Mavs Edge Spurs, End Home Losing Streak in Luka Return
It wasn't the prettiest of games, but Luka was back, the Mavericks got the W, and all was right with the world.
Game Story
There wasn't much of a story arc to this game. The Mavs mostly maintained a small advantage, and occasionally lost it or had it reduced with a few Spurs runs. They reached a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter, but surrendered it with an 8-0 San Antonio burst to end the period. In the fourth, Dallas accumulated a game-high 17-point margin with 4:07 left, but failed to score again, and ended the game with six missed shots, two missed free throws, two turnovers, and a goaltending violation, on the way to giving up 13 consecutive points to the Spurs. After the Toronto meltdown in the previous game, I was a bit dismayed to see the Mavericks lose their composure against a full-court press again, but after all, they did win, so I don't want to get too down on them. Let's just say they might need to grab a little practice time breaking presses.
Analytics
The Mavs got 7 more shots up than the Spurs, and had a much more efficient shot attempt distribution. Dallas ended the game +24 in points from threes, and -20 in points from twos. In addition to shooting 40% from long range for 16 made threes, the Mavericks won the possession game with a 13-5 advantage in offensive rebounding (4 from Maxi, 3 each from DFS and Luka) and a 12-4 difference in second-chance points. They were also able to capitalize on turnovers, earning 24 points from San Antonio giveaways, while giving up only 16 as a result of their own. The Spurs, on the other hand, had a 22-8 edge in fast-break points, taking advantage of the Mavs' turnovers.
Players
Porzingis (35 min). KP had a pretty bad first half, and just couldn't seem to establish a rhythm. He came out stronger in the second half. Although he was still missing shots (4-15), he is starting to give us a sense of what the team might be when he ultimately gets it together. He had back-to-back threes at one point, and executed a rare big-to-big alley oop with Powell that Carlisle termed "pretty f'ing cool."
The TNT crew kept harping on KP's failure to post up, as if the game were played in their eras. Rick gave a postgame rant, asserting that they don't want KP or anyone else posting up, as a general matter, as the post-up is a low percentage play. Rick said Luka can post up if he has a small guy on him, and Rick is okay with KP posting up once in a while, but posting up is not part of their game plan. They want guys on the perimeter, or getting to the basket instead. FWIW, Chuck Cooperstein disagreed in theory, opining that big men who can post up are "devastating," but agreed that KP does not have the skills to make it work. So, there we have it.
DFS (33 min). Dorian quietly played an outstanding game. He didn't stuff the stat sheet (13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block), but had a very positive impact on the game with excellent fundamentals, and he did grab a little limelight with three beautiful threes. The kick-out pass to DFS in the corner is becoming one of the staples of the offense.
Luka (33 min). Luka looked a little rusty, as was to be expected, and didn't shoot well (9-23), but still ended up with a 23-10-8 line. He seemed a little winded at the end of the game, and admitted in the postgame sideline interview that he was "so tired," but looked remarkably good for a guy who hadn't played in a couple of weeks and was on his first game back from injury. What a thrill to have the Slovenian back in the saddle!
Maxi (31 min). Kleber played starter minutes, had a couple of exciting threes, and was active on the boards with 12 rebounds, 4 of them offensive. Powell (30 min). Dwight exhibited his excellent screening and rolling games to great advantage, and, as often occurs, had the team's highest +/- (+15). He was a little undersized to be guarding Aldridge, but did his best to make up for it on the offensive end. Hardaway (28 min) was outstanding, and was the team's second leading scorer with 17 points. He also contributed in other ways, and showed off his growing chemistry with Luka. He did head-scratchingly dribble the ball all the way down the court and out of bounds during the stretch sequence, but I guess we needn't dwell on that. Seth (16 min) didn't score, but had a candidate for play of the game, with a behind-the-back pass to Luka that had Doncic laughing even while he dunked. Not to be outdone, Luka returned the favor to Seth later in the game, behind-the-back and all.
Spurs. San Antonio still has a number of good players (Aldridge, DeRozan, Carroll, Belinelli, Gay, Mills, for a few examples), but they looked like a team at the end of their cycle. There was a surprising lack of intensity for a Pop team, and the Mavs looked the better side on the night. Mavs-Spurs was one of the league's great rivalries, and hopefully both teams will be good at the same time again sometime, for a revival of a titanic sports feud.
Remarks
The Mavs displayed a certain lack of energy that has been characteristic of their home play, and was a little surprising after the Toronto experience. However, it was wonderful to welcome Luka back, and it was also reassuring to see the Mavericks pull out a win, despite not playing that well. The squad brought a 3-home-game losing streak to an end, and hopefully this will be a harbinger of an uptick in performance at the AAC.
Next. Golden State on Saturday in San Francisco, followed by the Lakers in LA the next day.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Go Mavs!
