MAVS 91, CLIPPERS 97

[mavsluvr]

MAVS COME UP SHORT IN LOS ANGELES

The Mavericks entered the contest in LA hoping to break their two-game losing streak, and to get a bit of revenge against their two-time playoff nemesis. Alas, it wasn’t in the cards, but the Mavs kept the scoreline respectable, despite a dismal shooting performance. 


GAME NOTES

The Mavs were pleased to welcome Maxi back to the active roster. Luka was a game-time decision, but wasn’t able to go. Kawhi, Batum, and Marcus Morris were out for the Clippers. Kidd selected Brunson-THJ-DFS-KP-Powell as the starting unit. 

The Bally studio crew talked about what the Mavs wanted to focus on in this match.  They want to give particular attention to their transition defense, and their defense within the first ten seconds of the shot clock, both of which were subpar in Phoenix. Also, the Mavs would like to play their offense through KP, but acknowledge that it’s not a simple matter. Without Luka on the floor, defenses can collapse on KP, and the Clippers have big enough lineups to bother him. Harp added that they will also be trying to avoid disappearing late in the game. 

Post-game report on these objectives -- Haven't looked at the stats yet on defense in the first ten seconds. The Mavs were successful in playing through KP, but did falter in the third (15 points -- woof!) and fourth. 

FIRST QUARTER

Mavs open with a KP post up, but KP misses. They try it again, but still come up empty. Zubac opens the scoring with one of two free throws. Tim-KP alley-oop gets the Mavs on the board. Brunson hits Dallas’ first three. KP is fouled on a transition attempt. Hits both FTs. KP off the window. 9-8 6:35

Powell hits a corner three! Kleber and Willie check in for Powell and KP. Maxi collects his first rebound immediately. Mavs with a couple of turnovers here. Clippers bench is making a push. Burke pull-up is good, but Ibaka earns free throws on the following possession. 14-19 2:57

Kleber drops in a three! Brunson returns to the lineup, scores with a little floater. Mavs making a little run. KP earns free throws, makes one of two. Jalen with a baseline jumper. Brunson misses transition attempt to close the quarter, but Mavs are on a 10-0 scoring streak. 

22-19 after one

Mavs are 3-6 from three, Clips 2-10. KP and Jalen lead the Mavs with 7 points apiece. 

SECOND QUARTER

KP draws another foul, the third he has drawn in the game. Clips having trouble defending him without fouling. Kleber way short on a three-point try, draws jeers from the LA crowd. KP OR and put back. KP in the paint over three defenders. KP turnaround jumper over Paul George. Woot!  28-26 7:44

Brunson steal results in free throws for Doe-Doe. Hits both. Dorian drive to the basket, straight-line, unguarded. Frank gets on the board with a three. KP draws another foul on an offensive rebound. Brunson pull-up off a DP screen. Drive by DP, shoots over Zubac. 39-30 4:53

Powell can’t defend Zubac, who blows by him. Trey Burke says hi to the window. Mavs collapse on Zubac, but he still earns free throws. DFS-DP alley oop late in the clock! Paul George jam over KP. Timmy airballs a corner three. Reggie Jackson three over Burke. George called for his third foul, tripping Trey Burke. Wow, Jackson with another three. KP fouled on another OR. Jackson draws free throws on a drive — that’s the third foul on KP.  Bullock misses a three at the buzzer. 

47-46 HT

We have a low-scoring game here. Mavs only 4-18 (22%) from distance. DFS-THJ-Maxi-Frank combine for 4-24. Oof. KP leading the Mavs with 15 points. Zubac has 13 for LA. 

