MAVERICKS SMACK PELICANS AT AAC
The Mavs came in off a pretty decent showing against Boston, hoping to consolidate their progress against the injury-riddled, 1-9 Pelicans. After an uninspiring start, the home team managed to come on late for a decisive win.
GAME NOTES
Maxi remained out, as expected, but the rest of the crew was ready to go. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Herb Jones were out for New Orleans. Kidd went with his original starting lineup again — Luka-Tim-DFS-KP-Powell.
FIRST QUARTER
Luka is first on the board with a nice drive. THJ with a second-chance three. Both teams missing shots right and left. Luka cross-court pass goes out of bounds. Man, I’m a little embarrassed for both these squads. 6-9 6:46
Brunson and Bullock in, KP and THJ out in the first sub of the game. Jaxson Hayes clotheslines Brunson, loose ball foul on NO. WCS in for Powell. Bullock dunk from Luka. Oh, no. Luka down on the floor, grabbing his ankle. Timeout. 10-16 4:40
Luka back out, thank goodness. Brunson to the basket! Wow, Mavs can’t buy a bucket. Another turnover. Dang. All-bench unit now, with S Brown on. Still another turnover. Pels getting into the paint mostly at will. Brunson tough shot from the baseline. Timmy and KP coming back. KP with a three! Two in a row! 22-27 after 1
Dallas has cut their deficit from 11 to 5, but have mostly looked like doo-doo in the first. Luckily, NO not much better. Mavs have 5 turnovers for a loss of 10 points. Get it together, Mavs!
SECOND QUARTER
Frankie with a corner three off a KP post-up! KP and-one off another post-up! Mavs running their offense through Zinger, and he’s making a great impact. Hardaway three from Brunson, and Dallas retakes the lead! Mavs on a 15-2 run. 31-29 9:41
Josh Hart breaks the NO drought with free throws. KP called for his third foul, has to leave the game. Powell in. Luka comes back, to great cheers. Powell in the low post! Frank drives and scores over Valanciunas! Bullock from downtown!
Jonas scores ATO. Pels had missed 13 of their last 14 shots before that. Frankie steal results in DFS free throws. Misses both. Bullock three off a second-chance opportunity created by Powell OR. Bullock blocks JV at the basket! The big guy redeems himself with a three over Dwight. Powell called for a foul on Alexander-Walker in a Luka-Powell double team. Coach’s challenge. Unsuccessful. Hardaway left unguarded, makes them pay. Powell called for a similar foul to the one that was challenged. Dubious, if you ask me. Luka rides in and floats one into the basket. Luka fade over a double team! Jump ball JB-JV, both wrestling with each other on the floor. Luka three off a Powell screen! 51-47 HT.
This game is not exactly a display of high-level basketball from either team. But at least the Mavs have the edge. Luka leading Dallas with 13 points (including the last 9 points of the half), followed by Tim and KP with 9. JV and Hart combine for 24 for NO. Callie reminds us that KP scored 9 points in 4 minutes, then committed three fouls in 1:17, and had to sit the rest of the half. Well, he looked pretty good, anyway. Pels with a big edge in the paint (22-14), but shooting only 25% from three. Mavs have lost 13 points off turnovers. Hope our boys can sharpen up their execution a bit!
THIRD QUARTER
DFS three from KP cross-court pass! Couple of Mavs airballs here to start the half. Luka-DP slam. JV passes on shot against DP. Now DP scores over Jonas. Temple has hit four consecutive shots. THJ at the elbow! Mavs leave A-W open in the corner, he hits. 62-61 6:37
Luka to the basket, woo-hoo! Luka shredding the NO defense! Brunson pull-up at the end of the shot clock. DFS above the break! Powell draws a foul going up for a rebound. Brunson blows by Satoransky! Reggie transition three in the corner, from Brunson! 76-66 3:15
Brunson with a rainbow! OMG! 78-69 after three.
FOURTH QUARTER
THJ great shot from three! Woot! Boban on the floor. He hits. Wild cheers! Mavs pulling away. 85-69 9:51
JB and-one over JV! Bobi pats him on the head, lol. Great transition play, Bullock from THJ! THJ contested shot from the corner! FN jumper behind Bobi! We got this. 95-75 7:01
Bobi in a gentle jaw with the ref, lol. KP-Boban form the two-big lineup! KP-Bobi alley-oop! Mavs appear to be relaxing a bit, NO on a run. 98-86 3:57
Mavs and Pels take consecutive timeouts. DFS called for offensive basket interference. JV over KP. Lead down to single digits. JB draws foul on JV. Hits both freebies. KP three! Luka basket off a Luka-Tim give-and-go. 105-92 1:20
Kidd keeping the A lineup on. Starters, with JB in place of Powell. Now the deep bench filters in for the last 48 seconds. 108-92 FT.
