Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley admitted that Miami Heat forward P.J. Tucker gave the Mavs some advice on how to beat the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Tucker was also apparently the only Heat player who picked Dallas to upset the Suns in Game 7.
He def expressed what we should do… 🤣🤣 https://t.co/PVZo5tH2Cf
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) June 16, 2022
Tucker, who played with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-21 season, won an NBA title against the Suns when the Bucks erased a 2-0 series deficit in the NBA Finals. Clearly, Tucker had some insight on how to slow down the Suns’ attack with Devin Booker and Chris Paul.
The Mavericks went on to dominate the Suns in Game 7 of the two teams’ playoff series this season. Dallas advanced to the Western Conference Finals. However, the team was unable to get any further in the playoffs, as it lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games.
Tucker is one of the best defenders in the NBA, so it’s not surprising that he had some insight for Dudley this year.
The Heat relied heavily on Tucker in the 2021-22 season, and he was a key part of their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. While Tucker isn’t the greatest offensive player, he offers a ton of value on defense and with his veteran leadership.
In the 2021-22 regular season, Tucker averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc.
If Tucker returns to the Heat next season, they’ll certainly hope to see him deliver some good information to his own team to help Miami win a lot of games in the 2022-23 campaign.
