MAVS 96, CAVALIERS 114

[mavsluvr]

MAVS WOODSHEDDED BY CLEVELAND

The Mavericks entered this contest hoping to bounce back from their defeat by Washington. Alas, the game dissolved into a rout. 


GAME NOTES

Jalen Brunson returned to the active roster. Frankie remained out with his calf injury. Willie has contracted an illness, so Kidd decided to include Moses Brown in the starting lineup for the first time this season. 

FIRST QUARTER

Hardaway is first on the board with a jumper. Luka follows with a step-back jack. Mobley blocks KP’s dunk attempt. Luka with another step-back! Woo-hoo! KP posts up Markkanen. Luka airballs a three, and Moses is called for a loose ball foul on the rebound. Dallas steal results in a DFS dunk. Luka no-look pass goes out of bounds off the hands of Moses. KP drives from the three-point line and posterizes Allen! The crowd is swooning. Powell comes in for Moses. 14-12 6:56

Luka-Timmy transition alley-oop. Luka with another three from way out. Kevin Love on the board with a three. 19-19 4:30

Crazy possession, complete with multiple steals and offensive rebounds, results in a Dorian dunk. Stevens called for two quick fouls, including bailing Luka out on a broken play. Second was on Maxi, who hits both free throws. KP airballs a three. Cavs getting to the rim like they’re on a Sunday stroll. Mavs have missed 13 of their last 17 attempts. Make that 14 of 18.

23-30 after one

Not liking what I’m seeing here, tbqh. We’re back into the zero rim protection mode, and can’t seem to score any more after a decent start. Mavs shooting 36%, Cavs 63%. Mavs out-rebounded 7-12. Yikes. 

SECOND QUARTER

KP ends the drought for the Mavs with a basket at the rim. KP forces a turnover by Mobley. Sterling with a rack attack. KP draws a shooting foul. One of two. Jarret Allen put back dunk. Bullock turns the ball over with a bad pass. Markkanen drains a three. Moses going back in, along with Luka and Tim. Another second chance basket by Markkanen. Three-second call on Moses Brown with the Mavs passing up looks for most of the clock. Another paint basket by Cleveland. Luka scores. Then Moses called for an offensive foul. Mavs 3-13 from three, getting badly out-rebounded (12-18). 30-39 6:47

Okuro drives to the basket, gets an and-one. This is turning into a massacre in the paint. Bullock misses the technical free throw on a defensive three-second call. DFS wide open three. Cleveland makes a move on Moses for another basket in the paint. Hardaway pull-up. Luka livid over a no-call when he ends up on the floor. Luka from downtown. Luka grimacing and clutching his hand. Dallas looking fortunate to be down only six. 38-44 2:36

Double-block by KP. Rubio hits from the corner, unguarded. Brunson fouled on a drive. One of two. Garland scores over Bullock. Mobley dunk over Luka. Brunson from Luka on a dive-cut. Markannen sends Luka to the line. Misses both. 

41-52 HT

Mavs lost a low-scoring second quarter, 18-22. In the game overall, Mavs shooting very poorly. 11-23 on twos, 5-22 from three, 4-9 from the line. Cavs have 30 PIP, destroying Dallas’ paint “defenders.” Out-rebounded 18-29. Cavs doubling Mavs in FB points (6-12). Mavs have taken 14 more 3PTA than Cleveland, but have only 2 more made threes to show for it. Non-Luka Mavs 1-16 on threes. Woof! Might need some Luka Magic here. Or else some defense, maybe. Possibly a few made open shots. Just grasping at straws here. 

