Mavericks vs Suns Preview and Game Thread: Dallas looks to stop road woes against Phoenix

Jan 27, 2023 - 4:39 AM

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Sorry I swore I published this and… I didn’t.

The Dallas Mavericks (25-24) head to Phoenix to face the Suns (25-24) on the Thursday night late game showcase on TNT. The Suns are riding a four game hot streak whereas the Mavericks have been bumbling along, losing a stunner to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. While the Suns have battled through a rough stretch of injuries and lackluster play, they seem to be finding their zone at the right time heading into the trade deadline and All-Star break. Here’s the main details you need to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns
• WHAT: Trying to avoid falling back to .500 for the season (for real this time, I couldn’t do math on the last game thread)
• WHERE: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
• WHEN: 9:00 p.m. CST
• HOW: TNT

For Dallas the same two fellers that have been on the injury list are still on it: Maxi Kleber with his hamstring and Christian Wood with his thumb. It does seem we have at least a week more until we get any sense of whether Wood will play, which is understandable. A broken thumb is not something that strikes me as easy to play with.

On the Suns side of things, DeAndre Ayton is playing tonight after missing the last three contests. Devin Booker has missed many games due to a groin strain. Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet are all out with various maladies.

We’re not QUITE at must-win status, but Dallas is treading water in a conference where a couple of games means falling to the back of the line. It’s a lot nicer to be looking down at everyone. Fortunately, the Suns have no one to guard Luka Doncic, so if he makes it his mission, he’s likely to destroy the Suns once again. But Dallas has no size to compete with Ayton, so getting him into foul trouble would be nice.

As always, thank you for hanging out. See everyone after the game, go Mavs.