The Dallas Mavericks fell in their second scrimmage in Orlando against the Indiana Pacers, 118-111. TJ Warren led a balanced Pacer attack with 20 points and six rebounds. Luka Doncic had almost a triple double in limited minutes, 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in just 24 minutes.
The Mavericks set the Pacers on fire in the first period, hitting seven of twelve shots out of three and putting Indiana behind. The Pacers broke into the second, with Victor Oladipo leading the way and connecting on three triples. Although Indiana tied the game late in the quarter, Dallas took a 64-61 lead in the half.
Luka Doncic started the sloppy half with a weird rotation and things went downhill from there for the Mavericks. Dallas was chilled by the distance and the Pacers took drastic measures. Once the Dallas starters left the game, the Pacers’ superior depth won and exhausted Dallas.
Now some things
Maverick spacing is extremely difficult to protect.
Just look at this shot and do a simple high pick and roll.
Boban Marjanovich rolls with Luka Doncic controlling the entire defense with his methodical momentum. Due to the defender on his back, Doncic pulls the man responsible for Antonius Cleveland enough to be in no man’s land. If you go one step closer to Doncic, the pass navigates to the corner, if you step one corner, Doncic is shooting in the restricted area. Luka knows he has the defender thinking too much, he makes a crisp pass and Cleveland buries all three.
Doncic’s brilliance with the ball continues to amaze. His ball counterfeits cause panic in the defenses. Check out this subtle fake here that results in an open Maxi Kleber.
This could be Delon Wright’s best offensive attack of the year, all because of the space the Mavericks play.
The only thing that can stop the Mavericks is when they lack good shots or when there are too many dribbles.
Defense needs work
It’s hard to determine exactly how the Mavericks can shore up their defense, but it would start with Kristaps Porzingis without missing a COVID-19 test and then losing the game. Beyond that, Dallas simply needs to play harder on the defensive end. Without KP, Dallas changed a lot in the first quarter and performed reasonably well. Things started to go wrong with Boban anchoring the defense; The Pacers have good big man shooters and they took him out of the basket, causing numerous failures.
Depth on the front court is a known challenge at the moment. What they can do about it, beyond scoring more than their opponent, is unclear.
Living and dying for the three pointers
This is an obvious point, but the Mavericks rely heavily on three-point shooting. They roasted the Pacers early, hitting 10 of 15 out of three to start the game. The Mavericks hit just five of their next 23 attempts from a distance. That includes a couple of threesomes by JJ Barea after the game was already out of reach. When the three balls don’t go to Dallas, the historical nature of their offense collapses.
There’s one more game for the Mavericks, Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Here is the post-game podcast, Mavs Moneyball after dark. If you can’t see the insert under “More from Mavs Moneyball”, Click here. And if you haven’t already, subscribe by searching for “Mavs Moneyball podcast” in your favorite podcast app.
