Luka Doncic acknowledges challenge of facing Suns' Mikal Bridges

Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic acknowledged it’ll be difficult to play against Suns Defensive Player of the Year finalist Mikal Bridges, he said as part of a Q&A, as relayed by Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Dallas and Phoenix will open their second-round series on Monday night.

“They have Bridges,” Doncic said. “I know he’s going to be on me. He’s the best, in the top two guards, him and Smart. But it’s really tough against him. His defense is amazing. It really impresses me. But then on the offensive end, he improved so much that he’s a really amazing player.”

Bridges placed second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season, trailing Celtics guard Marcus Smart. Phoenix could have its forwards defend Dallas’ star backcourt (Bridges and Jae Crowder on Doncic and Jalen Brunson), or it can also task Chris Paul with defending Brunson. While he’s still a good defender, Paul turns 37 years old later this week.

Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division:

• Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected in Game 1 against the Grizzlies on Sunday. Green committed a Flagrant 2 foul and riled up the crowd before exiting, as relayed by Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). The ejection decision was met with outrage from many fans, players and league observers. Players are automatically suspended by receiving four flagrant foul points in the playoffs, meaning Green would receive a one-game suspension with one more Flagrant 2 or two more Flagrant 1’s. He was famously suspended in Game 5 of the 2016 Finals for this same reason and later declared it cost the Warriors a title.
• Marc J. Spears of Andscape.com examines where Warriors guard Gary Payton II got his athleticism from. Payton attributes it to his mother, who participated in track, high jump and long jump. His father, of course, is recognized as one of the league’s all-time great defenders and a stellar athlete himself. Payton received his first playoff start against Memphis on Sunday, finishing with eight points and six rebounds in just over 23 minutes.
• The Timberwolves realize that progressing after this season isn’t a guarantee, Dave Campbell of the Associated Press writes. Minnesota gave the No. 2 seed Grizzlies a run for their money in round one, but they ultimately lost in six games. The team has a young nucleus of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and others that could be competitive for many years to come.