08-07-2020, 05:42 AM
Mavs Hang With Clips for 3.5 Quarters
Game Closer than Scoreline Would Indicate
Well, we knew the Clippers were the Mavs’ Kryptonite. At least our boys held on for most of the match.
Game Story
Seth Curry was still out with his “sore right leg.” (What is that?) Boban took his place in the starting lineup. For the Clippers, Montrezl Harrell was still out for personal reasons, and Patrick Beverley sat with a calf strain.
The score difference remained in single digits during the first period. It was a low-scoring quarter for both sides, and the Mavs trailed 22-23 at the buzzer.
Much of the same in the second, with the Mavs holding small leads for pretty good stretches. The lead changed hands 10 times in the frame, and Dallas ended up two Doncic free throws short of taking an advantage into half-time. Clippers led 59-58 at the interval. So far, so good.
The Mavs’ usual third-quarter doldrums appeared again, and the Clippers soared to a 12-point margin a couple of times. They were up 11 with three minutes left in the frame. The Mavericks gradually whittled at the deficit, and narrowed it to four by the time the period was over. Trey Burke went on a 5-0 run of his own to close the quarter at 87-91.
Luka took a break during the first few minutes of the fourth, and KP took over, scoring 9 points before he needed a rest at 7:44 with the Mavs down only one point. A Maxi triple tied the game at 6:41. Then, the bottom started to fall out.
Let's examine. The number after the minutes remaining in each line is Dallas' net score resulting from the exchange of possessions.
6:20 -3 Clips offensive rebound and putback. Doncic missed three.
5:44 -3 Clips made three. Burke missed three.
5:11 -3 Clips offensive rebound and made basket. KP comes back in. DFS missed three, offensive rebound, and Burke missed three.
4:18 0 Clips floater. DFS layup.
3:37 -1 Clips made three. Doncic hits two free throws.
3:14 +1 Clips hit two free throws after DFS shooting foul. Doncic made three.
2:44 0 Clips missed three. Luka missed three.
2:20 -3 Clips made three. Burke missed three.
1:43 -2 Clips jump shot. Burke missed layup.
1:15 0 Clips made three. Luka made three.
Remaining 39 seconds dribbled out.
Game ends on 25-10 run by the Clippers.
Ten possessions --
Mavs have six missed threes, two made threes (Luka), a layup (DFS), and two free throws (LD). Three Mavs take shots — Luka (4), Burke (4), and DFS (2. KP not a factor.
Clippers have two scores off offensive rebounds, four made threes, one floater, one 2pt jump shot, two free throws, and one missed three. They score on 9-10 possessions.
Yikes. Mavs should take a page from the Clippers on how to close out a game.
Analytics
The Mavs shot poorly (35% from deep, 56% on twos). The Clips were 45% on threes, 59% on twos. The scoring showed Mavs -28 on points from twos, +9 on points from threes, and +4 on made free throws. This largely reflects Dallas taking 17 more 3PTAs than the Clips and getting to the line for 5 more FTAs.
Dallas gave up 9 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points, which hurt. LA pummeled the Mavs with 58 points in the paint (29/45), whereas our boys managed only 36 (18/30).
The Clips dominated with their inside game, while the Mavs missed 31 of their threes.
Players
KP (38 min) — Porzingis was the Maverick of the game, imho. He led the scoring with 30 points on 9-19 shooting, had three treys, went 9-9 from the line, collected seven boards, and handed out five assists. Very complete game. He was impressive taking over when Luka was out. Unfortunately, when he came back in for the last five minutes, he appeared frozen out of the offense — I’m not sure whether he even touched the ball.
Rick complimented the big man on his threes, passing, free throws, cuts, and defense, explaining that KP had given the Clips a lot of problems. Coach said that he had to take Porzee out for a break after his back-to-back threes in the fourth because the Latvian was tired. Then, when KP came back in, somehow he didn’t get back into his groove. Zinger said he is still only 75-80% back “into his rhythm” after not playing for so long.
How does it happen that one of the Mavs’ two stars is left out of the late-game offense? I miss the old Jet-Dirk two-man game. Remember how clutch they were?
DFS (37 min) — Doe-Doe had a pretty good line (12-8-3), and drew the primary defensive assignment on Kawhi, which is as tough as it gets. He was also switched onto Zubacs several times, and was not strong enough to prevent the big man from scoring over him.
THJ (36 min) — I don’t know what it was with Hardaway, but he was relatively invisible again. He had 8 points on 3-9 shooting, and grabbed 3 rebounds. He pretty much brought nothing on defense. After the game, however, Kawhi noted that one of the reasons the Mavs are hard to beat is their floor-spacers, and named Timmy in particular. Tim did have a dramatic moment in the first quarter, when he was fouled in the corner and fell backward into the Mavs bench. He didn’t seem any the worse for wear, fortunately.