ANALYSIS
The Mavericks stats were helped greatly by their improvement in the second half. By the end of the game, they were shooting 51% overall and 40% from three, which is much more like what we generally expect from the team. The Pels were a miserable 26% from long range. Maverick point differentials were +2 on points from twos, +15 on points from threes, and -1 on made free throws. Dallas’ 14 made threes were a welcome sight, and their superior three-point prowess more than offset NO’s 14-point advantage in PIP.
The egalitarian offense was effective, with 5 Mavs in double figures — Luka 25, THJ and JB 17, and KP and Bullock 12. The bench was also a significant contributor to the win, combining for 42 points, 17 boards, and 10 dimes.
PLAYER NOTES
DONCIC (33 min). Luka was 25-5-5 tonight, and had a few gasp-inducing plays. He would probably like to have cut down on his 5 turnovers, but we’re not going to nitpick our phenom after a win. He's the straw that stirs the drink.
THJ (33). I thought Timmy looked really good tonight. In addition to his 17 points on 6-9 shooting (4-5 from three), he had 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and appeared to take a strong role in managing the team on the floor. Diverse offensively, was aggressive in attack, and looked fluid as part of the offense. I like it! He was awarded the post-game interview, and said that the offense is still a work in progress, but thinks they are going to be really good when the playoffs roll around.
BRUNSON (31). Jalen played starter minutes again, and had another impressive outing. He had 17 points on 7-12 shooting, along with 4 boards and 6 dimes, and ran the bench unit with aplomb. Loved it when he took advantage of the JV mismatch, lol. Kidd observed that Luka and Brunson are still learning to play together, and commended Luka on not being afraid to give JB the ball. Also said he doesn’t think it matters to Brunson whether he is playing as a starter or sixth man. Kidd is making those decisions based on match-ups, and he thinks JB plays very well in either role.
DFS (30). Dorian had 6 points, and took only 4 shots, but did hit 2 threes, which was a welcome development. He had a 4x2 remaining stat line, with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. With other guys filling in the gaps, he wasn’t really called on to impress with his new role as an offensive focus.
PORZINGIS (26). KP had a 30-minute limit again, and had to sit for a good while in the second stretch. He was 12-8-3 on 4-13 shooting, and even though the shots weren't going in, he looked engaged and team-oriented on the floor. Bullock said KP is still getting into his groove, but with his shooting, aggressiveness, and defense, he’s going to be a tough nut for opponents to crack. Kidd was proud of KP’s progress, noting how well he is moving and putting the ball on the floor. Encouraging evening, I would say.
POWELL (22). Dwight had only 6 points, possibly due to 3 of his 7 shot attempts being threes, but contributed 8 rebounds (5 offensive) and three assists. Measuring his performance by his actual role (as opposed to an imaginary set of expectations), I thought he had a respectable night. He and Luka were simpatico, and I thought he showed good awareness and energy.
BULLOCK (21). Reggie looked pretty good out there, with 13 points on 5-7 shooting. He seems to fit it in with the Mavs’ style much better than some of his predecessors did.
FRANK (18). I thought Ntilikina looked very good tonight, with 9 points off the bench. He is showing out much better offensively than I was expecting, demonstrating a lot of confidence and poise. Kidd thought he was great on both ends of the floor. Reggie, one of the ex-Knicks crew, ventured that Frankie never really got a proper chance in NY, and acknowledged that Reggie played a part in recruiting FN to Dallas.
S BROWN (11). Sterling didn’t score (0-3), but he did have four rebounds, and Kidd specifically mentioned him, along with Frankie and Brunson, as being an important part of the team’s success.
BOBAN (8). The crowd got its Bobi fix with an appearance by the Gentle Giant in the fourth quarter, and they lovingly cheered on his every move. He had 4 points and an assist on 2-3 shooting, and his looming presence in the paint had clear impact on both ends of the floor. Kidd complimented his energy.
