Monty Williams Outclassed in Matchups, Rotations
The Dallas Mavericks (lead by Luka Doncic's 33 points) beat the Phoenix Suns in Dallas on Monday night after some different bench moves made by head coach Monty Williams.
The Suns fell to an early deficit in the first quarter after shots were not seemly falling like they did in San Antonio the night before. Doncic did his usual, controlling the pace of the game, having the ball on a string and cashing four of his nine three-pointers.
The game was off to an interesting start from opening tip as Ish Wainwright got his first start of the season guarding Doncic.
Dallas Mavericks Guard Luka Dončić led the offensive attack, exploiting holes in the Suns' D.
When asked about the decision to start Wainwright, Williams explained, "Just the matchups. We didn’t want (Luka) Doncic putting Dario (Saric) in pick and rolls. That’s one thing they do well, they find a match up and they go after it. You look at the score and you look at the scoring and maybe in hindsight it wasn’t the best decision, but those are decisions that I have to live with."
Doncic was able to exploit the Suns defense and distribute the ball well as he able to log eight assists, many to open shooters along the perimeter. That was an all too similar tune basketball fans in Phoenix from last year's postseason.
Defensively, the Suns had no answers for Doncic, something head coaches around the league are still trying to figure out too.
"You’re caught in-between letting him score 40 or letting him do what he did tonight and get 30 and everybody else gets corner threes. He just had a really good rhythm. If you give him the same defense over and over again, he figures out ways to pick it apart," said Williams after the defensive strategy left the Suns in a substantial hole heading into the fourth quarter.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Suns couldn't get much rhythm going with the combination of players on the floor. Phoenix was 40-for-91 from the field and had assisted on 28 of their buckets, not particularly horrible.
Yet the offense couldn't find any momentum and it seemed like the personnel didn't fit at times.
Guard Devin Booker had a rough night leading to the Suns offense stalling with different combinations on the floor.
No big momentum play was made in the third quarter to spark a quiet Suns team beginning the second half.
After the game, Williams admitted, "...some of the combinations I had on the floor – those guys don’t have a great rhythm together. You have to try to manufacture offense as opposed to just running offense. That’s on me, I have to get the guys out there that can have a bit of synergy, so that they can play without thinking. Throwing Ish (Wainright) out there, that’s a totally different rotation than we’ve ever had, but you’re trying to do whatever you can to match up against a good opponent.”
The Suns are missing the impact of Chris Paul on the court and some role players are being asked to fill big shoes. Both sides of the ball saw the impact of non-traditional Suns lineups and the price was payed.
Looking forward, the Suns will have to turn the page quickly as one of the East's elite will come into Phoenix. Devin Booker remained optimistic, touching on the upcoming games against the Boston Celtics saying, "We’re gonna go back to the film, get better, and get ready for Boston, another a heavy hitter. Looking forward to it.”
We'll find out exactly how much they learned from Monday night.
