Mavs Bounce Back Against Bulls
The Mavericks looked like a different team from their last game. They took care of business against the fifth-rated defensive team in the NBA.
Game Story
Hardaway returned from his hamstring injury. KP and Broekhoff were still out.
Carlisle reportedly hammered home to his team the importance of getting off to a good start. They rewarded him, jumping out to an 8-0 lead with a starting lineup of Barea-Doncic-THJ-DFS-Powell. Hardaway might have been excused for coming in a little cold after three games out, but he was blazing, going 5-5 from the field for a 14-point first quarter. The Bulls came back to tie the game, but the Mavs resurged, and ended the frame at 33-27.
Dallas got a little sloppy in the second period, and the Bulls took advantage. The Mavs managed to pull out a 28-28 quarter, behind 12 points from Dwight Powell. The third was similarly insipid, until Luka took over and blasted Chicago with 21 points, the second most in a quarter of his NBA career. He leaped and rollicked his way up and down the court, laughing with joy. His teammates, however, combined for six points, and the Bulls matched the Mavs' 27 points.
The Mavericks decided to get serious about defending in the fourth, the bench extended the lead, and the Mavs ended the quarter with balanced scoring, led by Jackson with 9.
Analytics
Chicago put up 14 more shots than Dallas, although the Mavs had 10 more 3PTAs. Dallas shot well, hitting 16 of their 41 threes (39%), and also scoring well inside the arc. They also earned 8 more FTAs than their opponent. At the end of the day, they were +21 on points from threes, +5 on made free throws, and -18 on points from twos. The Bulls stayed close for most of the game on the basis of 17 offensive rebounds, 21 points off Mavs turnovers, 27 fast-break points, and an incredible 72 points in the paint. Needless to say, the Mavs' defense was pretty much nonexistent, and rebounding left something to be desired. In the end, they managed to outscore a relatively weak offensive adversary.
Players
Luka (34 min) had an incredible night, with his 11th triple-double of the season, on a 38-11-10 line. If he hadn't completely gone off in the third, the game result could well have been different. His delight was infectious, and the crowd got into it when he put on a fireworks show. He had any number of impressive plays, and one of the most fun was when he got on the roll end of an alley oop, with Barea lobbing to him. Carlisle claimed to be most impressed with Luka's demeanor, disposition, and poise. Rick observed that Doncic got banged around continually, but kept his composure, and addressed the refs in a logical and analytical manner at appropriate times. Carlisle says he doesn't coach through the media -- don't you believe it, lol. Cedric also complimented Luka for taking over the game while staying within the offense (rather than resorting to hero ball). A sensational show by the young star.
Powell (30 min) had an excellent offensive night. He was the team's second-leading scorer with 16 points, and was perfect from the floor (6-6 from the field, 4-4 from the line). He became one of only six players in the league to have had multiple perfect shooting performances this season (min 6 attempts); one of the others is his teammate, Jalen Brunson. He frequently played as the sole big against the Bulls' front court, and he was somewhat out of his element on the defensive end. This wasn't always his fault, or only his fault. The rotations were often sloppy, and left him in a bad situation. And he is undersized to begin with. But without KP, neither he nor Maxi was able to hold his own at that end of the court. Fortunately, Powell was able to contribute well offensively.
THJ (22 min) was blistering in the first quarter, with 14 points. Not all of those were catch-and-shoots, either. He put the ball on the deck, and had an exciting transition basket. He ended up with 15 in the game, with his other point scored on a technical free throw taken while Luka was on the court. He faded a little after the first, and didn't play in the fourth. Rick commented on how much the squad has missed Tim's energy, attitude, two-way play, shotmaking, playmaking, and versatile defense. He added that Tim was never intended to play a full complement of minutes, and that the bench's good performance late saved him from having to put Hardaway back in the game. Harp said several times how much he thought THJ had benefited from the rest afforded him by his time off, and perhaps that was indeed significant.
Barea (15 min) had a horrible stat line, taking only two shots and dishing only one assist, to go with 5 turnovers. I think this probably is a little harsh, in terms of reflecting his overall contribution to the game. He did keep the offense relatively organized in limited minutes, and was not always in a position to succeed. He took the place of Porzingis in the Mavs' "usual" starting lineup, resulting in a very small and defensively challenged five.
