MAVS BLOWN OUT IN SEASON SWEEP BY SACRAMENTO
CARLISLE, DONCIC EJECTED
The Mavericks never led in a rec-league style game. Thank goodness the mighty Kings are in the rear view mirror.
GAME STORY
A couple of key guys were missing for both teams — Fox and Barnes for Sac, and KP and Hardaway getting some rest for the Mavs.
After a hot start the night before, Dallas got off to an 0-8 opening. They fought back to within two points a couple of times in the first quarter, but ultimately found themselves down double digits and closed the period trailing 26-36.
The second quarter was one of the loonier periods of the season, with a number of bizarre happenings. Within the span of approximately a minute, Luka was called for an offensive foul, both Luka and Rick were teed up, Luka had a travel, and Luka threw a bad pass for a turnover. Things did not improve from there. Josh Green crashed into a chair on the sideline. Powell had a flagrant one for elbowing his defender in the jaw. Then Powell committed another offensive foul, wiping out a Luka basket. During all these goings-on, the Mavericks managed to tie the game three times, but were never able to reach a lead, and closed the quarter badly. They went into halftime down 54-61.
The Mavericks held their own for a few minutes in the third, but totally crumbled in the second half of the period. With Luka in foul trouble, a variety of bench-heavy units were fielded. The team went down by as much as 17, and had a 72-87 disadvantage going into the fourth. The Mavs were 1-11 from deep and managed only 18 points in the quarter.
The final frame opened inauspiciously with a Terence Davis three. The Mavs responded with a run that teased us with the hope of better things, cutting the deficit in half at 8:45. The margin was down to five with 4 minutes to go. Down the stretch, the Kings seemed to be begging to give the game away, committing a cluster of fouls and turnovers. The Mavericks, alas, were unable to capitalize, and unravelled at the end, with both Carlisle and Luka getting ejected in the last minute. Yikes.
STATISTICS
When the Mavs aren’t shooting well from three, that does not tend to bode well, and tonight they recorded a miserable 6 of 35 (17%) from beyond the arc, compared with 11-28 (39%) for the Kings. Sac also dominated the interior, and had a 64-46 advantage in PIP. It was a foul-ridden contest, and Dallas did enjoy a 31-16 advantage in FTAs. Maverick point differentials for the night were -12 on points from twos, -15 on points from threes, and +15 on made free throws. It was a sloppy match in general, with the two teams combining for 37 turnovers, 17 of which were committed by the Mavs. Seven Mavericks, including starters Maxi, DFS, and Powell, were in double-digit negative territory in the +/- column. Just a goofy, junked-up game, where the Mavs could neither defend nor score.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had a 30/6/6 line, along with a couple of steals, in a team-high 36 minutes, but I wouldn’t consider this one of his better games. He was 1-7 from distance, got in foul trouble in the third quarter, had 6 turnovers, took some bad shots, and was called for his 14th and 15th technical fouls of the season. He was arguably responsible for some of the dissolution into chaos, and seemed to be allowing his feelings to get the better of him. Maybe he was just tired and in a bad mood over the officiating and not getting much help after 39 minutes the previous night in a historically great performance.
As far as the technical fouls go, the first tech was for yelling "hell, no" and shaking his fist after an offensive foul was called. The second was for throwing the ball in a dead-ball situation while Rick was getting ejected. One might argue that the officials maybe should have turned their heads at that, and we can hope that the Ts get rescinded, but the fact remains that Luka knows the rules, and when you’re nearing a suspension, you need to be more careful. Unless one or both of these fouls is rescinded, his next T during the regular season will come with a one-game suspension.
POWELL. Dwight had 13 points on perfect 3-3 shooting, and got to the line for 9 FTAs, hitting 7. He also boasted 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, but had 3 turnovers and a couple of pretty rough offensive fouls. He looked particularly good in the first quarter, where he provided some good energy, had 9 points, and flew in for a dramatic block. Sac appeared to be staying home on the shooters and more or less letting Luka and Powell do their thing during that sequence, but they subsequently adjusted.
