04-08-2021, 12:23 AM
MAVS LAY EGG IN HOUSTON
Coming off a victory over Utah, the Mavericks received a sound thrashing from a team that came into the match having lost 27 of their last 29 games. Really?
GAME STORY
WCS-Redick-Terry were still out. Willie has been absent for three weeks, and one has to wonder at this point if he actually contracted COVID. If so, it may be another several weeks before he is back to normal. Be that as it may, Maxi was still unable to go with his sore leg, and Burke joined the injured list with a calf strain. The standard starting lineup appeared, with Melli taking Maxi’s place. Five guys were out for Houston, but John Wall returned to the lineup.
For starters, the Mavs looked like they had lapsed into their old pattern of not being ready to play, opening on the wrong end of a 2-12 scoreline. The Mavericks gradually recovered, briefly took the lead behind back-to-back catch-and-shoot threes by Hardaway, and ended the quarter trailing 23-24. Only 3 Mavs scored — Luka with 11, and KP and THJ with 6 apiece. Wall had ten for the Rox.
Dallas exhibited a very poor shooting performance in the second (7-27, 3-14 3PTA), had some miscues at the close of the quarter, scored only 19 points, and went into the locker room down 42-47. Richardson, Melli, DFS, and Green combined to go 0-14 in the first half. It was the lowest scoring first half of the season for your Dallas Mavericks.
The visitors continued building their brick wall in the third, going 8-21, and 2-8 from distance. KP had 10 points, but no one else had more than 4. They looked more and more meh as time went on, and extended their deficit to 64-75 after three.
Dallas fought back in the fourth, finally tying the game at the 2:35 mark. Unfortunately, the Rockets closed on a 13-4 run.
STATISTICS
The shooting stats say it all. The Mavs were 23-48 (48%) inside the arc, 10-39 (26%) from deep. The Rockets put up 17 threes, shooting 39% from range. Point differentials were +4 on points from twos, -21 on points from threes, and +8 on made free throws. Luka and KP combined for 46 points, but the other starters had a total of 12 for the whole game. The stars got some help with 35 points from the reserves, but the offense was a slog the entire game.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had a 23/9/5 line, but shot a putrid 9-26, including 1-9 from three, and had 5 turnovers. The young star looked off the whole night, as if he were running in quicksand, appearing sloppy, exhausted, and in need of a lift. He described his own performance as “horrible,” but his supporting cast was woefully lacking on the night. One of the commentators noted that Luka has carried the team for so many games, it would have been nice if the team could have given him more of a boost on a night when he was faltering. As a small bright spot, the What-a-Burger Play of the Game was Luka’s determined dance in the paint against a very aggressive Avery Bradley. With the Bucks looming on the back-to-back, it is a shame that Luka racked up 37 minutes in a loss.
PORZINGIS. KP’s wrist looked none the worse for wear after he rested it last game, and he had the best Maverick stat line for the evening, with a solid 23 points and 12 boards on 10-19 shooting. However, Rockets forward Kelly Olynyk left his butt cheeks stinging, particularly on the glass. Kris played the last 7 minutes of the fourth, but was not involved in the offense, and 1 rebound was his only recorded stat in the frame. Asked why he wasn’t a bigger factor in the closing minutes, he replied shortly that it was a matter of the plays they were running. He was clearly disappointed to have been stuck in the corner like that, and with some justification, but he also could have done more to assert himself, or so it seemed to me.
HARDAWAY. Tim led the reserves with 18 points on decent shooting (5-11 overall, 3-9 3PTA, 5-5 FTA) in 31 minutes of action. He played with energy, unlike some of his teammates, but also missed some good looks that one would expect him to make. Looking frustrated after the game, he lamented that the Rockets simply outworked the Mavs from the first to the last. A damning assessment, to be sure.
BRUNSON. Jalen was the fourth and last Mav in double figures, with 14 points on 5-7 shooting in 30 minutes. He was engaged, as always, but I felt like this was one of those matchups where his size and other issues limited his contributions.
OTHER STARTERS. DFS was 3-8, had 5 boards and a couple of steals, but missed several wide-open shots. Granted that Dorian is mostly on the floor for his defense, but 9 points is a pretty insipid offensive contribution for a 36-minute player. Still, at least he was halfway decent, whereas both J Rich and Melli were missing in action.
Josh had a terrible line, with an 0-9 shooting debacle, 1 point, and only 3 rebounds and 4 assists to show for his 30 minutes on the court. The eye test did not provide a counter to the stats. He won’t always play this badly, but it would be a good thing for the Mavericks if he could develop some degree of consistency. Melli was largely a non-factor, taking only three shots, and recording 2 points and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes.
