With Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis seated, the Dallas Mavericks fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 112-103. Tim Hardaway, Jr. led the Mavericks in scoring, scoring 30 points and five rebounds. Zion Williamson was the Pelicans’ top scorer with 38 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Both teams were on the second night in a row, but New Orleans started the game with full energy. The Pelicans took control in the first quarter, as the Mavericks were unable to find any attacks. But Dallas found his balance in the second half, narrowing the gap to an explosion of goals from Hardaway. The Mavericks left in a 17-0 race at the end of time, and the teams reached the break tied at 53.
Neither team managed to move away in the third and changed the lead throughout the fourth period. But at the end of the game, the Mavericks were unable to do anything to contain Williamson. He scored or helped in all 14 Pelicans end points to close the game. In the end, Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit a 3-point ball to close the game with Williamson’s assistance with just over a minute remaining.
It is difficult to evaluate much with Doncic and Porzingis outside. The Mavericks have built their team around Doncic and try to involve Porzingis as much as possible, so when they are not on the ground, it is a completely different team. There are not many general conclusions here. But here are three observations of what turned out to be a predictable loss:
Tim Hardaway Jr. appeared great
Hardaway exploded in the first half, scoring 21 of his 30 points, including 3 of 5 shots from behind the hoop. He alone kept the Mavericks in the game with his game. Hardaway is not always consistent, but he is the reason why Dallas has won several games this season.
Hardaway was unable to continue with his good score in the second half, only adding nine points the rest of the way. New Orleans shifted part of its focus to closing it, and it showed. He was simply not meant to be the top scorer, and without Doncic for the defense to take action, the Pelicans managed to slow Hardaway down.
It was Hardaway’s second 30-point game of the season. Usually, when he puts numbers like that, the Mavericks wins. But that was not the case tonight.
Despite having several players lost, Rick Carlisle has not yet played against the newbies
Carlisle’s refusal to play newbies is disconcerting. The Mavericks lost four players – Doncic, Porzingis, along with the recently traded James Johnson and Wes Iwundu. Johnson and Iwundu were not getting steady minutes, but in a game where Doncic and Porzingis were out, they would certainly have seen some time on the court.
So when Josh Green and Tyler Bey didn’t play, it was surprising to say the least. Your winning margin decreases significantly when you sit on all the stars, even against weaker teams like the Pelicans. The game can boil down to just a few mistakes, and needless to say, newbies make a lot of mistakes. But with such a slow rotation, it just doesn’t make sense to see Green and Bey not play, even if it is only on limited stretches.
Josh Richardson continues to fight
The Mavericks are playing with the shortest regular season rotation I’ve ever seen. If someone in this rotation has difficulty, it has a significant impact on the game. Richardson scored just four points in 1-11 shots. He also had three of the Mavericks’ seven twists. Dallas just can’t afford anyone to play badly if one of his two stars sits down. And if they’re both out, it’s a disaster. No one is asking Richardson to carry the Mavericks when Doncic is gone, but he needs to be more efficient. The Mavericks cannot allow their initial throwing guard to have more turnovers than field goals. Dallas is 19-7 when Richardson scores at least 10 points, and no win in nine games when he doesn’t.