Comeback Effort Falls Short in Houston
This game looked like it might be a Rockets laugher until the Mavs made a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the hole was just a little too deep.
Game Story
Capela, Green, and Nene were on Houston's injured list. Luka and Powell were out for the Mavs. Rick played a zany starting lineup, with Barea and Broekhoff inserted into the unit. The Rockets played no big men in the entire game.
Basically, the Mavericks fell behind about 4 minutes in, and just kept getting further and further behind, accumulating a deficit of 18 points with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. At that point, they dug deep and went on a 21-6 surge to draw within three at the 6:53 mark in the fourth. Then they screwed the pooch with a series of possessions that included one made shot, two missed shots, and three turnovers, allowing the Rockets to restore their lead to nine at 3:55. The visitors ran off 15 points in the remaining minutes, but couldn't buy a stop. They whittled the deficit to four a couple of times, but ended up being the proverbial day late and dollar short.
Analytics
The Mavs lost the possession game, with eight fewer shots than the Rox and nine fewer 3PTAs. They did get to the line for seven more free throw attempts than the opposition. They ended the day +10 on points from twos, +4 on made free throws, and -21 on points from threes. They shot pretty well (39% from deep), but the Rockets were a blistering 47% from long range.
Dallas did themselves no favors with 17 turnovers and 18 Houston fast-break points. Some of the dumbest turnovers, too, if I dare say so. Late game execution errors, which appear to be part of the learning curve for the young team, also hampered their recovery.
Players
Porzingis (36 min) was outstanding in Luka's absence. He put up 35 points on 60% shooting, got to the line for 13 free throw attempts, and also registered 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. With the tallest Rocket being 6'6," KP feasted in the paint. None of the Rockets could guard him. It is interesting to watch his change of style when he is the first option. He was aggressive, and demanded the ball. He got more touches, and got many of them closer to the basket than usual. I wish there were a way of harnessing his skills to better effect when Luka is also on the floor. Rick praised KP for playing one of his best games of the season.
DFS (35 min) had 12 points and 8 boards, but his defensive chops were tested. These Houston guards and shooters are a handful.
THJ (32 min) put up 15 points, including 4 threes, and had 4 assists. However, he and Barea were no match for the Rockets' starting back court. Russ and Harden combined for 67 points, 22 rebounds, and 15 assists. Tim and Barea recorded 26-8-13. After the game, Rick affirmed Tim's super-importance to the team, especially with Luka out.
Seth (25 min) had a pretty good offensive night, being the Mavs' second-leading scorer with 16 points, 4 assists, and only 1 turnover off the bench. He was a big part of the comeback, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter. Defense was a different story, as he was way overmatched. Still, he was one of a handful of Mavericks in positive territory, at +2.
Barea (21 min) contributed 11 points and 9 assists to the effort. Rick complimented him on keeping the squad organized, but JJB may or may not continue in the starting point guard spot. Coach will determine the starting units on a game-by-game basis.
Brunson (20 min) was part of the offensive closing unit. With 48 seconds left, he hit a clever little floating bank shot, but followed that up running one-on-two to the basket, and missing the layup. Good stuff, and not-so-good stuff from the young players.
Broekhoff (20 min) was put into the lineup because he is a physical player who can make threes, per Rick. He had 9 points and 5 boards. Maxi (14 min) had 4 blocks and 6 boards, and was one of the few Mavs to put up any meaningful resistance to Westbrook. I am wondering if Maxi is playing through some undisclosed injury or another. He has been playing relatively low minutes, even though the Mavs are shorthanded in the big man department. At any rate, Rick thought he played well. WCS (11 min) had a wretched entry to the game, with three fouls and a technical in four minutes. He returned to the game later, and had a nice block and some rebounds. He had five fouls, though, in short minutes. Rick said he thought WCS had done a good job.
Rockets. Westbrook absolutely torched the Mavs in the paint, getting to the basket repeatedly with a great deal of force and ferocity, to quote Jet. Dallas gave him different looks, and Russ v. Hardaway, Russ v Curry, and Russ v Brunson were ug-lee matchups. The Mavericks had some luck trapping him, but the Rockets shooters were on fire and punished the technique. Russ took only one three the entire night, although the visitors were daring him to shoot. He put up 32 points and 9 assists. Harden also blasted the Mavs, recording 35 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. The Mavs were double-teaming him some, but, again, the shooters were able to make Dallas pay. What an incredible back court.
Remarks
Carlisle was pleased with a number of aspects of the game. He admired his team for never giving up, and showing the fight to come almost all the back from being 18 down. They had opportunities to win until right at the end. Ultimately, however, the Rockets' hot three-point shooting got the better of them, and that can happen.
The FSSW studio crew were especially proud of Seth and KP. They thought the game was winnable, and found it disappointing that the team never quite made it back. Jet thought they could have attacked the basket more, instead of settling for so many jump shots. The group also thought that with KP matched up against smaller players, and having such great post skills, the squad could have take a little better advantage of those mismatches.
I wasn't really expecting the Mavs to win this game, with Luka and Powell out, but it was still disappointing to see them come so close and fail to deliver. We have to give Houston credit -- they played well, especially their two stars. However, watching the boys let Westbrook blow by them and score over them again and again and again was frustrating. I guess we could look at it that they are overachieving by even being competitive, with two of their starters out. However, what with the unusual rotations and all, it felt more like they were back to throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something would stick. The mistakes at the end were disheartening, but I have more or less come to view them as learning experiences. To ascend to contender status, this team needs a lot of work in multiple areas. But, they're coming along, and they have had terrible luck with the injury bug.
Next. The Mavs face Atlanta Saturday. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a win, if they can get themselves together. Luka will be out for at least the next five games, so the other Mavs will need to step it up.
