03-11-2020, 03:05 AM
Mavs Collapse Again
Aargh. I'm having trouble coming up with an upbeat angle for this one. The Mavericks surrendered a 13-point lead in the third quarter to end the game with a 10-point deficit in San Antonio. Such a bummer.
Game Story
The Mavericks were really banged up entering this one, with Curry (ankle), WCS (illness), MKG (illness) on the injured list, along with Brunson and Powell. Luka played with both hands braced, due to a sprained left thumb and a sprained right wrist. DFS was listed as questionable, but suited up. No word on KP's ankle. Poetl and Murray were out for the Spurs. The starting lineup consisted of Luka/THJ/DFS/KP/Lee.
Dallas had a small lead at the end of the first two quarters (29-27, 59-54). At 9:51 in the third period, they had built a 13-point advantage. A combination of Mavs turnovers and Spurs threes got San Antonio back in the game. The visitors amassed a 9-point lead at 3:07, when the Spurs went on a 12-5 run to leave our boys with an 85-83 edge going into the fourth.
The fourth started with an unusual lineup of Luka/Wright/THJ/Maxi/Boban. Rick put the starters back in at 8:40, with the Mavs down by 8. At 4:07, our men were within 3. Then the wheels came off.
The remaining possessions included a missed KP 31' three, a missed Luka 30' three, a missed Luka 27' three, KP loose ball foul, KP bad pass turnover, two intentional fouls (resulting in 4 Spurs points), and a KP kicked ball. The Spurs went on a 12-5 run, and the game was mercifully over.
Analytics
The Mavs put up 12 more 3PTAs than the Spurs, but shot 39% from long range, compared to their opponent's 47%. At the end of the day, the Mavs were +6 on points from threes, -4 on made free throws, and -12 on points from twos. The refs didn't call many fouls, and the two teams combined for only 26 free throw attempts. Dallas gave up 24 points off turnovers, and surrendered 20 fast break points. They also allowed 10 blocks against them, and had only 23 assisted baskets (55%), while the Spurs had 32 (70%). Neither side had many PIP (Mavs 38, Spurs 34), with the Mavs relying heavily on threes, and the home team feasting on midrange shots.
Players
Porzingis (38 min) had his second terrible game in a row. He scored 9 points, going 4-15 from the field, and 1-8 from three. Ai-yi-yi. He had 12 boards and a couple of blocks, but seemed to be in a low-energy mode throughout the game. Probably the nadir was a play where, in order to avoid a turnover, he threw the ball off a Spurs player. As the ball rolled toward the basket, KP made a lackadaisical effort to run it down, and a Spurs player stole it out from under him. It is possible that his ankle is bothering him. He has also played very long minutes in consecutive games, and maybe there was a fatigue factor involved. What is apparent is that this team cannot survive such poor nights from KP, certainly not without more help from the other players. I don't know what to tell you. He had been playing so well.
DFS (38 min) was a welcome sight on the court, returning from his hip flexor injury. He continued his trend of making an offensive contribution, with 15 points, including 3 triples. He made an effort to guard the perimeter, but that's just not a one-man job.
Hardaway (37 min) had another great game, albeit in another loss. He put up 20 points, including 4 threes, and had 7 boards and a couple of steals. He missed both free throws in a fourth quarter trip to the line, but that didn't turn out to make much of a difference. He led the team in +/-, at 0. Yikes. At any rate, a bright spot in the game.
Luka (36 min) stuffed the stat sheet, earning 38 points, including 6 treys, and adding 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and two steals to his line. I thought it was a positive development that the team got him some catch-and-shoot attempts, and would like to see a little more of that. The local podcasters have been analyzing team statistics in clutch situations. They're pretty horrendous. Luka has a terrible three-point percentage in the clutch (18%). He and KP are in the habit of taking these very long threes that usually don't go in. It's exciting when they do, but maybe they could work out some higher-percentage attempts for the two stars.
Maxi (31 min) had 12 points and 5 boards, but I thought he faded as the game went on. He had only 4 points in the second half, and seemed to struggle to have an impact defensively in the last 24. He anchored the team in +/-, at -16. Carlisle has said before that he likes to keep Maxi's minutes under 20, and he has been exceeding 30 for a while now, with all the injuries. I wonder if he might be getting worn down.
