02-29-2020, 03:19 AM
Mavs Spanked in Miami
The Mavericks surrendered another lead in a winnable match where they played well in some respects. If enough things go wrong at the same time, it becomes a perfect storm, and that's more or less how the game was lost.
Game Story
Dallas came into the game thin on healthy personnel. In addition to Powell's season-ending injury, Brunson was still nursing his shoulder. WCS continued to miss out for personal reasons. Luka came in with his wrist/thumb taped, and was clearly hampered by the injury, favoring the sore hand and looking uncomfortable all night. Seth was in the starting lineup again. Is this the season's starting unit now, or does Seth alternate with Maxi, depending on lineups?
At any rate, the Mavs were tied 31-all after the first quarter, thanks in part to seven made threes and a hot start from Tim. The Heat went on a 10-0 run in the second, and our boys were not able to recover, going into halftime with a 55-63 deficit. Luka and KP had mediocre first halves by their standards, combining to go 4-16 for 16 total points.
The Mavericks ultimately got it together in the third quarter, and after falling down by as much as 12 during the period, surprised with a dramatic 19-5 run in the last 3:36 that left them with a 93-88 advantage when the buzzer sounded. Luka, KP, and Seth all played the entire frame, and they combined for 33 of the team's 38 points. Back on track, eh?
Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men go aft agley -- sometimes in three minutes or so. A unit of Barea/Wright/Tim/DFS/Maxi was battered with a 0-13 Heat run in the first 3:16 of the fourth. Against a Heat bench lineup of Dragic/Iggy/Crowder/Robinson/Olynyk. Aargh. Perhaps it would be worth detailing this series of possessions. Scoring plays are bolded.
-- Tim personal foul. Followed by Tim shooting foul. Dragic hits both free throws.
-- Tim missed layup. Offensive rebound. Wright missed three.
-- Barea kicked ball. Wright personal foul. (Third Mavs foul in less than a minute). Robinson three.
-- DFS missed three.
-- Olynyk missed hook shot. Offensive rebound. Olynyk three.
-- Barea missed bank shot.
-- Crowder three.
-- Hardaway missed three.
-- Olynyk offensive foul.
-- Iggy personal foul. Barea missed fadeaway.
-- Iggy dunk.
Make of it what you will. From +5 to -8 in 3:16. Life comes at you fast.
Carlisle put KP, Luka and Seth back in at the 8:44 mark, and the starters (plus Maxi, who came in after Doe Doe was called for his fifth foul) played the Heat to a draw in the remaining minutes, and never came closer than a six-point deficit.
For the period, the Mavericks missed 14 shots, gave up 15 free throw attempts, had a 6-11 deficit in rebounding, and had an 0-7 disadvantage in second-chance points. Meanwhile, the Heat were 10-17 from the field, 5-9 from deep, and 13-15 from the line. Yikes.
Analytics
You know it's an unlucky night when you hit 21 threes and still lose. One factor would be a 19-36 differential in FTAs. As far as where the teams' relative scoring came from, the Mavs were +12 on points from threes (on 50 attempts), -10 on made free throws, and -10 on points from twos. Dallas was also on the wrong end of a 5-12 difference in second chance points, and a 5-13 difference in fast-break points. The Mavericks' shooting percentages were 48/42/89, while Miami racked up 52/49/75.
Despite a somewhat ignominious loss, some of the Mavs actually had a noteworthy game.
Players
KP (39 min) ended up with a healthy line, showing 24 points and 13 boards. But that doesn't really tell the whole story. He had a difficult first half, with Bam pretty much staying in his face/head. I think he adjusted in the second half, and made an excellent showing in the third quarter. Kudos to him/the coaching staff for finding an approach that worked. He was a less-than-efficient 9-21 from the field, although he did hit six threes. The Heat got too many easy baskets at the rim, even with Porzingis on the court. Let's look on the bright side, and assume the second half represents the "real" Unicorn.
