Phoenix’s first trip to Dallas during its second-round series against the Mavericks was an eventful one. Before the team flew out last Thursday for Game 3, the Suns were grounded in Arizona for an hour due to storms in Dallas. The delay forced them to practice late in the evening upon arrival and scurry out of the bowels of Dallas’s downtown arena minutes before “The Who” took the stage that night.
Things didn’t go much better the next day on the court. The Suns would lose Game 3—a game in which Chris Paul committed seven turnovers on his 37th birthday. Luka Dončić, meanwhile, was proving a difficult cover, having averaged 35.3 through the first three games. So when Coach of the Year winner Monty Williams—who led Phoenix to the Finals last year and had to face MVPs such as LeBron James, Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo during that run—was asked after the game if he enjoys the adjustments and strategic pressure that come with managing a playoff series, he was only half-joking when he answered.
“Does it look like I’m having fun?” he said.
