10-21-2021, 09:51 PM
MAVS TAKEN TO WOODSHED IN SEASON OPENER
The game started amid much opening-night excitement. The Mavericks had all their players healthy, while the Hawks were missing Gallinari and Lou Williams.
The Mavs’ bright and shiny hopes for a great start to the season, alas, collapsed somewhere in the third quarter. Despite all those merry pre-season victories, they didn’t look quite ready for prime time. But one game does not a season make, and this might serve as a beneficial reality check for all concerned.
GAME NOTES
First quarter
The Mavs’ offense started outlooking pretty decent. They weren’t making all their shots, but they were getting very good looks. They were even running a little! THJ just intercepted a pass, and raced downcourt for bucket. Good job battling for rebounds! The Mavs get off to a lead, but the Hawks’ three-point shooting evens the score, and then Atlanta takes the lead off a drive to the basket, completing a 10-0 Hawks run. Oops. Now it's 12-0. THJ finally breaks the drought with a couple of free throws.
Man, Mavs can’t buy a bucket here, although it’s not for lack of opportunity. Nine shots in a row have come up empty. Luka fires one in from three! WCS restores the lead to Dallas with a dunk. That’s more like it. 17-16 at the timeout.
Bullock makes his debut for Dallas. Hits a three! Yay! Sterling Brown also in action.
22-20 Hawks after one. So far, so good.
Second quarter
Despite the Mavs hitting at only 27%, Kidd says he wants them to keep shooting. JB gets to the rim and ties the score. For a couple seconds, anyway. Cam Reddish with an and-one. KP spins and fades away — cool! KP loses the ball, Huerter takes advantage at the other end. It’s 32-24 Hawks, but still early. KP with an outstanding block!
Luka’s downcourt pass is intercepted, and Hawks capitalize off an offensive rebound. KP with a transition flush, ending a 9-0 run by Atlanta. He is looking livelier than he did at the end of last season. Still down by 8 at the mid-quarter timeout.
KP is stripped. Luka protects the rim on the other end. Maxi knocks in a three. Collins with a tough pull-up over Timmy. THJ knocked on his back under the basket on an attempted dunk, hits a couple of freebies. Luka attempts a behind-the-back pass to Powell, but it results in a turnover. Wow, a lob to Capela puts the Hawks up by double digits. Dang. Timeout.
Brunson with a three from the corner. THJ knocked down by Trae Young. Looked like Trae backed into him, but ref says no. Foul called on Timmy. Down the road a piece, Luka hits two free throws — good sign, hopefully. Timmy’s face being treated on the sideline. Trae Young floater over Luka. Lob from Brunson to Powell — and-one! Luka loses the ball, but Mavs defend at the other end. That makes 10 turnovers for the Mavs so far. JB handling the ball quite a bit in this Luka-Brunson stretch. Another Brunson-Powell lob. Powell misses, and KP rushes in on the rebound! Brunson takes a charge, appears to be in pain. He’s okay. Mavs finish the half with another turnover, but prevent Atlanta from capitalizing on the other end.
51-44 Atlanta at the half. Maybe Kidd can inspire our crew at halftime. Hardaway, who appears to have been headed to the locker room for more treatment/evaluation, leads the Mavs with 11 points. At halftime, Chuck accuses Luka of dribbling too much. Shaq is on the fence about whether the Unicorn has returned. Okay, then. Mavs shooting 32%. Reddish and Hunter performing well for the birds.
Third quarter
Tim had three stitches in his chin. Kidd says they’re too hesitant to shoot. DFS with a PUJIT for a three. Good job, Doe-Doe! Luka with a steal, but KP blocked on the other end. Hunter fouls Luka, feigns disbelief at the call. Collins-Capela smash. So much for a great third-quarter start, fellas. Luka not happy with a foul called on the floor, but keeps his cool. Powell loses the ball. A Capela flush gives Atlanta its largest lead of the night. 64-49. Yikes. Powell attempts a three. It’s a night at the brick factory.
Man, Atlanta is just scoring at will, and Mavs are missing everything. Timmy unstops the dam with a three. The Hawks getting into the paint like there is no tomorrow. Also bombing from the arc. Hawks now lead by 21. Mavs look out of ideas.
