Overall, they achieved positive results and experienced great moments on some nights, but the team is on the verge of being eliminated from the in-season tournament.
The in-season tournament is a new feature the NBA organization has introduced this season featuring six groups—three per conference—each consisting of five teams. Only the winners from each one are qualified for the final eight along with the second-best in-season-record franchise from each conference. The structure involves one elimination game per round. The Final Four will be played in Las Vegas, with a semifinal and final design.
The Mavericks suffered losses in both away matches but secured a victory in the only home game. The first loss came against the Nuggets in Denver, with almost no defensive response to stop Doncic and his fellows. The other defeat was in New Orleans. This one was tough because the Mavs won the game vs. the same team on Sunday, a match that wasn´t part of this short tournament. Despite having the means to beat them, they couldn’t achieve consecutive victories. In retrospect, reversing the results—losing the first and winning the second—might have been preferable.
The single victory was at home, as said. The Mavericks defeated the Clippers in the best match they have played so far in the whole season (144-126). The Doncic-Irving duo was on fire on that Friday with Luka ending the game with 44 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB, with 81% FG and 66.7% on 3PTS, while Kyrie registered a 27- 3- 6. However, defeating the Clippers kind of sounds like something almost every team is enjoying at the moment.
The Dallas Mavericks have only one remaining match in their group, against the Rockets, which have won their sole in-season game.
Two losses, one win, and a single match left to play make it difficult for the Mavs to be in the selected group of eight teams that will fight for the first in-season champion glory. Reflecting on a well-known sports clothes brand’s ad, ‘1% possibilities, 99% faith,’ hope remains the last thing this team can cling to.
This last week has helped to reach some conclusions. In the first place, the team has put into a manifesto that they are really and surprisingly dependent on Liveley´s presence to be better on the rebounding and painting aspects. The rookie was out in Toronto and was missed. The rookie’s absence in Toronto was felt, and Coach Jason Kidd emphasized this in a press statement: “We missed him a lot, there was no one in the paint tonight and that just shows how important he is to our team.” The Raptors played a physically demanding game, as the Nuggets did, and the Dallas´team suffered it. And the Mavericks players seemed to be a little bit disconnected from the rebounding part: 6-15 in the offensive rebounds in favor of the Toronto squad.
Another observation concerns the starting lineup. When all players were available, Kidd consistently started the same five: Doncic, Irving, Williams, Lively, and Jones, with changes only due to rest or injuries.
West Coast Hoops 