MAVERICKS BLOWN OUT OF THE ARENA IN UTAH
RICHARDSON, FINNEY-SMITH, POWELL RETURN
Turrible. Just turrible.
There was some good news. Josh R, Doe-Doe, and Dwight all were cleared to play, and each received meaningful minutes. Rick warned that re-integrating them will be a gradual matter, and indicated that they were not yet in game shape.
GAME STORY
Maxi was still out for Dallas, and Derrick Favors and Donovan Mitchell were on Utah’s injury list. Rick rolled out what many expected to be one of the Mavs’ best lineups — Luka, Richardson, THJ, DFS, and KP. A lineup which we may note had never played a game together.
Your Dallas Mavericks got off to a horrible start. They looked passive and couldn’t score for anything. Meanwhile, Utah came out with guns blazing, and got anything they wanted. After one, Dallas trailed 19-32.
Things did not get better in the second. The Mavs hung in the game with the aid of 12 points from Timmy. At halftime, the deficit was 48-69.
The shots started to fall for Dallas in the third period, especially for Luka, who had 15 points and was 7-10 in the frame. However, they were not able to get stops, and lost a point for their efforts. After three, 78-100.
The Jazz, being on the second night of a back-to-back, began to run out of juice in the fourth, but the Mavs were in too deep a hole to make up much ground. The twelve-point margin at the end did not reflect the difference for most of the game. Carlisle didn’t empty his bench until the last 1:34. The finishing lineup was Luka, KP, Johnson, THJ, and Burke — probably not coincidentally, all players who have played together this season.
STATISTICS
The Mavs were out-rebounded 36-50, and gave up 11 offensive boards. The Jazz were getting two, three, and in one case, five chances in a single possession. Rudy Gobert had 20 rebounds — same as all the Mav bigs combined (and that’s counting DFS as a big). Unacceptable.
The free throw differential was marked, with Utah getting 21 attempts, and the Mavs a season-low 9. That’s not just on the refs. The Mavs were often passive, and when they did attack, didn’t always go up strong. Oddly, the Dallas players were called for only 12 fouls, while the Jazz had 18, but that translated into far more chances for Utah.
Both teams put up 91 shot attempts, but the home team took six more threes and completed 39% from deep. In point differentials, the Mavs were +8 in points from twos, -12 in points from threes, and -8 in made free throws. Dallas hit only 12 of their 35 3PTAs (34%). THJ was 4-6, and the rest of the Mavs were 8-29 (28%). Leading scorers for the Mavs were Luka with 30 points, THJ with 19, and KP with 18.
Defense was really bad, particularly the PNR defense. Coach Boucek said after the game that she thinks that defense will be a point of emphasis before the next game, and that they need to either do something different, or do something better.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had 30 points and a decently efficient night (11-17 from two, 2-7 from three, 2-2 from the line). Luka having only two free throw attempts was pretty much a travesty. He was relatively quiet otherwise, with 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers. He had a big ice bag strapped to his knee on the bench, and was grimacing in pain at various times in the game. He declined to elaborate on reasons for the loss, only saying that they “were not ourselves” and have to play “way better than this.”
HARDAWAY. Tim was perhaps the only real bright spot of the night, and he contributed 19 points, going 6-10 from the field, 4-6 from three, and 3-3 from the line in a game-high 34 minutes. I know there is a fan contingent that favors phasing THJ down to a minor role, and this game is a good example of why the team just cannot do that. The Mavs HAVE to have a third elite scorer playing major minutes for their system to have a chance. It doesn’t have to be Hardaway — it could be another player around the league who has those skills. The point being, if it’s not Hardaway, the solution is not currently on the roster. He is usually first or second in minutes played for a reason. But I digress. Back to this terrible game.
PORZINGIS. KP had 18 points (6-11 on twos, 2-7 on threes, no free-throw attempts), which I feel like looks better on paper than it did on the court. He had only 5 rebounds in a situation where more rebounding was desperately needed, and his defense was atrocious, especially against Utah’s spread pick and roll.
