Boom or Bust

I go for boom, ready or not.

Now that we are in the times of the higher law that Jesus laid out, when does a sin become a sin?

Mavs Crush Hawks at AAC

The Mavericks made a nice rebound after the Houston loss, and comfortably handled a bad Atlanta team, despite playing without Luka and KP. 


Game Story

Atlanta were missing a bunch of guys, including former Mav Chandler Parsons, who was still recovering from his car accident. They dressed only nine players. The Mavs counted Luka (ankle), KP (load management), and DP (Achilles) on the injured list. 

Rick broke out another new starting unit, featuring Brunson/THJ/DFS/Maxi/WCS. The squad got off to a sluggish start, going down by 10 within the first four minutes. Then, they recovered, and owned a 36-26 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Hawks had another run or two in them, but the Mavs kept their foot on the gas for the rest of the game and soundly thrashed their opponent. 


Analytics

The Mavericks won this game largely on the basis of sterling 3-point shooting, putting up 6 more 3PTAs than the Hawks, and hitting 51% of their shots from long range. They were +30 on points from threes, -1 on made free throws, and -6 on points from twos. The home team should also be congratulated on going 15-16 from the line. 

The offense was fashioned to some extent from defense, with the Mavs recording 8 blocks, and winning 17 points off Hawks turnovers. Many of the threes were in rhythm, generated as a result of inside penetration. The squad looked very coordinated and energetic on both ends of the floor, and it was a great team win. 


Players

Coach went a little bigger in this match, and the front court did not disappoint. 

Maxi (30 min) was amazing, registering 18 points on 6-9 shooting, including 4 threes, and having 4 blocks for the second night in a row. He was quite active defensively, managing to stay in front of the Hawks' pacey players. Harp talked about Maxi's improvement this season as a two-play player, and remarked that working hard on his shot is really paying off.
 
DFS (29 min) stuffed the box score with a season-high-tying 22 points, 4 threes, 7 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Wow! He played forcefully, and was everywhere he needed to be, hitting threes, dunking, completing free throws, making life tough on Atlanta, and crashing the boards. A very complete game from the young guy. Harp also praised Finney-Smith for elevating his play so much this season. Exciting development!

WCS (26 min) enjoyed his debut as a starter with the Mavs, and contributed 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. He also played starter minutes with NO fouls!! Rick thought he played extremely well, serving as a presence around the rim, blocking shots, altering shots, moving his feet, acting as a lob threat, and guarding smaller guys. As important as anything, Willie really wants to be here. He gave a post-game interview, and seemed joyful about his new life in Dallas. 

The guards were no less impressive. 

Brunson (27 min) really stepped up in Luka's absence, leading the team with a season-high 27 points on 12-22 shooting, to go with 8 assists and only 1 turnover. Incredible! Coach thought he played extremely well, and did everything they needed him to do. Way to go, Jalen!

Seth (21 min) was the leading scorer off the bench with 15 points, including 5 threes, along with 6 rebounds. He was playing with great joie de vivre, which was fun. He had to be taken off near the end of the game with some sort of knee issue. Hope it's nothing serous. 

Hawks. The short-staffed Hawks suffered a couple of injuries during the game. Cam Reddish took an elbow to the face from DFS, and seemed disoriented as he was helped to the locker room. He has a facial contusion and a possible concussion. Trae Young did not have a very good night (12 points), and had to leave in the second half with a sprained ankle. Former Mav and old friend Vince Carter impressed, and Dirk, who was in the audience, joined him in revving the engines after a signature dunk, which was a hoot.  


Remarks

Carlisle was happy with his team's play, especially their defensive effort, and said they had a bunch of good performances, top to bottom. 

This was a high-paced, entertaining game, and we got to see a lot of guys step up into bigger roles, which was cool. Honestly, I think it would have been even more interesting had Atlanta not been so terrible, but we'll take the win. I don't watch the Hawks very often, and I didn't realize just how bad they are. Yikes! But, let's not take anything away from the Mavs, who did well to maintain their record of no losing streaks longer than two games so far this season. Impressive system performance with Luka and KP out!


Next. Pacers, on Monday. Luka will still be out, but as far as I know, KP is expected back.

Keep it up, guys!

Who was the "player of the game" who elevated his game to help the team win?

Comeback Effort Falls Short in Houston

This game looked like it might be a Rockets laugher until the Mavs made a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the hole was just a little too deep. 


Game Story

Capela, Green, and Nene were on Houston's injured list. Luka and Powell were out for the Mavs. Rick played a zany starting lineup, with Barea and Broekhoff inserted into the unit. The Rockets played no big men in the entire game. 

