key highlights included the hard work mentality from players such as Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell.

The presence of these two stars is what made the Mavs round series effective. Both players played a key role in stopping Utah’s big stars Donovan Mitchell  and Rudy Gobert.

Fast Forward to the series against the Suns and Dallas has lost of their defensive presence. They have found no answers to Phoenix’s dynamic duo of Devin Booker and Christ Paul.

Currently, Booker is averaging 26.5 points, while shooting 46.5 from the field. Paul one the other hand is having ball as he is shooting 61.3 percent and making more than 45 percent of his threes.

Dallas must find a new defensive strategy to combat the scoring of the Suns’ all-stars or they will be finished early.

Another success of the Mavs’ was their ability to win the three point battle. In game six against the Utah Jazz Dallas made 39.5 percent of their threes in contrast to Utah’s 25.7 percent.

However Luka Doncic and company must be consistent on their shots from beyond the arc. In game 2 against Phoenix the Mavs hit 41.5 percent of their threes. The difference? Phoenix made 52 percent of their threes.

While Dallas must try not to turn into a three point shooting team, they must make the most of the wide shots when they have the opportunity.

Lastly the Mavericks must find a way to win the first half battle. In game four against Utah (a blowout win) Dallas was up 52-36 at halftime. The team must find a way to start setting the tone early and maintain it all the way through.

In game two’s blowout, the Mavs were up by two against Phoenix. However the team failed to maintain success in the second half and fell paid heavily for it.

Dallas must find a way to match the offensive intensity from the Suns and keep a sense of consistency down the line. This all ties back into getting a high level of play from players like Dinwiddie and Jalen Brunson. We all saw Doncic’s numbers fall in the second half Wednesday and in order to keep a lead he must get the help needed.

With game three less than 24 hours away lets hope the Mavericks find a solution to their woes or Dallas could be sent home early.