MARJANOVIC. Bobi had 8 points and 7 boards in 12 minutes. Notwithstanding that, I might have a nit to pick in terms of how he was used, as he took only three shots, to go with four free throw attempts. On the other hand, it ended up working out all right, as the team was +12 while he was playing, so perhaps all's well that ends well.
The big man was also the victim of some nastiness by the Kings, which sent him tumbling to the floor, going over in a backward somersault, and getting up with a rare scowl. You know it has gotten serious when Boban is giving opponents the snide eye. At any rate, his turnaround jumper over Richaun Holmes in the second quarter was designated the What-A-Burger play of the game.
STARTERS. DFS was the only Mav besides Luka to play over 30 minutes, and looked out of sorts in his 35 minutes of action. He was 1-7 from the field with 3 total points, grabbed only 5 boards, committed 4 turnovers, and was not able to do much in the way of stopping Sac’s talented offensive players. Maxi also had a very poor night, with 5 points, 2-8 shooting, and only 3 rebounds. Richardson had 11 points. I could be imagining things, but it has seemed to me for a while now that Josh just has no lift left in his legs, as he struggles to complete layups.
RESERVES. Brunson was the second-highest scoring Mav in his sixth man role, with 17 points, 8-12 shooting, and 3 assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Burke had 7 points in 17 minutes. WCS, Melli, Green, and Redick combined for 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in a total 37 minutes. SMH.
KINGS. The Kings did not let the absence of D’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes stop them from scoring. Buddy Hield torched the Mavs with 27 points, 6 threes, and 6 rebounds. Marvin Bagley lit them up with 23 points, 9 boards, and 10-16 shooting. Richaun Holmes had 17 points and 7 rebounds, and was 7-10 from the floor. Former Mav Delon Wright recorded 14 points, was 7-9, and had 5 assists off the bench. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton had 11 points and 5 assists before he left the court with an apparent non-contact injury in the third quarter, never to return. Thoughts and prayers for the youngster.
OBSERVATIONS
Coach Carlisle observed that his team did not play well on either end of the court. Although they created some decent looks and showed good energy and effort in parts of the game, they weren’t consistent enough, and too many shots didn’t go down. Additionally, they struggled defensively and on the boards, and had no answer for Marvin Bagley. He lamented another poor start and admitted that there were no excuses for showing out with a game of this lack of quality.
Rick thought he was at fault for setting a bad example in getting two technical fouls, and apologized to the team for the error in judgment. He said that he received the second tech because he was angry that an obvious travel had not been called. I wondered whether this confession was also an oblique criticism of Luka getting two technicals. The second techs seemed particularly unwise, since the game was already out of reach, and there was nothing to be gained in the contest by getting thrown out. Devin Harris thinks the team is just going through some maturity issues (although one might question this analysis wrt Carlisle). The officiating was ragged, to say the least, and we will probably never know whether the Mavs' overt expressions of frustration will result in anything changing in the broader picture.
It is puzzling that Sacramento has proved to be such a tough nut for the Mavs to crack. They actually are a good offensive team, so maybe one can understand their running up the score a little. But they are generally a very poor defensive team, giving up 119 PPG, and it is head scratching that the Mavericks have found it so difficult to score against them. For this game, the Bally Sports crew blamed poor shot selection, too much settling, and getting sucked into playing the Kings’ preferred rough-and-tumble style game. Along with the terrible defense, of course. Maybe Sac just has our number. It can't have helped that two of the Mavericks' most potent offensive weapons were in street clothes on the bench, although that was the tradeoff the team chose to make.
Anyway, your boys have eight games left in the run up to the playoffs, or the play-in, as the case may be. Due to the Portland win and Laker loss tonight, all three teams are tied at 36-28, and the Mavs would currently have the three-way tie breaker as division winner. Hopefully, they can get themselves healthy and develop a little consistency in this last stretch.
