Dallas Mavericks: 3 key phases of a successful playoff run

The Dallas Mavericks have continued their playoff hopes, as the team won game six against the Phoenix Suns. Now the Mavs’ dreams of winning the Larry O’Brien trophy hang onto a game seven matchup Sunday.

The team did their job, but with the season on the ropes they must now shift their focus towards finally winning a road game this series.

While it is going to be difficulty, it is not impossible.

Here are three key area the Dallas Mavericks must focus on if they plan to win on Sunday:

Consistency is going to be Key.

The one thing Dallas must do Sunday is a some sort of consistency on both ends of the court. You see in game four of the Suns’ series the Mavs made 45 percent of their shots from beyond the arc and as a team put in almost 45 percent of their shots. Fast forward to game five and the outcome was far different.

On the road Dallas made only 25 percent of their threes, and hit 38 percent of their overall shots The inability to hit their shots at a constant rate is something the team cannot do on Sunday. The numbers on both ends of the court must be  similar to the ones produced at home.

If players like Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock and Jalen Brunson can translate their level of success from home to the road then the team will have no problem taking care of business at home.

Defense Mentality Must Be at an All-Time High

At home, the Dallas Mavericks produce around 7.2 steals, 2.4 blocks and around 18 opponent turnovers. However on the road Dallas fails to match that same defensive presence. On the road the Mavs gets around 6.7 steals, 1.7 blocks and close to 13 opponents turnovers.

Some things Dallas must do is slow down Phoenix’s fast start at home and limit their opponent’s ability to drive to the basketball. The Mavs need to continue double teaming Devin Booker like they do at home and force Chris Paul to limit his ability hit to hit his open teammates. Just don’t get into foul trouble early and things should be able to fall into place.

Second Offensive Options

One final thing that must the Mavs must do is find a variety of scorers not named Luka. In game six’s key win, the team spread the offensive scoring. Doncic had 33 points, Bullock had 19, Brunson had 18 and Dinwiddie had 15.

Having extra support is something that will be crucial down the stretch. In game five’s blowout loss Doncic and Brunson were the only players to have more than 15 points. As long as everyone plays a role offensively then the team should be able to keep up with the pace of the Suns’ offense.

The Dallas Mavericks are in position to make the Western Conference finals since the 2011 title season. While it is going to be a struggle, it will take whole team effort to reach that next step.

Spread the wealth and things will definitely favor the Dallas Mavericks’ side.