GAME THREAD: Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns Game 2

WHO: Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns

WHAT: Game 2 of the Western conference semi finals

WHERE: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona

WHEN: 9:00 p.m. CT

HOW: TNT

THE STORY: This one is a must win if the Mavericks hope to pull off a series upset. There’s just no easy way around that.

This really good FiveThirtyEight post explains the breakdown of what the Suns are doing in the pick and roll versus what Dallas does. Something to read in the moments between play.

Team assists are the key stat to watch tonight. The Suns are likely fine with Luka Doncic going for 30 or more if he’s unable to get teammates involved and Phoenix is nightmare-ish at closing out on shooters and stepping into passing lanes.

Hopefully both Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie figure out what they need to do to get going in a sustainable way for the Dallas offense.

We’ll be back post game with plenty of work. Go Mavs.