Luka (38 minutes) looked fine in the box score (23-4-10), but didn't have one of his better games. He was 7-17 from the floor, and 0-6 from deep, although he did go 9-9 from the line. The scoresheet reflected 6 turnovers, but he would have had several more if it hadn't been for his teammates scrambling to recover lost or almost-lost balls, and making wild leaps to prevent errant passes from sailing astray. He seemed ill-at-ease and frustrated for much of the game, drawing a tech at one point for taunting the ref. I am tempted to point my finger at Luka's hand as the villain of this piece. It appeared to substantially affect his shooting, passing, and dribbling. He had it retaped at halftime, to little avail. He was listed as questionable before the game, but Rick said he wanted to play.
Luka celebrated his 21st birthday, and the team reportedly partied after the match at a local nightclub. Dirk flew in for the event, and hopefully a good time was had by all. You're in pretty rarefied air when you are 21 years old, register 23 points and 10 assists, and are judged to have had a ho-hum game. Coach noted that he didn't get some calls that arguably could have gone his way, and complimented him for continuing to attack.
Tim (37 min) dependably contributed 15 points.
Seth (36 min) put on a dazzling display of offensive firepower, and I think we need to celebrate it, even though it was sadly wasted in a loss. He had a career-high 37 points, going 13-15 from the floor and 8-9 from three. Are you kidding me?! The TV crew informed us that he has the second-highest career three-point percentage (.44) of any player in NBA history. He was bombing away with pinpoint accuracy, demoralizing his defenders, and striking Peja-like terror from the arc. He was coming off screens, stepping back, attacking the basket, disregarding hands in his face, passing out of double teams, creating shots, doing a decent defensive job, everything. What a weapon! Rick called his performance "phenomenal." If not for him, this would have been an embarrassing blowout. You did us proud, little Curry!
Bench. Sigh. The depleted reserves totaled 16 points on the night. This unit has been decimated. Seth moved to the starting unit. Brunson and WCS out. That left Maxi (29 min), Wright (17 min), Barea (12 min), and MKG and Boban for brief appearances. Feels like Rick may have some more tinkering to do. The continuing injuries are like a game of whack-a-mole. One guy comes back, and another goes out. I'm scratching my head over whether there is a high-impact fix for this group.
Heat. Jimmy Butler was a little much for the likes of the Mavs defenders, and he put 26 points up and earned 12 FTAs. Duncan Robinson absolutely torched Dallas with 24 points on 8-11 shooting, including 6 threes. Bam Adebayo took on KP, and recorded 14 points and 11 boards. What a name. Bam. Sounds peppy! This is a very good Miami team. I don't know if they are better than the Mavs on the whole, but they were the better team on the night.
Remarks
Rick was disappointed with the performance, while admitting that the team did some good things. He thought they didn't establish much traction on either end of the court, and fell short in some fundamental areas like fouling too much, giving up too many threes, and failing to rebound adequately. The Heat made extensive use of the zone defense, and Rick felt the team responded too passively, acknowledging that he should have had them better prepared. Considering how well the Mavs shoot threes, you would think they wouldn't see a lot in the way of zone defenses, and maybe they just need a little more familiarity.
The third quarter run is an illustration of the Mavs' ability to score on opponents very quickly. That is a positive. The defensive end was a huge problem in this contest, from all areas of the court, and that is a tougher nut to crack. I don't think the roster "as is" will turn into any kind of defensive juggernaut this season, but I know they can do better than this.
A relatively more fixable issue might relate to game management, combined with sharpening up their attack on zone defenses. Miami forced Dallas into a lot of long possessions, with late-clock shot attempts. As time grew short, the Mavericks really needed to pick up the tempo, and they somehow failed to do that, either at all, or effectively. A lot of that had to do with the Heat, but the Mavs were also dribbling the air out of the ball, making a lot of extra passes, and taking their time, when the point had come to go for quick scores in order to survive. That is probably also a coaching thing, and something I think they can become more attentive to.
This was an entertaining spectacle, and watching Seth's amazing night was a thrill. It was disappointing in the sense that it felt like they let another one slip away. One does have to give credit to the Heat, though. They made it tough on their home floor, and they should be a formidable opponent in the East. The Mavs felt like a work in progress, which after all, is as it should be. Miami was a worthy foe, and hopefully our team will have gotten some valuable experience out of the effort.