THIRD QUARTER

Dorian makes it 1-17 for non-Luka threes. KP scores inside. Allen reverse layup and-one over Moses. Allen denies Moses at the rim. Moses dunk from KP — Moses’ first score of the game. Allen draws free throws, as Moses is called for his fourth foul. Maxi goes in for Moses. Garland over KP.  Luka drains his fifth three. Allen alley-oop finish. Luka hits again from three. Luka draws a foul. Looks like he’s going to try to take over. Misses both free throws again. Defensive three-seconds on Kleber. Mavs force a shot-clock violation. Okoro cuts and scores. DFS responds. Ball bounces out of bounds off Luka. Allen with another oop. Looks like KP lost him. Markkanen corner three. 55-68 6:07

Jarrett Allen oop, for an and-one. Mavs turn the ball over. Love answers with a three. Cavs on an 11-0 run. Kleber a corner three. Okoro answers with the same. Garland hits a three. Dang. Garland-Allen oop. Ugh. The home crowd is booing the Mavs. 58-82 2:59

Luka-Maxi oop. Love swats Brunson in the face, called for the foul. Another Luka-Maxi dunk. Love-Garland connection. Offensive foul called on Luka. Crowd not impressed. Maxi from the corner off a no-look pass from Luka. Luka giving the ref an earful. 65-84 41 seconds

Rubio-Markkanen three. KP limping on the sideline, looks like he might have hurt his knee. 

65-87 after three 

This has turned into an embarrassment. Mavs lost the third quarter 24-35. Mavs shooting 40%, Cavs 68%. Won’t pile on with the other stats. 

FOURTH QUARTER

KP has gone to the locker room. Looks like he stepped on Maxi's foot, causing him to turn his ankle. Maxi draws a foul. One of two. Lauri bombs in another trey. Brunson drive and score. Mavs turn it over. OMG, Mavs give up another undefended dunk. Have some pride, guys. Lauri yanks Maxi, called for his fourth. Luka with another long three. Maxi fouled again. He’s stepping up here. KP has a right ankle sprain, questionable to return. At this point, might as well just ice and elevate, Kris. Markkanen straight-line drive and slam and-one. Misses the free throw, but a lane violation on Maxi. He hits the next try. Sterling Brown gets to the basket. Another Markkanen three. Jarrett Allen soars for another dunk. 73-102 7:56

Looks like Kidd has turned the bench loose. Doe-Doe out there with Burke, Green, Boban, and Sterling. Dorian has another three. Boban stirs the crowd with a basket. Garbage time goes on. Hardaway is on in the last minute. A Boban three draws cheers and chants from the crowd. The bench mob reduced the deficit a bit, but it’s a bad ‘un, anyway you look at it. 

96-114 FT


ANALYSIS

The Mavs got up 19 more shots than the Cavs, and 20 more 3PTA. Unfortunately, their shooting was so poor that they couldn’t overcome their massive attempt advantage (earned largely as a result of the Cavs' 20 turnovers). Mavs point differentials were -16 on points from twos, +6 on points from threes, and -8 on made free throws. Luka was 7-11 from three, the other Mavs 5-28, despite getting open looks. Kidd called attention to the zeros from  the guys they usually depend on to make shots. KP, Tim, Brunson, and Reggie combined to go 0-12 from distance. Tonight, the Mavs couldn’t even hit free throws (6-15). I don't even know how to address that.

Dallas were shellacked on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 33-48. They also were out-assisted 20-29. The squad was embarrassed inside, once again giving up 60 PIP. 

It ultimately came down to not making threes, not making free throws, getting smashed in the paint, poor rebounding, and very little defense. Basically, just a flat-out beatdown. 


PLAYER NOTES

DONCIC (33).  Luka’s triple-double (33-10-10) and seven threes (7-11) were unfortunately wasted in this blowout loss. Luka had a hard time understanding the poor shooting, saying that they got open looks. Asked whether the bad offense affected the defense, his reply was “100%.” He also could not explain the poor rebounding. Summing up the loss, he opined that “our defense was terrible, and our offense was terrible.” Yeah, that’ll do it. 

PORZINGIS (27). KP was 4-11 from the field, had 9 points and 5 boards, and had to leave the game with a sprained ankle. On the plus side, he did have the Mavs’ offensive play of the game, with his drive from the three-point line to the basket for a jam, and he had a few good defensive plays, including his double-block. We hope that his ankle doesn’t keep him out for long. X-rays were negative, and he will be re-assessed tomorrow. 

HARDAWAY (27). Tim had a miserable six points on 3-9 shooting. Aargh. Devin thinks THJ will keep shooting and find his niche, but is a little more worried about some of the other guys not getting into a groove. This team needs Tim Hardaway. Hope he breaks out of this funk soon.