This game looked like it might be a Rockets laugher until the Mavs made a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the hole was just a little too deep.
Game Story
Capela, Green, and Nene were on Houston's injured list. Luka and Powell were out for the Mavs. Rick played a zany starting lineup, with Barea and Broekhoff inserted into the unit. The Rockets played no big men in the entire game.
Basically, the Mavericks fell behind about 4 minutes in, and just kept getting further and further behind, accumulating a deficit of 18 points with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. At that point, they dug deep and went on a 21-6 surge to draw within three at the 6:53 mark in the fourth. Then they screwed the pooch with a series of possessions that included one made shot, two missed shots, and three turnovers, allowing the Rockets to restore their lead to nine at 3:55. The visitors ran off 15 points in the remaining minutes, but couldn't buy a stop. They whittled the deficit to four a couple of times, but ended up being the proverbial day late and dollar short.
Analytics
The Mavs lost the possession game, with eight fewer shots than the Rox and nine fewer 3PTAs. They did get to the line for seven more free throw attempts than the opposition. They ended the day +10 on points from twos, +4 on made free throws, and -21 on points from threes. They shot pretty well (39% from deep), but the Rockets were a blistering 47% from long range.
Dallas did themselves no favors with 17 turnovers and 18 Houston fast-break points. Some of the dumbest turnovers, too, if I dare say so. Late game execution errors, which appear to be part of the learning curve for the young team, also hampered their recovery.
Players
Porzingis (36 min) was outstanding in Luka's absence. He put up 35 points on 60% shooting, got to the line for 13 free throw attempts, and also registered 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. With the tallest Rocket being 6'6," KP feasted in the paint. None of the Rockets could guard him. It is interesting to watch his change of style when he is the first option. He was aggressive, and demanded the ball. He got more touches, and got many of them closer to the basket than usual. I wish there were a way of harnessing his skills to better effect when Luka is also on the floor. Rick praised KP for playing one of his best games of the season.
DFS (35 min) had 12 points and 8 boards, but his defensive chops were tested. These Houston guards and shooters are a handful.
THJ (32 min) put up 15 points, including 4 threes, and had 4 assists. However, he and Barea were no match for the Rockets' starting back court. Russ and Harden combined for 67 points, 22 rebounds, and 15 assists. Tim and Barea recorded 26-8-13. After the game, Rick affirmed Tim's super-importance to the team, especially with Luka out.
Seth (25 min) had a pretty good offensive night, being the Mavs' second-leading scorer with 16 points, 4 assists, and only 1 turnover off the bench. He was a big part of the comeback, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter. Defense was a different story, as he was way overmatched. Still, he was one of a handful of Mavericks in positive territory, at +2.
Barea (21 min) contributed 11 points and 9 assists to the effort. Rick complimented him on keeping the squad organized, but JJB may or may not continue in the starting point guard spot. Coach will determine the starting units on a game-by-game basis.
Brunson (20 min) was part of the offensive closing unit. With 48 seconds left, he hit a clever little floating bank shot, but followed that up running one-on-two to the basket, and missing the layup. Good stuff, and not-so-good stuff from the young players.
Broekhoff (20 min) was put into the lineup because he is a physical player who can make threes, per Rick. He had 9 points and 5 boards. Maxi (14 min) had 4 blocks and 6 boards, and was one of the few Mavs to put up any meaningful resistance to Westbrook. I am wondering if Maxi is playing through some undisclosed injury or another. He has been playing relatively low minutes, even though the Mavs are shorthanded in the big man department. At any rate, Rick thought he played well. WCS (11 min) had a wretched entry to the game, with three fouls and a technical in four minutes. He returned to the game later, and had a nice block and some rebounds. He had five fouls, though, in short minutes. Rick said he thought WCS had done a good job.
Rockets. Westbrook absolutely torched the Mavs in the paint, getting to the basket repeatedly with a great deal of force and ferocity, to quote Jet. Dallas gave him different looks, and Russ v. Hardaway, Russ v Curry, and Russ v Brunson were ug-lee matchups. The Mavericks had some luck trapping him, but the Rockets shooters were on fire and punished the technique. Russ took only one three the entire night, although the visitors were daring him to shoot. He put up 32 points and 9 assists. Harden also blasted the Mavs, recording 35 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. The Mavs were double-teaming him some, but, again, the shooters were able to make Dallas pay. What an incredible back court.
Remarks
Carlisle was pleased with a number of aspects of the game. He admired his team for never giving up, and showing the fight to come almost all the back from being 18 down. They had opportunities to win until right at the end. Ultimately, however, the Rockets' hot three-point shooting got the better of them, and that can happen.
The FSSW studio crew were especially proud of Seth and KP. They thought the game was winnable, and found it disappointing that the team never quite made it back. Jet thought they could have attacked the basket more, instead of settling for so many jump shots. The group also thought that with KP matched up against smaller players, and having such great post skills, the squad could have take a little better advantage of those mismatches.
I wasn't really expecting the Mavs to win this game, with Luka and Powell out, but it was still disappointing to see them come so close and fail to deliver. We have to give Houston credit -- they played well, especially their two stars. However, watching the boys let Westbrook blow by them and score over them again and again and again was frustrating. I guess we could look at it that they are overachieving by even being competitive, with two of their starters out. However, what with the unusual rotations and all, it felt more like they were back to throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something would stick. The mistakes at the end were disheartening, but I have more or less come to view them as learning experiences. To ascend to contender status, this team needs a lot of work in multiple areas. But, they're coming along, and they have had terrible luck with the injury bug.
Next. The Mavs face Atlanta Saturday. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a win, if they can get themselves together. Luka will be out for at least the next five games, so the other Mavs will need to step it up.