Basically, the Mavericks fell behind about 4 minutes in, and just kept getting further and further behind, accumulating a deficit of 18 points with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. At that point, they dug deep and went on a 21-6 surge to draw within three at the 6:53 mark in the fourth. Then they screwed the pooch with a series of possessions that included one made shot, two missed shots, and three turnovers, allowing the Rockets to restore their lead to nine at 3:55. The visitors ran off 15 points in the remaining minutes, but couldn't buy a stop. They whittled the deficit to four a couple of times, but ended up being the proverbial day late and dollar short. 


Analytics

The Mavs lost the possession game, with eight fewer shots than the Rox and nine fewer 3PTAs. They did get to the line for seven more free throw attempts than the opposition. They ended the day +10 on points from twos, +4 on made free throws, and -21 on points from threes. They shot pretty well (39% from deep), but the Rockets were a blistering 47% from long range. 

Dallas did themselves no favors with 17 turnovers and 18 Houston fast-break points. Some of the dumbest turnovers, too, if I dare say so.  Late game execution errors, which appear to be part of the learning curve for the young team, also hampered their recovery.


Players

Porzingis (36 min) was outstanding in Luka's absence. He put up 35 points on 60% shooting, got to the line for 13 free throw attempts, and also registered 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. With the tallest Rocket being 6'6," KP feasted in the paint. None of the Rockets could guard him. It is interesting to watch his change of style when he is the first option. He was aggressive, and demanded the ball. He got more touches, and got many of them closer to the basket than usual. I wish there were a way of harnessing his skills to better effect when Luka is also on the floor. Rick praised KP for playing one of his best games of the season. 

DFS (35 min) had 12 points and 8 boards, but his defensive chops were tested. These Houston guards and shooters are a handful. 

THJ (32 min) put up 15 points, including 4 threes, and had 4 assists. However, he and Barea were no match for the Rockets' starting back court. Russ and Harden combined for 67 points, 22 rebounds, and 15 assists. Tim and Barea recorded 26-8-13. After the game, Rick affirmed Tim's super-importance to the team, especially with Luka out. 

Seth (25 min) had a pretty good offensive night, being the Mavs' second-leading scorer with 16 points, 4 assists, and only 1 turnover off the bench. He was a big part of the comeback, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter. Defense was a different story, as he was way overmatched. Still, he was one of a handful of Mavericks in positive territory, at +2.

Barea (21 min) contributed 11 points and 9 assists to the effort. Rick complimented him on keeping the squad organized, but JJB may or may not continue in the starting point guard spot. Coach will determine the starting units on a game-by-game basis. 

Brunson (20 min) was part of the offensive closing unit. With 48 seconds left, he hit a clever little floating bank shot, but followed that up running one-on-two to the basket, and missing the layup. Good stuff, and not-so-good stuff from the young players. 

Broekhoff (20 min) was put into the lineup because he is a physical player who can make threes, per Rick. He had 9 points and 5 boards. Maxi (14 min) had 4 blocks and 6 boards, and was one of the few Mavs to put up any meaningful resistance to Westbrook. I am wondering if Maxi is playing through some undisclosed injury or another. He has been playing relatively low minutes, even though the Mavs are shorthanded in the big man department. At any rate, Rick thought he played well. WCS (11 min) had a wretched entry to the game, with three fouls and a technical in four minutes. He returned to the game later, and had a nice block and some rebounds. He had five fouls, though, in short minutes. Rick said he thought WCS had done a good job. 

Rockets. Westbrook absolutely torched the Mavs in the paint, getting to the basket repeatedly with a great deal of force and ferocity, to quote Jet. Dallas gave him different looks, and Russ v. Hardaway, Russ v Curry, and Russ v Brunson were ug-lee matchups. The Mavericks had some luck trapping him, but the Rockets shooters were on fire and punished the technique. Russ took only one three the entire night, although the visitors were daring him to shoot. He put up 32 points and 9 assists. Harden also blasted the Mavs, recording 35 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. The Mavs were double-teaming him some, but, again, the shooters were able to make Dallas pay. What an incredible back court. 


Remarks

Carlisle was pleased with a number of aspects of the game. He admired his team for never giving up, and showing the fight to come almost all the back from being 18 down. They had opportunities to win until right at the end.  Ultimately, however, the Rockets' hot three-point shooting got the better of them, and that can happen. 

The FSSW studio crew were especially proud of Seth and KP. They thought the game was winnable, and found it disappointing that the team never quite made it back. Jet thought they could have attacked the basket more, instead of settling for so many jump shots. The group also thought that with KP matched up against smaller players, and having such great post skills, the squad could have take a little better advantage of those mismatches.

I wasn't really expecting the Mavs to win this game, with Luka and Powell out, but it was still disappointing to see them come so close and fail to deliver. We have to give Houston credit -- they played well, especially their two stars. However, watching the boys let Westbrook blow by them and score over them again and again and again was frustrating. I guess we could look at it that they are overachieving by even being competitive, with two of their starters out. However, what with the unusual rotations and all, it felt more like they were back to throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something would stick. The mistakes at the end were disheartening, but I have more or less come to view them as learning experiences. To ascend to contender status, this team needs a lot of work in multiple areas. But, they're coming along, and they have had terrible luck with the injury bug. 