MENTIONS. WILLIE had 2 rebounds in a 5-minute cameo. MOSES and GREEN each came in for a minute of garbage time. BURKE was a DNP-CD.
PELICANS. This NO team should be a lot better when they get back to full strength, but still managed a few good individual performances even in their depleted state. The Mavs had little answer for Valanciunas, who impressed with 22 points (10-16) and 11 boards. We’re just not built to stop these big bruisers, especially with Maxi out. Josh Hart was also a tough opponent, with 22 points (8-13), 6 boards, and 5 assists. Alexander-Walker had 18 points, but was 2-11 from range. Garrett Temple had 12 points and 6 boards, and Jaxson Hayes added 10 points off the bench.
OBSERVATIONS
Kidd thought that defense won the game for the Mavs, and particularly complimented the unit with Bobi and four smalls.
The tender subject of +/- came up in the post-game interview. Jalen and Bullock had +/- numbers in the twenties, while KP and Luka were slightly negative, and Kidd was asked to comment on how he evaluates +/-.
Kidd made a dismissive gesture, said he doesn’t look at stat sheets on the bench, and warned that +/- numbers “can lie to you.” Said what he watches for is how the guys are playing, and whether they are playing the “right way,” and doesn’t care about “whether one guy is plus something and another guy is minus something.”
This may represent a difference from Carlisle, who occasionally referenced box-score plus-minus as a tool he used to help decide on lineups and adjustments. The board’s passionate +/- aficionados will probably scorn Kidd’s devil-may-care approach, and may want to send him an e-mail and set him straight.
With respect to tonight's game, some of the Mavs looked pretty good in the final analysis, but I didn’t think this was much of a model for what the team should be trying to achieve. Considering that they were playing against a decimated NO team who were horrible, we might have hoped for a more consistent showing. The slow starts continue to be an issue. It’s great that they are pulling these games out against “bad” teams, but I think they’re going to need to do better than this to compete against the big boys.
Nevertheless, there were things to be encouraged about in this outing, and far be it from us to thumb our nose at a win of any sort. This victory brings the Mavs to 7-3, which is their best start record-wise in years. We’ll take it!
NEXT. The Mavs travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Wednesday. That should be a bigger test. 'Til then.
The Mavs came in off a pretty decent showing against Boston, hoping to consolidate their progress against the injury-riddled, 1-9 Pelicans. After an uninspiring start, the home team managed to come on late for a decisive win.
GAME NOTES
Maxi remained out, as expected, but the rest of the crew was ready to go. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Herb Jones were out for New Orleans. Kidd went with his original starting lineup again — Luka-Tim-DFS-KP-Powell.
FIRST QUARTER
Luka is first on the board with a nice drive. THJ with a second-chance three. Both teams missing shots right and left. Luka cross-court pass goes out of bounds. Man, I’m a little embarrassed for both these squads. 6-9 6:46
Brunson and Bullock in, KP and THJ out in the first sub of the game. Jaxson Hayes clotheslines Brunson, loose ball foul on NO. WCS in for Powell. Bullock dunk from Luka. Oh, no. Luka down on the floor, grabbing his ankle. Timeout. 10-16 4:40
Luka back out, thank goodness. Brunson to the basket! Wow, Mavs can’t buy a bucket. Another turnover. Dang. All-bench unit now, with S Brown on. Still another turnover. Pels getting into the paint mostly at will. Brunson tough shot from the baseline. Timmy and KP coming back. KP with a three! Two in a row! 22-27 after 1
Dallas has cut their deficit from 11 to 5, but have mostly looked like doo-doo in the first. Luckily, NO not much better. Mavs have 5 turnovers for a loss of 10 points. Get it together, Mavs!
SECOND QUARTER
Frankie with a corner three off a KP post-up! KP and-one off another post-up! Mavs running their offense through Zinger, and he’s making a great impact. Hardaway three from Brunson, and Dallas retakes the lead! Mavs on a 15-2 run. 31-29 9:41
Josh Hart breaks the NO drought with free throws. KP called for his third foul, has to leave the game. Powell in. Luka comes back, to great cheers. Powell in the low post! Frank drives and scores over Valanciunas! Bullock from downtown!
