03-12-2021, 04:52 AM
WELL, THAT WAS A PILE OF SUCKY-DOO
The Mavericks revealed before the game that Luka and KP would not play due to “injury recovery.” Carlisle explained that this had been determined before the ASB, was occasioned by the “dense schedule,” and would occur throughout the remaining season at various unannounced dates. Without their stars, the remaining Mavs looked like a random collection of ill-fitting spare parts.
NOTABLE ITEMS
GAME FLOW. Coach went with his 17th starting lineup of the season — Brunson, Richardson, DFS, Maxi, and WCS. The Mavs had a perfectly dreadful first quarter, managing to score only 19 points and giving up 35 to the offensively challenged Thunder. By halftime, they had managed to chisel only one point off their deficit, being on the wrong end of a 47-62 scoreline. Things were no better at the end of the third, which ended at 74-89. OKC’s lead ballooned to a game-high 21 points in the third, and was back at 19 with 7:42 left in the game. The Mavericks went on a run to cut their disadvantage to two at 1:58, but could not complete the comeback.
NUMBERS. The Thunder, rated 29th in the league in three-point percentage, could not miss, hitting 10-14 from deep at halftime. They ultimately cooled off to 16-32, with many of those shots being open. When they were not bombing threes, they were hitting twos, scoring 50 PIP. They were terrors on the glass, out rebounding the hapless Mavericks 55-37, grabbing 16 offensive boards and scoring 13 second-chance points. It was a bad night for the Mavs to miss 10 free throws.
SCORING. The guards did their darnedest offensively. J Rich led the team with 27 points, 10-15 shooting, and 6 assists. Brunson was close behind, with 26 points and 9-15 shooting. Hardaway had 24 off the bench, and Maxi added 14, including 4 threes.
However, the other seven Mavs combined for 17. DFS had 6 points in 35 minutes, WCS none in 20, Burke 2 in 19. Rick pushed the Johnson, Powell, Green, and Boban buttons, all to no avail.
DEFENSE. Basically, there was slim to none. It was a romp for the young Thunder, and the Mavs were brutally exposed.
THE BRIGHT SIDE. While the disjointed Mavs were generally unable to string together a few successful possessions on either end of the court, they did manage to mount a rally in the fourth quarter, going on a 21-4 run in an approximately 6-minute span. So, at least they had that in them.
THUNDER. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with 32 points, including going 9-9 from the line. Veteran Al Horford put up 21 points and 9 rebounds. The team’s other starters were all in double figures.
OBSERVATIONS
Carlisle admitted that his team got off to a “horrendous start,” not moving the ball, not concentrating defensively, and not delivering enough of a physical presence. They were lacking a “mental edge” on the boards, and playing small in the second half probably didn’t help in the rebounding battle. They contested a few of the Thunder’s threes “decently,” but allowed the opponent to shoot 60% from range most of the game. All in all, they needed to be better, and they just weren’t. When he was asked whether he considered giving the rooks and end-of-bench guys some run-out, he said no, beyond the couple of minutes Josh Green was out there, explaining that he was trying to win the game.
The FSSW crew offered the opinion that the Mavs were “too casual,” did not play with enough energy, and suffered from lack of hustle. I don’t think there is much point in trying to break the game down in further detail. The team was poor, and the defense was Swiss-cheese porous. I think that sums it up adequately. Luka, with all his firepower, looked on pensively from the bench.
This was a disappointing performance, to say the least, although the team did at least make it interesting at the end. One has to question the decision to rest both KP and Luka on the same night, especially since they were just coming off the All-Star Break and the weather hiatus. After the team has fought so hard to come back from the COVID-marred stretch of the season, it seemed baffling to throw away what “should” have been a win. Perhaps they underestimated the young Thunder. I rather hope they don’t repeat the experiment, if they don’t have to.
In any case, the schedule moves relentlessly on, and the team will face the Nuggets in Denver on Saturday. Here’s hoping for better days.