It wasn't the prettiest of games, but Luka was back, the Mavericks got the W, and all was right with the world.
Game Story
There wasn't much of a story arc to this game. The Mavs mostly maintained a small advantage, and occasionally lost it or had it reduced with a few Spurs runs. They reached a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter, but surrendered it with an 8-0 San Antonio burst to end the period. In the fourth, Dallas accumulated a game-high 17-point margin with 4:07 left, but failed to score again, and ended the game with six missed shots, two missed free throws, two turnovers, and a goaltending violation, on the way to giving up 13 consecutive points to the Spurs. After the Toronto meltdown in the previous game, I was a bit dismayed to see the Mavericks lose their composure against a full-court press again, but after all, they did win, so I don't want to get too down on them. Let's just say they might need to grab a little practice time breaking presses.
Analytics
The Mavs got 7 more shots up than the Spurs, and had a much more efficient shot attempt distribution. Dallas ended the game +24 in points from threes, and -20 in points from twos. In addition to shooting 40% from long range for 16 made threes, the Mavericks won the possession game with a 13-5 advantage in offensive rebounding (4 from Maxi, 3 each from DFS and Luka) and a 12-4 difference in second-chance points. They were also able to capitalize on turnovers, earning 24 points from San Antonio giveaways, while giving up only 16 as a result of their own. The Spurs, on the other hand, had a 22-8 edge in fast-break points, taking advantage of the Mavs' turnovers.
Players
Porzingis (35 min). KP had a pretty bad first half, and just couldn't seem to establish a rhythm. He came out stronger in the second half. Although he was still missing shots (4-15), he is starting to give us a sense of what the team might be when he ultimately gets it together. He had back-to-back threes at one point, and executed a rare big-to-big alley oop with Powell that Carlisle termed "pretty f'ing cool."
The TNT crew kept harping on KP's failure to post up, as if the game were played in their eras. Rick gave a postgame rant, asserting that they don't want KP or anyone else posting up, as a general matter, as the post-up is a low percentage play. Rick said Luka can post up if he has a small guy on him, and Rick is okay with KP posting up once in a while, but posting up is not part of their game plan. They want guys on the perimeter, or getting to the basket instead. FWIW, Chuck Cooperstein disagreed in theory, opining that big men who can post up are "devastating," but agreed that KP does not have the skills to make it work. So, there we have it.
DFS (33 min). Dorian quietly played an outstanding game. He didn't stuff the stat sheet (13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block), but had a very positive impact on the game with excellent fundamentals, and he did grab a little limelight with three beautiful threes. The kick-out pass to DFS in the corner is becoming one of the staples of the offense.
Luka (33 min). Luka looked a little rusty, as was to be expected, and didn't shoot well (9-23), but still ended up with a 23-10-8 line. He seemed a little winded at the end of the game, and admitted in the postgame sideline interview that he was "so tired," but looked remarkably good for a guy who hadn't played in a couple of weeks and was on his first game back from injury. What a thrill to have the Slovenian back in the saddle!
Maxi (31 min). Kleber played starter minutes, had a couple of exciting threes, and was active on the boards with 12 rebounds, 4 of them offensive. Powell (30 min). Dwight exhibited his excellent screening and rolling games to great advantage, and, as often occurs, had the team's highest +/- (+15). He was a little undersized to be guarding Aldridge, but did his best to make up for it on the offensive end. Hardaway (28 min) was outstanding, and was the team's second leading scorer with 17 points. He also contributed in other ways, and showed off his growing chemistry with Luka. He did head-scratchingly dribble the ball all the way down the court and out of bounds during the stretch sequence, but I guess we needn't dwell on that. Seth (16 min) didn't score, but had a candidate for play of the game, with a behind-the-back pass to Luka that had Doncic laughing even while he dunked. Not to be outdone, Luka returned the favor to Seth later in the game, behind-the-back and all.
Spurs. San Antonio still has a number of good players (Aldridge, DeRozan, Carroll, Belinelli, Gay, Mills, for a few examples), but they looked like a team at the end of their cycle. There was a surprising lack of intensity for a Pop team, and the Mavs looked the better side on the night. Mavs-Spurs was one of the league's great rivalries, and hopefully both teams will be good at the same time again sometime, for a revival of a titanic sports feud.
Remarks
The Mavs displayed a certain lack of energy that has been characteristic of their home play, and was a little surprising after the Toronto experience. However, it was wonderful to welcome Luka back, and it was also reassuring to see the Mavericks pull out a win, despite not playing that well. The squad brought a 3-home-game losing streak to an end, and hopefully this will be a harbinger of an uptick in performance at the AAC.
Next. Golden State on Saturday in San Francisco, followed by the Lakers in LA the next day.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Go Mavs!