Jonas scores ATO. Pels had missed 13 of their last 14 shots before that. Frankie steal results in DFS free throws. Misses both. Bullock three off a second-chance opportunity created by Powell OR. Bullock blocks JV at the basket! The big guy redeems himself with a three over Dwight. Powell called for a foul on Alexander-Walker in a Luka-Powell double team. Coach’s challenge. Unsuccessful. Hardaway left unguarded, makes them pay. Powell called for a similar foul to the one that was challenged. Dubious, if you ask me. Luka rides in and floats one into the basket. Luka fade over a double team! Jump ball JB-JV, both wrestling with each other on the floor. Luka three off a Powell screen! 51-47 HT.
This game is not exactly a display of high-level basketball from either team. But at least the Mavs have the edge. Luka leading Dallas with 13 points (including the last 9 points of the half), followed by Tim and KP with 9. JV and Hart combine for 24 for NO. Callie reminds us that KP scored 9 points in 4 minutes, then committed three fouls in 1:17, and had to sit the rest of the half. Well, he looked pretty good, anyway. Pels with a big edge in the paint (22-14), but shooting only 25% from three. Mavs have lost 13 points off turnovers. Hope our boys can sharpen up their execution a bit!
THIRD QUARTER
DFS three from KP cross-court pass! Couple of Mavs airballs here to start the half. Luka-DP slam. JV passes on shot against DP. Now DP scores over Jonas. Temple has hit four consecutive shots. THJ at the elbow! Mavs leave A-W open in the corner, he hits. 62-61 6:37
Luka to the basket, woo-hoo! Luka shredding the NO defense! Brunson pull-up at the end of the shot clock. DFS above the break! Powell draws a foul going up for a rebound. Brunson blows by Satoransky! Reggie transition three in the corner, from Brunson! 76-66 3:15
Brunson with a rainbow! OMG! 78-69 after three.
FOURTH QUARTER
THJ great shot from three! Woot! Boban on the floor. He hits. Wild cheers! Mavs pulling away. 85-69 9:51
JB and-one over JV! Bobi pats him on the head, lol. Great transition play, Bullock from THJ! THJ contested shot from the corner! FN jumper behind Bobi! We got this. 95-75 7:01
Bobi in a gentle jaw with the ref, lol. KP-Boban form the two-big lineup! KP-Bobi alley-oop! Mavs appear to be relaxing a bit, NO on a run. 98-86 3:57
Mavs and Pels take consecutive timeouts. DFS called for offensive basket interference. JV over KP. Lead down to single digits. JB draws foul on JV. Hits both freebies. KP three! Luka basket off a Luka-Tim give-and-go. 105-92 1:20
Kidd keeping the A lineup on. Starters, with JB in place of Powell. Now the deep bench filters in for the last 48 seconds. 108-92 FT.
ANALYSIS
The Mavericks stats were helped greatly by their improvement in the second half. By the end of the game, they were shooting 51% overall and 40% from three, which is much more like what we generally expect from the team. The Pels were a miserable 26% from long range. Maverick point differentials were +2 on points from twos, +15 on points from threes, and -1 on made free throws. Dallas’ 14 made threes were a welcome sight, and their superior three-point prowess more than offset NO’s 14-point advantage in PIP.
The egalitarian offense was effective, with 5 Mavs in double figures — Luka 25, THJ and JB 17, and KP and Bullock 12. The bench was also a significant contributor to the win, combining for 42 points, 17 boards, and 10 dimes.
PLAYER NOTES
DONCIC (33 min). Luka was 25-5-5 tonight, and had a few gasp-inducing plays. He would probably like to have cut down on his 5 turnovers, but we’re not going to nitpick our phenom after a win. He's the straw that stirs the drink.
THJ (33). I thought Timmy looked really good tonight. In addition to his 17 points on 6-9 shooting (4-5 from three), he had 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and appeared to take a strong role in managing the team on the floor. Diverse offensively, was aggressive in attack, and looked fluid as part of the offense. I like it! He was awarded the post-game interview, and said that the offense is still a work in progress, but thinks they are going to be really good when the playoffs roll around.
BRUNSON (31). Jalen played starter minutes again, and had another impressive outing. He had 17 points on 7-12 shooting, along with 4 boards and 6 dimes, and ran the bench unit with aplomb. Loved it when he took advantage of the JV mismatch, lol. Kidd observed that Luka and Brunson are still learning to play together, and commended Luka on not being afraid to give JB the ball. Also said he doesn’t think it matters to Brunson whether he is playing as a starter or sixth man. Kidd is making those decisions based on match-ups, and he thinks JB plays very well in either role.
