The Mavericks lost their fourth game in a row, dropping to Jazz 120-101. It was a disheartening effort by Dallas, which again showed a level of lethargy and carelessness rarely seen by a professional basketball team. The team has a difficult schedule and bad luck with health, but at some point they have to perform and play high level basketball. Or maybe at least a competitive one.
The attack was disarticulated to start the game, since the Mavericks only managed to add 12 points in the first quarter. Jazz, however, had no problem getting buckets, hitting seven points out of 3 on its way to 37 points in the opening frame. That despite the lack of its star Donovan Mitchell, he went to the second game in a row due to concussion protocols. Dallas responded in the second, reducing the deficit to 16, but Utah roared back in the third, beating the Mavericks by ten with another volley of shots from the bottom.
Not much has changed in the room. Luka Doncic made a respectable 25-point line, six rebounds and seven assists. Bojan Bogdanovic led the way for Jazz, scoring 32 points and hitting 7 out of 11 from the bottom.
It is becoming repetitive, but the same problems haunt this team from game to game. Much of this can be resolved with effort; part of that would be resolved only by falling shots, which, according to the percentages, will eventually happen. So if everything discussed below looks familiar, it is. Here are three things from another demoralizing defeat for Jazz.
Kristaps Porzingis is in a very bad place.
Porzingis had a terrible first half – 1 of 4 pitches, three points and three rebounds. He also made three fouls and quickly caught two more in less than two minutes in the third quarter. Porzingis had a chance in the fourth period, when the game was already decided, ending with 11 points and nine rebounds.
There is much to complain about with Porzingis. He is not shooting well, nor is he doing much in defense, nor is he hitting. The Mavericks brought him to Dallas to be the second star and carry the scoring load when Doncic sits down. He is not doing this and cannot influence the game when he does not score. The Mavericks can only hope that their form of shooting will return soon, because they need all the help they can get now.
The Mavericks recovery problems continue.
Dallas was beaten on the boards, while Jazz overtook the Mavericks 56-40. They were especially crushed on the defensive end, losing 17 offensive rebounds and achieving only eight rebounds. This is not due to the size of the squad or talent. The Mavericks took fourth place in the NBA in team recovery last season. Most of that list came back this year.
The difference is the level of effort, which has already been mentioned enough. They don’t have to win the rebound battle every night, but they can’t lose it for long. At some point, they have to show some pride and attack each lost ball as if it were the seventh game in a series of playoffs.
The 3-point shot buried the Mavericks early
Jazz got his 3 points right, and the Mavericks didn’t. It’s that simple.
Utah hit 41 percent behind the arc, while Dallas hit just 27 percent. At some point, Mavericks need to hold opponents to a reasonable percentage of depth and make their own shots. Doncic is preparing Mavericks snipers to look good. They are simply not falling. That may change in the future, but for now Dallas will have a hard time winning if it doesn’t reverse its luck from the 3-point line.
Mavericks don’t have much time to figure out how to fix the ship. They are back in Dallas tomorrow night to face the Suns at 8 pm CST.