The Mavericks revealed before the game that Luka and KP would not play due to “injury recovery.” Carlisle explained that this had been determined before the ASB, was occasioned by the “dense schedule,” and would occur throughout the remaining season at various unannounced dates. Without their stars, the remaining Mavs looked like a random collection of ill-fitting spare parts.
NOTABLE ITEMS
GAME FLOW. Coach went with his 17th starting lineup of the season — Brunson, Richardson, DFS, Maxi, and WCS. The Mavs had a perfectly dreadful first quarter, managing to score only 19 points and giving up 35 to the offensively challenged Thunder. By halftime, they had managed to chisel only one point off their deficit, being on the wrong end of a 47-62 scoreline. Things were no better at the end of the third, which ended at 74-89. OKC’s lead ballooned to a game-high 21 points in the third, and was back at 19 with 7:42 left in the game. The Mavericks went on a run to cut their disadvantage to two at 1:58, but could not complete the comeback.
NUMBERS. The Thunder, rated 29th in the league in three-point percentage, could not miss, hitting 10-14 from deep at halftime. They ultimately cooled off to 16-32, with many of those shots being open. When they were not bombing threes, they were hitting twos, scoring 50 PIP. They were terrors on the glass, out rebounding the hapless Mavericks 55-37, grabbing 16 offensive boards and scoring 13 second-chance points. It was a bad night for the Mavs to miss 10 free throws.
SCORING. The guards did their darnedest offensively. J Rich led the team with 27 points, 10-15 shooting, and 6 assists. Brunson was close behind, with 26 points and 9-15 shooting. Hardaway had 24 off the bench, and Maxi added 14, including 4 threes.
However, the other seven Mavs combined for 17. DFS had 6 points in 35 minutes, WCS none in 20, Burke 2 in 19. Rick pushed the Johnson, Powell, Green, and Boban buttons, all to no avail.
DEFENSE. Basically, there was slim to none. It was a romp for the young Thunder, and the Mavs were brutally exposed.
THE BRIGHT SIDE. While the disjointed Mavs were generally unable to string together a few successful possessions on either end of the court, they did manage to mount a rally in the fourth quarter, going on a 21-4 run in an approximately 6-minute span. So, at least they had that in them.
THUNDER. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with 32 points, including going 9-9 from the line. Veteran Al Horford put up 21 points and 9 rebounds. The team’s other starters were all in double figures.
OBSERVATIONS
Carlisle admitted that his team got off to a “horrendous start,” not moving the ball, not concentrating defensively, and not delivering enough of a physical presence. They were lacking a “mental edge” on the boards, and playing small in the second half probably didn’t help in the rebounding battle. They contested a few of the Thunder’s threes “decently,” but allowed the opponent to shoot 60% from range most of the game. All in all, they needed to be better, and they just weren’t. When he was asked whether he considered giving the rooks and end-of-bench guys some run-out, he said no, beyond the couple of minutes Josh Green was out there, explaining that he was trying to win the game.
The FSSW crew offered the opinion that the Mavs were “too casual,” did not play with enough energy, and suffered from lack of hustle. I don’t think there is much point in trying to break the game down in further detail. The team was poor, and the defense was Swiss-cheese porous. I think that sums it up adequately. Luka, with all his firepower, looked on pensively from the bench.
This was a disappointing performance, to say the least, although the team did at least make it interesting at the end. One has to question the decision to rest both KP and Luka on the same night, especially since they were just coming off the All-Star Break and the weather hiatus. After the team has fought so hard to come back from the COVID-marred stretch of the season, it seemed baffling to throw away what “should” have been a win. Perhaps they underestimated the young Thunder. I rather hope they don’t repeat the experiment, if they don’t have to.
In any case, the schedule moves relentlessly on, and the team will face the Nuggets in Denver on Saturday. Here’s hoping for better days.