The Dallas Mavericks will be out to maintain their winning record in the NBA when they head to the Footprint Center to face the Phoenix Suns on Sunday morning.
Phoenix are 1-1 for the season following a victory over the Clippers and a loss to the Lakers, while Dallas are 1-0 having beaten the Spurs in their season opener on Friday.
Match preview
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The Phoenix Suns are one of the sides that many are expecting to challenge for the top seeds this season, and they will be hoping to bounce back in this match after going down 123-116 to the Lakers last night.
Phoenix's 'big three' all put on impressive performances - Kevin Durant led the team with 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting along with six assists and four rebounds, Devin Booker added 23 points and Bradley Beal contributed 15 points with nine assists in the defeat.
As a collective, the Suns posted a 51% field-goal percentage while making 17 of 37 from beyond the arc, flying out the blocks to a 22-point lead before getting reeled in by the Lakers during the second half.
Much of the Lakers' joy in the second half came from forward Anthony Davis, who dropped 35 points and was virtually unguardable at times, which is something that Mike Budenholzer will need to address from here on.
The major issue for Budenholzer's side, though, is that outside of the big three, there was very little to get excited about, with Jusuf Nurkic managing just four points and none of the bench players getting into double digits.
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Meanwhile, after reaching the NBA Finals last season where they were beaten by the Celtics in five games, the Dallas Mavericks have made a positive start to the new campaign, recording a fairly comfortable victory over the Spurs in their season opener.
Dallas have maintained largely the same core that served them so well last term, but they did make one major addition in the offseason by signing Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors.
The four-time champion made a massive impact on debut for his new employers, draining 22 points and going six of 10 from downtown, while he also relieved some of the team's dependency on Luka Doncic.
Still, that is not to say that Doncic was not his usual ruthless self, as he led the team with 28 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and added eight assists in the winning effort.
Defending their title as Western Conference champions will certainly not be easy, and advancing to win the NBA Finals will be even tougher, but there is no denying Dallas boasts a talented squad and will be in the mix if they can maintain the type of performance they showed in their season opener throughout the campaign.
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Team News
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Phoenix are likely to be without three players for this match, starting with Josh Okogie has who missed both matches so far due to a hamstring injury and is listed as a major doubt.
Damion Lee sat out the loss to the Lakers with a strained hamstring, while Grayson Allen has been sidelined due to personal reasons and both players are unlikely to take the court against the Mavs.
The Mavericks are also likely to be missing three players, including Kessler Edwards who is battling with an ankle injury and is being assessed on a a day-to-day basis.
Dante Exum is on the road to recovery from surgery on his right wrist and will miss the remainder of the calendar year, while Brandon Williams will be a game-time decision owing to a calf injury.
Phoenix Suns possible starting five:
Durant, Beal, Nurkic, Booker, Jones
Dallas Mavericks possible starting five:
Thompson, Washington, Gafford, Doncic, Irving
We say: Dallas to win by 3+ points
While the Suns are expected to be a top-five team in the West this season, only OKC have shorter odds to win the Conference than Dallas, and based on their opening-match performance, the Mavs look a better team than they were last term.
We are expecting a thrilling contest between two star-studded rosters here, but fancy the visitors to edge the result.
