GAME 18: DAL (8-10) @ UTA (14-4) | 104-116 loss

[ballsrchr]

Wow.  What a putrid game.  After a very short time I started watching the mavs players like a hawk...positioning, the flow of the game.  What were they doing?  Nothing!  Lot of standing around.  Lack of effort.  When the dribble was picked up (and it was picked up a lot!) nobody came to help.  When the ball penetrated nobody cut to to the basket!...or moved to an open lane...thus the ball handler (who picked up the dribble!) would be left on an island.  Luka looked discouraged.  He also looked like..."...if nobody is coming to help I'll just do it myself--but I'm getting tired of this...!"  When there was some actual ball movement it was like a hot potato with nobody wanting to shoot an open shot (and no cutting to the basket!)  Of course, they weren't hitting open shots, so I guess it didn't matter much. One particular sequence would be the pass to an open player in the corner:  hesitation!...then dribble toward the basket into a snake's den of defense.  And no snake catcher comes to help.  Even if the Mavs do manage to make a mini-run a couple of 35' clankers put a stop to that.  Two such clankers can result in a 10 or 12 point turnaround--for the other team!

Enough with the offense.  What about the defense?  Let me rephrase that.  What defense?  Aside from the first few minutes and dribs and drabs thereafter...there was no defense.  Defense is anticipation, execution, BBIQ, and effort.  Don't need to say any more than that.

Now...lest anyone think I am a negative nellie...I do have a solution--of sorts.  Coaching and accountability.  Maybe just coaching accountability, but--no--players need to be held accountable as well.  Maybe the players are discouraged over the way the year has gone.  Maybe the coaches are discouraged.  Hmmm...maybe I am a negative nellie...