I’m not sure if they really have to use that deep drop coverage, which wasn’t working. Per Kirk via Rob Mahoney on the MMB pod, that scheme is not just driven by lack of mobility of some of the bigs, but is a choice by the Mavs based on their analytics showing that guarding the basket and not showing on the screen is playing the percentages in some crafty way. I don’t know if that works out over the course of a season, but on any given night, like tonight, it can result in the opponent killing you from the three-point line. Not that the basket was covered, anyway. The Jazz paraded through the lane all night with little resistance.
COVID PLAYERS. These guys were predictably not at their best yet. DFS was 1-8 from the floor. He and JRich combined for 9 points, both playing about 24 minutes. Powell had 3 rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench, and for aficionados of individual single-game plus-minus, he had a team-high +10. Carlisle thought that, given their conditioning, the three had “given what they could give.”
At halftime, Coach Boucek was asked why the Mavs seemed a little “tired and slow,” wondering whether maybe the altitude was slowing them down, especially the three re-entering players. She said she thought it was more that the Jazz had great continuity and the Mavs had none. Tonight’s starting lineup for Utah was only the second of the season, whereas most of the Dallas lineups had never played together. KP indicated after the game that the players (all, not just the three) don’t understand their roles, and are just out there playing by the seat of their pants. Hmm.
BENCH. The entire bench was outscored 31-28 by Jazz reserve Jordan Clarkson. That’s including a 4-0 Dallas margin in garbage time. Johnson was the team’s leading rebounder with 7. WCS appeared in a 3-minute cameo. Powell was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter. As far as techs go, Hardaway and O’Neale had double Ts at one point. I don’t know what happened in either case.
JAZZ. Give Utah credit. They played beautiful, elite basketball. They’re not first in the West for nothing. Their leading scorer was Clarkson, with a season-high 31 points off the bench. Gobert had 29 points and 20 rebounds, and showed up the Mavs all night. Joe Ingles’ 21 points included 7 of 11 threes, and Mike Conley added 17.
OBSERVATIONS
Carlisle was not impressed, especially with the first half. When Eddie wondered if the team’s lack of rhythm was caused by all the unfamiliar lineups, Rick retorted that you don’t need rhythm to play defense, to have a strong disposition, or to communicate, and the players hadn’t done that. He wants more force and more presence next time.
After the game, Boucek said that she was sure the first thing they would address is the disposition issue. She thinks the Mavs need to come out with a whole different mentality in their next appearance. They came out slow, without an edge, and didn’t defend or rebound well. She hinted at possible adjustments to the defensive scheme, indicating that they need to mix up their PNR coverage on Conley, and that they need to either change the strategy or improve the execution.
She observed that some of Utah’s players aren’t that strong physically, and they need to do a better job of taking advantage of mismatches. Admitting that there wasn’t much “flow,” she anticipates that problem getting better with more time on the court together. She was not sure they were really as tired as they looked, opining that their lack of familiarity on the court was making them look a step slow.
I had figured before the game that this one would probably fall n the loss column, and I was going to be okay with that, but I was very disappointed in this showing. Granted the Jazz were a formidable opponent, but the Mavs almost looked like a rec team that had just dropped in for some hoops against the pros. So ineffectual offensively. So impotent defensively. At one point, Derek Harper was cheerfully expressing encouragement over the Mavs’ stringing together two defensive stops. The body language was not good — they looked exhausted, disengaged, like they just wanted it all to be over.
I’m not sure how good this version of the Mavericks is, but I still cling to the belief that they just can't really be THIS bad. At least they’re on the road to having their intended roster back. We knew it was going to be a process. Baby steps.
The Mavericks face this same team on Utah in the two-game mini-series. Maxi is not expected to be back. Let’s hope the coaching staff can come up with something.
Keep the faith, Mavs fans!
