PHOENIX — The NBA season is officially underway – and the Phoenix Suns are competing the second half of a back-to-back in the 2024-25 home debut against a familiar rival in the Dallas Mavericks.

The Suns are coming off of a disappointing second half collapse against the Los Angeles Lakers last night and have been rewarded with the 2024 Western Conference champions tonight.

The Mavericks will undoubtedly pose a substantial challenge – but victory is still attainable, especially if Phoenix can capitalize on even two of the three keys to the game that we will explore below.

This is an instance where Phoenix almost certainly has to outdo Dallas at their own game in order to come out on top after 48 minutes compared to attemtping to contrast.

Dallas got 102 shots up – including 44 three-point looks – in their victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

The trio of Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, and Klay Thompson accounted for 28 of those 44 attempts – the three are sure to continue the aggressive approach tonight against a squad that has shown to be susceptible in certain moments during games to this point.

Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal must attempt around 25 threes between the three of them. Royce O’Neale, Tyus Jones, and Grayson Allen (if he plays) must supplement the star-studded trio.

While the Suns’ offense appears to be much more connected and flows more naturally this season, there have been points in games where turnovers run abound. The Suns have to run an intentional, fast-paced attack without steering into reckless tonight.

The Suns were around the middle of the pack in many basic rebounding stats and advanced metrics last season.

They have been near the bottom through two games this year – ranking 29th in offensive rebound % and 27th in second-chance points per John Voita of Bright Side of the Sun.

The frontcourt trio of Jusuf Nurkic, Mason Plumlee, and Oso Ighodaro simply haven’t been good enough on that front thus far. They have to be tonight when facing Dereck Lively II, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford.

The supplementary team rebounding simply has to be better as well – Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale, and even Ryan Dunn have been decent enough, but others need to stand out in this game as well in an effort to prevent second-chance opportunities from Dallas while also looking to generate those same chances for themselves.

The UVA product clearly had some anxious moments in his league debut on Wednesday, but managed to settle in last night in only 14 minutes.

Dunn posted 9 points on 3-for-5 from behind the arc while posting a +8 and playing fearless defense against a revamped Lakers’ offense.

Dunn has to factor into the rotation in an even more sizable role tonight – especially with the Doncic/Irving dynamic in play.

Dunn’s shocking ability to space the floor has made playing him all the more palpable when combined with his dynamic athleticism, relentless POA attacking, off-ball anticipation, and ability to create turnovers.

Dunn won’t be afraid to take on the Doncic assignment tonight – and it’s very possible that Phoenix will need him to do just that.