Ashley Landis / Associated Press
Their first series to cut the Los Angeles Clippers to one game is no reason for the Dallas Mavericks to take more than a momentary victory leg. Their work is not done. There are many more series left to play and maybe, just maybe, another series after that.
Which is the whole point.
Dallas ’regular season season has moved on to the playoffs. It remains prior to schedule, much more than one team led by a sophomore, even this particular sophomore, should be. Perhaps unbelievable, although Luka Doncic is the heart and soul of the Mavericks’ meteoric trajectory, he does not keep it to himself.
Wednesday night’s 127-114 victory over the Clippers did not only belong to him, though not to a lack of substance. After starting 11 rounds in Game 1, he went on a tear under control, scoring 28 points on 8-of-17 shots, including a 4-of-7 shot from distance, and seven assists while you cough up only one gift.
Doncic also added a place in the record books for good measure:
His command over the game is not surprising, not even for someone who appears in his second NBA playoff tilt. The experience he plays with might believe his age – he’s only 21, in fact – but not his experience. He is no stranger to moments of higher stakes after his time with Real Madrid and the Slovenian national team.
Not that his achievements do not disarm. His half court lilt is a face to hold, a string of off-the-dribble bursts that methodically drives the deeper he rides. That change of pace scutters and confounds, and improved finish through contact combined with free-frame hanging times makes it difficult, impossible, to keep him off the foul line (where he has to shoot better than 8-of-12).
Oh, yes, and there is infinite reach on his step-back three. And the passes he flies, everywhere and everywhere, on collapsing defenses.
That Doncic’s first taste of the NBA’s postseason is less baptized by fire and more company than usual runs with the most incoming expectations. Even though he and the Mavericks struggled through crunch time in the regular season, the problem was never his fit for playoff basketball.
It was as if he had enough help to extend Dallas’ stay.
And so it turns out, he would probably.
Seth Curry and a handful of other Mavs made a big splash in Game 2.Kim Klement / Associated Press
On Wendesday, Doncic got help from everywhere – from Kristaps Porzingis (23 points on 7-of-13 shots) and Seth Curry (15 points on 6-of-9 shots), from Tim Hardaway Jr. (17 points and three assists) and Trey Burke (16 points on shots 7-of-11). Even Boban Marjanovic put in, throwing 13 points on 6-of-8 shots while scoring just under 10 minutes.
When Doncic left the floor early in the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul, the Mavericks actually extended their lead behind timely shooting from their former Knicks trio. In the 20 minutes he didn’t play, Dallas scored five tries, generated 21 free throws and outscored the Clippers by two – a small margin that makes all the difference in the world when it comes to navigating superstar-less stretches against Paul George or Kawhi Leonard and sometimes both.
Surviving without Doncic is nothing new for the Mavericks. They outpaced opponents with 3.7 points per 100 possessions in the regular season when he was not in the match. But the playoffs are different. Buying your best playing time on the bench is harder and sometimes not possible.
Plus, the primary concerns were never about Doncic-less stretches alone. It was more about the supporting cast in general. Does Dallas have enough creative work to optimize his minutes on the floor? Water hit while sitting? And pressure of crunch time persisting?
Two games and a 1-1 draw are not enough to give a concrete verdict on the state of Doncic’s running mates, which is forever better than expected thanks to head coach Rick Carlisle’s own decision-making and, for the most part, part, common-sense lineups. At the same time, the Mavericks work a lot with two game-proofs worthwhile.
Dallas loses Game 1 under a thick what-if cloud. It led Los Angeles by five points when Porzingis grabbed his second technical early in the third quarter and was later sent off. Who knows what would have happened if he had not bounced? Maybe the Mavericks will replace the Clippers. Maybe they’re working on a 2-0 series lead as Twitter melts.
Hypothetics never means much. Just ask Carlisle:
Involuntarily, the Clippers will be better. George will not be going 4-of-17 off the floor every night, including 2-of-10 from three. Nor will he find himself early in such cruel trouble. All this presumes that his shoulder will not be a problem.
This is a tough matchup for Montrezl Harrell, but he will play his way into shape. Marcus Morris (probably) will not spend as much time trying to capitalize on mismatches. It shouldn’t be that hard to work through the minutes Doncic spends on the sidelines.
Patrick Beverley’s left calf strain is sitting over this series and is out of control of Los Angeles. He did not look well in Game 1 and has previously suffered the same injury. The Clippers are not as changeable on defense without him in the lineup.
Nor are they this seemingly unhappy. Head coach Doc Rivers can help the team himself.
Less minutes to the tandem of Reggie Jackson-Lou Williams is a good place to start. They have to play without Beverley in the fold – and you can never fully record Williams’ shot – but not at the same time.
More aggressive attacks by Doncic should also go a long way. If the Clippers are not going to drop him like hell – they should consider it – then at least give him some sense to George or Leonard before crunch time. They should also try not to fall so much on Dallas’ other top perimeter option, Curry. And this feels like a series in which more JaMychal Green should be an option, even if he’s underrated relative to Mavericks’ frontcourt combinations.
And yet, expecting the Clippers to simply turn a switch and take over this series exaggerates their position. Her roster has rarely taken on much power. They are a work in progress – dominant on paper, but not yet untested and unknown.
More than that, insofar as a switch exists, it does not derive much different result. The Mavericks are not only happy to be here. Doncic does not go it alone. The outcome of this series is not predetermined.
And the Clippers have been officially warned.
Unless otherwise indicated, stats with courtesy NBA.com, Basketball reference when cleaning the glass. Salary and cap-hold information via Basketball Insiders 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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