Brunson comes out of the timeout with a bucket off a pass from Luka. DFS loses the ball under the basket. Brunson hits from the corner! Collins returns the favor. Luka to the rim! Trae matches. The Dallas “rim protection” leaves a lot to be desired. Trae Young runs into DFS, but gets the call. Boo. Luka looking embarrassed and frustrated. Trae has really come to life in this quarter. Reddish waltzes to the basket and scores over Brunson with Mavs not back on D. A lot of confusion about whether Brunson should take shots on a foul. Ultimately takes it out on the sideline.
86-64 Hawks after three. This has turned into an absolute butt-whupping. I have strong fears that this is not going to end well.
Fourth quarter
Of the ten players opening the quarter, KP is the only starter. Jalen puts two points on the board. I guess that’s the good news, so far. Luka back in after a few minutes, hits a three. Hawks scoring from everywhere. KP, who thought he had a putback dunk, is called for basket interference. Cuban shaking his head in his seat. Doncic hits from way downtown. 96-73 Hawks with around seven minutes to go. I think we can call this one a night. Mavs look really outmatched.
Cam Reddish with an undefended three from the corner. Good, good. Four minutes to go. The deep bench has filed onto the floor. Atlanta follow suit. Third-string Hawk begins his NBA career with a deep three. Yep. Burke brings the game to a close with a three. Mavs manage to scrape together 23 points in the fourth, including garbage time.
113-87 Hawks. Man, what a stinker. Young speaks after halftime, complains that the Hawks don’t get enough respect. I’m sawing away on my mini-violin.
NUMBERS
The first number of note is that the Mavs managed to put only 87 points on the board. Yikes. We need look no further than the shooting column to discern a primary reason for the blowout. It was a horrendous shooting night for most of our boys. DFS 2-12. Powell 1-5. KP 4-13. Luka 6-17. Maxi, Bullock, WCS, and S Brown combine to go 4-17. Really? The Hawks, on the other hand, shot well. We probably don’t need to spend any more time on the gory details. I have to say that I was not impressed so far with the plan to do all this midrange shooting, but I don't judge it after only one outing.
With shooting not up to stuff, the assist totals were going to be down as well, and the Mavs totaled a miserable 16 dimes for the game. The Hawks had 9 blocks, compared to 3 for Dallas. Fouling was kept to a minimum by both teams, who combined for only 22 free throws. The Mavs, who have had a recent history of struggles at the stripe, completed 12 of their 13 attempts. Turnovers were not terrible, with 15 giveaways and a loss of 9 points.
The Atlanta defense looked really sharp, and held the Mavs to 26 points in the paint on 13-33 production. The Hawks, in contrast, pretty much waltzed their way to the rim as the whim hit them, or played target practice at the three-point line for grins. Dallas was pretty much outplayed in all aspects of the game.
PLAYER NOTES
The only Mav to exceed 30 minutes on the floor was Luka, at 35. DFS, KP, and THJ followed with 28-29 apiece. Jalen was on the floor for 25 minutes, while Powell was limited to 20.
Luka was 18-11-7, with 5 turnovers. KP had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers (yuck). Brunson (17) and Hardaway (14) also scored in double figures.
OBSERVATIONS
This was such a beatdown that I’m not sure it even merits a lot of analysis. The Mavericks were close to holding their own in the first half, but really let the game get away from them in the third quarter. From my seat, they didn’t look anywhere near the fine-tuned machine that the Hawks presented. The obvious weaknesses appeared to be the same ones we have been talking about ad nauseam, together with an off shooting night.
Hopefully, this match will appear as an aberration on the season calendar. Atlanta is a very strong competitor, and the Mavs just didn’t look ready. It’s only one game, and there is certainly plenty of time to smooth out some of the rough edges.
The TNT studio crew admitted to being “a little disappointed” with the Mavs’ opening effort, and believe that KP is going to have to be better. Hard to argue with that, really. Luka admitted that they played a “terrible game,” but he still looks toward the future with optimism.
Well, guys and gals, this was far from the effort we were hoping for, but there are still 81 potential victories on the horizon. I firmly believe they’ll do better than this. They have to, don’t they? The season should give us more information on whether this roster really has enough talent/depth to compete, and hopefully, they can at least give a good regular season showing in the end.
Onward and upward, Mavs fans. We’re not gonna let this get us down, are we? Next game, Saturday night at Toronto.