OTHER RESERVES. Powell filled in for 9 minutes, and had 3 points and 2 rebounds. Fans who have been longing for rookie minutes were treated to cameos from Josh Green and Nate Hinton. The two combined for 0 points, 1 missed shot, and 1 rebound, not inspiring returns to the action, and landing solidly in the “be careful what you wish for” category.
ROCKETS. Contrary to popular belief, the new-look Rockets are far from talent-less, featuring the likes of John Wall, Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, Christian Wood, and Kevin Porter, Jr. Walll looked very good in his return, torching Dallas with 31 points and 7 assists. Wood was excellent in the middle, with 22 points, including 5 threes, and 10 boards. Porter laid 14 points on the Mavs, on 5-9 shooting. New Rocket Kelly Olynyk schooled the visitors with 10 points and 18 rebounds. Although he was called for his fifth foul with 8:38 left in the game, the Mavericks were unable to take advantage.
OBSERVATIONS
Rick seemed at a loss to offer an excuse for his squad’s unexpectedly listless performance on the night. He thought the takeaway from the game was more a story about how very well the Rockets had played than anything else. He admitted that the Mavs got off to a poor start, Wall “really hurt us,” Maxi was missed, the Rox played hard and were aggressive, the Mavericks had some good shots that didn’t go down, and his team did not play well defensively. He acknowledged that Houston’s variety of defensive strategies on Luka had been effective, and he thought that there had been some missed calls both ways. He appeared genuinely stunned by his players’ failure to show up.
The Bally Sports crew observed that the Mavericks never managed to match Houston’s energy level. They felt that the team ran out of gas in the second half, citing as microcosmic a possession late in the third quarter where the Mavs gave up several offensive rebounds and ultimately a Rockets corner three. Another example was the Rockets getting into the penalty a few minutes into the fourth and Dallas proving unable to capitalize. Luka thought the Mavs played a “horrible game,” and excused it with the comment that “anybody can have a bad game.”
I don’t think there is any way to whitewash this disappointing effort. It doesn’t help in climbing the standings to defeat Utah if you’re just going to throw away a game against one of the league's bottom-feeders. This match dropped between two outstanding opponents in Utah and Milwaukee, and perhaps our boys took the Rockets a little too much for granted. The Jazz game was a statement that the Mavs can beat anyone on any given night. This game was an unfortunate reminder that they can also lose to any NBA opponent if they don’t take care of business. Very frustrating.
The opponent on the SEGABABA will be the high-flying Bucks, back at the AAC. Hope our boys can shake off their malaise by then.
Coming off a victory over Utah, the Mavericks received a sound thrashing from a team that came into the match having lost 27 of their last 29 games. Really?
GAME STORY
WCS-Redick-Terry were still out. Willie has been absent for three weeks, and one has to wonder at this point if he actually contracted COVID. If so, it may be another several weeks before he is back to normal. Be that as it may, Maxi was still unable to go with his sore leg, and Burke joined the injured list with a calf strain. The standard starting lineup appeared, with Melli taking Maxi’s place. Five guys were out for Houston, but John Wall returned to the lineup.
For starters, the Mavs looked like they had lapsed into their old pattern of not being ready to play, opening on the wrong end of a 2-12 scoreline. The Mavericks gradually recovered, briefly took the lead behind back-to-back catch-and-shoot threes by Hardaway, and ended the quarter trailing 23-24. Only 3 Mavs scored — Luka with 11, and KP and THJ with 6 apiece. Wall had ten for the Rox.
Dallas exhibited a very poor shooting performance in the second (7-27, 3-14 3PTA), had some miscues at the close of the quarter, scored only 19 points, and went into the locker room down 42-47. Richardson, Melli, DFS, and Green combined to go 0-14 in the first half. It was the lowest scoring first half of the season for your Dallas Mavericks.
The visitors continued building their brick wall in the third, going 8-21, and 2-8 from distance. KP had 10 points, but no one else had more than 4. They looked more and more meh as time went on, and extended their deficit to 64-75 after three.
Dallas fought back in the fourth, finally tying the game at the 2:35 mark. Unfortunately, the Rockets closed on a 13-4 run.
STATISTICS
The shooting stats say it all. The Mavs were 23-48 (48%) inside the arc, 10-39 (26%) from deep. The Rockets put up 17 threes, shooting 39% from range. Point differentials were +4 on points from twos, -21 on points from threes, and +8 on made free throws. Luka and KP combined for 46 points, but the other starters had a total of 12 for the whole game. The stars got some help with 35 points from the reserves, but the offense was a slog the entire game.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had a 23/9/5 line, but shot a putrid 9-26, including 1-9 from three, and had 5 turnovers. The young star looked off the whole night, as if he were running in quicksand, appearing sloppy, exhausted, and in need of a lift. He described his own performance as “horrible,” but his supporting cast was woefully lacking on the night. One of the commentators noted that Luka has carried the team for so many games, it would have been nice if the team could have given him more of a boost on a night when he was faltering. As a small bright spot, the What-a-Burger Play of the Game was Luka’s determined dance in the paint against a very aggressive Avery Bradley. With the Bucks looming on the back-to-back, it is a shame that Luka racked up 37 minutes in a loss.