Luka (35 min) — Luka was very good in the match. He put up 29 points (10/21 FGA), hit six threes, dropped six dimes, and limited himself to 4 turnovers. Rick thought it was Luka’s best game from a defensive point of view. If one were to nitpick the young star’s performance, it would be in the end game, I think. Although he was responsible for most of the points, the offense again devolved into the random jacking up of long shots without apparent purpose or plan. But, overall, definitely showing his chops, individually and as team leader.
Burke (31 min) — Trey was the leading scorer off the bench with 11 points, and also contributed 4 boards and 4 assists. He started in the third quarter, in place of Boban, and closed the frame well with 5 consecutive points. He had a nifty drive to the rim in the first half, but was 5-15 overall. Rick trusted him to man the closing unit, but he was 0-6 in the fourth quarter.
Maxi (27 min) — Kleber had 10 points off the bench, along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. He also came in for some tough defensive duties. I would say it was his best bubble game, not that that is any kind of high praise.
Others — Jackson and Wright also played, but didn’t do a whole lot. Bobi had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and a block in his starting cameo.
Clippers — Kawhi hammered the hapless Mavs, scoring 29 points, albeit on 23 shots. Paul George chipped in with 24. Rick thought the team should have done better on George.
Those two star turns were expected. But center Ivica Zubacs pounded Dallas with 21 points and and 15 boards on 10-10 shooting. His scores were largely opportunistic, as he took advantage of chances created by the Clips’ screening and switching schemes. Other Mavs were engaged in: double-teaming the Clippers' stars, leaving Zubacs open; trying to defend the perimeter, leaving Zubacs open; or, having a smaller player switched on to Zubacs, with Zubacs scoring over him. Sigh.
Marcus Morris threw in 16 points, and JaMychal Green had 10 off the bench.
Remarks
Rick praised the team for battling, but admitted that the Clips “just went through us and jumped over us.” Kawhi said after the game that the Mavs were a very difficult team to beat (although he somehow made it look pretty easy at the end.) The FSSW studio crew commented on the familiar third-quarter woes, noted the Mavs’ lack of aggressiveness in getting to the free-throw line, thought the team settled for too many threes (48), and opined that the Mavs didn’t put up enough defensive resistance.
It could have been worse. The Mavs made a game of it until the end, the contest was closer than the scoreline would make it seem, it was a reasonably entertaining affair, and our two stars showed out well(did you know they are the leading scoring duo in the bubble?). Sometimes you just run into a better team. The match provided our guys with plenty of learning opportunities, and that’s worth something.
Next. The Mavericks face Milwaukee on Saturday. The Bucks won’t have anything to play for, iirc, so we’ll see whether they choose to go all-in or not. Be there or be square!
Game Closer than Scoreline Would Indicate
Well, we knew the Clippers were the Mavs’ Kryptonite. At least our boys held on for most of the match.
Game Story
Seth Curry was still out with his “sore right leg.” (What is that?) Boban took his place in the starting lineup. For the Clippers, Montrezl Harrell was still out for personal reasons, and Patrick Beverley sat with a calf strain.
The score difference remained in single digits during the first period. It was a low-scoring quarter for both sides, and the Mavs trailed 22-23 at the buzzer.
Much of the same in the second, with the Mavs holding small leads for pretty good stretches. The lead changed hands 10 times in the frame, and Dallas ended up two Doncic free throws short of taking an advantage into half-time. Clippers led 59-58 at the interval. So far, so good.
The Mavs’ usual third-quarter doldrums appeared again, and the Clippers soared to a 12-point margin a couple of times. They were up 11 with three minutes left in the frame. The Mavericks gradually whittled at the deficit, and narrowed it to four by the time the period was over. Trey Burke went on a 5-0 run of his own to close the quarter at 87-91.
Luka took a break during the first few minutes of the fourth, and KP took over, scoring 9 points before he needed a rest at 7:44 with the Mavs down only one point. A Maxi triple tied the game at 6:41. Then, the bottom started to fall out.
Let's examine. The number after the minutes remaining in each line is Dallas' net score resulting from the exchange of possessions.
6:20 -3 Clips offensive rebound and putback. Doncic missed three.
5:44 -3 Clips made three. Burke missed three.
5:11 -3 Clips offensive rebound and made basket. KP comes back in. DFS missed three, offensive rebound, and Burke missed three.
4:18 0 Clips floater. DFS layup.
3:37 -1 Clips made three. Doncic hits two free throws.
3:14 +1 Clips hit two free throws after DFS shooting foul. Doncic made three.
2:44 0 Clips missed three. Luka missed three.
2:20 -3 Clips made three. Burke missed three.
1:43 -2 Clips jump shot. Burke missed layup.
1:15 0 Clips made three. Luka made three.
Remaining 39 seconds dribbled out.
Game ends on 25-10 run by the Clippers.
Ten possessions --
Mavs have six missed threes, two made threes (Luka), a layup (DFS), and two free throws (LD). Three Mavs take shots — Luka (4), Burke (4), and DFS (2. KP not a factor.
Clippers have two scores off offensive rebounds, four made threes, one floater, one 2pt jump shot, two free throws, and one missed three. They score on 9-10 possessions.
