The 3 worst playoff matchups for the Phoenix Suns

1. Dallas Mavericks

How on earth have we come back to the Dallas Mavericks again? The same opponent who outlasted the Suns in a seven-game thriller back in 2022, and who boast a player in Luka Doncic who all of a sudden could be making a late push for the MVP award this season. The Mavericks were poor to start the season, but they've figured a lot out since then.

Kyrie Irving is back on the court and has totally accepted his role as the second option offensively. Rookie big man Dereck Lively II is young and bouncy enough to give the flat-footed Nurkic issues in the paint as well. The front office of the Mavericks also did something very smart at the trade deadline that the Suns couldn't... make significant roster moves.

Yes it is true that the Suns added Royce O'Neale, a player who has fit in right away. They also went and got David Roddy, with head coach Frank Vogel having one of the strangest uses of the power forward on his mind in the not too distant future. But the Mavericks went and got Daniel Gafford, a big man who has already had a nice impact and who takes some pressure off Lively II.

They also added P.J. Washington, with the duo having started 35 games combined and counting since the deadline. The Mavericks needed to make a change and added two guys who have rounded out their starting five, which has seen both Doncic and Irving play their best basketball at the right time in the season. Should these two meet in the playoffs, it will be a case of not again for the Suns...