Bench. The second unit didn't have their usual punch, scoring 36 points, but did yeoman service to start the fourth, pulling away from the Bulls for a commanding lead. Maxi (27 min) didn't have an impressive stat line, and was a little too undersized to counter Chicago's bigs, but still did a lot of things right. Wright (25 min) ran the offense, even when Luka was on the floor with him, and had two timely threes, along with a snazzy finish on a drive in the fourth. Delon has said that he isn't all that athletic, so he has worked hard on a variety of finishes. Jackson (15 min) was the only bench player in double figures, with 11 points.
Remarks
There were a couple of unusual aspects to this game.
At one point, there was the weirdest sequence. Gafford, one of the Bulls, went down and appeared to be writhing on the floor in agony. Luka drove past him and scored, and then his teammates circled around him. Satoransky motioned to the trainer to come on, but nothing, the Bulls coaches ignored it. The head coach tried to sub another player on without calling a timeout, which was, of course, not allowed. His teammates pulled him to his feet, and he literally limped through another possession. Ultimately, the Mavs fouled him, and he went off. Wth? I'm still scratching my head.
A number of Mavericks got in on the alley oop game, featuring LD-DFS, JJB-LD, and SC-JJ, among others. Flashy!
Carlisle described the match as a tough, physical game, and praised his team for playing aggressively and with poise. He reminded the audience that he is still working with rotations. Some of the other guys are being asked to step up with the injury absences, and that has been challenging, but he has found out some things about those players, and they will continue to adjust, as warranted.
My impressions. I never like to be negative after a win, but I don't know exactly how overjoyed I am at this one. The important thing is that the team came out with a W, and Luka certainly put together a breathtaking show. They got a dependable scorer back in Hardaway, who looked good, at least for a while. But the defense was truly appalling, the team appeared lacking in energy for much of the contest, and this was essentially another game that depended on an out-of-this-world rescue by Luka to pull out the W.
Luka did it in the "right" way, rather than by chucking bad shots, and that was encouraging. However, the Bulls had a red carpet to the basket, with the Mavs' giving up a record-high number of points in the paint for the season. The contest, at best, highlighted KP's importance to the team, which sorely missed his rim protection and rebounding. With Luka's help, they managed to outscore a weak offensive opponent, but one has to wonder how they would have fared against, for example, Denver (their next match). Porzee cannot get back soon enough.
Still, it's in the win column, and that's the main thing.
Next. Nuggets, at the AAC on Wednesday.
Hang in there, MFFLs!
The Mavericks looked like a different team from their last game. They took care of business against the fifth-rated defensive team in the NBA.
Game Story
Hardaway returned from his hamstring injury. KP and Broekhoff were still out.
Carlisle reportedly hammered home to his team the importance of getting off to a good start. They rewarded him, jumping out to an 8-0 lead with a starting lineup of Barea-Doncic-THJ-DFS-Powell. Hardaway might have been excused for coming in a little cold after three games out, but he was blazing, going 5-5 from the field for a 14-point first quarter. The Bulls came back to tie the game, but the Mavs resurged, and ended the frame at 33-27.
Dallas got a little sloppy in the second period, and the Bulls took advantage. The Mavs managed to pull out a 28-28 quarter, behind 12 points from Dwight Powell. The third was similarly insipid, until Luka took over and blasted Chicago with 21 points, the second most in a quarter of his NBA career. He leaped and rollicked his way up and down the court, laughing with joy. His teammates, however, combined for six points, and the Bulls matched the Mavs' 27 points.
The Mavericks decided to get serious about defending in the fourth, the bench extended the lead, and the Mavs ended the quarter with balanced scoring, led by Jackson with 9.
Analytics
Chicago put up 14 more shots than Dallas, although the Mavs had 10 more 3PTAs. Dallas shot well, hitting 16 of their 41 threes (39%), and also scoring well inside the arc. They also earned 8 more FTAs than their opponent. At the end of the day, they were +21 on points from threes, +5 on made free throws, and -18 on points from twos. The Bulls stayed close for most of the game on the basis of 17 offensive rebounds, 21 points off Mavs turnovers, 27 fast-break points, and an incredible 72 points in the paint. Needless to say, the Mavs' defense was pretty much nonexistent, and rebounding left something to be desired. In the end, they managed to outscore a relatively weak offensive adversary.
Players
Luka (34 min) had an incredible night, with his 11th triple-double of the season, on a 38-11-10 line. If he hadn't completely gone off in the third, the game result could well have been different. His delight was infectious, and the crowd got into it when he put on a fireworks show. He had any number of impressive plays, and one of the most fun was when he got on the roll end of an alley oop, with Barea lobbing to him. Carlisle claimed to be most impressed with Luka's demeanor, disposition, and poise. Rick observed that Doncic got banged around continually, but kept his composure, and addressed the refs in a logical and analytical manner at appropriate times. Carlisle says he doesn't coach through the media -- don't you believe it, lol. Cedric also complimented Luka for taking over the game while staying within the offense (rather than resorting to hero ball). A sensational show by the young star.