DFS (25). Dorian had 14 points (6-10) and a couple of steals, but grabbed only one rebound. Not really able to be a defensive bright spot, with the whole-team collapse on that end. 

KLEBER (25). Maxi had a little burst late, and ended up with 13 points on 4-10 shooting, with 1 rebound. Not too bad, graded on a curve. 

BULLOCK (23 ). Reggie had a horrible outing, taking only three shots and failing to score. He did have a couple of rebounds, I guess. Why is it that everyone who fills that position seems to have a history of performing on other teams, but falls on his face here? Maybe he’ll pick himself up before too long. 

BRUNSON (22). It wasn’t a great night for Jalen, who had 5 points (2-7) and no assists in 22 minutes. These long, lanky opponents are a tough matchup for him. 

STERLING (15). Brown had a decent line for 15 minutes -- 4-4-2 and a steal. 

MOSES (11).  Moses’ first start was a bit underwhelming. He  recorded 2 points, 2 rebounds, a steal, 4 fouls, and 2 turnovers, and Jarrett Allen took him to school. Harris hopes that he will learn to be more aggressive defensively, instead of relying so much on fouling. Skin ventured that Moses is just a very young, unpolished player at this point, and this seemed to be a learning experience for him. When Kidd was asked what he thought of Moses’ play, he responded with a shrug and a laugh, and said that, since it is a positive world, Moses was +2, so he’ll say that Moses did great. He went on to note that Jarrett Allen is a tough matchup, but that Moses can learn from that, and that he will get better.

POWELL (8). Dwight played for only 8 minutes, and had a couple of rebounds and a steal. 

BOBAN, BURKE, and GREEN enjoyed eight minutes of garbage time. 

CAVALIERS. The Cavs totally overmatched us tonight, led by Jarrett Allen with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Unstoppable in the paint. Lauri Markkanen also had an impressive night, with 24 points and 8 boards. The Cavs had four other guys in double figures, including all the starters, who combined for 92 points, and Kevin Love with 10 off the bench. 


OBSERVATIONS

Addressing the poor shooting, Kidd hopes that Luka will continue to trust his teammates, observing that Doncic could not be blamed for deciding not to pass anymore, since no one else can make a shot. Said they’re still getting open looks, and just have to continue working. Defensively, he thinks his players got to feeling sorry for themselves, and let the offense affect their defense. Volunteered that the transition defense has “stunk” lately — commented that the other team isn’t going to wait for us to get back on defense while we nurse our hurt feelings over our missed shots.

I confess that I didn’t see this humiliation coming. The Mavs just crumbled under the Cavs’ relentless attack and towering front line. In some respects, this game was like an even worse version of the previous one. Complete inability to defend the paint, can’t score for anything, relying on a bunch of threes, despite being unable to hit. 

If I saw anything to be cheered about, I guess it would be Luka’s return to his superstar self. But it also exposed the vast drop in quality between him and the rest of the team. Hope he’s okay rolling with that. As far as the shooting, they really are still getting good looks, and they keep saying that they’ll eventually fall, although at some point that has to actually happen. 

The most worrisome thing for me is our lack of ANY ability to defend inside. They were giving up straight-line drives, baseline cuts, offensive rebounds, and all like that, in a mortifying display of ineptitude. And I don’t see a ready path to a solution there. Also a bit alarming was the disappointing play of two guys who had been coming along, KP and Brunson. I have been worried about their ability to stand up under this kind of pressure, and they were both essentially shut down. 

Well, I don’t know how to describe this, other than as a humiliation. I would like to believe the team is better than this. Hope they can get up off the floor and give a decent account of themselves going forward.


NEXT. The Mavs face the Pelicans on Wednesday at the AAC. 

[cow]

You can see Luka's trust in his teammates fade away as games progress.  He had an easy pass to DFS on the wing for a wide open three and made a much more difficult pass to THJ in the corner who still missed it.  I love DFS but he needs to get his grove back from the arc, but then again we can say that about every player on the team.  Non Luka shooters were like 6% in the first half from deep.  

