03-28-2021, 11:43 AM
STAR-LESS MAVS FIZZLE IN THE BIG EASY
The supporting cast put up a fight, but a series of late-game miscues, along with a Zion rampage at the end, sealed their fate.
NOTABLE ITEMS
PERSONNEL. The Mavs had numerous players out — Luka, who was first listed as questionable with a sore back and then as out with an illness; KP, resting; WCS, COVID protocols; Redick, heel; and Terry, personal reasons. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back.
Rick sent out a makeshift starting lineup of Brunson, Richardson, DFS, Maxi, and Boban.
GAME FLOW. The contest started on a relatively ho-hum basis, as each team worked to gain a rhythm. In the last few minutes of the first quarter, the Pels went on a 13-0 run, and Dallas had a dismal 20-35 deficit after one. In the second quarter, the Mavericks returned fire, putting together a 17-0 run of their own, on the back of a 16-point frame by THJ. The teams were knotted at 53-all at the half.
Our boys built, and then lost, an 8-point lead in the third, and the Mavs went into the fourth with a 78-80 disadvantage. The Pels, in turn, assembled and lost a lead in the final frame, and Dallas was up 1 at the 3:42 mark. Then, the Mavs unravelled, and the Pelicans went on a tear.
2 Zion free throws; THJ missed three.
Ingram pullup; Maxi called for his fifth foul on a moving screen turnover.
Zion layup; Brunson miss, ORB, DFS blocked shot.
Alexander-Walker three from Zion; Mavs timeout; Maxi three from Brunson.
Zion layup; Brunson layup.
Zion putback layup; Burke missed three.
Alexander-Walker dagger three from Zion; Pels up 10 with 1:19 left.
In these seven decisive possessions, the Pels scored on every one. The Mavs had two missed threes, a turnover, a blocked shot, scored twice, and gave up an ORB.
STATS. I don’t think this game warrants a lot of deep analysis. The Mavs as a team shot poorly from three — only 10 triples, with THJ and Maxi accounting for 8 of those. They also did not shoot particularly well inside the arc (27-52). Point differentials were -12 on points from twos, +3 on points from three, and even on made free throws. The team was in a position to win late on, but Zion and Poor Late Game Execution were the deciding factors. The Mavs had five guys in double figures — THJ 30, Brunson 24, and Maxi, Boban, and Burke with 13 apiece.
THJ. With Luka and KP out, THJ assumed the mantle as first option with aplomb. He had a brilliant second quarter, and put up 21 points in the first half. The Pels made adjustments to limit him in the second half, and he registered only 9 more points, but drew plenty of defensive attention. Big ups to THJ for stepping up and for treating us to a dizzying display of his variety of ways to score from anywhere on the court. His game has really come a long way since he arrived in Dallas.
BRUNSON. JB was the other Mav to elevate his game in the absence of the big stars. He poured in 24 points on 10-15 shooting, and was part of the clutch unit (Brunson, THJ, DFS, Maxi, Boban/Burke). Way to go, Jalen!
BIGS. With KP resting and WCS out on protocols, the front-court lineup was thin. Maxi did a pretty good job on Zion for a while, and I thought it was the beginning of the end when Kleber was called for his fourth foul in the third quarter. Zion was then able to tear right through him (along with everyone else), and there was just too much time left for Maxi to be effective with only two fouls left. Powell, as the third big, had no points and one rebound in 17 minutes. I don’t really blame Dwight — he was just way too small for the Pelicans’ behemoths. Boban got a rare heavy-minutes outing, and had 13 points and 11 boards in 29 minutes.
DFS was in there pitching, but could not physically match up against the huges. Coach Boucek gave a nice description of what he offers before the game, emphasizing his smart cuts and work on forcing turnovers and crashing the offensive glass.
RICHARDSON. Josh had a disappointing evening, scoring 4 points on 1-11 shooting and committing 3 of the team’s 7 turnovers in 34 minutes on the court. He did record six rebounds and four assists, but was not in the closing unit. I am still trying to keep an open mind on Richardson, and he has had a handful of superior games. But I am really starting to feel like, if he doesn’t improve pretty substantially on a consistent basis, I will not be surprised if the Mavs decide to go in a different direction after the season.
PELICANS. Zion was the name of their game, with 38 points, including 18 FTAs. Alexander-Walker added 20, including six threes. Ingram had 19, Bledsoe 11, and Kira Lewis, Jr. chipped in 13 off the bench.
OBSERVATIONS
Rick was surprisingly positive after the game, indicating that he was proud of the team for fighting hard, and saying that Zion does this to everybody.
I question the Mavs’ decision to sit KP for this game, and wonder what it portends for the future, particularly with some of the other recent load management decisions. They said Luka was sick, and sent him back to the hotel, and I take that at face value. Rick said that KP could have played, but they have to adhere to a season-long plan rest plan for the long-term benefit of KP and the players. Maybe they had identified this as a rest game for KP weeks ago, but if so, it seems like an advance plan like that would be subject to re-adjustment for circumstances (like Luka being unexpectedly out).
The Mavericks have slipped to 8th place again, and are 3.5 games south of escaping the play-in tournament. It seems to me that they aren’t in a position to be throwing away opportunities. The schedule has lightened up, but if the team uses that as a reason to aggressively rest their top players, it may not matter.
Anyway, your Dallas Mavericks are heading to Oklahoma City for Monday night’s game. The Thunder are actively tanking, and have announced that they are shutting Al Horford down for the season in support of giving their young players opportunities. Although the last OKC game, in which both Dallas stars rested, was an embarrassment, I think the outlook for the upcoming match is pretty good.