Yikes. Mavs should take a page from the Clippers on how to close out a game.
Analytics
The Mavs shot poorly (35% from deep, 56% on twos). The Clips were 45% on threes, 59% on twos. The scoring showed Mavs -28 on points from twos, +9 on points from threes, and +4 on made free throws. This largely reflects Dallas taking 17 more 3PTAs than the Clips and getting to the line for 5 more FTAs.
Dallas gave up 9 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points, which hurt. LA pummeled the Mavs with 58 points in the paint (29/45), whereas our boys managed only 36 (18/30).
The Clips dominated with their inside game, while the Mavs missed 31 of their threes.
Players
KP (38 min) — Porzingis was the Maverick of the game, imho. He led the scoring with 30 points on 9-19 shooting, had three treys, went 9-9 from the line, collected seven boards, and handed out five assists. Very complete game. He was impressive taking over when Luka was out. Unfortunately, when he came back in for the last five minutes, he appeared frozen out of the offense — I’m not sure whether he even touched the ball.
Rick complimented the big man on his threes, passing, free throws, cuts, and defense, explaining that KP had given the Clips a lot of problems. Coach said that he had to take Porzee out for a break after his back-to-back threes in the fourth because the Latvian was tired. Then, when KP came back in, somehow he didn’t get back into his groove. Zinger said he is still only 75-80% back “into his rhythm” after not playing for so long.
How does it happen that one of the Mavs’ two stars is left out of the late-game offense? I miss the old Jet-Dirk two-man game. Remember how clutch they were?
DFS (37 min) — Doe-Doe had a pretty good line (12-8-3), and drew the primary defensive assignment on Kawhi, which is as tough as it gets. He was also switched onto Zubacs several times, and was not strong enough to prevent the big man from scoring over him.
THJ (36 min) — I don’t know what it was with Hardaway, but he was relatively invisible again. He had 8 points on 3-9 shooting, and grabbed 3 rebounds. He pretty much brought nothing on defense. After the game, however, Kawhi noted that one of the reasons the Mavs are hard to beat is their floor-spacers, and named Timmy in particular. Tim did have a dramatic moment in the first quarter, when he was fouled in the corner and fell backward into the Mavs bench. He didn’t seem any the worse for wear, fortunately.
Luka (35 min) — Luka was very good in the match. He put up 29 points (10/21 FGA), hit six threes, dropped six dimes, and limited himself to 4 turnovers. Rick thought it was Luka’s best game from a defensive point of view. If one were to nitpick the young star’s performance, it would be in the end game, I think. Although he was responsible for most of the points, the offense again devolved into the random jacking up of long shots without apparent purpose or plan. But, overall, definitely showing his chops, individually and as team leader.
Burke (31 min) — Trey was the leading scorer off the bench with 11 points, and also contributed 4 boards and 4 assists. He started in the third quarter, in place of Boban, and closed the frame well with 5 consecutive points. He had a nifty drive to the rim in the first half, but was 5-15 overall. Rick trusted him to man the closing unit, but he was 0-6 in the fourth quarter.
Maxi (27 min) — Kleber had 10 points off the bench, along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. He also came in for some tough defensive duties. I would say it was his best bubble game, not that that is any kind of high praise.
Others — Jackson and Wright also played, but didn’t do a whole lot. Bobi had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and a block in his starting cameo.
Clippers — Kawhi hammered the hapless Mavs, scoring 29 points, albeit on 23 shots. Paul George chipped in with 24. Rick thought the team should have done better on George.
Those two star turns were expected. But center Ivica Zubacs pounded Dallas with 21 points and and 15 boards on 10-10 shooting. His scores were largely opportunistic, as he took advantage of chances created by the Clips’ screening and switching schemes. Other Mavs were engaged in: double-teaming the Clippers' stars, leaving Zubacs open; trying to defend the perimeter, leaving Zubacs open; or, having a smaller player switched on to Zubacs, with Zubacs scoring over him. Sigh.
Marcus Morris threw in 16 points, and JaMychal Green had 10 off the bench.
Remarks
Rick praised the team for battling, but admitted that the Clips “just went through us and jumped over us.” Kawhi said after the game that the Mavs were a very difficult team to beat (although he somehow made it look pretty easy at the end.) The FSSW studio crew commented on the familiar third-quarter woes, noted the Mavs’ lack of aggressiveness in getting to the free-throw line, thought the team settled for too many threes (48), and opined that the Mavs didn’t put up enough defensive resistance.
It could have been worse. The Mavs made a game of it until the end, the contest was closer than the scoreline would make it seem, it was a reasonably entertaining affair, and our two stars showed out well(did you know they are the leading scoring duo in the bubble?). Sometimes you just run into a better team. The match provided our guys with plenty of learning opportunities, and that’s worth something.
Next. The Mavericks face Milwaukee on Saturday. The Bucks won’t have anything to play for, iirc, so we’ll see whether they choose to go all-in or not. Be there or be square!