Next. The Mavs face Minnesota in a Sunday matinee.
The Mavericks surrendered another lead in a winnable match where they played well in some respects. If enough things go wrong at the same time, it becomes a perfect storm, and that's more or less how the game was lost.
Game Story
Dallas came into the game thin on healthy personnel. In addition to Powell's season-ending injury, Brunson was still nursing his shoulder. WCS continued to miss out for personal reasons. Luka came in with his wrist/thumb taped, and was clearly hampered by the injury, favoring the sore hand and looking uncomfortable all night. Seth was in the starting lineup again. Is this the season's starting unit now, or does Seth alternate with Maxi, depending on lineups?
At any rate, the Mavs were tied 31-all after the first quarter, thanks in part to seven made threes and a hot start from Tim. The Heat went on a 10-0 run in the second, and our boys were not able to recover, going into halftime with a 55-63 deficit. Luka and KP had mediocre first halves by their standards, combining to go 4-16 for 16 total points.
The Mavericks ultimately got it together in the third quarter, and after falling down by as much as 12 during the period, surprised with a dramatic 19-5 run in the last 3:36 that left them with a 93-88 advantage when the buzzer sounded. Luka, KP, and Seth all played the entire frame, and they combined for 33 of the team's 38 points. Back on track, eh?
Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men go aft agley -- sometimes in three minutes or so. A unit of Barea/Wright/Tim/DFS/Maxi was battered with a 0-13 Heat run in the first 3:16 of the fourth. Against a Heat bench lineup of Dragic/Iggy/Crowder/Robinson/Olynyk. Aargh. Perhaps it would be worth detailing this series of possessions. Scoring plays are bolded.
-- Tim personal foul. Followed by Tim shooting foul. Dragic hits both free throws.
-- Tim missed layup. Offensive rebound. Wright missed three.
-- Barea kicked ball. Wright personal foul. (Third Mavs foul in less than a minute). Robinson three.
-- DFS missed three.
-- Olynyk missed hook shot. Offensive rebound. Olynyk three.
-- Barea missed bank shot.
-- Crowder three.
-- Hardaway missed three.
-- Olynyk offensive foul.
-- Iggy personal foul. Barea missed fadeaway.
-- Iggy dunk.
Make of it what you will. From +5 to -8 in 3:16. Life comes at you fast.
Carlisle put KP, Luka and Seth back in at the 8:44 mark, and the starters (plus Maxi, who came in after Doe Doe was called for his fifth foul) played the Heat to a draw in the remaining minutes, and never came closer than a six-point deficit.
For the period, the Mavericks missed 14 shots, gave up 15 free throw attempts, had a 6-11 deficit in rebounding, and had an 0-7 disadvantage in second-chance points. Meanwhile, the Heat were 10-17 from the field, 5-9 from deep, and 13-15 from the line. Yikes.
Analytics
You know it's an unlucky night when you hit 21 threes and still lose. One factor would be a 19-36 differential in FTAs. As far as where the teams' relative scoring came from, the Mavs were +12 on points from threes (on 50 attempts), -10 on made free throws, and -10 on points from twos. Dallas was also on the wrong end of a 5-12 difference in second chance points, and a 5-13 difference in fast-break points. The Mavericks' shooting percentages were 48/42/89, while Miami racked up 52/49/75.
Despite a somewhat ignominious loss, some of the Mavs actually had a noteworthy game.
Players
KP (39 min) ended up with a healthy line, showing 24 points and 13 boards. But that doesn't really tell the whole story. He had a difficult first half, with Bam pretty much staying in his face/head. I think he adjusted in the second half, and made an excellent showing in the third quarter. Kudos to him/the coaching staff for finding an approach that worked. He was a less-than-efficient 9-21 from the field, although he did hit six threes. The Heat got too many easy baskets at the rim, even with Porzingis on the court. Let's look on the bright side, and assume the second half represents the "real" Unicorn.
