12-30-2019, 03:43 AM
Mavs Fall to Lakers in Lackluster Showing
A game that had been heavily hyped turned out to be a bit of a yawner. Mavs just didn't have it.
Game Story and Analytics
The venue was Staples Center. The Lakers were missing DeMarcus Cousins on a long-term rehab. Mavs entered the game at full strength. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Lakers took the lead toward the end of the first quarter and never surrendered it. In fact, they took a double-digit lead in the second and never surrendered that. The Mavericks lost Tim Hardaway, Jr. to a hamstring injury in the first quarter. Luka fell awkwardly in connection with a Howard foul in the third. He got up, and eventually returned to the game, but didn't look fully himself. KP was called for his fifth foul in the third quarter. With 4:39 left in the game, and the Mavs down 13, Rick put the starters back in. They missed six shots and fell further behind. Just a night where too many things went wrong.
Statistically, Dallas lost the game with extremely poor shooting, combined with failure to guard the rim, and 25 points lost on 18 turnovers. The Mavericks actually got up 11 more shots than the Lakers, and took 20 more three-point shots, but couldn't capitalize. The Lakers had a massive 54 points in the paint -- fully half of their total points. The opponent got to the basket pretty much at will, and the Mavs were battling LA's size advantages all night. The Lakers defense had a lot to do with the Mavericks' failure to score, but the Mavs also missed good looks. The Mavs never even produced a run on either end of the court, and kept turning the ball over in barfworthy fashion.
Remarks
I don't think it's productive to go through a player-by-player analysis of this match. Luka had a poor game by his lofty standards, scoring only 19 points on 5-14 shooting, and recording a 7:6 assist/turnover ratio. KP was invisible in stretches, and struggled with foul trouble. The bench, for the most part, were ineffectual. There was a Barea sighting, and the little Puerto Rican scored 12 points in 13 minutes, but even the emergency secret sauce was unable to make a dent in the Lakers' dominance. The team missed THJ. It was painful watching the Mavericks try to guard Anthony Davis.
The refs were letting the Lakers play very rough, and I thought for a while that the Lakers were able to throw the Mavs off with physical (illegal?) moves. I'm sure that was a factor, but on further consideration, the Mavericks looked off from the jump. They appeared lethargic and lacking in intensity the whole game. Maybe the back-to-back caught up to them, although the starters didn't play the full game against GSW.
I fear that this game might be a preview of what the young Mavs might look like in the playoffs, when they face teams with size and physicality, the refs let them play, and the opponents focus on locking down Luka. The squad doesn't always respond well to pressure., and we saw a number of mental mistakes in this game. I have a certain degree of optimism over a series, largely because of Carlisle's superior adjustment skills. Also, this is a team that learns fast, and even if they lost a playoff series, I believe that they would benefit greatly from the experience. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. This was one game, and this level of clusterfaff is rare for the Mavs. It is galling to lose this way to the hated Lakers, but it's one game, and even great teams have an occasional off night.
For now, I'm saying this match was an outlier, and it should serve as a teaching moment. The most concerning aspect of the game were the injuries to Tim and Luka.
Next. Chris Paul and the Thunder on Tuesday in OKC.
Keep the faith!
A game that had been heavily hyped turned out to be a bit of a yawner. Mavs just didn't have it.
Game Story and Analytics
The venue was Staples Center. The Lakers were missing DeMarcus Cousins on a long-term rehab. Mavs entered the game at full strength. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Lakers took the lead toward the end of the first quarter and never surrendered it. In fact, they took a double-digit lead in the second and never surrendered that. The Mavericks lost Tim Hardaway, Jr. to a hamstring injury in the first quarter. Luka fell awkwardly in connection with a Howard foul in the third. He got up, and eventually returned to the game, but didn't look fully himself. KP was called for his fifth foul in the third quarter. With 4:39 left in the game, and the Mavs down 13, Rick put the starters back in. They missed six shots and fell further behind. Just a night where too many things went wrong.
Statistically, Dallas lost the game with extremely poor shooting, combined with failure to guard the rim, and 25 points lost on 18 turnovers. The Mavericks actually got up 11 more shots than the Lakers, and took 20 more three-point shots, but couldn't capitalize. The Lakers had a massive 54 points in the paint -- fully half of their total points. The opponent got to the basket pretty much at will, and the Mavs were battling LA's size advantages all night. The Lakers defense had a lot to do with the Mavericks' failure to score, but the Mavs also missed good looks. The Mavs never even produced a run on either end of the court, and kept turning the ball over in barfworthy fashion.
Remarks
I don't think it's productive to go through a player-by-player analysis of this match. Luka had a poor game by his lofty standards, scoring only 19 points on 5-14 shooting, and recording a 7:6 assist/turnover ratio. KP was invisible in stretches, and struggled with foul trouble. The bench, for the most part, were ineffectual. There was a Barea sighting, and the little Puerto Rican scored 12 points in 13 minutes, but even the emergency secret sauce was unable to make a dent in the Lakers' dominance. The team missed THJ. It was painful watching the Mavericks try to guard Anthony Davis.
The refs were letting the Lakers play very rough, and I thought for a while that the Lakers were able to throw the Mavs off with physical (illegal?) moves. I'm sure that was a factor, but on further consideration, the Mavericks looked off from the jump. They appeared lethargic and lacking in intensity the whole game. Maybe the back-to-back caught up to them, although the starters didn't play the full game against GSW.
I fear that this game might be a preview of what the young Mavs might look like in the playoffs, when they face teams with size and physicality, the refs let them play, and the opponents focus on locking down Luka. The squad doesn't always respond well to pressure., and we saw a number of mental mistakes in this game. I have a certain degree of optimism over a series, largely because of Carlisle's superior adjustment skills. Also, this is a team that learns fast, and even if they lost a playoff series, I believe that they would benefit greatly from the experience. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. This was one game, and this level of clusterfaff is rare for the Mavs. It is galling to lose this way to the hated Lakers, but it's one game, and even great teams have an occasional off night.
For now, I'm saying this match was an outlier, and it should serve as a teaching moment. The most concerning aspect of the game were the injuries to Tim and Luka.
Next. Chris Paul and the Thunder on Tuesday in OKC.
Keep the faith!