Next. The Mavs face Atlanta Saturday. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a win, if they can get themselves together. Luka will be out for at least the next five games, so the other Mavs will need to step it up. 

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1222971223048695814

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1222970455184805889

Mavs Return to AAC, Lay Ostrich Egg

Yikes! The Suns delivered an old-fashioned butt-kicking to the Mavs in front of the home fans. Murphy's Law ruled the day for the boys in blue. 


Game Story

The evening began with some Kobe-related ceremonials, including a video tribute, a retirement of #24, and the 8-second/24-second violations. 

On the first real possession of the game, Porzee turned the ball over with a bad pass. Bridges missed the ensuing dunk, and the Mavs stood around watching Rubio collect the offensive board, which resulted in a Suns layup. DFS then lost the ball and Ayton went in for an alley oop. At the 10:40 mark, Rick called a timeout. It didn't help. Luka and Rick were called for technical fouls within the next 5 minutes for arguing non-calls. By the end of the first period, the Mavericks were behind 19-32. The home team were 1-11 on 3PTAs and had seven made field goals and 6 turnovers. Cauley-Stein made a 4-minute debut, which included a missed open dunk and a turnover. Indicative of the whole team's inauspicious start. 

In the second quarter, Rick broke the emergency glass and busted out Barea, in hopes of a spark. The little guard helped to stanch the bleeding with 6 points and 4 assists in 7 minutes, but was not able to engineer much in the way of a recovery. Dallas closed the half with a 10-6 mini-run, and entered the locker room down 55-60. THJ got a technical for leaving the court without permission as the half was ending. 

I thought things couldn't get worse, and boy, I couldn't have been more wrong. A total decimation in the third period. The Mavs were down by double digits within the first minute and ultimately allowed the Suns 48 points, a team record for points allowed in a quarter. The Suns led 108-77 going into the fourth. 

Rick ran the starters out for 4 minutes before yelling calf-rope. In garbage time, Boban drew some cheers from the fans still in the arena. Mercifully, the buzzer finally sounded. 


Analytics

The Suns blasted the Mavs in practically every aspect of the game. The Mavericks shot very poorly -- 21% from three. They gave up 19 points on turnovers, and surrendered 62 points in the paint. Defense was limp, and the team was out of sync, trailing the entire 48 minutes. 


Players

With the arguable exceptions of Barea and Brunson, none of the Mavs looked good. Luka had 21 points, and hit six of his seven free throws, but had 2 assists and 4 turnovers. KP played for 20 minutes in this SEGABABA, but had only 9 points and 3 boards. THJ was 3-10 from the field. DFS and Curry combined for 7 points. Just a really bad night all around. 


Remarks

Dana wondered why the Mavs looked so "sluggish and sloppy." Ced and Harp both attributed it at least partially to the ponderous mood brought on by Kobe's passing. Rick acknowledged that teams sometimes have bad nights due to extraneous circumstances, but he was not ready to write it off that easily. He plans to watch the game again, and then decide how to address it with his squad -- either to erase it from their slates, or use it as a teaching tool. Skin remarked that even the crowd seemed deflated. Whatever the cause, Carlisle termed the performance "very poor," "very disappointing," and "very ugly." He credited the Suns for coming out with so much force and conviction. 

On a positive note, Coach said he likes the WCS pick-up. WCS is very enthusiastic about joining the Mavs, and he is "a veteran with experience who can help us in stretches." Listening to all this Rick-speak, I am not sure that Carlisle plans the major role for WCS that some fans are envisioning. Remains to be seen, I guess. He definitely provides some weapons that the Mavs need. 

Luka said this game "wasn't us," they played terribly, and he thinks they should forget about it and move on.

One has to give the Suns their due. They were on fire, with Booker and Ayton combining for 63 points. Dallas had no answer for Ayton, who lit our guys up in the paint. Ced thought that Ayton might be extra motivated because Luka was voted an All-Star starter and he wasn't. A little extra incentive to try to prove his front office right in drafting him instead of Luka, lol. I wouldn't doubt it.  

Anyway, I don't think there is much to be gained by parsing this match in detail. It was actually interesting before it got totally out of control, in a train-wreck sort of way. I know it was the second night of a back-to-back, and the first home game after a road trip, and guys were down about Kobe, but I can't think of any excuses that really justify this level of bad basketball. Whatever was wrong, I hope they have it out of their system, and are able to get their groove back soon. 


Next.  The Mavs face the Rockets on Friday night in Houston. Get back up on that horse and gallop, Mavs!