PORZINGIS. KP’s wrist looked none the worse for wear after he rested it last game, and he had the best Maverick stat line for the evening, with a solid 23 points and 12 boards on 10-19 shooting. However, Rockets forward Kelly Olynyk left his butt cheeks stinging, particularly on the glass. Kris played the last 7 minutes of the fourth, but was not involved in the offense, and 1 rebound was his only recorded stat in the frame. Asked why he wasn’t a bigger factor in the closing minutes, he replied shortly that it was a matter of the plays they were running. He was clearly disappointed to have been stuck in the corner like that, and with some justification, but he also could have done more to assert himself, or so it seemed to me.
HARDAWAY. Tim led the reserves with 18 points on decent shooting (5-11 overall, 3-9 3PTA, 5-5 FTA) in 31 minutes of action. He played with energy, unlike some of his teammates, but also missed some good looks that one would expect him to make. Looking frustrated after the game, he lamented that the Rockets simply outworked the Mavs from the first to the last. A damning assessment, to be sure.
BRUNSON. Jalen was the fourth and last Mav in double figures, with 14 points on 5-7 shooting in 30 minutes. He was engaged, as always, but I felt like this was one of those matchups where his size and other issues limited his contributions.
OTHER STARTERS. DFS was 3-8, had 5 boards and a couple of steals, but missed several wide-open shots. Granted that Dorian is mostly on the floor for his defense, but 9 points is a pretty insipid offensive contribution for a 36-minute player. Still, at least he was halfway decent, whereas both J Rich and Melli were missing in action.
Josh had a terrible line, with an 0-9 shooting debacle, 1 point, and only 3 rebounds and 4 assists to show for his 30 minutes on the court. The eye test did not provide a counter to the stats. He won’t always play this badly, but it would be a good thing for the Mavericks if he could develop some degree of consistency. Melli was largely a non-factor, taking only three shots, and recording 2 points and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes.
OTHER RESERVES. Powell filled in for 9 minutes, and had 3 points and 2 rebounds. Fans who have been longing for rookie minutes were treated to cameos from Josh Green and Nate Hinton. The two combined for 0 points, 1 missed shot, and 1 rebound, not inspiring returns to the action, and landing solidly in the “be careful what you wish for” category.
ROCKETS. Contrary to popular belief, the new-look Rockets are far from talent-less, featuring the likes of John Wall, Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, Christian Wood, and Kevin Porter, Jr. Walll looked very good in his return, torching Dallas with 31 points and 7 assists. Wood was excellent in the middle, with 22 points, including 5 threes, and 10 boards. Porter laid 14 points on the Mavs, on 5-9 shooting. New Rocket Kelly Olynyk schooled the visitors with 10 points and 18 rebounds. Although he was called for his fifth foul with 8:38 left in the game, the Mavericks were unable to take advantage.
OBSERVATIONS
Rick seemed at a loss to offer an excuse for his squad’s unexpectedly listless performance on the night. He thought the takeaway from the game was more a story about how very well the Rockets had played than anything else. He admitted that the Mavs got off to a poor start, Wall “really hurt us,” Maxi was missed, the Rox played hard and were aggressive, the Mavericks had some good shots that didn’t go down, and his team did not play well defensively. He acknowledged that Houston’s variety of defensive strategies on Luka had been effective, and he thought that there had been some missed calls both ways. He appeared genuinely stunned by his players’ failure to show up.
The Bally Sports crew observed that the Mavericks never managed to match Houston’s energy level. They felt that the team ran out of gas in the second half, citing as microcosmic a possession late in the third quarter where the Mavs gave up several offensive rebounds and ultimately a Rockets corner three. Another example was the Rockets getting into the penalty a few minutes into the fourth and Dallas proving unable to capitalize. Luka thought the Mavs played a “horrible game,” and excused it with the comment that “anybody can have a bad game.”
I don’t think there is any way to whitewash this disappointing effort. It doesn’t help in climbing the standings to defeat Utah if you’re just going to throw away a game against one of the league's bottom-feeders. This match dropped between two outstanding opponents in Utah and Milwaukee, and perhaps our boys took the Rockets a little too much for granted. The Jazz game was a statement that the Mavs can beat anyone on any given night. This game was an unfortunate reminder that they can also lose to any NBA opponent if they don’t take care of business. Very frustrating.
The opponent on the SEGABABA will be the high-flying Bucks, back at the AAC. Hope our boys can shake off their malaise by then.
Last night was so bad, I almost feel like I can't watch the game tonight....and I try to watch all the Mav games. That took a lot out of me last night.