Floated this idea in discord during the game but maybe it's time to call New York and talk about Kemba for Bullock as the principles.  You could also complicate the trade by adding JB, Robinson and our 2023 owed pick.

[ThisIStheYear]

I always had the impression that Carlisle actually directly coached THJ on his shooting mechanics.  I wonder how much of his reversion to shooting mediocrity stems from the coaching change?  The Mavs need to bring in a shooting guru to work with some of these poor performing players.

[cow]

I always had the impression that Carlisle actually directly coached THJ on his shooting mechanics.  I wonder how much of his reversion to shooting mediocrity stems from the coaching change?  The Mavs need to bring in a shooting guru to work with some of these poor performing players.

Don't underestimate the ball change this year.

[sterlingmallory]

Floated this idea in discord during the game but maybe it's time to call New York and talk about Kemba for Bullock as the principles.  You could also complicate the trade by adding JB, Robinson and our 2023 owed pick.

Absolutely not. Kemba is DONE. They just removed him from the rotation because he's been so bad. Sorry but his knees have betrayed him, he's cooked. He's one of the worst defenders in the league and doesn't have the athleticism anymore to do anything else. Purge this thought from your mind, there are very few players in the league we should stay further away from than Kemba Walker.

[omahen]

Thanks for the recap. A couple of observations from my side. I don't think rebounding was a problem. Sure Cavs had many more rebounds, but this is due to huge number of missed shots by Mavs. Cavs only had 5 offensive rebounds which may be a better indicator about rebounding status. 

Something is really off with the Mavs. Total non shooting ability on offense. Cavs were fielding 1 non shooter (Allen) and two suspect shooters (Okoro, Mobley) in the starting lineup yet the Mavs paint seems wide open all the time. On the other end the paint seems always packed full of defenders. 

After a couple of good games KP looks way overconfident, shooting really tough shots.

Moses was +2

Obviously best player on the floor for Mavs. Something we need to keep an eye on

[cow]

Absolutely not. Kemba is DONE. They just removed him from the rotation because he's been so bad. Sorry but his knees have betrayed him, he's cooked. He's one of the worst defenders in the league and doesn't have the athleticism anymore to do anything else. Purge this thought from your mind, there are very few players in the league we should stay further away from than Kemba Walker.

Kemba's not the prize.  Getting off of Bullock's contract is.  Kemba might be done but Bullock never started.

[omahen]

Kemba's not the prize.  Getting off of Bullock's contract is.  Kemba might be done but Bullock never started.

Since Mavs failed at this position three times in a row (pending Bullock remains playing like absolute crap), I wonder if it might make sense to try something different  

Or is it possible that general fan attitude about all three of them is just result of extreme over expectations? I mean, all three were sold to fans as "the big summer aquisition", while it is obvious they are just role players. Perhaps fans view about them would be totally fine and fans would be full of understanding, if their role would actually be a role player and not "the big summer aquisition".

[omahen]

After 19 games it looks like "the new regime" didn't manage to improve the defense. Mavs look a lot less like contender than they did last year. I don't even blame the training stuff, other than fundamentally wrong decisions about team construction (even if they didn't choose the team, they chose to manage it). We had two seasons of proof that Luka-KP-THJ doesn't equal good defense, if we put it politely. I blame overall delusion that this team is contender level. In the summer the team was selling to fans (after failing to convince Lowry and signing Bullock as the great summer addition) how they need to surround Luka with long switchable defenders who can shoot threes. True, agree. But what do we have in reality? KP and THJ which might be long but they are neither good nor particularly switchable defenders. Than we have an absolute sad story at center, whoever we play and none of them can hit a three. DFS is the only guy that could fit that initial idea. And for some reason this team keeps playing something they themselves knew in the summer it can't work. Unless they were lying. You don't need to be a basketball scientist to see (before coming to Dallas) what role players Mavs have for last 3 or more seasons, are what they are capable of doing and what not. 

