GAME 34: BRK (16-17) @ DAL (22-12) | 123-111 win

[j0Shi]

Keys:

• Overcome injuries and scouting: The Mavs once stellar offensive rating has come down a little bit recently (still #1 though). A lot of it has to do with injuries, but also teams countering what the Mavs and Luka try to do. This will surely continue in 2020 and Dallas has to find ways to stay effective. The good news: Their rating during their recent skid would still rank top 10 in the league.
  
• Make a stand: Mavs now play six at home where they've struggled so far. Imho the AAC crowd is just weak outside crunch time so Dallas has to find other ways to dominate at home. Would be nice to go on a streak against manageable competition.
  
• Another scheduled loss? Back-2-backs are down, but definitely feels like the Mavs always get the tough ones. Recently we played at Toronto and at Staples on the tail end of a three in four. Now we get another three in four versus Denver, Lakers and 76ers. Thanks, but no thanks. Couldn't we get them first and then play the 3-in-4 vs Chicago, Brooklyn, and Charlotte? I'm sure the NBA does as best as it can, but some schedule situations are just bullshit. Give us a balanced round robin system already you jerks! On the other hand: Maybe we'll be mostly healthy by then.
  
• Crunch time issues or regression? A lot of talk about the Mavs choking away wins, but imho it's more a general regression and them looking tired. Will be interesting how Dallas is able to recover on the fly as the season is now just picking up. On way or the other, the Mavs flow is somewhat gone and they need to find ways to get it back.
  
• Brunson, Jackson, Powell: With guys being out Dallas needs more consistency from their role players. You could easily add Curry and Wright to this list, but I chose the three most obvious ones. Kleber is pretty much the only one performing on nightly basis.
  
• Call Reaves up? Reaves is playing well in the G-League and he seems to be a natural fill-in for Broekhoff. I hope the Mavs give him a shot now. He's a decent scorer and bulldog on defense.