THIRD QUARTER

KP called for his fourth foul, first rattle out of the box. Paul George corner three over Porzee. Jackson flattens THJ on a three-point attempt, Tim hits all three FTs. FN has an injured calf, will not return to the game. KP remains on the court with four fouls. DP way short on a three. Powell shooting 40% on threes this season (6-15). DP scores inside. Three-second call on Zubac, as PG tries to post Brunson up. Jackson pull-up three. Dang. Score going the wrong way here. 52-58 7:42

PG bombs in a three. Brunson scores in the paint, ending a 10-0 LA run. Aargh, Jackson from three again. KP hook shot over PG. THJ called for an offensive foul. He’s struggling today. S Brown comes in for him. PG over JB, Paul has it going now. Willie left open, knocks a long jumper down! KP flush from Brunson. 60-66 4:20

Jackson drives for a bucket. Had forgotten what a Mavs-killer this guy is. Mavs are successfully dishing to Reggie, but he can’t hit anything. Similar story with Sterling. Clips force a turnover by Sterling. Clips drive and dish for a Terence Mann wide open three. 

62-71 after three

Mavs with a dreadful 15-point quarter. Yikes. 0-6 from three, 6-20 from two. Clips shooting 56%, overall and from distance. Yuck.

FOURTH QUARTER

Boban is out there now. Boban over Ibaka! Woo-hoo! Kennard answers with a three. Brunson lands a couple FTs. Eric Bledsoe blows by the Mavs for his first basket of the game. Bobi salvages a play with a bucket. Ibaka over Boban. Bobi fouled posting up Ibaka. Hits both freebies. Powell in for Bobi. THJ-MK alley oop. Paul George offensive foul for a push on Maxi. Hardaway big three! Paul George unguarded corner three. How did that happen? Mann fouled on transition attempt. 75-81 6:49

KP back in. Mann hits the free throws. Jackson in the paint again. Mann easily gets by THJ, bucket gives Clips their biggest lead so far. Mavs can’t score for anything.  75-87 4:52

Brunson hits 3-3 from the line. DFS corner three. Zubac one of two from the line. Brunson over Kennard in the paint. 8-1 Mavs run. 83-88 3:22 

KP cuts and scores. PG draws foul on JB, hits both freebies. KP over Mann, from JB. PG blows by Bullock for a bucket. 87-92 1:29

JB-KP slam. 89-92 1:19

PG over DFS. Brunson and-one over Mann. Clippers challenge the blocking foul. Successful. Offensive foul against JB. That might be all she wrote. Reggie Jackson off-balance well-defended shot in the paint. 89-96 29 seconds. 

Brunson drive, without much resistance. 91-96 24 seconds

Tim fouls Jackson on a trap. One of two FTs. Hardaway airball three, Clips dribble it out. 

91-97 FT


ANALYSIS

The Mavs put up 8 more shot attempts than the Clippers, but shot so poorly that they couldn’t take advantage. They were a season-worst 6-30 from distance, with no Mav completing more than 1 3PTA. KP-THJ-JB, the Mavs’ scorers, combined to go 2-12 from range. The bench were 3-13. Just abysmal. Point differentials were +8 on points from twos, -18 on points from threes, and +4 on made free throws. They were able to stay in the game, courtesy of the Clips’ giving up 20 points off turnovers. 


PLAYER NOTES

HARDAWAY (36 min). Tim led the Mavs in minutes, and had 6 boards and 5 assists, but was 2-12 from the field and scored only 8 points. This Luka-less stretch is about the worst time for Timmy to undergo a slump, although I think Luka’s absence and Tim’s struggles are not unrelated. 

BRUNSON (34). Jalen had a 20-4-8 line, along with 3 steals, and was 7-13 from the field, 5-5 from the line. He and KP had a good offensive combo going, and maybe we can take some solace from that. 

PORZINGIS (32). KP was the offensive focus for the Mavs today, and he came though with 25 points (7-18), 8 boards, and 2 blocks, and drew a team-high 7 FTA.  He joined the Mavs’ brick-fest from three, with an 0-4 performance, but his 25 points were a team high. Kidd said he was pleased that KP is looking “comfortable,” and thought he stepped up well at the end of the game. He was somewhat hampered by foul trouble, but played almost 9 minutes in the third quarter after being called for his fourth. 