Lee (22 min) had two steals and a block, and made both of his free throws after drawing a clear path foul in the fourth. However, he took only one shot the entire game. I am wondering if he is intended to be out there only for defensive purposes, as he rarely gets many shots or touches. If so, that may be somewhat of a waste of a two-way player, but maybe he's only a temporary fill-in and they don't feel a need to fit him into the offense. Who knows?
Wright (19 min) was 7-4-4 off the bench, and did a decent job in his reserve role. Jackson (10 min) was 2-2-2 in short minutes. Boban (9 min) had a few minutes at the end of the first, beginning of the second, and beginning of the fourth. He was 2-6 from the floor, and had 4 points, 1 rebound, and 2 fouls. Carlisle took him out after a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter, after he was stripped a couple of times by LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge arguably should have been called for fouls on those plays, but Bobi didn't get those calls.
Spurs. San Antonio had 7 guys in double figures. Several of them did a number on us. The Mavs' defensive scheme tends to concentrate on the paint and the three-point line, giving up midrange shots if necessary. The Spurs took appropriate advantage.
Remarks
The MMB After Dark podcast observed that the Mavs looked like a shorthanded, tired, frustrated, injured team. I would agree with that point of view. The podcasters noted the mistakes, sloppiness, and lack of effort in a rivalry game, but thought Dallas would have won if KP had had a decent outing. Locked on Mavericks had a take that the Mavs should sit Luka and KP on the second night of the back-to-back, or longer, if that is what it takes. They're pretty well locked into the 7th seed, and the thought was that it might give them a needed rest without costing anything in the way of standings slippage.
One has to acknowledge the numerous injuries in assigning reasons for this disappointing loss. The team especially misses Seth, who is a more important player than some would think. In addition to their customary crumbling in the last minutes, I thought they appeared to just run out of gas in the second half. They had had a day without a game, but the extra-long minutes they have had to play for a good while now may be taking their toll. Whatever is ailing Porzee, they need to figure it out pronto.
Well, as those great philosophers Orphan Annie and Scarlett O'Hara said, there's always tomorrow.
Next. The Mavs face Denver on the SEGABABA. Might be a tough one.
Hang in there, MFFLs.
Aargh. I'm having trouble coming up with an upbeat angle for this one. The Mavericks surrendered a 13-point lead in the third quarter to end the game with a 10-point deficit in San Antonio. Such a bummer.
Game Story
The Mavericks were really banged up entering this one, with Curry (ankle), WCS (illness), MKG (illness) on the injured list, along with Brunson and Powell. Luka played with both hands braced, due to a sprained left thumb and a sprained right wrist. DFS was listed as questionable, but suited up. No word on KP's ankle. Poetl and Murray were out for the Spurs. The starting lineup consisted of Luka/THJ/DFS/KP/Lee.
Dallas had a small lead at the end of the first two quarters (29-27, 59-54). At 9:51 in the third period, they had built a 13-point advantage. A combination of Mavs turnovers and Spurs threes got San Antonio back in the game. The visitors amassed a 9-point lead at 3:07, when the Spurs went on a 12-5 run to leave our boys with an 85-83 edge going into the fourth.
The fourth started with an unusual lineup of Luka/Wright/THJ/Maxi/Boban. Rick put the starters back in at 8:40, with the Mavs down by 8. At 4:07, our men were within 3. Then the wheels came off.
The remaining possessions included a missed KP 31' three, a missed Luka 30' three, a missed Luka 27' three, KP loose ball foul, KP bad pass turnover, two intentional fouls (resulting in 4 Spurs points), and a KP kicked ball. The Spurs went on a 12-5 run, and the game was mercifully over.
Analytics
The Mavs put up 12 more 3PTAs than the Spurs, but shot 39% from long range, compared to their opponent's 47%. At the end of the day, the Mavs were +6 on points from threes, -4 on made free throws, and -12 on points from twos. The refs didn't call many fouls, and the two teams combined for only 26 free throw attempts. Dallas gave up 24 points off turnovers, and surrendered 20 fast break points. They also allowed 10 blocks against them, and had only 23 assisted baskets (55%), while the Spurs had 32 (70%). Neither side had many PIP (Mavs 38, Spurs 34), with the Mavs relying heavily on threes, and the home team feasting on midrange shots.
