Phoenix Suns Game 5 Key to Victory: Run Dallas Off the 3-Point Line
With their excess shooters built around Doncic, teams typically need to chose between the following two options when defending Dallas. One can either double Doncic on every play and risk freeing up those shooters, or spread their defense out equally and risk Doncic dropping a 40-piece.
In Phoenix’s first two games, the took the latter route, as Doncic scored 45 points in Game 1 and then 35 points in Game 2. During those contests, Dallas’s remaining players shot a modest 42.9 percent from the field, and the Suns won each game.
During these last two games though, Phoenix locked in on Doncic, and allowed his supporting cast to go ballistic. Doncic never scored more than 30 points in either Games 3 or 4, but all the other Mavericks shot an improved 46.4 percent.
As we all know, Phoenix payed the price, especially in Game 4 from deep, as the Mavericks took both games and evened the series. With this stark difference in game outcome based on shooting, if the Suns nuetralize Dallas’s bombers and let Luka grab his 40-piece, wins will likely return.