To ruin the Luka led offense is quite an achievement. To put a team so dysfunctional that even one of top offensive players can't make it work. I really don't know if you can understand how limited the Slovenian national team is and how great Luka made them look. They played fast, entertaining basketball with players that are light years away from NBA. Of course the team had a ceiling, but they were sure fun to watch. Mavs are slow and boring. For some reason, no one can hit an open shot, free throws included. As if the front office dysfunction made their way on court now, as Mavs look just sad on both ends. Nothing is working. 

I find it disgusting that Luka is even being discussed as one of reasons as it was and is very obvious how much this team lacks the overall talent. I mean, we are looking at Sacramento (for example) and drooling over their players as each of them could look good on Mavs. This is how bad our team is. Luka is the only thing that is separating this team from being in deep lottery. Clippers without their number one star are still better than Mavs. This is how big a difference in talent level between the two teams is.

[hakeemfaan]

Kemba's not the prize.  Getting off of Bullock's contract is.  Kemba might be done but Bullock never started.

Absolutely no to Kemba or Robinson. Both are weak defenders. The answer to this mess is improving the defense even though the offense also sucks. 

If no other change from outside put Bullock and or Frank N/Josh Green in the starting line up. Have more scoring but weaker defense on the bench. With Luka and KP in the starting line up you need defensive intensity from the other spots.   

DP and Maxi have to go. Not blaming them for last night’s loss but those two along with KP might be the worst big men defensive trio in the league.

[Chicagojk]

I think the Mavs need to improve around the edges (BTW I am sorry it seems like I am using this saying every day...ugh).   Hope Dragic eventually winds up here and he is still capable of being a solid player.   Having another solid creator will allow us to see if Bullock, Hardaway, DFS, Maxi can fall into a better rhythm on doing things they should be good at.  Or were they all put in ideal situations in Carlisle's system (Bullock not included).   

Then the mavs need to find a center who can play 20 plus minutes a night.  This would be a short term fix.   It is only to see if Kidd's KP vision has legs or if it was flawed from the start.   

Neither are ground breaking moves but will allow us to get a better understanding on what needs to be improved on.

[vfromlmf]

This is a team struggling to find an identity. No cohesion on either end. Too many guys trying to do too much and as a result, not doing enough. Too many internal battles. Guys jockeying for position and roles. 

The top three players are all struggling in unique ways....

1. Luka looks less transcendent. Still good but more like an ordinary franchise player on a bad team who doesn't play defense. Is Luka becoming the new Bradley Beal? 
   
2. KP looks good when he's aggressive but it's still not happening within the flow of the offense. He's still causing spacing issues and clashing with Luka.
   
3. THJ isn't getting the same shots he got in Carlisle's offense and his efficiency has plummeted. He can't be happy with his role or recent play.
   

Guys are battling each other more than the opponent. Brunson often looks like the second best offensive player but he's not winning any defensive awards. The bigs are battling to start but only Kleber has shown anything. WCS and Powell look unplayable. 

Only Dorian seems to have found his role as a proper 3&D glue-hustle guy.

[burekemde]

[*]Luka looks less transcendent. Still good but more like an ordinary franchise player on a bad team who doesn't play defense. Is Luka becoming the new Bradley Beal? 

[*]
If it appears as that from the stats, it is due to inability of the team to convert the open shots he creates. This also in addition leaves him also doubled more than usual in the paint, as the defenses do not need to collapse on well shooting outside players. This takes at least away 5 assist per game for Luka, and several single matchups for him self in the paint due to the Xs and Os of the game. Most importantly we would have several more wins.

He is the best he has been in his career. He is easy averaging 30 pts - 13 assists - 8 rebounds if the team can convert those shots. The team has been awful in scoring wide open shots.

This is the best Luka I have seen - the offensive scheme and the players on offense, just are converting these situations really really bad.
[*]

P.S. And I dont buy at all into those look fat arguments. Remember the fat MVP from last season that dominated and always does. Luka moves really well, and dominates when the scheme and the rest of the team allows for it.

We need to be focused in creating the right team around Luka, not making him pay for the team not playing well. Look in how much Bulls needed to build around Jordan. Its incredible how many pieces need to come together for the entire machinery to work well. Its a team game.

