Kevin C. Cox / Associated Press
There are enough for us to reflect on following the Los Angeles Clippers’ 118-110 Game 1 victory over Monday night over the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic dropped 42 points and nine assists in his first NBA playoff game. And cough 11 converted on. And left the game, briefly, in the first four years after suffering a left ankle injury, leaving a huge fan base – and spectatorship, really – in terrible flames.
Dallas and Los Angeles also exchange bilingual leads … in the opening frame. And Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hit two –two– three-pointers. And Kawhi Leonard exuded a certain command over the game, as only he can. And the Mavs caught fire from deep into the first half.
And Montrezl Harrell made his bubble debut. And Doc Rivers questioned his team’s resolution, even after allowing only 13 points in the third quarter to then roll out a bunker lineup – Harrell, Reggie Jackson, Patrick Beverley, Paul George, JaMychal Green – three minutes into ‘ the fourth.
Oh, and then there is the outcome itself. The game was close. The Mavs scrape until time of crunch. Maybe their role players can give Doncic more help in the stretch. Maybe Tim Hardaway Jr. spending so much time on PG13 is not as ridiculous as it sounds. Maybe Luka will be less exhausting and break up.
Maybe, just maybe, the Mavs can make this a series – not just an exciting, good job-good-effort five- or six-game attaboy, but an actual series.
Game 1 could be about any number of things. And it is it. But it’s first and foremost about Kristaps Porzingis’ release less than three minutes into the third quarter of his own playoff debut. And that’s kind of, kind of, absolutely awful.
The play on which Porzingis received his second tech did not include him at first. Doncic and Marcus Morris Sr. came in a little post-flute, ahem, boredom after a ride through the former. Tensions escalated, what, and that’s when Porzingis entered the fold:
Upon further assessment, duplicate techniques were evaluated after Morris and Porzingis. This marked the second T of the game for the latter – his first came for an angry air punch after a foul call he did not like – so he was gone, with a little over nine minutes left in the third and Dallas leading Los Angeles by five:
Criticism of the referees was swift and restless. LeBron James led the charge:
That the Mavs legend I Dirk Nowitzki:
Kevin Love waited outside the bubble:
Ditto for Spencer Dinwiddie:
Kansas City resident Patrick Mahomes does not like the decision of the officials much:
Even Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was against:
The sentiment ran on consensus.
Why spend someone in a tightly contested playoff game? And not just anyone but Mavs’ second-best player? For what amount less than a harmless kerfuffle?
Why does the outcome of a tilt period allow itself to be hypothetically influenced by a call, any call? It’s not up to the refs – in this case, Mark Ayotte, Eric Lewis en Kane Fitzgerald, who passed on the decision—show some discretion? To be more in tune with what’s going on?
That Porzingis’ first technique was so dubious did not help matters. For one, he had a point:
More than that, his response to that first call was miles of irresistible. Hitting the air with no one nearby is completely innocent.
Yes, it’s still technically worth it later of the law. But the playoffs are not a time for incomprehensible enforcement … are they? They should be more interpretive, more flexible, more committed to ensuring that the basketball part of the program forms the outcome … should not they? At the bare minimum, techniques are closer to last resorts than formula implementations … aren’t they?
The validity of Porzingis’ two techniques is worth discussing. And the idea that this game was decided by its absence is terrible. He was a minus-six and 3-of-9 from the floor, but had absolutely no impact. If nothing else, he always represents one of Doncic’s two best offensive outlets in the half court and his undisputed best pick-and-roll partner, especially when it means Ivica Zubac got to switch on Dallas’ point man.
On the other hand, Porzingis’ first technical at the time of his second was no problem. He knew he already had one. He needs to be more self-aware in that situation. He is too important for his team.
And please, spare us the slant “He just protected Doncic”. That is not true. He got involved on behalf of his teammate. But Doncic was not in any serious danger. The face-off with Morris never posed the risk of scaling into a brawl. He and Doncic all gave each other good pats before returning to the game.
This does not let the refs get off the hook, even in a game that seems suboptimal to be official. The Mavs had some no-nonsense to get over it. I would also like to take this opportunity to note that it feels like big men will never become good officially. They have to take the beating and tolerate well-built people who hang on to their arms and shoulders because they are, well, big.
However, Porzingis had to play under the circumstances of the moment. And at that moment, he already had one technically. And he knew, based on the dubious nature of the first, this was not necessarily a game in which they would leave things and that he could not count on a non-flute makeup or the benefit of the doubt .
His motives as a teammate may have been pure. His judgment was off.
That happened. The competition is intense. And again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes. It guaranteed the ax that was swung, and it certainly did not deserve to be the billboard for this game.
Kevin C. Cox / Associated Press
What comes next is … everything else. There is basically a whole series left to play. And this moment, although it is pivotal to the game itself, can not be seen as a turning point.
The Mavs made other mistakes. Doncic name property of his turnover, and although he has improved from offense, he must offer more resistance to defense. Dallas enjoyed streaks of cold shooting from Los Angeles and questionable decision making due to the role played by its role players, namely Beverley and Lou Williams.
This was a helluva game, fascinating and very competitive almost in spite of itself. The Mavs were robbed of 15 to 20 minutes of All-Star play and, perhaps, a victory. It goes on to the next one anyway. Harping is useless, even if it turns out the refs are messaged. And to the Mavericks’ credit, they do not sound like a team that will win in this defeat, no matter how unfair it may seem.
Not that they have a choice.
Unless otherwise stated, stats thanks to NBA.com, Basketball Reference of Cleaning the Glass and current section in Wednesday’s games. Salary and cap-hold information via Basketball Insiders, Early Bird Rights and Spotrac.
Dan Favale occupies the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by B / R’s Adam Fromal.
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