05-11-2021, 10:55 PM
MAVS EMBARRASSED IN MEMPHIS
DALLAS FALLS TO SIXTH IN WEST
The Mavericks played an uninspired, lackluster game against a Memphis team missing some of its key players. SMH.
GAME STORY
The Grizzly injury report showed Jonas Valunciunas, Jaren Jackson, Grayson Allen, and Sean McDermott out with various injuries. KP was still absent for the Mavs. Maxi returned to action, after missing a few games with Achilles soreness.
Carlisle went with his recent starting lineup of Doncic-Richardson-Hardaway-DFS-Willie, perhaps wanting to re-integrate Maxi gradually.
The Mavericks began by exchanging scores and misses for the first few minutes, then built an 8-point advantage with 3:37 to go in the first, but squandered it to an 11-2 Memphis closing run, and ended the period down 27-28.
Dallas continued to lag by a few points in the second quarter. They finally recovered the lead briefly at the 4:28 mark, only to surrender it again. The visiting Mavs trailed 57-60 at halftime. Hardaway led the second-period scoring with 10 points. Redick went off with an injury early in the quarter, and was ruled out of returning to the game.
The Grizz got out to their biggest lead of the game at seven points in the third, and later stretched it to thirteen with a 12-2 run. The Mavs were turning the ball over right and left, and Kyle Anderson created separation with 10 points to add to Ja’s 11. Carlisle pushed the Boban button, and Bobi rewarded him with a basket and an assist right off. However, he took only one more shot, Memphis took advantage on the other end, and the Mavericks never got closer than 8 in the last 4:49. Your boys were staring at an 82-96 deficit after three.
The Mavericks opened the fourth with a Flagrant Two foul, with Powell being ejected for laying some unnecessary and excessive contact on Brandon Clarke's face. Memphis quickly reached a 22-point lead, and were at 23 at 7:50. Rick unleashed the rookies and the third string, and that crowd closed out the game.
STATISTICS
The Mavericks shot 50% from inside the arc, 32% from deep, and 95% from the line. Comparable percentages for the Grizz were 62/48/94. There's your game. Point differentials for the Mavs were -20 on points from twos, -12 on points from threes, and +3 on made free throws. The bright spot, if there is one, is that Dallas was 18-19 from the stripe. Memphis led 58-46 in PIP, and destroyed Dallas in the turnover department, with the Mavs giving up 23 points off giveaways and 21 fast-break points. There were sequences where the Mavericks looked like the three stooges -- inexplicable, really.
PLAYERS
HARDAWAY. Timmy did his best to keep the Mavs in the game in his team-high 28 minutes, leading the squad with 19 points on 6-11 shooting, while also chipping in 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Coach Boucek said she was proud of the team for getting better at finding THJ and getting the ball to him in his sweet spots. She also liked it that Tim was mixing up his scoring, and not just taking threes. In the second quarter, he had a nice, leaderly play on a fast break, running the court and passing to Richardson under the basket when he had a shot himself. Not enough to carry the team for the full 48, but still a bright spot in a dark night. Shooting his 201st three, he became the first Mav in history, and the 22nd player in NBA history, to have multiple seasons with at least 200 threes.
DONCIC. It was a very subpar night for Luka, who was 4-16 from the field, had only 4 FTAs, and had as many turnovers as assists (5). He looked out of sorts from the beginning, and it probably didn’t help that he took a dive over an advertising board onto the concrete floor in the second quarter, landing on his hip with an alarming thud. Rick said he did not know why Luka didn’t play well in this game, but he didn’t think any of the other guys was happy with his own individual performance, either. Luka himself deemed this game one of the worst he has ever played, and took responsibility for the loss.
WCS. Willie had a career night, with 16 points and 8 minutes in 15 minutes of action. He was a demon in the paint, putting the ball back and dunking off passes from his teammates like there was no tomorrow. He and Timmy held the fort for a while, and both stepped up on the evening. Trill was the only Mav in positive figures, at +1.