Hang in there, MFFLs!
The supporting cast put up a fight, but a series of late-game miscues, along with a Zion rampage at the end, sealed their fate.
NOTABLE ITEMS
PERSONNEL. The Mavs had numerous players out — Luka, who was first listed as questionable with a sore back and then as out with an illness; KP, resting; WCS, COVID protocols; Redick, heel; and Terry, personal reasons. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back.
Rick sent out a makeshift starting lineup of Brunson, Richardson, DFS, Maxi, and Boban.
GAME FLOW. The contest started on a relatively ho-hum basis, as each team worked to gain a rhythm. In the last few minutes of the first quarter, the Pels went on a 13-0 run, and Dallas had a dismal 20-35 deficit after one. In the second quarter, the Mavericks returned fire, putting together a 17-0 run of their own, on the back of a 16-point frame by THJ. The teams were knotted at 53-all at the half.
Our boys built, and then lost, an 8-point lead in the third, and the Mavs went into the fourth with a 78-80 disadvantage. The Pels, in turn, assembled and lost a lead in the final frame, and Dallas was up 1 at the 3:42 mark. Then, the Mavs unravelled, and the Pelicans went on a tear.
2 Zion free throws; THJ missed three.
Ingram pullup; Maxi called for his fifth foul on a moving screen turnover.
Zion layup; Brunson miss, ORB, DFS blocked shot.
Alexander-Walker three from Zion; Mavs timeout; Maxi three from Brunson.
Zion layup; Brunson layup.
Zion putback layup; Burke missed three.
Alexander-Walker dagger three from Zion; Pels up 10 with 1:19 left.
In these seven decisive possessions, the Pels scored on every one. The Mavs had two missed threes, a turnover, a blocked shot, scored twice, and gave up an ORB.
STATS. I don’t think this game warrants a lot of deep analysis. The Mavs as a team shot poorly from three — only 10 triples, with THJ and Maxi accounting for 8 of those. They also did not shoot particularly well inside the arc (27-52). Point differentials were -12 on points from twos, +3 on points from three, and even on made free throws. The team was in a position to win late on, but Zion and Poor Late Game Execution were the deciding factors. The Mavs had five guys in double figures — THJ 30, Brunson 24, and Maxi, Boban, and Burke with 13 apiece.
THJ. With Luka and KP out, THJ assumed the mantle as first option with aplomb. He had a brilliant second quarter, and put up 21 points in the first half. The Pels made adjustments to limit him in the second half, and he registered only 9 more points, but drew plenty of defensive attention. Big ups to THJ for stepping up and for treating us to a dizzying display of his variety of ways to score from anywhere on the court. His game has really come a long way since he arrived in Dallas.
BRUNSON. JB was the other Mav to elevate his game in the absence of the big stars. He poured in 24 points on 10-15 shooting, and was part of the clutch unit (Brunson, THJ, DFS, Maxi, Boban/Burke). Way to go, Jalen!
BIGS. With KP resting and WCS out on protocols, the front-court lineup was thin. Maxi did a pretty good job on Zion for a while, and I thought it was the beginning of the end when Kleber was called for his fourth foul in the third quarter. Zion was then able to tear right through him (along with everyone else), and there was just too much time left for Maxi to be effective with only two fouls left. Powell, as the third big, had no points and one rebound in 17 minutes. I don’t really blame Dwight — he was just way too small for the Pelicans’ behemoths. Boban got a rare heavy-minutes outing, and had 13 points and 11 boards in 29 minutes.
DFS was in there pitching, but could not physically match up against the huges. Coach Boucek gave a nice description of what he offers before the game, emphasizing his smart cuts and work on forcing turnovers and crashing the offensive glass.
RICHARDSON. Josh had a disappointing evening, scoring 4 points on 1-11 shooting and committing 3 of the team’s 7 turnovers in 34 minutes on the court. He did record six rebounds and four assists, but was not in the closing unit. I am still trying to keep an open mind on Richardson, and he has had a handful of superior games. But I am really starting to feel like, if he doesn’t improve pretty substantially on a consistent basis, I will not be surprised if the Mavs decide to go in a different direction after the season.
PELICANS. Zion was the name of their game, with 38 points, including 18 FTAs. Alexander-Walker added 20, including six threes. Ingram had 19, Bledsoe 11, and Kira Lewis, Jr. chipped in 13 off the bench.
OBSERVATIONS
Rick was surprisingly positive after the game, indicating that he was proud of the team for fighting hard, and saying that Zion does this to everybody.
I question the Mavs’ decision to sit KP for this game, and wonder what it portends for the future, particularly with some of the other recent load management decisions. They said Luka was sick, and sent him back to the hotel, and I take that at face value. Rick said that KP could have played, but they have to adhere to a season-long plan rest plan for the long-term benefit of KP and the players. Maybe they had identified this as a rest game for KP weeks ago, but if so, it seems like an advance plan like that would be subject to re-adjustment for circumstances (like Luka being unexpectedly out).
The Mavericks have slipped to 8th place again, and are 3.5 games south of escaping the play-in tournament. It seems to me that they aren’t in a position to be throwing away opportunities. The schedule has lightened up, but if the team uses that as a reason to aggressively rest their top players, it may not matter.
Anyway, your Dallas Mavericks are heading to Oklahoma City for Monday night’s game. The Thunder are actively tanking, and have announced that they are shutting Al Horford down for the season in support of giving their young players opportunities. Although the last OKC game, in which both Dallas stars rested, was an embarrassment, I think the outlook for the upcoming match is pretty good.
Hang in there, MFFLs!