Powell (30 min) had an excellent offensive night. He was the team's second-leading scorer with 16 points, and was perfect from the floor (6-6 from the field, 4-4 from the line). He became one of only six players in the league to have had multiple perfect shooting performances this season (min 6 attempts); one of the others is his teammate, Jalen Brunson. He frequently played as the sole big against the Bulls' front court, and he was somewhat out of his element on the defensive end. This wasn't always his fault, or only his fault. The rotations were often sloppy, and left him in a bad situation. And he is undersized to begin with. But without KP, neither he nor Maxi was able to hold his own at that end of the court. Fortunately, Powell was able to contribute well offensively.
THJ (22 min) was blistering in the first quarter, with 14 points. Not all of those were catch-and-shoots, either. He put the ball on the deck, and had an exciting transition basket. He ended up with 15 in the game, with his other point scored on a technical free throw taken while Luka was on the court. He faded a little after the first, and didn't play in the fourth. Rick commented on how much the squad has missed Tim's energy, attitude, two-way play, shotmaking, playmaking, and versatile defense. He added that Tim was never intended to play a full complement of minutes, and that the bench's good performance late saved him from having to put Hardaway back in the game. Harp said several times how much he thought THJ had benefited from the rest afforded him by his time off, and perhaps that was indeed significant.
Barea (15 min) had a horrible stat line, taking only two shots and dishing only one assist, to go with 5 turnovers. I think this probably is a little harsh, in terms of reflecting his overall contribution to the game. He did keep the offense relatively organized in limited minutes, and was not always in a position to succeed. He took the place of Porzingis in the Mavs' "usual" starting lineup, resulting in a very small and defensively challenged five.
Bench. The second unit didn't have their usual punch, scoring 36 points, but did yeoman service to start the fourth, pulling away from the Bulls for a commanding lead. Maxi (27 min) didn't have an impressive stat line, and was a little too undersized to counter Chicago's bigs, but still did a lot of things right. Wright (25 min) ran the offense, even when Luka was on the floor with him, and had two timely threes, along with a snazzy finish on a drive in the fourth. Delon has said that he isn't all that athletic, so he has worked hard on a variety of finishes. Jackson (15 min) was the only bench player in double figures, with 11 points.
Remarks
There were a couple of unusual aspects to this game.
At one point, there was the weirdest sequence. Gafford, one of the Bulls, went down and appeared to be writhing on the floor in agony. Luka drove past him and scored, and then his teammates circled around him. Satoransky motioned to the trainer to come on, but nothing, the Bulls coaches ignored it. The head coach tried to sub another player on without calling a timeout, which was, of course, not allowed. His teammates pulled him to his feet, and he literally limped through another possession. Ultimately, the Mavs fouled him, and he went off. Wth? I'm still scratching my head.
A number of Mavericks got in on the alley oop game, featuring LD-DFS, JJB-LD, and SC-JJ, among others. Flashy!
Carlisle described the match as a tough, physical game, and praised his team for playing aggressively and with poise. He reminded the audience that he is still working with rotations. Some of the other guys are being asked to step up with the injury absences, and that has been challenging, but he has found out some things about those players, and they will continue to adjust, as warranted.
My impressions. I never like to be negative after a win, but I don't know exactly how overjoyed I am at this one. The important thing is that the team came out with a W, and Luka certainly put together a breathtaking show. They got a dependable scorer back in Hardaway, who looked good, at least for a while. But the defense was truly appalling, the team appeared lacking in energy for much of the contest, and this was essentially another game that depended on an out-of-this-world rescue by Luka to pull out the W.
Luka did it in the "right" way, rather than by chucking bad shots, and that was encouraging. However, the Bulls had a red carpet to the basket, with the Mavs' giving up a record-high number of points in the paint for the season. The contest, at best, highlighted KP's importance to the team, which sorely missed his rim protection and rebounding. With Luka's help, they managed to outscore a weak offensive opponent, but one has to wonder how they would have fared against, for example, Denver (their next match). Porzee cannot get back soon enough.
Still, it's in the win column, and that's the main thing.
Next. Nuggets, at the AAC on Wednesday.
Hang in there, MFFLs!