Mavs unleashed ‘beast’ Brunson when Doncic was out
DALLAS — When Jalen Brunson averaged 27.8 points in Dallas’ in the first round of the playoffs against Utah, including games of 41 and 31 points, he opened a lot of eyes around the NBA.
Not, however, Mikal Bridges’ eyes. Bridges, the Suns’ forward, won two championships with Brunson at Villanova. Bridges knew Brunson would come up big for the Mavericks when he stepped in as the primary ballhandler while Luka Doncic missed the first three games against the Jazz with a calf strain.
“Luka being out was just a great thing that happened for the Mavs,” Bridges said Saturday, as the Suns prepared to host Dallas in Monday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Bridges, who likely will be the Suns’ primary defender against Doncic, meant no disrespect by his comment. It’s just that Doncic’s absence “unleashed the beast” that Bridges knew was within Brunson.
“That unlocked the true JB,” Bridges said. “He’s been hooping all year. When Luka went out and he had to step up, he was ready for it.
“I’m watching games and I could ... just tell. I know what shots he’s going to make. I just know. I know how talented he is and how hard he works and how much of a dog he is.”
Bridges and Brunson were part of the 2018 NBA draft class. Bridges was selected 10th overall by Philadelphia, which traded him to the Suns that night.
Brunson, the two-time national college player of the year, was the third player drafted in the second round, by Dallas.
“If you want to say it’s his size or whatever,” Bridges said. “But I think sometimes picking
18-year-olds who average six points a game or something like that is different from a dude who carries a whole load and takes the team to national championships and, and wins it for them.
“I’d rather pick that guy. Credit to Dallas and their staff and everybody up top, knowing they got a steal. I knew from there, ‘Mavs, they’re going to see.’ ”
After taking Friday off, the Mavericks returned to practice Saturday and Kidd said everyone came out of the Utah series healthy.
The lone Maverick on the injury report before Game 6 against the Jazz was swingman Tim Hardaway Jr., who has been out since fracturing a bone in his left foot on Jan. 25. Hardaway had surgery on Feb. 1 and was
declared likely out for the season.
But what about the playoffs?
To hear Kidd on Saturday, it’s highly unlikely that Hardaway will appear in this second-round series, which in the very least has extended Dallas’ season by a week.
“Yeah, he’s shooting the ball, but from my eye he hasn’t done any real running or anything yet,” Kidd said. “So that’s more of a medical question, but right now he’s out, yes.”
Dallas and Phoenix met three times during the regular season. But two of the games occurred back-to-back, in Phoenix, just five weeks into the season – with Phoenix winning by 8 and 7 points.
Doncic didn’t play in either of those games.
And when the teams played for the final time, an 8-point Phoenix win on Jan. 20, center Deandre Ayton was out
for the Suns and the Mavericks where three weeks from trading Kristaps Porzingis for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans and changing the dynamic of how they play.
“You can’t just throw out those games,” Suns coach Monty Williams said Saturday. “But it seems like a different team, different season, with the way that they play now and the personnel they have now.”
Williams and Ayton on Saturday mentioned the Mavericks’ five-out lineups. Those lineups helped the Mavericks at times neutralize Jazz center Rudy Gobert by pulling him away from the basket, but 6-11 Suns center Ayton said he relishes playing against teams using smaller lineups.
“I guess that the new era in the league,” Ayton said. “Where 6-foot-7 dudes are fives now, and they try to cancel out the traditional big man role.
But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And our stuff over here ain’t broke.
“We stay true to our culture. We try to punish (smaller) matchups, just
like how they try to punish bigs on the perimeter.”