![]() ![]() Ayton handled his business professionally all year long. There was an error processing your subscription.īefore the season, Deandre Ayton asked the Suns for a max contract. Speaking of which, they have another major issue to sort out now. If he can't be that player, this version of the Suns is effectively out of the championship race. Them winning a championship means Paul has to look like the version of himself he did during the regular season. The combination of Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith did a masterful job on Paul and Devin Booker.īut Phoenix's entire vision relies on having two star guards. We should also give proper credit to the Dallas defense. There's no telling how serious it was, but in his late 30s, such injuries are probably going to become the norm moving forward. Marc Spears of Andscape reported that Paul was dealing with a left quad injury. Maybe Paul really did just get old overnight. He looked completely helpless against Dallas.Īt this point, it's too early to say what might have been behind that. Paul came two wins short of a championship last season. Small guards aren't supposed to age this well. Now, players typically don't turn into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight, but it was a stark reminder that the version of Paul we'd seen over the past few seasons was something of an anomaly. Since? He fell down to 9.4 points, 5.8 assists and 3.6 turnovers. Prior to his birthday, he was averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game in the playoffs. CP37Ĭhris Paul turned 37 years old on the night of Game 3 of this series. There is nothing better in all of basketball than that. And we, as a collective fanbase, get to spend the next decade of our lives watching him try to do it. If his career continues on the trajectory that it is right now, Luka Doncic is going to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. But right here, right now, he is hitting the same checkpoints that they did all of those years ago. Without a superstar teammate, he'll have a hard time chasing them in terms of championships. He'll likely never be the defender that they were. It's that pivotal point in a young career in which anything and everything is possible.ĭoncic has a long, long way to go before he can be compared to Jordan and James. It's where Michael Jordan was in 1986 when he scored 63 against the Celtics and where James was in 2007 when he slayed the Pistons. This is about reaching a point that we see only once or twice in a generation. It's even bigger than Doncic potentially becoming the NBA's best player on a day in which Giannis Antetokounmpo's season ended. This is bigger than Dallas having a legitimate chance to win the championship. He scored as many points as their entire team did in the first half of Game 7 (27). The NBA's best regular-season team had no answer for Luka whatsoever. Doncic's bout with the 64-win Suns came one round earlier, but had the same feeling. 1 seeded opponent with Finals experience to get to the NBA's biggest stage himself. In 2007, a fourth-year LeBron James stunned a No. It's fitting because Doncic is doing his best James impression right now. NBA history is filled with the stars of one generation publicly blessing their successors. James infamously tried to convince Nike to launch a LeBron Brand built around Doncic as its first signature athlete. ![]() "The way he plays the game reminds me of the way I play the game," James said at All-Star Weekend. LeBron James has never loved a player quite like he does Luka Doncic. Here are three key takeaways from the Mavericks' Game 7 victory. With the win, the Mavericks move on to face the Golden State Warriors to determine which team will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. On the other end, Phoenix struggled all night long on the offensive end as Cam Johnson led all Suns scorers with 12 points off of the bench. Dinwiddie provided plenty of help off of the bench finishing with 30 points of his own while Jalen Brunson also chipped in 24 points to help Dallas cruise to a lopsided victory on the road. In the end, Doncic finished the win with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in just 30 minutes of action. While that nearly topped the Mavericks' point total for the first half on its own, Doncic had plenty of help as Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in 21 points of his own off of the bench. Luka Doncic was spectacular for Dallas in the opening 24 minutes of play as he led all scorers with 27 points. The Mavericks jumped out to a 57-27 lead over the top-seeded Phoenix Suns on Sunday night and never looked back on their way to a 123-90 win. The Dallas Mavericks are heading to the Western Conference finals and there was little doubt they would get there following their hot start to Game 7. ![]()
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