Mavericks visit Suns with eyes toward next season (Apr 09, 2017)
PHOENIX -- Two teams with intriguing decisions to make at the point guard position this off-season will continue to play out their 2016-17 strings on Sunday when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Phoenix Suns.
Neither the Mavericks (32-47) nor the Suns (23-57) will participate in the NBA playoffs this season so their final regular-season matchup will be more about evaluating young talent than winning.
That said, the Suns accomplished both -- and denied Russell Westbrook a slice of history -- when they routed Oklahoma City 120-99 at home on Friday night.
Rookie point guard Tyler Ulis contributed 12 points and five assists to the win, which was the Suns' first since shutting down veteran Eric Bledsoe for the season on March 15. Phoenix lost its previous 13 games.
The Suns also have been without Bledsoe's backup, veteran Brandon Knight, for the past 22 games, opening the door for Ulis to burst onto the scene.
The 21-year-old has recorded five double-doubles in 14 games since replacing Bledsoe as the starter. He's scored in double figures in each of his last seven games.
Since the All-Star break, he leads all rookies in assists per game (7.1) and ranks sixth in scoring (12.3).
Ulis drew the primary defensive assignment on Westbrook on Friday night. Much was made of the MVP candidate missing a record-setting triple-double by two assists, but it should be noted he was harassed into 6-for-25 shooting.
"He's played two top point guards in the NBA," Suns coach Earl Watson said of Ulis' recent matchups with Westbrook and Charlotte's Kemba Walker. "He has impacted the game against both guards."
Bledsoe, 27, has two years and $29.5 million remaining on his contract. His future with the Suns might have more to do with the NBA draft lottery than Ulis' progress.
The Suns will enter the lottery with either the second- or third-best odds of landing the first pick. It is possible they could get a shot at UCLA's standout point guard, Lonzo Ball.
The Mavericks will counter Sunday with a rookie hotshot point guard of their own -- Yogi Ferrell.
Plucked out of the NBA Developmental League in January, Ferrell has made 26 starts in his 33 games for the Mavericks, averaging 11.2 points per game and 4.3 assists.
The 23-year-old's situation in Dallas is a bit more complicated than Ulis' in Phoenix. The Mavericks have a logjam of point guards, both young and old, with Seth Curry, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris also in the picture.
"We got to get better at point, there's no question," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban insisted recently of the off-season. "We'll have depth, but we have to get that one pass-first point guard."
Ulis and Ferrell went head-to-head for large chunks of time when the Suns won 100-98 at Dallas last month.
Ulis had eight points and five assists in the win, but missed seven of his 11 shots. He's shooting just 41.9 percent (23.5 percent on 3-pointers) this season.
Ferrell, meanwhile, had only one assist in 27 minutes.
The Phoenix win gave them a 2-1 lead in a season series in which neither team has won on the opponent's home floor. The Dallas win came in January in Mexico City.
Sunday's meeting with be the first of the season at Phoenix.