It falls down on how the rest of the team is built. I think Luka is clearly a championship material player, even many multiple one. I would add to that I believe KP and Brunson are also at a talent level that can win that, if healthy etc. Although rest of the team does not live up to that, talent wise, not even close. There are some players like Maxi and THJ and DFS that could be bench championship material.

[Kammrath]

This is the best Luka I have seen

[sefant]

I mean, if you think Luka is doing fine not sure what to say ...


BPM: 6.7 (8th) -> 3.5 (21th)
VORP: 5.0 (4th) -> 0.7 (30th)
WS: 7.7 (17th) -> 1.0 (125th)

Offensive RAPTOR: +6.6 (5th) -> +2.0 (55th)
Defensive RAPTOR: -0.8 (164th) -> -3.0 (229th)
Overall RAPTOR: +5.9 (13th) -> -1.0 (163th)


Meanwhile Jokic with his even more broken team:

1st in BPM
1st in VORP
5th in WS
2nd in Offensive RAPTOR
6th in Defensive RAPTOR
1st on Overall RAPTOR

[Kammrath]

I mean, if you think Luka is doing fine not sure what to say ...

Two of the most concerning things:

1) He has a career low true shooting percentage of 53.0%. He is shooting 65% on FTs and 43.9% overall (and that's even after his epic hot streak from three last night).

2) He has a career low with only 11.0% of his shots coming at the rim. His first two seasons (when he was in his best shape) he shot 20.9% and 26.0% of his shots at the rim. Last year when he came in out of shape it dropped to 18.0%. This year it has plummeted to an alarming 11.0%. Luka has lost a step of quickness that has kept him from getting around guys, past guys, and to the rim.

[omahen]

Couple of quotes:

Cleveland took Luka serious and no one else. They clearly viewed him and him alone as being capable of beating them; they harried and pestered him on the perimeter, crowded him whenever he stepped foot inside the 3-point line. They often ignored his teammates to achieve this.

Cleveland left the Mavericks’ shooters open constantly, and they shot 1-of-16 from 3-point range in the first half. Most egregiously, Kevin Love essentially stopped guarding Dorian Finney Smith in the second quarter to double-team Doncic. (He made one 3 and missed another.) Cleveland’s defense even left open lob dunks, which made up four of Doncic’s 10 assists on Sunday. They maximized guarding Doncic at the expense of his teammates, and it worked.


The Mavericks haven’t given Luka Doncic enough help to be taken seriously. Just ask their opponents – The Athletic

[vfromlmf]

Luka has lost a step of quickness that has kept him from getting around guys, past guys, and to the rim.

Maybe. I think it has more to do with spacing, the way games are being called and poor perimeter shooting.

There's no denying the lane is clogged.

[Kammrath]

Most egregiously, Kevin Love essentially stopped guarding Dorian Finney Smith in the second quarter to double-team Doncic.

This has become an alarming trend. Teams are getting away with leaving others just completely unguarded when they defend DAL. 

The three point percentages of key players (with last year in parentheses)...

DFS: 0.340 (0.394)
KP: 0.312 (0.376)
THJ: 0.333 (0.391)
JB: 0.328 (0.405)
RB: 0.273 (0.410)
SB: 0.265 (0.423)

All these guys are down like 6-16% from last year. I honestly don't know what Kidd can do to make them shoot better on open and wide open shots. And it is not like NYK or HOU had some genius offenses that made RB and SB look good. The ball change COULD be a large chunk. But damn, guys are not making OPEN shots (the looks are there).

[vfromlmf]

I would like to find some stats on 3pt shot quality or expected 3FG% comparing this year versus last year. 

I don't know but it seems like the offense just isn't flowing correctly. 

Would be interesting to see if more shots are being taken early or late in the shot clock. 

Also probably impossible to find but it seems like guys aren't getting as many shots in rhythm, especially THJ. 

There are times when THJ catches and rises and you just know it's going in. Seems like he's getting fewer of those looks and he's shooting more from different spots on the floor and/or off the dribble.

We know Luka and KP's shot charts are very different than last year. Stands to reason it may be different for others as well.