The headline on every Dallas sports publication Monday morning reads “Mavs blow 27 point lead in route to loss.” It has been a rocky season of ups and downs and things reached its lowest point Sunday as the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 111-108.
Luka Doncic numbers looked serviceable (26/9/5 on 46 percent shooting) but it didn’t tell the whole story on how he played. The Lakers defense forced six turnovers on Doncic led by forward Jarred Vanderbilt who gave him hell when matched up. Doncic primarily guarded Vanderbilt on defense and was outworked to the tune of 15 points, 17 rebounds (eight offensive) and four steals. The Lakers picked apart the Mavericks lead and outscored them 90-60 in the next two and a half quarters.
Kyrie Irving also struggled bad in the second half going 3-12 with one assist and 1-8 from three. Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr provided some offense but couldn’t stay on the floor down the stretch because of their inability to defend. When the Lakers turned up the physicality and the game got tight, the Mavericks couldn’t match up.
This has been the story for this team all season. The roster is unathletic, undersized and lacking strength. They are pretty much reliant on jump shots and can’t manufacture easy buckets outside of Doncic drives. They rank last in the league in points in the paint. They don’t have enough players who can put the ball on the floor and attack their man one-on-one. Too often they find themselves in jump shot or bust possessions.
On defense, they find themselves in a similiar situation. When they see players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they don’t posess the players who can guard them. There was no resistence whatsover in stopping them from putting their heads down and pushing their way to the rim. The Lakers were +30 in points in the paint and had 17 offensive rebounds in the game. The Mavericks are also last in the NBA in rebounding.
It is why including Dorian Finney-Smith in a trade for Kyrie Irving was such a puzzling move. Outside of Maxi Kleber, who the Mavericks are desperately awaiting his return from a hamstring tear, Finney-Smith was the defensive identity of this team. There are maybe 5 players in the entire NBA that can guard all five positions and all of their respective teams value them greatly, expect the Mavericks it seems.
The notion of “you have to give something up to get something” is clear. Irving gives the Mavericks a go-to second option that can be a primary scorer, ball handler and playmaker. But as much as adding a player like that was needed, defense was just as big of a need and trading for Irving made that situation worse. You can’t outscore (outshoot is probably the better word in this case) the best teams in the league every night. You have to be able to stop them as well.
Look around the league. Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Denver, Golden State, both Los Angeles teams… the Mavericks don’t have one player who can guard their best player. And in the mean time, those same teams have players who they trust to guard Doncic one-on-one. It is a problem and they will win nothing as long as this is the case.
Since Doncic has been in the league, the Mavericks roster has lacked a real combination of athleticism, speed, size, strength and toughness. The best version of their roster came last season when it featured a supporting cast of Jalen Brunson, Kristaps Porzingis, Kleber, Finney Smith, Reggie Bullock and Josh Green. By February however, cracks in this core started to show, despite an end result of making it to the Western Conference Finals.
The Mavericks traded Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. They also were fumbling a contract extension for Brunson, who clearly was developing into one of the best kept secrets in the NBA. Fast forward to today and both players are having the best seasons of their careers, for another team.
I understand to an extent the idea of trading Porzingis. He spent his entire time with team struggling to stay healthy and not meshing with Doncic. And once he was gone, the chemistry of the team reached its pinnacle. Everyone knew their roles and no one outside of Doncic played with an ego. But trading Porzingis away for the players they got in return reflects poor management. He is an elite rim protector (as Anthony Edwards told us once before) and the best floor spacing big in the NBA. Way too good of a player for the Mavericks to currently be stuck with Bertans and the $33 million owed to him over the next two seasons.
As far as Brunson goes, it was reported that he was ready to sign a four-year $55 million extension before the season started and was still willing to take that deal in January, but the Mavericks wouldn’t do it, not knowing what they wanted to do in the trade market before the deadline. By the time the deadline passed, Brunson knew his worth far exceeded that number and elected to hit free agency. The rest is history. It is the type of move that gets a general manager fired, not seeing talent right in front of their faces.
So where do you go from here? The Mavericks brain trust which features general manager Nico Harrison, assistant GM Michael Finley, head coach Jason Kidd and owner Mark Cuban must identify the right type of players needed to build a team around Doncic. Their immediate needs are a rim protecting mobile big (I know, Porzingis pops up in my head too as the perfect player for this), a ball handler who can get his own shot and make plays for others (I know, Brunson runs through my mind too) and a few more wing players with toughness that can defend multiple positions as well as put the ball on the floor when a play breaks down.
A few names that come to mind who will be free agents this offseason and fit a need include Dillon Brooks, Joe Ingles, Naz Reid, Jae Crowder, Jerami Grant, Harrison Barnes and Kyle Kuzma. All the above are high motor, physical players that can help create a new identity for the Mavericks. For the rest of this season, they will have to make do with what they have and hope the greatness of Doncic and Irving can elevate the rest of the roster to outshoot their opponents every night to win games. Not exactly a championship formula.