BULLOCK (32). Bullock had 5 rebounds, but didn’t score, and wasn’t the defensive stalwart we have been hoping for. SMH. Kidd seemed to be patient with the situation, saying that Reggie should just keep shooting, and his shot will come around eventually. Says that every time he puts Reggie on the floor he expects Bullock to make all of his shots. Hmm.

DFS (24). Dorian was substantially below Bullock on the minutes chart tonight, for whatever reason. His stats were modest (7-2-1, with a steal), and he was 2-6 overall, 1-3 from distance. Not a flashy line, but better than Reggie’s. We should keep an eye on this situation. 

KLEBER (20). Maxi had 5 points (2-7, 1-5 3PTA) and 4 rebounds. Kidd adverted to a minutes limitation before the game, and that probably was a factor in his relatively low time on the court. He has been out for a while, and was evidently still in the process of getting back on his horse. Kidd said that Maxi was very good at giving the team everything he could on a partially full tank. 

POWELL (19). Dwight was the third-leading scorer on the team with 9 points (4-7), and was the only Mav to have a good percentage from three (1-2). He also had 5 boards (2 offensive) and a block. 

MENTIONS. WILLIE (10) had 4 points and 2 steals in ten minutes. Unexpectedly hit a long jump shot when he was left totally unguarded. FRANK (9) had 3 points and was 1-6 from the field before incurring an injury and being withdrawn from the game. Kidd did not have an update on his condition, but said they should have one tomorrow. STERLING (8) had a couple of boards, but didn’t score, and had an unfortunate turnover. BOBAN (3) led the bench with 6 points in only three minutes. 

MOSES and JOSH had DNP-CDs. Kidd said that he hopes LUKA can go on Tuesday, but the team cannot sit around and wait for Luka to come and bail them out, because they really don’t know when he will be back.  

CLIPPERS. Fans watching this game will have experienced an uneasy feeling of deja vu, despite the absence of both Luka and Kawhi. Paul George was arguably the best player on the court, with 29 points (12-25) and 6 assists. He set the place on fire after halftime, with 21 of his points coming in the second half. Reggie Jackson somehow just has the Mavs’ number, racking up 23 points on 8-14 shooting, and popping up and scoring at just the worst times. Ivica Zubac torched us in the paint with 16 points (6-7) and 10 rebounds. 


OBSERVATIONS

The Bally guys ticked off a number of issues contributing to the loss. Too many missed shots. A possible bad call late (although Devin thought it was correct). Big second half by PG. Not enough offensive firepower from the Mavs. Disastrous three-point shooting. Yeah, those will do it. 

Kidd lamented the offensive foul call on Jalen at the end of the game. Said it cost the team two points and possession, which was difficult to overcome at that stage in the game. Asked to address why the Mavs have such a hard time scoring (other than being without Luka), Kidd said they’re getting good looks. Today, a lot of the jumpers were short, but the team picked it up a little in the fourth. He says they are putting themselves in positions to win games, but can’t seem to get a stop or hit an open three at the right time. Luka’s return should, of course, help, but they can’t just push the snooze button in the meantime.

Well, I don’t know what’s happened to the Mavs’ once-vaunted offense. Tonight was season-level horrible, but it wasn’t great even before Luka got hurt. I mean, it’s cool that the JB-KP game is coming along, but this team is built to get open looks from three, and if nobody can hit them, then I don’t know what we’re doing. The Clippers don’t look unbeatable right now, but somehow, we seem to find a way to fall apart at the ends of games. 

I’m probably just grumpy over losing a game that looked winnable, and maybe the fact that we were in it at all with such poor shooting was an accomplishment of sorts. After all, they were within 3 with 1:19 left. Whether the call on Brunson was good or not, the Mavs can't sit back and blame the refs for this one.