BRUNSON. Brunson did the best he could in a sixth-man role, putting up 15 points and 3 assists on 6-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. He had a exciting stretch at one point when he ended up dishing an assist from his back on the floor on one end of the court, and shortly afterward securing a steal in a similar position on the other end. Good hustle!
NINE-MAN ROTATION. Starters DFS and J Rich combined for 11 points and 2 rebounds in 50 minutes. Josh did have 4 steals. Maxi, Powell, and Burke totaled 12 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists in 47 minutes. Not gonna cut it. Powell was ejected after playing 11 minutes, and Maxi was eased in with 14.
DEEP BENCH. Everyone who was suited up got to play, so at least fans longing to see the less-used players got an extended peek. Redick injured his heel after 2 minutes. He is out tomorrow, and will be monitored on a game-to-game basis thereafter. Melli and Green got some decent run. Nothing remarkable to report.
GRIZZLIES. This team, whose signature is their dominance in the paint, bombed away from distance and pounded the Mavs with sixteen threes. Seven players on their short-handed team were in double figures, led by Ja Morant with 24 points and 8 assists.
OBSERVATIONS
This was a very disappointing effort, needless to say. The post-game crew speculated that the Mavs may have seen all the Grizzlies parked on the bench with injuries and gotten a little too complacent about how much attention would be demanded of them. Coach Boucek said she hopes that no one on the team is taking these last games for granted, but to the extent anyone is, this match should be a learning experience about the dangers of relaxing. She admitted that her side had entered the game with the wrong disposition, and that the hungrier team won. She acknowledged that it might have been complacency, but it also could have been “just one of those nights.”
Carlisle allowed that, while the squad played well in stretches, the collective effort and will was not up to snuff. He thought that a key factor in the loss was the close of the first quarter, when the Mavericks surrendered their lead and never got the momentum back.
It’s really hard to know what to expect from these Mavs from one night to the next. They face the Zion-less Pelicans tomorrow. The team is hopeful that KP will be back, so perhaps that will give them a boost.
Mama said there’d be days like this. Yep. She did.
DALLAS FALLS TO SIXTH IN WEST
The Mavericks played an uninspired, lackluster game against a Memphis team missing some of its key players. SMH.
GAME STORY
The Grizzly injury report showed Jonas Valunciunas, Jaren Jackson, Grayson Allen, and Sean McDermott out with various injuries. KP was still absent for the Mavs. Maxi returned to action, after missing a few games with Achilles soreness.
Carlisle went with his recent starting lineup of Doncic-Richardson-Hardaway-DFS-Willie, perhaps wanting to re-integrate Maxi gradually.
The Mavericks began by exchanging scores and misses for the first few minutes, then built an 8-point advantage with 3:37 to go in the first, but squandered it to an 11-2 Memphis closing run, and ended the period down 27-28.
Dallas continued to lag by a few points in the second quarter. They finally recovered the lead briefly at the 4:28 mark, only to surrender it again. The visiting Mavs trailed 57-60 at halftime. Hardaway led the second-period scoring with 10 points. Redick went off with an injury early in the quarter, and was ruled out of returning to the game.
The Grizz got out to their biggest lead of the game at seven points in the third, and later stretched it to thirteen with a 12-2 run. The Mavs were turning the ball over right and left, and Kyle Anderson created separation with 10 points to add to Ja’s 11. Carlisle pushed the Boban button, and Bobi rewarded him with a basket and an assist right off. However, he took only one more shot, Memphis took advantage on the other end, and the Mavericks never got closer than 8 in the last 4:49. Your boys were staring at an 82-96 deficit after three.
The Mavericks opened the fourth with a Flagrant Two foul, with Powell being ejected for laying some unnecessary and excessive contact on Brandon Clarke's face. Memphis quickly reached a 22-point lead, and were at 23 at 7:50. Rick unleashed the rookies and the third string, and that crowd closed out the game.
