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The Phoenix Suns Western Conference Semifinals series against the Dallas Mavericks has been much more difficult than most expected it to be. The Suns have been great at home, winning all three games. But they lost all three in Dallas, including being blown out multiple times. All of that has forced the top seed in the west to a Game 7 Saturday night.
Since turning 37 years old last week, Suns point guard Chris Paul has looked like a shell of himself. That's obviously an arbitrary date. It's not like he suddenly got old and can't play basketball. Nevertheless, Paul has been really bad the last few games. On the other side, Mavs superstar Luka Doncic is proving why he is considered one of the best basketball players in the world. There are numerous factors that have led to the Suns losing three of the last four games in this series, and they need to be rectified.
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So, let's get to our Phoenix Suns three bold predictions for Game 7 vs. the Mavs in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Phoenix Suns: 3 Bold Predictions for Game 7 vs. Mavs in 2022 Western Conference Semifinals
1. Devin Booker shines in his first ever Game 7
Did you see the smile from Suns superstar Devin Booker when he talked about playing in his first Game 7? I know I did. Now, you never know how a player is going to perform in new situations. The pressure of a Game 7 is unlike anything else, especially at home. But I have seen nothing from Booker that leads me to believe he will shrink in this moment.
In the Suns three home wins this series, Booker is averaging 27 points per game on 49 percent shooting. I think we are due for a true blow up game from the sharpshooter from Phoenix. Don't forget, this is the same player that once dropped 70 points on the Boston Celtics.
Throwback to Devin Booker’s 70-point game in 2017🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/Y4k5punMuL
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 2, 2020
2. Despite Solid Defense, Luka Doncic Drops 40+ Points on Suns
As I mentioned above, I firmly believe that Booker is going to have a big game. Well, the budding rivalry between the Suns shooting guard and Doncic is going to get a massive shove Saturday night.
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Doncic hit the ground running since entering the NBA. He was immediately recognized as one of the best young talents in the league. But this postseason, he's proving that he can do it when it counts too.
No player in NBA HISTORY has averaged 30/6/6 in their playoff career.
Luka Doncic is averaging:
33 points 🔥
9 assists 👀
9 rebounds 😤 pic.twitter.com/pXjQZQObUw— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 13, 2022
The Suns defense is going to have their hands full in Game 7 as Doncic will need to match Booker. The Mavs superstar looks like he has that killer mentality, nothing phases him. He averaged over 39 points per game in close out games during his career. This dude is absolutely ridiculous
The Suns have thrown great defenders at him all series, to no avail. Suns' Mikal Bridges finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Doncic has been stealing his lunch money. Jae Crowder has been known for years as one of the best ‘3 and D' players in the league. Doncic just makes him look old and slow.
It would be smart for Suns coach Monty Williams to take the ball out of Doncic's hands and force others to beat them. But I don't think they will change their philosophy at this point in the season, and Phoenix will regret it.
3. Chris Paul Redeems Himself in the 4th Quarter
During the last four games of this series, Chris Paul is averaging nine points, six assists, four rebounds and five turnovers per game. That came on the heels of a fantastic Game 2 performance when he dropped 28 points on 11-for-16 shooting. One key difference since that point is the Mavs coach, Jason Kidd, has put Reggie Bullock on Paul.
Bullock offers a very different challenge. Bullock is 6′ 6” and extremely long and athletic. He's been picking Paul up at half court much of the time, making him work all the way up the court. That's exacerbated the wear on the elder's legs. The Mavs even played Frank Ntilikina a playoff high 21 minutes last game.
Frank Ntilikina since entering Mavericks rotation has held Chris Paul and Devin Booker to 3-40 shooting when matched up on them. pic.twitter.com/nl57H3pvp6
— RahulNBAStats #ClaxtonEra (@PorzingiStrap) May 13, 2022
Since Ntilikina entered the the rotation, Paul and Booker are a combined 3-for-40 from the floor. That's astounding. All signs point to Paul struggling again in Game 7.
Paul might see less minutes than he has been seeing. That should help allow his legs to stay fresh come the fourth quarter. For the first time this series, it should come down to the very end. When that happens, I believe Paul is going to remind everyone why he is considered one of the five greatest point guards of all time.