Miami on Tuesday, Mavs fans.
CARLISLE, DONCIC EJECTED
The Mavericks never led in a rec-league style game. Thank goodness the mighty Kings are in the rear view mirror.
GAME STORY
A couple of key guys were missing for both teams — Fox and Barnes for Sac, and KP and Hardaway getting some rest for the Mavs.
After a hot start the night before, Dallas got off to an 0-8 opening. They fought back to within two points a couple of times in the first quarter, but ultimately found themselves down double digits and closed the period trailing 26-36.
The second quarter was one of the loonier periods of the season, with a number of bizarre happenings. Within the span of approximately a minute, Luka was called for an offensive foul, both Luka and Rick were teed up, Luka had a travel, and Luka threw a bad pass for a turnover. Things did not improve from there. Josh Green crashed into a chair on the sideline. Powell had a flagrant one for elbowing his defender in the jaw. Then Powell committed another offensive foul, wiping out a Luka basket. During all these goings-on, the Mavericks managed to tie the game three times, but were never able to reach a lead, and closed the quarter badly. They went into halftime down 54-61.
The Mavericks held their own for a few minutes in the third, but totally crumbled in the second half of the period. With Luka in foul trouble, a variety of bench-heavy units were fielded. The team went down by as much as 17, and had a 72-87 disadvantage going into the fourth. The Mavs were 1-11 from deep and managed only 18 points in the quarter.
The final frame opened inauspiciously with a Terence Davis three. The Mavs responded with a run that teased us with the hope of better things, cutting the deficit in half at 8:45. The margin was down to five with 4 minutes to go. Down the stretch, the Kings seemed to be begging to give the game away, committing a cluster of fouls and turnovers. The Mavericks, alas, were unable to capitalize, and unravelled at the end, with both Carlisle and Luka getting ejected in the last minute. Yikes.
STATISTICS
When the Mavs aren’t shooting well from three, that does not tend to bode well, and tonight they recorded a miserable 6 of 35 (17%) from beyond the arc, compared with 11-28 (39%) for the Kings. Sac also dominated the interior, and had a 64-46 advantage in PIP. It was a foul-ridden contest, and Dallas did enjoy a 31-16 advantage in FTAs. Maverick point differentials for the night were -12 on points from twos, -15 on points from threes, and +15 on made free throws. It was a sloppy match in general, with the two teams combining for 37 turnovers, 17 of which were committed by the Mavs. Seven Mavericks, including starters Maxi, DFS, and Powell, were in double-digit negative territory in the +/- column. Just a goofy, junked-up game, where the Mavs could neither defend nor score.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had a 30/6/6 line, along with a couple of steals, in a team-high 36 minutes, but I wouldn’t consider this one of his better games. He was 1-7 from distance, got in foul trouble in the third quarter, had 6 turnovers, took some bad shots, and was called for his 14th and 15th technical fouls of the season. He was arguably responsible for some of the dissolution into chaos, and seemed to be allowing his feelings to get the better of him. Maybe he was just tired and in a bad mood over the officiating and not getting much help after 39 minutes the previous night in a historically great performance.
As far as the technical fouls go, the first tech was for yelling "hell, no" and shaking his fist after an offensive foul was called. The second was for throwing the ball in a dead-ball situation while Rick was getting ejected. One might argue that the officials maybe should have turned their heads at that, and we can hope that the Ts get rescinded, but the fact remains that Luka knows the rules, and when you’re nearing a suspension, you need to be more careful. Unless one or both of these fouls is rescinded, his next T during the regular season will come with a one-game suspension.
POWELL. Dwight had 13 points on perfect 3-3 shooting, and got to the line for 9 FTAs, hitting 7. He also boasted 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, but had 3 turnovers and a couple of pretty rough offensive fouls. He looked particularly good in the first quarter, where he provided some good energy, had 9 points, and flew in for a dramatic block. Sac appeared to be staying home on the shooters and more or less letting Luka and Powell do their thing during that sequence, but they subsequently adjusted.
