Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton is well aware of what Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is capable of. While it is the first time they'll be facing each other in the playoffs, Ayton has seen how his 2018 draft classmate dominates during the regular season.

Ahead of the Mavs-Suns Western Conference Semifinals showdown that starts Monday, Ayton was asked on the biggest challenge that comes to mind when trying to guard Doncic. The Phoenix big man didn't even hesitate as he said “Damn near everything.”

“He can do everything. He knows where his guys are on the floor, he can get to the rim every time, [and] everybody knows his step-back three. He's a playmaker and a scorer, so we'll have our hand full. [It's going to be a] team effort with him,” Ayton said of Doncic.

Luka Doncic averaged 29.0 points 10.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 block in the three games he played in the first round against the Utah Jazz, so it's easy to see where Deandre Ayton is coming from.

The Suns won all three of their regular season meetings with the Mavs this 2021-22, but two of those came when Luka was out. With that said, Phoenix can't be too complacent when they face Dallas. Not to mention that they have new guys in Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans that they haven't faced before.

For what it's worth, Luka himself is wary of the Suns and their defense headed by Mikal Bridges. He expects the DPOY runner-up to be his primary defender, which is certainly a huge challenge for him.

It remains to be seen what the Suns plan to do to slow down Doncic, but the Mavs-Suns showdown certainly has all the makings of an epic series.