Luka, Kyrie, KD, Booker: Mavs Vs. Suns Rivalry Bigger, Better & More Petty Than Ever
Just when you thought the Dallas Mavericks’ rejuvenated rivalry couldn’t get any better than last season’s seven-game Western Conference semifinals series, a four-day span in February ahead of the NBA trade deadline added even more juice … and perhaps some pettiness as well.
On Sunday, the Mavs shocked the basketball world by trading for Kyrie Irving, who dazzled in his debut on Wednesday in a 110-104 road win against the Los Angeles Clippers with Luka Doncic nursing a heel injury.
Late Wednesday night, the Suns countered the Mavs by trading Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four unprotected first-round picks for Kevin Durant and T.J. Warren.
Although it will be hard to compete with the nostalgia that comes with those Mavs-Suns memories featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudmire and others, a combination of Doncic, Irving, Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul has enough star power and dramatic storylines to make this chapter of the rivalry even more special.
The Mavs and Suns already didn’t like each other heading into last season’s playoffs, but then Booker escalated things by flopping in Game 5 and calling it “The Luka Special.” With the Mavs falling in a 3-2 series hole, Doncic famously clapped back, “Everybody acting tough when they up!” while heading back to the locker room … and the rest was history.
The Mavs beat the brakes off the cocky Suns in Games 6 and 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in over a decade, and Phoenix has been slowly falling apart since … until this week when it landed Durant.
Although Durant and Irving are good friends, there time together in Brooklyn wasn’t always smooth sailing, and that’s putting it nicely. Nowitzki and Nash were best friends, but that didn’t keep the Mavs-Suns rivalry of the mid-to-late 2000s from being must-watch television.
The Mavs and Suns are fully equipped for this next chapter, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see these two teams having to go through each other in a few months in order to get to the NBA Finals — whether that’s in the first round, second round or conference finals has yet to be determined though.
Before the main course potentially happens, our first appetizer of this juicy matchup comes on March 5, which will be a primetime matinee game at American Airlines Center in what will surely be an electric playoff atmosphere.
The Mavs are currently the fourth-seed in the West and hold the tiebreaker over Phoenix. The Suns are currently the fifth-seed in the West.
Let the new games begin.
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