DFS (30). Dorian had 6 points, and took only 4 shots, but did hit 2 threes, which was a welcome development. He had a 4x2 remaining stat line, with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. With other guys filling in the gaps, he wasn’t really called on to impress with his new role as an offensive focus.
PORZINGIS (26). KP had a 30-minute limit again, and had to sit for a good while in the second stretch. He was 12-8-3 on 4-13 shooting, and even though the shots weren't going in, he looked engaged and team-oriented on the floor. Bullock said KP is still getting into his groove, but with his shooting, aggressiveness, and defense, he’s going to be a tough nut for opponents to crack. Kidd was proud of KP’s progress, noting how well he is moving and putting the ball on the floor. Encouraging evening, I would say.
POWELL (22). Dwight had only 6 points, possibly due to 3 of his 7 shot attempts being threes, but contributed 8 rebounds (5 offensive) and three assists. Measuring his performance by his actual role (as opposed to an imaginary set of expectations), I thought he had a respectable night. He and Luka were simpatico, and I thought he showed good awareness and energy.
BULLOCK (21). Reggie looked pretty good out there, with 13 points on 5-7 shooting. He seems to fit it in with the Mavs’ style much better than some of his predecessors did.
FRANK (18). I thought Ntilikina looked very good tonight, with 9 points off the bench. He is showing out much better offensively than I was expecting, demonstrating a lot of confidence and poise. Kidd thought he was great on both ends of the floor. Reggie, one of the ex-Knicks crew, ventured that Frankie never really got a proper chance in NY, and acknowledged that Reggie played a part in recruiting FN to Dallas.
S BROWN (11). Sterling didn’t score (0-3), but he did have four rebounds, and Kidd specifically mentioned him, along with Frankie and Brunson, as being an important part of the team’s success.
BOBAN (8). The crowd got its Bobi fix with an appearance by the Gentle Giant in the fourth quarter, and they lovingly cheered on his every move. He had 4 points and an assist on 2-3 shooting, and his looming presence in the paint had clear impact on both ends of the floor. Kidd complimented his energy.
MENTIONS. WILLIE had 2 rebounds in a 5-minute cameo. MOSES and GREEN each came in for a minute of garbage time. BURKE was a DNP-CD.
PELICANS. This NO team should be a lot better when they get back to full strength, but still managed a few good individual performances even in their depleted state. The Mavs had little answer for Valanciunas, who impressed with 22 points (10-16) and 11 boards. We’re just not built to stop these big bruisers, especially with Maxi out. Josh Hart was also a tough opponent, with 22 points (8-13), 6 boards, and 5 assists. Alexander-Walker had 18 points, but was 2-11 from range. Garrett Temple had 12 points and 6 boards, and Jaxson Hayes added 10 points off the bench.
OBSERVATIONS
Kidd thought that defense won the game for the Mavs, and particularly complimented the unit with Bobi and four smalls.
The tender subject of +/- came up in the post-game interview. Jalen and Bullock had +/- numbers in the twenties, while KP and Luka were slightly negative, and Kidd was asked to comment on how he evaluates +/-.
Kidd made a dismissive gesture, said he doesn’t look at stat sheets on the bench, and warned that +/- numbers “can lie to you.” Said what he watches for is how the guys are playing, and whether they are playing the “right way,” and doesn’t care about “whether one guy is plus something and another guy is minus something.”
This may represent a difference from Carlisle, who occasionally referenced box-score plus-minus as a tool he used to help decide on lineups and adjustments. The board’s passionate +/- aficionados will probably scorn Kidd’s devil-may-care approach, and may want to send him an e-mail and set him straight.
With respect to tonight's game, some of the Mavs looked pretty good in the final analysis, but I didn’t think this was much of a model for what the team should be trying to achieve. Considering that they were playing against a decimated NO team who were horrible, we might have hoped for a more consistent showing. The slow starts continue to be an issue. It’s great that they are pulling these games out against “bad” teams, but I think they’re going to need to do better than this to compete against the big boys.
Nevertheless, there were things to be encouraged about in this outing, and far be it from us to thumb our nose at a win of any sort. This victory brings the Mavs to 7-3, which is their best start record-wise in years. We’ll take it!
NEXT. The Mavs travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Wednesday. That should be a bigger test. 'Til then.
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