MARJANOVIC. Bobi had 8 points and 7 boards in 12 minutes. Notwithstanding that, I might have a nit to pick in terms of how he was used, as he took only three shots, to go with four free throw attempts. On the other hand, it ended up working out all right, as the team was +12 while he was playing, so perhaps all's well that ends well.
The big man was also the victim of some nastiness by the Kings, which sent him tumbling to the floor, going over in a backward somersault, and getting up with a rare scowl. You know it has gotten serious when Boban is giving opponents the snide eye. At any rate, his turnaround jumper over Richaun Holmes in the second quarter was designated the What-A-Burger play of the game.
STARTERS. DFS was the only Mav besides Luka to play over 30 minutes, and looked out of sorts in his 35 minutes of action. He was 1-7 from the field with 3 total points, grabbed only 5 boards, committed 4 turnovers, and was not able to do much in the way of stopping Sac’s talented offensive players. Maxi also had a very poor night, with 5 points, 2-8 shooting, and only 3 rebounds. Richardson had 11 points. I could be imagining things, but it has seemed to me for a while now that Josh just has no lift left in his legs, as he struggles to complete layups.
RESERVES. Brunson was the second-highest scoring Mav in his sixth man role, with 17 points, 8-12 shooting, and 3 assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Burke had 7 points in 17 minutes. WCS, Melli, Green, and Redick combined for 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in a total 37 minutes. SMH.
KINGS. The Kings did not let the absence of D’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes stop them from scoring. Buddy Hield torched the Mavs with 27 points, 6 threes, and 6 rebounds. Marvin Bagley lit them up with 23 points, 9 boards, and 10-16 shooting. Richaun Holmes had 17 points and 7 rebounds, and was 7-10 from the floor. Former Mav Delon Wright recorded 14 points, was 7-9, and had 5 assists off the bench. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton had 11 points and 5 assists before he left the court with an apparent non-contact injury in the third quarter, never to return. Thoughts and prayers for the youngster.
OBSERVATIONS
Coach Carlisle observed that his team did not play well on either end of the court. Although they created some decent looks and showed good energy and effort in parts of the game, they weren’t consistent enough, and too many shots didn’t go down. Additionally, they struggled defensively and on the boards, and had no answer for Marvin Bagley. He lamented another poor start and admitted that there were no excuses for showing out with a game of this lack of quality.
Rick thought he was at fault for setting a bad example in getting two technical fouls, and apologized to the team for the error in judgment. He said that he received the second tech because he was angry that an obvious travel had not been called. I wondered whether this confession was also an oblique criticism of Luka getting two technicals. The second techs seemed particularly unwise, since the game was already out of reach, and there was nothing to be gained in the contest by getting thrown out. Devin Harris thinks the team is just going through some maturity issues (although one might question this analysis wrt Carlisle). The officiating was ragged, to say the least, and we will probably never know whether the Mavs' overt expressions of frustration will result in anything changing in the broader picture.
It is puzzling that Sacramento has proved to be such a tough nut for the Mavs to crack. They actually are a good offensive team, so maybe one can understand their running up the score a little. But they are generally a very poor defensive team, giving up 119 PPG, and it is head scratching that the Mavericks have found it so difficult to score against them. For this game, the Bally Sports crew blamed poor shot selection, too much settling, and getting sucked into playing the Kings’ preferred rough-and-tumble style game. Along with the terrible defense, of course. Maybe Sac just has our number. It can't have helped that two of the Mavericks' most potent offensive weapons were in street clothes on the bench, although that was the tradeoff the team chose to make.
Anyway, your boys have eight games left in the run up to the playoffs, or the play-in, as the case may be. Due to the Portland win and Laker loss tonight, all three teams are tied at 36-28, and the Mavs would currently have the three-way tie breaker as division winner. Hopefully, they can get themselves healthy and develop a little consistency in this last stretch.
Miami on Tuesday, Mavs fans.