Luka (38 minutes) looked fine in the box score (23-4-10), but didn't have one of his better games. He was 7-17 from the floor, and 0-6 from deep, although he did go 9-9 from the line. The scoresheet reflected 6 turnovers, but he would have had several more if it hadn't been for his teammates scrambling to recover lost or almost-lost balls, and making wild leaps to prevent errant passes from sailing astray. He seemed ill-at-ease and frustrated for much of the game, drawing a tech at one point for taunting the ref. I am tempted to point my finger at Luka's hand as the villain of this piece. It appeared to substantially affect his shooting, passing, and dribbling. He had it retaped at halftime, to little avail. He was listed as questionable before the game, but Rick said he wanted to play.
Luka celebrated his 21st birthday, and the team reportedly partied after the match at a local nightclub. Dirk flew in for the event, and hopefully a good time was had by all. You're in pretty rarefied air when you are 21 years old, register 23 points and 10 assists, and are judged to have had a ho-hum game. Coach noted that he didn't get some calls that arguably could have gone his way, and complimented him for continuing to attack.
Tim (37 min) dependably contributed 15 points.
Seth (36 min) put on a dazzling display of offensive firepower, and I think we need to celebrate it, even though it was sadly wasted in a loss. He had a career-high 37 points, going 13-15 from the floor and 8-9 from three. Are you kidding me?! The TV crew informed us that he has the second-highest career three-point percentage (.44) of any player in NBA history. He was bombing away with pinpoint accuracy, demoralizing his defenders, and striking Peja-like terror from the arc. He was coming off screens, stepping back, attacking the basket, disregarding hands in his face, passing out of double teams, creating shots, doing a decent defensive job, everything. What a weapon! Rick called his performance "phenomenal." If not for him, this would have been an embarrassing blowout. You did us proud, little Curry!
Bench. Sigh. The depleted reserves totaled 16 points on the night. This unit has been decimated. Seth moved to the starting unit. Brunson and WCS out. That left Maxi (29 min), Wright (17 min), Barea (12 min), and MKG and Boban for brief appearances. Feels like Rick may have some more tinkering to do. The continuing injuries are like a game of whack-a-mole. One guy comes back, and another goes out. I'm scratching my head over whether there is a high-impact fix for this group.
Heat. Jimmy Butler was a little much for the likes of the Mavs defenders, and he put 26 points up and earned 12 FTAs. Duncan Robinson absolutely torched Dallas with 24 points on 8-11 shooting, including 6 threes. Bam Adebayo took on KP, and recorded 14 points and 11 boards. What a name. Bam. Sounds peppy! This is a very good Miami team. I don't know if they are better than the Mavs on the whole, but they were the better team on the night.
Remarks
Rick was disappointed with the performance, while admitting that the team did some good things. He thought they didn't establish much traction on either end of the court, and fell short in some fundamental areas like fouling too much, giving up too many threes, and failing to rebound adequately. The Heat made extensive use of the zone defense, and Rick felt the team responded too passively, acknowledging that he should have had them better prepared. Considering how well the Mavs shoot threes, you would think they wouldn't see a lot in the way of zone defenses, and maybe they just need a little more familiarity.
The third quarter run is an illustration of the Mavs' ability to score on opponents very quickly. That is a positive. The defensive end was a huge problem in this contest, from all areas of the court, and that is a tougher nut to crack. I don't think the roster "as is" will turn into any kind of defensive juggernaut this season, but I know they can do better than this.
A relatively more fixable issue might relate to game management, combined with sharpening up their attack on zone defenses. Miami forced Dallas into a lot of long possessions, with late-clock shot attempts. As time grew short, the Mavericks really needed to pick up the tempo, and they somehow failed to do that, either at all, or effectively. A lot of that had to do with the Heat, but the Mavs were also dribbling the air out of the ball, making a lot of extra passes, and taking their time, when the point had come to go for quick scores in order to survive. That is probably also a coaching thing, and something I think they can become more attentive to.
This was an entertaining spectacle, and watching Seth's amazing night was a thrill. It was disappointing in the sense that it felt like they let another one slip away. One does have to give credit to the Heat, though. They made it tough on their home floor, and they should be a formidable opponent in the East. The Mavs felt like a work in progress, which after all, is as it should be. Miami was a worthy foe, and hopefully our team will have gotten some valuable experience out of the effort.
Next. The Mavs face Minnesota in a Sunday matinee.