NEXT. The Mavs face the Clippers in LA again on Tuesday, hoping to stop their three-game slide. Maybe Luka will be back!

[ReunionMav]

Like all Mavs fans I am bummed we have lost 3 games. I was really angry after the first one when we somehow blew layups on our way to losing a game we should have won. 
A few  things keep me from losing it. If we must suffer the loss of Luka for some games due to Austin Rivers being as usual out of control, clumsy and an awful player then it is for 3 games we would not have been favored in anyway. Get Luka some rest and rehab. As others have said this time is good for evaluation of and experience for our guys. 
Referring to my and Dick Motta’s theory on 20 game set consistency we can still get to 12 and 8 by going 5and 5 though we would have to win 3 of the next 4. That would be a good response from this pain and is doable. 
I also think the pain of our mistakes killing us might turn out to be good. The pain might drive our guys to step up and make the winning plays and quit making the plays that get us beat.

[sefant]

Getting outscored by 9 with Brunson off the floor is hard to overcome without your best player. Nothing really surprising in the end. A 3rd guy behind Luka/Brunson who can "run" the offense is seriously needed every time Luka or Brunson is out.

Until Dragic ends up being bought out, i dont wanna see a single Mavs lineup without Luka/Brunson apart from garbage time.

Would been curious how the 3 games would have gone with Luka in & Brunson out.

[burekemde]

In my view, that the three best players for Mavs are Luka, Brunson, KP. Those are championship material really. At their best, and when used correctly by coaches, they are impossible to contain.

The rest of the roster in my view can be traded to improve the overall squad. There are clearly several important pieces in these other players, but overall equal or better value might be found through trades.

[LukTheShadow]

Good Morning.
Tnx ML!

Liked this mavs game. Seeing a progress in nonluka mavs. Mavs as a team.
Second Suns game was a step back, this one was two steps forward.
Mavs played quite consistent good D, played good in offence, they created more good shoots than the opponent, they failed in shoot execution only. OK, "only".
Learning path is usually painful, but necessary in contexts of targeting higher goals.
As mavs have great bs history of recruiting new good players into the squad learning existing players to step into bigger shoes is the best way to end the chapter and start new one on higher level. In case of success of course. Regular NBA season games in my book are live training for PO's so I highly agree on Kidd's learning strategy as I think mavs have enough headroom to get into PO's on one or another way.

[DanSchwartzgan]

Getting outscored by 9 with Brunson off the floor is hard to overcome without your best player. Nothing really surprising in the end. A 3rd guy behind Luka/Brunson who can "run" the offense is seriously needed every time Luka or Brunson is out.
 

This has been the story of all three of these games...no one to be Brunson when Brunson has to be Luka.  KP has been very efficient these last two games (unlike the first Phoenix game).  I think the moment of this game was his fourth foul very early in the third.  It just changed the body language of KP and the entire team as he had to play tentatively the rest of the third.

When Powell is your leader from three, something has gone terribly wrong.  As someone said in the game thread, if that is Paul George getting ridden all the way down the lane and then going up for a lefty layup with his right hand on the ball the entire way up and his man in the restricted zone, that is a defensive foul 100 times out of 100.  Luka would have lost his mind if it were him instead of Brunson and been suspended for Tuesday instead of questionable.

[Hypermav]

When Powell is your leader from three, something has gone terribly wrong.

[burekemde]

Powell was leader from the 3? Has that ever happened before? Even in college. Yes something is really wrong then.

[Dahlsim]

 BOBAN (3) led the bench with 6 points in only three minutes. 

[Chicagojk]

I will say Willie is dropping an important audition and I am not sure the market will be great for his services if he doesn't play better.  I have never been a fan of his game but he exceeded my expectations last year and thought he was fine.   I was hopeful we would upgrade that spot this offseason though.   

When KP goes out and the Mavs go with one big, the Mavs are really limited.   Powell is a nice energy guy but when we go with him as our only big we get exposed pretty quickly.  In theory, WCS should be the best option there.  But I have no confidence in him right now.   

