NBA Picks 11/12 – Suns @ Mavericks

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The Phoenix Suns (6-5) visit the Dallas Mavericks (3-8) tonight at American Airlines Center. This is the first of three regular season meetings between the teams. Phoenix won three of four against Dallas last season, they won both games in Dallas. The Suns have won four in a row at Dallas. The Mavericks last home win against the Suns occurred on Dec. 5, 2022. 

Dallas made headlines yesterday when they fired beleaguered general manager Nico Harrison. Harrison had come under intense criticism after he traded superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package that featured oft-injured Lakers power forward/center Anthony Davis on Feb 1, 2025. The trade happened less than a year after Doncic led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals in June. The Mavs poor start this season likely forced ownership’s hand to let go of Harrison.

Dallas is a 1.5-point favorite and the total is 227.5

WHAT BOTH TEAMS DID IN THEIR PREVIOUS GAME

Phoenix is coming off a 121-98 blowout victory against the New Orleans Pelicans at home on Monday night. Grayson Allen knocked down a franchise-record 10 three-pointers and scored a career-high 42 points for the Suns in just 28 minutes. He added four assists and three steals. Devin Booker added 19 points (8-13 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 3-3 FT), three assists and a steal, while Dillon Brooks posted 18 points (4-13 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 9-10 FT) and five rebounds for Phoenix.

The Suns took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Pelicans 35-19 and building a 64-41 lead at halftime. Thirteen players each scored a basket for Phoenix in the 23-point rout of New Orleans. Phoenix has won three in a row and five of six after starting the year 1-4.

Dallas dropped a tough 116-114 decision to the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Monday night. Dallas blew a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The Bucks outscored Dallas 37-26 over the final frame to pull out the victory. Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his game-high 30 points in the decisive fourth quarter. 

Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft — scored a season-high 26 points (9-15 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 7-10 FT). He added 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block across 35 minutes. Brandon Williams also finished with a season-high in points with 19, he was making his first start of the season. P.J. Washington added 19 points and 7 rebounds for the Mavs. Dallas has lost five of its last six games.

GAME STORYLINES: PHOENIX

Prior to the 2023-24 season, the Phoenix Suns formed a ‘Big Three’ of stars Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in hopes of fast-tracking their way to an NBA title. Unfortunately, Phoenix’s version of a ‘Big 3’ failed spectacularly mainly due to injuries. The star trio was never able to stay on the court together for long stretches during the last two seasons.

Year one of Phoenix’s Big Three resulted in a very good 49-33 regular season record, but the Suns were swept in the first-round by the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves. Everything unraveled in Year Two last season as the Suns finished 36-46 and missed the playoffs entirely. Phoenix made the decision to part ways with Bradley Beal (buyout) and Kevin Durant (trade) during the offseason in July. The Suns received a trade package that included Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and draft picks in exchange from Houston for Durant.

Phoenix began this season with huge question marks as the team consisted of perennial All-Star Devin Booker leading a group of relatively young players. The season began on an ominous note due to the injury status of Jalen Green. The 23-year-old scoring guard Green strained his right hamstring during training camp and started the year on the injured list. He missed the first 8 games of the season and returned to score 29 points in 23 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 6. 

Unfortunately, Jalen Green aggravated the right hamstring strain in the very next game at the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 8. Green left the game after playing just 7 minutes. He is likely to miss the next four-to-six weeks. Green quickly established himself as an excellent scorer since being selected second overall in the 2021 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. He’s averaged at least 20 ppg in three of his four NBA seasons.

Superstar mainstay Devin Booker is amassing another fantastic season for Phoenix. The 29-year-old, four-time All-Star is averaging 28.4 points, 6.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 threes while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor and 39.7 percent from long distance through 11 games. Booker is going to average at least 22 ppg for a 10th consecutive season. He became the Suns all-time leading scorer last February. 

Grayson Allen (18.6 ppg, 4.6 asts, 3.1 rebs, 1.5 stls, 4.2 threes, 45.3% from 2, 44.7% from 3 in 11 gms) and Dillon Brooks (18.4 ppg, 3.4 rebs, 2.2 stls, 2.4 threes in 5 gms) are off to fantastic starts this year and are filling the scoring void left by Jalen Green. If Green can return to full health at some point next month, Phoenix has a chance to be very good. 

GAME STORYLINES: DALLAS

The last 9 months have been a whirlwind for the Dallas Mavericks franchise. It started on Feb. 1 when they stunned the sports and non-sports world by trading its franchise-player Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his six full seasons with Dallas, the then-25-year-old Doncic made five All-Star appearances, was named to the All-NBA team four times and led the team to the NBA Finals in 2024. Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison was widely lambasted for the trade.

It appeared as if General Manager Nico Harrison got a reprieve when the Dallas Mavericks — who finished 39-43 — miraculously won the NBA draft lottery despite having just a 1.8% chance of landing the top pick. Securing the No. 1 overall pick allowed the Mavs to draft Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, who was the consensus top pick in the draft and one of the most heralded college prospects in recent years. Pairing Flagg with Anthony Davis, along with the eventual return of star guard Kyrie Irving (torn ACL) appeared to be a formula that would quickly elevate Dallas back amongst the NBA’s elite. 

Unfortunately for Dallas, the 2025-26 season began with a 125-92 shellacking at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs at home on national television. Dallas followed that up with an embarrassing 117-107 loss at home to the lowly Washington Wizards in their second game of the season. The victory remains the lone win for the 1-10 Wizards this season. 

Its been an uphill struggle for Dallas ever since the inauspicious two-game start as they enter tonight’s contest at 3-8. The oft-injured Anthony Davis has missed the last six games with a left calf strain and is questionable for tonight’s game against Phoenix. The 32-year-old Davis last played on Oct. 29 against Indiana. Davis was averaging a team-leading 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds, along with 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks in five games before the injury.

After getting off to somewhat of a slow start, rookie Cooper Flagg is beginning to show signs of the All-World performer that many projected him to be prior to the draft. On the season, the 18-year-old Duke product is averaging 15 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1 three-pointer through 11 games. Flagg notched his best all-around performance (season-high 26 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk) against Milwaukee in his last game, and is proving to be a player who stuffs the stat sheet. 

THE PICK: SUNS (+1.5)

The Mavericks and their fans will likely get a boost due to the firing of embattled GM Nico Harrison, but the team is in such disarray with the Anthony Davis injury and the subpar play on the court. Phoenix also looks to be much-improved early in the season with less star power but more team cohesion. Take the Point(s) and the Suns.