RICHARDSON, FINNEY-SMITH, POWELL RETURN
Turrible. Just turrible.
There was some good news. Josh R, Doe-Doe, and Dwight all were cleared to play, and each received meaningful minutes. Rick warned that re-integrating them will be a gradual matter, and indicated that they were not yet in game shape.
GAME STORY
Maxi was still out for Dallas, and Derrick Favors and Donovan Mitchell were on Utah’s injury list. Rick rolled out what many expected to be one of the Mavs’ best lineups — Luka, Richardson, THJ, DFS, and KP. A lineup which we may note had never played a game together.
Your Dallas Mavericks got off to a horrible start. They looked passive and couldn’t score for anything. Meanwhile, Utah came out with guns blazing, and got anything they wanted. After one, Dallas trailed 19-32.
Things did not get better in the second. The Mavs hung in the game with the aid of 12 points from Timmy. At halftime, the deficit was 48-69.
The shots started to fall for Dallas in the third period, especially for Luka, who had 15 points and was 7-10 in the frame. However, they were not able to get stops, and lost a point for their efforts. After three, 78-100.
The Jazz, being on the second night of a back-to-back, began to run out of juice in the fourth, but the Mavs were in too deep a hole to make up much ground. The twelve-point margin at the end did not reflect the difference for most of the game. Carlisle didn’t empty his bench until the last 1:34. The finishing lineup was Luka, KP, Johnson, THJ, and Burke — probably not coincidentally, all players who have played together this season.
STATISTICS
The Mavs were out-rebounded 36-50, and gave up 11 offensive boards. The Jazz were getting two, three, and in one case, five chances in a single possession. Rudy Gobert had 20 rebounds — same as all the Mav bigs combined (and that’s counting DFS as a big). Unacceptable.
The free throw differential was marked, with Utah getting 21 attempts, and the Mavs a season-low 9. That’s not just on the refs. The Mavs were often passive, and when they did attack, didn’t always go up strong. Oddly, the Dallas players were called for only 12 fouls, while the Jazz had 18, but that translated into far more chances for Utah.
Both teams put up 91 shot attempts, but the home team took six more threes and completed 39% from deep. In point differentials, the Mavs were +8 in points from twos, -12 in points from threes, and -8 in made free throws. Dallas hit only 12 of their 35 3PTAs (34%). THJ was 4-6, and the rest of the Mavs were 8-29 (28%). Leading scorers for the Mavs were Luka with 30 points, THJ with 19, and KP with 18.
Defense was really bad, particularly the PNR defense. Coach Boucek said after the game that she thinks that defense will be a point of emphasis before the next game, and that they need to either do something different, or do something better.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had 30 points and a decently efficient night (11-17 from two, 2-7 from three, 2-2 from the line). Luka having only two free throw attempts was pretty much a travesty. He was relatively quiet otherwise, with 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers. He had a big ice bag strapped to his knee on the bench, and was grimacing in pain at various times in the game. He declined to elaborate on reasons for the loss, only saying that they “were not ourselves” and have to play “way better than this.”
HARDAWAY. Tim was perhaps the only real bright spot of the night, and he contributed 19 points, going 6-10 from the field, 4-6 from three, and 3-3 from the line in a game-high 34 minutes. I know there is a fan contingent that favors phasing THJ down to a minor role, and this game is a good example of why the team just cannot do that. The Mavs HAVE to have a third elite scorer playing major minutes for their system to have a chance. It doesn’t have to be Hardaway — it could be another player around the league who has those skills. The point being, if it’s not Hardaway, the solution is not currently on the roster. He is usually first or second in minutes played for a reason. But I digress. Back to this terrible game.
PORZINGIS. KP had 18 points (6-11 on twos, 2-7 on threes, no free-throw attempts), which I feel like looks better on paper than it did on the court. He had only 5 rebounds in a situation where more rebounding was desperately needed, and his defense was atrocious, especially against Utah’s spread pick and roll.