Players
Porzingis (38 min) had his second terrible game in a row. He scored 9 points, going 4-15 from the field, and 1-8 from three. Ai-yi-yi. He had 12 boards and a couple of blocks, but seemed to be in a low-energy mode throughout the game. Probably the nadir was a play where, in order to avoid a turnover, he threw the ball off a Spurs player. As the ball rolled toward the basket, KP made a lackadaisical effort to run it down, and a Spurs player stole it out from under him. It is possible that his ankle is bothering him. He has also played very long minutes in consecutive games, and maybe there was a fatigue factor involved. What is apparent is that this team cannot survive such poor nights from KP, certainly not without more help from the other players. I don't know what to tell you. He had been playing so well.
DFS (38 min) was a welcome sight on the court, returning from his hip flexor injury. He continued his trend of making an offensive contribution, with 15 points, including 3 triples. He made an effort to guard the perimeter, but that's just not a one-man job.
Hardaway (37 min) had another great game, albeit in another loss. He put up 20 points, including 4 threes, and had 7 boards and a couple of steals. He missed both free throws in a fourth quarter trip to the line, but that didn't turn out to make much of a difference. He led the team in +/-, at 0. Yikes. At any rate, a bright spot in the game.
Luka (36 min) stuffed the stat sheet, earning 38 points, including 6 treys, and adding 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and two steals to his line. I thought it was a positive development that the team got him some catch-and-shoot attempts, and would like to see a little more of that. The local podcasters have been analyzing team statistics in clutch situations. They're pretty horrendous. Luka has a terrible three-point percentage in the clutch (18%). He and KP are in the habit of taking these very long threes that usually don't go in. It's exciting when they do, but maybe they could work out some higher-percentage attempts for the two stars.
Maxi (31 min) had 12 points and 5 boards, but I thought he faded as the game went on. He had only 4 points in the second half, and seemed to struggle to have an impact defensively in the last 24. He anchored the team in +/-, at -16. Carlisle has said before that he likes to keep Maxi's minutes under 20, and he has been exceeding 30 for a while now, with all the injuries. I wonder if he might be getting worn down.
Lee (22 min) had two steals and a block, and made both of his free throws after drawing a clear path foul in the fourth. However, he took only one shot the entire game. I am wondering if he is intended to be out there only for defensive purposes, as he rarely gets many shots or touches. If so, that may be somewhat of a waste of a two-way player, but maybe he's only a temporary fill-in and they don't feel a need to fit him into the offense. Who knows?
Wright (19 min) was 7-4-4 off the bench, and did a decent job in his reserve role. Jackson (10 min) was 2-2-2 in short minutes. Boban (9 min) had a few minutes at the end of the first, beginning of the second, and beginning of the fourth. He was 2-6 from the floor, and had 4 points, 1 rebound, and 2 fouls. Carlisle took him out after a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter, after he was stripped a couple of times by LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge arguably should have been called for fouls on those plays, but Bobi didn't get those calls.
Spurs. San Antonio had 7 guys in double figures. Several of them did a number on us. The Mavs' defensive scheme tends to concentrate on the paint and the three-point line, giving up midrange shots if necessary. The Spurs took appropriate advantage.
Remarks
The MMB After Dark podcast observed that the Mavs looked like a shorthanded, tired, frustrated, injured team. I would agree with that point of view. The podcasters noted the mistakes, sloppiness, and lack of effort in a rivalry game, but thought Dallas would have won if KP had had a decent outing. Locked on Mavericks had a take that the Mavs should sit Luka and KP on the second night of the back-to-back, or longer, if that is what it takes. They're pretty well locked into the 7th seed, and the thought was that it might give them a needed rest without costing anything in the way of standings slippage.
One has to acknowledge the numerous injuries in assigning reasons for this disappointing loss. The team especially misses Seth, who is a more important player than some would think. In addition to their customary crumbling in the last minutes, I thought they appeared to just run out of gas in the second half. They had had a day without a game, but the extra-long minutes they have had to play for a good while now may be taking their toll. Whatever is ailing Porzee, they need to figure it out pronto.
Well, as those great philosophers Orphan Annie and Scarlett O'Hara said, there's always tomorrow.
Next. The Mavs face Denver on the SEGABABA. Might be a tough one.
Hang in there, MFFLs.