Phoenix Suns (12-26) v Dallas Mavericks (11-27)
Thursday 1/12/2017 8:00pm
Mexico City Arena, Mexico City, MX
Fox Sports Arizona/Arizona Sports 98.7FM
Season Series – Suns lead 1-0
All-Time Series – Phoenix leads Phoenix leads 78-70
Last Matchup – January 5, 2017 Phoenix won 102-95
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to Cleveland Cavaliers 120-116
Mavericks’ Last Game – Loss to Minnesota Timberwolves 101-92
Suns’ Scoring Averages – 105.9 (11th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 111.9 (29th of 30)
Mavericks’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 95.1 (30th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 100.7 (5th of 30)
Preview
Phoenix Suns
Down by as many as 22 in the first half and 20 early in the third quarter, the Suns put forward a valiant second half effort to at times tie the game and have several opportunities to take the lead. Though they were never able to get over the hump in the second half and eventually fell to the Cavaliers, the comeback will be looked back on as one of the finer moments of the season when all things are said and done. For a complete review and opinions on the game, read here…Phoenix is on a little bit of a streak, even with the loss, as they generally performed well in the last three games, including two wins. In those games the Suns are only .2 off of their season average in scoring with 105.7, though they have held their opponents to 10.2 points below their season average limiting them to only 101.7…Phoenix’s eFG% is at 53.2%, nearly 4% better than their seasonal average, and their 3pt% is up exactly 3% at 37.3%…Their rebounds per game is down slightly, their assists per game is up less than 1, and their turnovers per game is a push, leading to the simple conclusion of their recent success is better shooting and a much more stringent defense over this period…The Suns’ blocks per game is up to 5.7 over that stretch, an average that is pulled over the entire season would place them at about 5th overall in the league…Over the three-game period, Phoenix’s foul rate has dropped fairly dramatically – another positive sign – from 25.1 on their season average to 21.0, although that three-game rate stretched over the season would still be bottom eight in the league…Devin Booker has averaged 25.7 points in these three-games, and are 2-1 in that stretch, although the Suns are 4-12 on the season in games where Booker scores 20+. Booker has shot both 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc in the last three…Eric Bledsoe is averaging 20.4 points per game this season, currently tied with his career-high set last season (through only 31 games due to injury). The seasonal scoring average has been helped by his last three games where he is averaging 24.7 points. He is also averaging 7.3 assists in that stretch, though his rebounding average has taken a hit and was only 2 per game. He is averaging 52.1% shooting over that stretch, and 42.1% from three…Tyson Chandler has been a monster on the boards in this short period averaging 17.7 per game…T.J. Warren, who has either been a serious scoring threat in some games and totally disappeared in others in his 12 games back from his head injury, scored 15 points in the loss to Miami on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. He also threw in 3 steals and rebounds…
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas is 0-3 in their last three games, losing by an average of 10.3…Over that stretch they are scoring only 89.7 points, worst in the NBA, and allowing 100.0…Dallas’ opponent eFG% is a respectable 47.0%, and their own eFG% is a decent 50.0%…They are the league’s worst rebounding team in the league, and over the stretch have kept up their paltry pace, rebounding only 39.0 per game, 5.4 below their season average…Their assists, turnovers, and blocked shots per game were all right about average to their season pace, though their steals per game sunk by 5.3 per game, 2.4 below their average…Unlike Phoenix’s personal fouls rate which dropped over that stretch, the Mavericks’ has jumped by nearly 3 to 22.0 per game…Already the least likely team to score on fastbreak opportunities, the Mavericks have kept their season average of 6.0 fastbreak points per game directly on average in this stretch…Over his last five games, Harrison Barnes is averaging 24.2 points per game…In his last three games, Wesley Matthews has failed to reach ten points scoring, chipping in only 6.7 points in that span…Seth Curry, who is making a serious push for most improved player of the year this season, was held scoreless two games ago against Atlanta, though he scored 16 points against both Washington and Phoenix in the two games prior. Over his last three he is averaging 8 points, 2 points below his season average…Dirk Nowitzi’s 12.8 points per game this season is his low average since his rookie season in 1996-97. He is averaging 16.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists over this short stretch. Do not expect to see Andrew Bogut tonight against Phoenix has he has a strained right hamstring…