DALLAS — A week after the Dallas Mavericks organization had the sports world buzzing with news of an ownership change, Dallas finds itself outside of the prime NBA news cycle as non-participants in the inaugural In-Season Tournament knockout stages.
While Mavericks did beat their main division rival Houston, the team suffered back-to-back losses to Memphis and Oklahoma City as they exited November with a whimper.
Dallas was playing without their all-world guard for the loss to the Grizzlies, as Luka Doncic was on paternity leave, but he did join them for the Red River rivalry matchup against Oklahoma City.
Doncic returned to the lineup with something to prove, even if the team around him remained a work in progress. The NBA’s second leading scorer put up 36 points, 15 rebounds, and 18 assists in a losing herculean effort against the surging Thunder.
Even with Doncic’s heroics, the game shouldn’t have been as close as it was, as it took the Mavs going on an insane 30-0 run at one point in the fourth quarter to cut into the mammoth deficit.
That record-breaking unanswered streak of scoring can perhaps be considered a moral victory to show Dallas’ resiliency, but with the In-Season Tournament championship culminating on Saturday without them, the Mavs need to turn their full attention to the holiday stretch that leads into the All-Star break where true contenders separate themselves from the early-season surprise stories.
Ultimately, for a team designed to contend again in the Western Conference, there is no room for “good losses” if they are to make a real playoff run.
Dallas enters their slate this week at 11-8, good for sixth in the West. Utah and Portland, the Mavs’ opponents this week, are bringing up the rear in the conference standings, with only the Grizzlies between them and last place San Antonio. But as Dallas found out from their 108-94 loss to Memphis that these games aren’t played or won on paper.
Since the Mavs were eliminated from tournament contention, the non-participants schedule has Dallas hosting the Jazz on Wednesday before flying to the PNW for a late night matchup with the Trail Blazers on Friday. Utah (7-13) is coming off their own contest with the Blazers, which resulted in a 118-113 win and Portland’s 13th loss of the season.
The Jazz offense is led by the Finnisher Lauri Markkanen, and the 26 year-old forward has continued his standout production following a breakout first season with the Jazz in 2022. Markkanen puts up an efficient 16 shots attempts per game, and he isn’t picky for his shot selections, averaging nearly identical attempts from deep as well as within the arc.
Perennial Mavs trade rumor target John Collins and guard Jordan Clarkson round out the scoring attack for the Jazz, but Clarkson has been nursing a thigh injury which kept him out of the Portland matchup.
Even with Clarkson, the Jazz are highly turnover prone, averaging a league-high 17.7 give-ups per game. That’s welcome news for the Mavs fastbreak offense, but the Mavs perimeter defense will need to step up their league-worst steals average if they want to take advantage of Utah’s affinity for giving away the basketball.
For the Blazers, life after Dame Lillard has Portland relying on Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon to lead their offense while rookie Scoot Henderson learns the league. Their offense is predictably suffering for it.
The Blazers are the worst scoring team in the league at 105 ppg, while the Jazz are in the bottom-five of both offensive and defensive ratings. This stretch is a welcome opportunity for the Mavs defense as they push through their nagging injuries and try to gel.
If the Mavericks intend to truly keep pace with the Western powers, these lower-tier matchups are crucial to a strong December showing as they await potential roster reinforcements with the February trade deadline on the horizon.
Do you think the Mavericks will thrive during the holiday season? Share your thoughts with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