I think if we had one more big who could give us solid 20-25 minutes a night this team would look much bigger as Powell would go into a role that is better suited for him.   I have to believe this is something the Mavs see and realize.    At least I hope.

[Chicagojk]

When the Mavs are missing Luka, or if KP is either not good or hurt, we really need Hardaway to be very good.  Last year, Hardaway was very good but I thought we were too reliant for his production.   

I hope when everyone is healthy he can go back to a scorer who overwhelms teams when he is on as a piece of a good offensive team.  But doesn't tank our chances when he is off his game.   

I believe we are really too reliant on both Hardaway and Jalen to be good.  One more good offensive player would really help us not feel stuck when either are not efficient scoring.

[mavsluvr]

I think the moment of this game was [KP's] fourth foul very early in the third.  It just changed the body language of KP and the entire team as he had to play tentatively the rest of the third.

Agree with this. The third quarter was one of the worst quarters of the century, and I think that was at least partially due to the fact that KP could not be aggressive.

[mavsluvr]

In my view, that the three best players for Mavs are Luka, Brunson, KP. Those are championship material really. At their best, and when used correctly by coaches, they are impossible to contain.

The rest of the roster in my view can be traded to improve the overall squad. There are clearly several important pieces in these other players, but overall equal or better value might be found through trades.

Brunson has been great, but I still wonder a bit. 

First, I still fear he is pretty easy to shut down with a concerted effort.

Second, even if he proves competitive in the playoffs, I also fear that he is getting such a taste of the thrill of running a team, that he won't fancy a career playing second fiddle to Luka. 

Hopefully, my concerns will prove unfounded.

[burekemde]

Brunson has been great, but I still wonder a bit. 

First, I still fear he is pretty easy to shut down with a concerted effort.

Second, even if he proves competitive in the playoffs, I also fear that he is getting such a taste of the thrill of running a team, that he won't fancy a career playing second fiddle to Luka. 

Hopefully, my concerns will prove unfounded.

Those are highly valid concerns. He was not effective in playoffs earlier. I hope he will elevate that this season, and that we will sign him up, that would be a dream situation. But chances are big as you mention that all of that will not go that way - either his level of play will not be to that standard of the playoffs, or he will want out.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

I was kind of in and out of this game but it's wild to look at the box score and realize how close we were at the end.  The shooting needs to fix itself pretty quickly.

Really hoping they play Luka Tuesday.  Based on the ESPN broadcast Friday, it feels like he's been good to go for the past two games which is kind of a bummer because there's no room for moral victories in the West.

[michaeltex]

Once Luka is back, the team will be at full strength for the first time since about the 3rd or 4th game, right?

[mavsluvr]

Powell was leader from the 3? Has that ever happened before? Even in college. Yes something is really wrong then.

Well, sort of. 

No one completed more than one three. Powell was one of six players who completed one. He had the highest percentage of the six, at 1 of 2.

[chaparral]

Cuban says the bad shooting is a result of the new Wilson ball, it's the last Q&A.  Says it effects players with a lower arc more than the shooters w/a higher arc.

Mark Cuban chimes in on Jason Kidd, the Mavs' start, Dirk Nowitzki & more | NBA.com

[KillerLeft]

Cuban says the bad shooting is a result of the new Wilson ball, it's the last Q&A.  Says it effects players with a lower arc more than the shooters w/a higher arc.

Seems like WCS likes it, so there's that, I guess.

[chaparral]

Seems like WCS likes it, so there's that, I guess.

Willie, Eugene (play) and Trey should shoot more 3's, hahaha.

What you said below made sense.

Kidd's tweaks to the offensive approach are working BETTER than what was done in the past, then the shooting is probably just a matter of rhythm. In other words, the players not all expecting the plays to end the way they are ending...being organized and ready to shoot, etc.