Suns Coach Monty Williams Intrigued By Mavs Roster Changes
Every NBA team undergoes some level of change in the offseason. After defeating the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks certainly was no exception to that.
Much of the attention surrounding the Mavs' offseason was placed on Jalen Brunson departing to the New York Knicks in free agency. However, they bolstered the center position with acquisitions of JaVale McGee and Christian Wood. Tim Hardaway Jr. is also returning from injury.
Suns coach Monty Williams spoke to reporters on Tuesday ahead of the team's matchup against the Mavs on Wednesday. He sees Dallas as now having impressive options at the center position after being an undersized opponent in the playoffs.
“They’ve added a level of length that most teams don’t have,” Williams said. “Most teams don’t carry four bigs like that that are all going to play.”
An important difference with the Mavs roster entering opening night compared to when these two teams faced off in the playoffs is Hardaway Jr. The Suns respect the perimeter shooting threat that he brings and see him as a way of helping to replace Jalen Brunson.
“Just watching him in the preseason, he doesn’t look like he was out with an injury,” Williams said Monday. “He can shoot the ball, he’s strong, he’s tough, he can put it down better than people give him credit. He’s just one of those guys, when you lose Brunson, how do you get that back? And I think they can get it back as far as production in different ways with a guy like Hardaway.
“I’ve always liked his game, always undervalued in my opinion. Just from his production, not a guy you gotta call plays for every game and you look at the stat sheet and you’re like, ‘Man, he had a huge effect on the game.’ We have to account for him.”
Tipoff off for when the Mavs take on the Suns at Footprint Center is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. CDT.
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