The Dallas Mavericks have not fared well against the Phoenix Suns so far. The Suns have them in a 0-2 hole in the second round of the NBA playoffs after hanging over 120 points on them twice in a row. The Mavs will have to dig deeper than they ever have on the defensive end.

After Mavs head coach Jason Kidd explained that Luka Doncic needs to be protected from getting exposed in the pick-and-roll, Maxi Kleber explained why the Suns are so hard to contain. Phoenix moves the ball so well and so smartly that the Mavs have to be perfect on their rotations.

The Suns are indeed a very difficult team to guard because of the talent they have. Devin Booker is one of the league's best scorers, Deandre Ayton is a monster inside and Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder can all put the ball in the hoop from deep. Chris Paul organizes the offense on the floor while Coach of the Year finalist Monty Williams orchestrates it all.

Using double teams has been detrimental to the Mavs' defense as it looks to hold in all those weapons. Not only is Phoenix busting the Mavs defense but they are also holding Dallas' offense down. Doncic has been stellar, as he usually is, but no one else has been able to step up.

In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Mavs were able to carve up the Utah Jazz defense and halt their predictive offense. The Suns' offense is anything but that, and it has given them fits.