Game 57: Dallas Mavericks (33-23) vs. Indiana Pacers (32-25)

[SleepingHero]

This was the first bad game from PJ. And by bad I mean really bad. Basically every single choice he made was incorrect. Everything he did on the court didn't work. He couldn't hit a shot. He couldn't hit a layup. Several defensive lapses. Horrific.

No one could dribble tonight aside from Kyrie and Luka. Green bobbled. THJ bobbled. PJ bobbled.

The overall shot diet was horrific. How many contested mid range two's can a team stomach before they try something else? Timmy really threw up horrible look after horrible look. He couldn't make a simple pass. His defensive rotations were non-existent. He made a couple of okay threes, but overall just bad. Lively got outplayed tonight. He was by far our best center though. I felt when he was on the court the Mavs actually built momentum. Upon seeing the box score he played 15 minutes. That is totally unacceptable. Fireable offense imo. He's proven time and again he's fine with 30 minutes, and the Mavs did good things on the court with him. Insane choice by Kidd there. Gafford had some nice moments but also got outplayed. Luka had so many just heat check shots in the 3rd I felt like I was going to pull my hair out. Don't get me wrong, he can make these consistently, but are they really the best shot the Mavs can get? Especially when the Pacers were just building momentum and riding the hot Turner? It felt like pure iso-ball tonight and the Mavs could never capitalize on any transition attempts.

By the end, their defense just gave up and the Pacers poured on the points. Unfortunate and winnable game lost. Disappointing play. But to be fair it was bound to happen. This game had a feel that the Mavs could sleep walk the whole time and figure out a way to win it at the end.

I really hope the Mavs wake up and figure it out cause this road trip is big for the season.