The game started amid much opening-night excitement. The Mavericks had all their players healthy, while the Hawks were missing Gallinari and Lou Williams.
The Mavs’ bright and shiny hopes for a great start to the season, alas, collapsed somewhere in the third quarter. Despite all those merry pre-season victories, they didn’t look quite ready for prime time. But one game does not a season make, and this might serve as a beneficial reality check for all concerned.
GAME NOTES
First quarter
The Mavs’ offense started outlooking pretty decent. They weren’t making all their shots, but they were getting very good looks. They were even running a little! THJ just intercepted a pass, and raced downcourt for bucket. Good job battling for rebounds! The Mavs get off to a lead, but the Hawks’ three-point shooting evens the score, and then Atlanta takes the lead off a drive to the basket, completing a 10-0 Hawks run. Oops. Now it's 12-0. THJ finally breaks the drought with a couple of free throws.
Man, Mavs can’t buy a bucket here, although it’s not for lack of opportunity. Nine shots in a row have come up empty. Luka fires one in from three! WCS restores the lead to Dallas with a dunk. That’s more like it. 17-16 at the timeout.
Bullock makes his debut for Dallas. Hits a three! Yay! Sterling Brown also in action.
22-20 Hawks after one. So far, so good.
Second quarter
Despite the Mavs hitting at only 27%, Kidd says he wants them to keep shooting. JB gets to the rim and ties the score. For a couple seconds, anyway. Cam Reddish with an and-one. KP spins and fades away — cool! KP loses the ball, Huerter takes advantage at the other end. It’s 32-24 Hawks, but still early. KP with an outstanding block!
Luka’s downcourt pass is intercepted, and Hawks capitalize off an offensive rebound. KP with a transition flush, ending a 9-0 run by Atlanta. He is looking livelier than he did at the end of last season. Still down by 8 at the mid-quarter timeout.
KP is stripped. Luka protects the rim on the other end. Maxi knocks in a three. Collins with a tough pull-up over Timmy. THJ knocked on his back under the basket on an attempted dunk, hits a couple of freebies. Luka attempts a behind-the-back pass to Powell, but it results in a turnover. Wow, a lob to Capela puts the Hawks up by double digits. Dang. Timeout.
Brunson with a three from the corner. THJ knocked down by Trae Young. Looked like Trae backed into him, but ref says no. Foul called on Timmy. Down the road a piece, Luka hits two free throws — good sign, hopefully. Timmy’s face being treated on the sideline. Trae Young floater over Luka. Lob from Brunson to Powell — and-one! Luka loses the ball, but Mavs defend at the other end. That makes 10 turnovers for the Mavs so far. JB handling the ball quite a bit in this Luka-Brunson stretch. Another Brunson-Powell lob. Powell misses, and KP rushes in on the rebound! Brunson takes a charge, appears to be in pain. He’s okay. Mavs finish the half with another turnover, but prevent Atlanta from capitalizing on the other end.
51-44 Atlanta at the half. Maybe Kidd can inspire our crew at halftime. Hardaway, who appears to have been headed to the locker room for more treatment/evaluation, leads the Mavs with 11 points. At halftime, Chuck accuses Luka of dribbling too much. Shaq is on the fence about whether the Unicorn has returned. Okay, then. Mavs shooting 32%. Reddish and Hunter performing well for the birds.
Third quarter
Tim had three stitches in his chin. Kidd says they’re too hesitant to shoot. DFS with a PUJIT for a three. Good job, Doe-Doe! Luka with a steal, but KP blocked on the other end. Hunter fouls Luka, feigns disbelief at the call. Collins-Capela smash. So much for a great third-quarter start, fellas. Luka not happy with a foul called on the floor, but keeps his cool. Powell loses the ball. A Capela flush gives Atlanta its largest lead of the night. 64-49. Yikes. Powell attempts a three. It’s a night at the brick factory.
Man, Atlanta is just scoring at will, and Mavs are missing everything. Timmy unstops the dam with a three. The Hawks getting into the paint like there is no tomorrow. Also bombing from the arc. Hawks now lead by 21. Mavs look out of ideas.