I’m not sure if they really have to use that deep drop coverage, which wasn’t working. Per Kirk via Rob Mahoney on the MMB pod, that scheme is not just driven by lack of mobility of some of the bigs, but is a choice by the Mavs based on their analytics showing that guarding the basket and not showing on the screen is playing the percentages in some crafty way. I don’t know if that works out over the course of a season, but on any given night, like tonight, it can result in the opponent killing you from the three-point line. Not that the basket was covered, anyway. The Jazz paraded through the lane all night with little resistance.
COVID PLAYERS. These guys were predictably not at their best yet. DFS was 1-8 from the floor. He and JRich combined for 9 points, both playing about 24 minutes. Powell had 3 rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench, and for aficionados of individual single-game plus-minus, he had a team-high +10. Carlisle thought that, given their conditioning, the three had “given what they could give.”
At halftime, Coach Boucek was asked why the Mavs seemed a little “tired and slow,” wondering whether maybe the altitude was slowing them down, especially the three re-entering players. She said she thought it was more that the Jazz had great continuity and the Mavs had none. Tonight’s starting lineup for Utah was only the second of the season, whereas most of the Dallas lineups had never played together. KP indicated after the game that the players (all, not just the three) don’t understand their roles, and are just out there playing by the seat of their pants. Hmm.
BENCH. The entire bench was outscored 31-28 by Jazz reserve Jordan Clarkson. That’s including a 4-0 Dallas margin in garbage time. Johnson was the team’s leading rebounder with 7. WCS appeared in a 3-minute cameo. Powell was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter. As far as techs go, Hardaway and O’Neale had double Ts at one point. I don’t know what happened in either case.
JAZZ. Give Utah credit. They played beautiful, elite basketball. They’re not first in the West for nothing. Their leading scorer was Clarkson, with a season-high 31 points off the bench. Gobert had 29 points and 20 rebounds, and showed up the Mavs all night. Joe Ingles’ 21 points included 7 of 11 threes, and Mike Conley added 17.
OBSERVATIONS
Carlisle was not impressed, especially with the first half. When Eddie wondered if the team’s lack of rhythm was caused by all the unfamiliar lineups, Rick retorted that you don’t need rhythm to play defense, to have a strong disposition, or to communicate, and the players hadn’t done that. He wants more force and more presence next time.
After the game, Boucek said that she was sure the first thing they would address is the disposition issue. She thinks the Mavs need to come out with a whole different mentality in their next appearance. They came out slow, without an edge, and didn’t defend or rebound well. She hinted at possible adjustments to the defensive scheme, indicating that they need to mix up their PNR coverage on Conley, and that they need to either change the strategy or improve the execution.
She observed that some of Utah’s players aren’t that strong physically, and they need to do a better job of taking advantage of mismatches. Admitting that there wasn’t much “flow,” she anticipates that problem getting better with more time on the court together. She was not sure they were really as tired as they looked, opining that their lack of familiarity on the court was making them look a step slow.
I had figured before the game that this one would probably fall n the loss column, and I was going to be okay with that, but I was very disappointed in this showing. Granted the Jazz were a formidable opponent, but the Mavs almost looked like a rec team that had just dropped in for some hoops against the pros. So ineffectual offensively. So impotent defensively. At one point, Derek Harper was cheerfully expressing encouragement over the Mavs’ stringing together two defensive stops. The body language was not good — they looked exhausted, disengaged, like they just wanted it all to be over.
I’m not sure how good this version of the Mavericks is, but I still cling to the belief that they just can't really be THIS bad. At least they’re on the road to having their intended roster back. We knew it was going to be a process. Baby steps.
The Mavericks face this same team on Utah in the two-game mini-series. Maxi is not expected to be back. Let’s hope the coaching staff can come up with something.
Keep the faith, Mavs fans!
Account was locked out for a long time and no easy way to reset. Had to tweak the username. 
