DALLAS — The Suns are headed back to Phoenix tied 2–2 with the Mavericks after dropping two straight in Dallas. The question is will their offense be where they left it?
There is going to be lots of focus on Phoenix’s defense after its Game 4 loss to the Mavs on Sunday. The Suns were gashed for 111 points, including a frankly comical 20-of-44 three-point shooting performance from Dallas. And yet, Phoenix’s offense is now arguably in more trouble after a nightmarish weekend. After posting offensive ratings of at least 130 in Games 1 and 2, the Suns’ are down to 107.1 over the last two games—which would have been fourth-worst among all teams in the regular season.
So is it a small sample size? Missed shots? What’s the reason for Phoenix’s offensive woes? The participants offered up different reasons after Game 4.
Devin Booker—who scored a game-best 35 Sunday—said he generally liked the process of the Suns offense in the most recent loss. He pointed to Dallas’s offensive success as a contributor to the dip in scoring, saying that it’s more difficult for Phoenix to score when it’s taking the ball out from under the hoop as opposed to getting in transition.
Jae Crowder credited the Mavs defense, which he says has scouted the Suns well and is oftentimes taking away their first option. Crowder said Phoenix needs to work its offense more deliberately, and stop being sped up and taking the first look available. He also mentioned that the relative absence of Chris Paul on Sunday compounded the issue, because he’s the player who typically settles down the team during offensive lulls.
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And that brings us to Paul. As great as CP3 was during the first two games of the second round, he’s been confusingly bad the last two—which happen to coincide with him turning 37 on May 6. In Game 3, Paul uncharacteristically turned the ball over seven times. In Game 4, he played only 23 minutes because of constant foul trouble, picking up four in the first half alone.
There will be quibbles about Paul’s fouls. His last three were all controversial at best. His fourth came with 1.1 seconds left in the second quarter, when Paul tried to follow his own miss and bumped into Luka Dončić, who exaggerated the contact. On his fifth, Paul tried to draw a foul on Jalen Brunson by pulling up in front of him in the backcourt—a play we’ve CP execute countless times. But Paul perhaps stuck his backside out too far, and was called for an offensive violation, when a no-call probably would have sufficed. And finally, he picked up his sixth foul on Brunson on a rebound, on marginal contact at best.
Paul wasn’t in a talkative mood after the game, frequently glancing at his phone and then leaving his press conference in the middle after offering up platitudes at a couple of questions. While Paul was evidently frustrated by a situation involving fans and his family during the game, simply put, he has to be better in this series moving forward.
Paul is not Phoenix’s best scorer, but he is the maestro of its offense. It’s no coincidence the Suns have struggled when he’s either turned the ball over or hasn’t been on the floor. (Phoenix had a 113.0 offensive efficiency with CP on the floor Sunday—not great, but much better than with him on the bench.)
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Deandre Ayton also needs to step up. Crowder likes to say that at some point the playoffs become less about scheme and more about “mano a mano” battles. Ayton largely hasn’t been able to take advantage of his matchups the last few games. Part of the issue is the Suns not working their offense enough to get Ayton looks when he seals smaller guys in the paint. But Ayton also needs to be more assertive. That varied offensive game he showed during the regular season hasn’t been as evident in this series, and Ayton needs to be a factor in making Dallas pay for playing small.
The Mavs are going to get their threes off. They’ve now shot 39, 41, 39, and 44 attempts from beyond the arc through Games 1 through 4 of this series. Yes, there’s room for Phoenix to improve defensively, particularly preventing dribble penetration in the middle of the floor, which is allowing many of those kickouts to happen in the first place. The Suns have to stick a step closer to those shooters, and run guys like Davis Bertans and Dorian Finney-Smith off the line.
But none of that will matter if Phoenix itself can’t score. With a pivotal Game 5 on the horizon, the Suns’ next adjustment needs to come on the offensive end. Maybe a return home will spark a return to form.
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