Brunson comes out of the timeout with a bucket off a pass from Luka. DFS loses the ball under the basket. Brunson hits from the corner! Collins returns the favor. Luka to the rim! Trae matches. The Dallas “rim protection” leaves a lot to be desired. Trae Young runs into DFS, but gets the call. Boo. Luka looking embarrassed and frustrated. Trae has really come to life in this quarter. Reddish waltzes to the basket and scores over Brunson with Mavs not back on D. A lot of confusion about whether Brunson should take shots on a foul. Ultimately takes it out on the sideline.
86-64 Hawks after three. This has turned into an absolute butt-whupping. I have strong fears that this is not going to end well.
Fourth quarter
Of the ten players opening the quarter, KP is the only starter. Jalen puts two points on the board. I guess that’s the good news, so far. Luka back in after a few minutes, hits a three. Hawks scoring from everywhere. KP, who thought he had a putback dunk, is called for basket interference. Cuban shaking his head in his seat. Doncic hits from way downtown. 96-73 Hawks with around seven minutes to go. I think we can call this one a night. Mavs look really outmatched.
Cam Reddish with an undefended three from the corner. Good, good. Four minutes to go. The deep bench has filed onto the floor. Atlanta follow suit. Third-string Hawk begins his NBA career with a deep three. Yep. Burke brings the game to a close with a three. Mavs manage to scrape together 23 points in the fourth, including garbage time.
113-87 Hawks. Man, what a stinker. Young speaks after halftime, complains that the Hawks don’t get enough respect. I’m sawing away on my mini-violin.
NUMBERS
The first number of note is that the Mavs managed to put only 87 points on the board. Yikes. We need look no further than the shooting column to discern a primary reason for the blowout. It was a horrendous shooting night for most of our boys. DFS 2-12. Powell 1-5. KP 4-13. Luka 6-17. Maxi, Bullock, WCS, and S Brown combine to go 4-17. Really? The Hawks, on the other hand, shot well. We probably don’t need to spend any more time on the gory details. I have to say that I was not impressed so far with the plan to do all this midrange shooting, but I don't judge it after only one outing.
With shooting not up to stuff, the assist totals were going to be down as well, and the Mavs totaled a miserable 16 dimes for the game. The Hawks had 9 blocks, compared to 3 for Dallas. Fouling was kept to a minimum by both teams, who combined for only 22 free throws. The Mavs, who have had a recent history of struggles at the stripe, completed 12 of their 13 attempts. Turnovers were not terrible, with 15 giveaways and a loss of 9 points.
The Atlanta defense looked really sharp, and held the Mavs to 26 points in the paint on 13-33 production. The Hawks, in contrast, pretty much waltzed their way to the rim as the whim hit them, or played target practice at the three-point line for grins. Dallas was pretty much outplayed in all aspects of the game.
PLAYER NOTES
The only Mav to exceed 30 minutes on the floor was Luka, at 35. DFS, KP, and THJ followed with 28-29 apiece. Jalen was on the floor for 25 minutes, while Powell was limited to 20.
Luka was 18-11-7, with 5 turnovers. KP had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers (yuck). Brunson (17) and Hardaway (14) also scored in double figures.
OBSERVATIONS
This was such a beatdown that I’m not sure it even merits a lot of analysis. The Mavericks were close to holding their own in the first half, but really let the game get away from them in the third quarter. From my seat, they didn’t look anywhere near the fine-tuned machine that the Hawks presented. The obvious weaknesses appeared to be the same ones we have been talking about ad nauseam, together with an off shooting night.
Hopefully, this match will appear as an aberration on the season calendar. Atlanta is a very strong competitor, and the Mavs just didn’t look ready. It’s only one game, and there is certainly plenty of time to smooth out some of the rough edges.
The TNT studio crew admitted to being “a little disappointed” with the Mavs’ opening effort, and believe that KP is going to have to be better. Hard to argue with that, really. Luka admitted that they played a “terrible game,” but he still looks toward the future with optimism.
Well, guys and gals, this was far from the effort we were hoping for, but there are still 81 potential victories on the horizon. I firmly believe they’ll do better than this. They have to, don’t they? The season should give us more information on whether this roster really has enough talent/depth to compete, and hopefully, they can at least give a good regular season showing in the end.
Onward and upward, Mavs fans. We’re not gonna let this get us down, are we? Next game, Saturday night at Toronto.
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