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For Mavericks, Luka Doncic, series vs. Suns feels like the Clippers all over again

Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie’s regression has Mavs’ offense looking eerily similar to 2021.

Remember when the Mavs finally grasped the concept of defense after all those years of playing such little D in Big D? Still recall when Jalen Brunson looked like he’d get rich this summer? Or when Spencer Dinwiddie made the Kristaps Porzingis deal look good?

Remember when Luka Doncic averaged 35.7 points in the playoffs and the Mavs still couldn’t win?

Feels a little like the same ol’, same ol’, doesn’t it?

The Mavs face a must-win game Friday at American Airlines Center after reverting to last year’s storyline against the Clippers, a collapse that precipitated the end of the Rick Carlisle era and the clock on Donnie Nelson’s lawyers.

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Other than the general manager and coaching staff and the Mavs’ first playoff series win in more than a decade, turns out not much has changed after all. At least not after two conference semifinal losses to the Suns, who, by the way, have now beaten the Mavs 11 straight and 18 of 21. Seems like a trend, no?

The Mavs’ defense has been awful in Games 1 and 2. Not only did Phoenix score 129 points in Wednesday’s blowout after putting up 121 in the opener, the Suns are making shots at a historic pace. Their 75.7 true-shooting percentage in Game 2 is second-best in NBA playoff history behind only the Clippers’ 77.8% in Game 5 of the first round in 2020. Also against the Mavs.

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The Mavs can’t keep the Suns from getting to their favorite spots because they’re constantly in foul trouble. Hard to play defense with one hand tied behind your back.

Brunson — who bounced back from his disappearing act against the Clippers last year by averaging 27.8 points against Utah and bailing out the Mavs in Luka’s absence — has gone poof again. Scored 13 and 9 points on 9-of-28 tries in Phoenix. Devin Booker, known mostly as a scorer, treats him like a kid brother even on the rare occasions Brunson gets into the paint to ply his stop-action offense.

Meanwhile, Dinwiddie’s offensive problems go back to Salt Lake City. Even when putting up numbers against Utah, he wasn’t efficient. In eight playoff games as a Mav, he’s shot better than 40% from the field once. He’s 6 of 18 against the Suns for a grand total of 19 points.

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For a little perspective, Porzingis averaged 13.1 points and shot 47.2% against the Clippers last year. We were so unimpressed, we accused Carlisle of telling him to go stand in the corner and act tall. KP’s numbers wouldn’t come up so short now.

One of the reasons the Mavs acquired Dinwiddie was that they needed a third playmaker. Everyone else is pretty much catch-and-shoot. Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd wanted to take the ball out of Luka’s hands and open up the offense.

But because of Brunson’s and Dinwiddie’s regression in this series, not to mention Luka’s predilection to dominate the ball, the Mavs’ offensive production looks eerily similar to last year’s against the Clippers:

Luka goes wild early and often.

No one picks him up.

Luka runs out of gas.

He scored 24 points in the first half Wednesday, when the Mavs took a lead to the locker room. He managed 11 in the second half as the Suns forced him into defensive switches that further sapped his energy.

Even at that, the bigger problem in this series is that Luka is too often playing at full tilt in a game of ebb and flow. Consider the Suns, who, granted, have more options than Luka does. Wednesday, Booker went off on the Mavs in the third quarter for 12 points before turning it over to the closer.

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Chris Paul, who refuses to yield the title of “Point God” even as he turns 37 Friday, went 6 of 7 for 14 points in the fourth to get the save. Paul is still so good in the fourth because he conserves his energy. Also because he doesn’t do nearly as much heavy lifting as Luka.

Before he was out the door last summer, Donnie ruffled fans’ feathers by claiming Luka needed to involve his teammates. How could you criticize a 22-year-old who just averaged 35.7 points in a playoff series? What Luka needed, fans wailed, was more help.

Both sides had a good point, actually. Luka needs to get his teammates going. But it’d also help if someone took the hint.

Would it make any difference if Tim Hardaway Jr. were available? Averaged 17 points against the Clippers last year. What would help now is if Brunson and Dinwiddie get in the lane, providing their teammates more open 3s. The Mavs also need to play the defense we’d only recently become accustomed to. They don’t have to work miracles. The Suns won’t continue to shoot a franchise playoff record 65.4% from the field. One of these days, their playoff streak of 50% or better will come to an end.

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But if the Mavs don’t stop reminding us of last year, and soon, they won’t be around to see the Suns sink.

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