STATISTICS
The Mavericks shot 50% from inside the arc, 32% from deep, and 95% from the line. Comparable percentages for the Grizz were 62/48/94. There's your game. Point differentials for the Mavs were -20 on points from twos, -12 on points from threes, and +3 on made free throws. The bright spot, if there is one, is that Dallas was 18-19 from the stripe. Memphis led 58-46 in PIP, and destroyed Dallas in the turnover department, with the Mavs giving up 23 points off giveaways and 21 fast-break points. There were sequences where the Mavericks looked like the three stooges -- inexplicable, really.
PLAYERS
HARDAWAY. Timmy did his best to keep the Mavs in the game in his team-high 28 minutes, leading the squad with 19 points on 6-11 shooting, while also chipping in 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Coach Boucek said she was proud of the team for getting better at finding THJ and getting the ball to him in his sweet spots. She also liked it that Tim was mixing up his scoring, and not just taking threes. In the second quarter, he had a nice, leaderly play on a fast break, running the court and passing to Richardson under the basket when he had a shot himself. Not enough to carry the team for the full 48, but still a bright spot in a dark night. Shooting his 201st three, he became the first Mav in history, and the 22nd player in NBA history, to have multiple seasons with at least 200 threes.
DONCIC. It was a very subpar night for Luka, who was 4-16 from the field, had only 4 FTAs, and had as many turnovers as assists (5). He looked out of sorts from the beginning, and it probably didn’t help that he took a dive over an advertising board onto the concrete floor in the second quarter, landing on his hip with an alarming thud. Rick said he did not know why Luka didn’t play well in this game, but he didn’t think any of the other guys was happy with his own individual performance, either. Luka himself deemed this game one of the worst he has ever played, and took responsibility for the loss.
WCS. Willie had a career night, with 16 points and 8 minutes in 15 minutes of action. He was a demon in the paint, putting the ball back and dunking off passes from his teammates like there was no tomorrow. He and Timmy held the fort for a while, and both stepped up on the evening. Trill was the only Mav in positive figures, at +1.
BRUNSON. Brunson did the best he could in a sixth-man role, putting up 15 points and 3 assists on 6-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. He had a exciting stretch at one point when he ended up dishing an assist from his back on the floor on one end of the court, and shortly afterward securing a steal in a similar position on the other end. Good hustle!
NINE-MAN ROTATION. Starters DFS and J Rich combined for 11 points and 2 rebounds in 50 minutes. Josh did have 4 steals. Maxi, Powell, and Burke totaled 12 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists in 47 minutes. Not gonna cut it. Powell was ejected after playing 11 minutes, and Maxi was eased in with 14.
DEEP BENCH. Everyone who was suited up got to play, so at least fans longing to see the less-used players got an extended peek. Redick injured his heel after 2 minutes. He is out tomorrow, and will be monitored on a game-to-game basis thereafter. Melli and Green got some decent run. Nothing remarkable to report.
GRIZZLIES. This team, whose signature is their dominance in the paint, bombed away from distance and pounded the Mavs with sixteen threes. Seven players on their short-handed team were in double figures, led by Ja Morant with 24 points and 8 assists.
OBSERVATIONS
This was a very disappointing effort, needless to say. The post-game crew speculated that the Mavs may have seen all the Grizzlies parked on the bench with injuries and gotten a little too complacent about how much attention would be demanded of them. Coach Boucek said she hopes that no one on the team is taking these last games for granted, but to the extent anyone is, this match should be a learning experience about the dangers of relaxing. She admitted that her side had entered the game with the wrong disposition, and that the hungrier team won. She acknowledged that it might have been complacency, but it also could have been “just one of those nights.”
Carlisle allowed that, while the squad played well in stretches, the collective effort and will was not up to snuff. He thought that a key factor in the loss was the close of the first quarter, when the Mavericks surrendered their lead and never got the momentum back.
It’s really hard to know what to expect from these Mavs from one night to the next. They face the Zion-less Pelicans tomorrow. The team is hopeful that KP will be back, so perhaps that will give them a boost.
Mama said there’d be days like this. Yep. She did.