The Phoenix Suns got tested more than anyone expected in the first round of the playoffs against a scrappy New Orleans Pelicans team. A hamstring strain to star guard Devin Booker certainly played a role in that series going to six games, but New Orleans deserves some credit for how competitive it made that matchup. A vintage performance from Chris Paul in Game 6, as well as the dominance of Deandre Ayton throughout the series, helped get the Suns into the West semifinals, where they’ll face the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.
Although the Suns are favored against the Mavericks — as they should be as the No. 1 seed — it won’t be an easy task getting past a Dallas team that had a similar path as Phoenix to get here. A calf strain to superstar guard Luka Doncic forced him to miss the first three games of Dallas’ matchup against the Utah Jazz, and while many expected the Jazz to roll over the Mavericks, Dallas ended up getting out to a 2-1 lead without its Slovenian guard. When Doncic returned, he showed no lingering effects of the calf strain, and along with the breakout performance from Jalen Brunson the two guards led Dallas to its first playoff series win since winning a championship back in 2011.
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