The Mavericks picked up their second win of the season on Wednesday night as they edged past the Pacers 107-105. In what turned into two injury-ridden rosters slugging their way to a win or loss, it was
the bench for the Mavericks who did the heavy lifting. The back-court duo of D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Williams led the way with Russell contributing 14 points and 5 assists on 5-of-11 shooting and Williams contributing 20 points and 7 rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting. Pascal Siakam had a double-double for the Pacers with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Jarace Walker also had 20, and RayJ Dennis had 17. With both rosters so injury-riddled, the game was ugly. Both teams shot below 30% from three and had double-digit turnovers. The game started ugly for the Mavericks, as the Pacers jumped out to a 7-point lead in the first quarter. Anthony Davis started the game well with four points and four rebounds on 50% shooting, but exited the game with what the Mavericks called left knee soreness at the 4:23 mark of the first quarter. Davis would not return, leaving the Mavericks’ front court more depleted than their back court. The Mavericks continued to struggle through the 1st half, letting the Pacers get out to a 12-point lead, until the Mavericks came back and brought the game within three at halftime, leading by a run with Caleb Martin making a 3 and Dwight Powell getting to the free-throw line six times in the last six minutes of the half. The Mavs dominated the 3rd quarter, taking the lead quickly with a Cooper Flagg jump shot. The bench big three of Russell, Williams, and Powell dominated the third quarter with a combined 7-of-10 from the floor, accounting for most of the scoring. The fourth quarter was a scare for the Mavs, as their lead slowly shrank as the game went on because of the Mavs turning the ball over five times in the quarter. Luckily, thanks to the heroics of Brandon Williams and some terrible shooting from the Pacers, who missed six 3-point shots in the last 5 minutes of the game, the Mavs pushed past the Pacers late in Dallas. Let’s get into the numbers.
2-of-10: Klay Thompson from the floor tonight
In 20 minutes, Klay Thompson had yet another rough performance for the Mavericks, having five points on 2-of-10 shooting and 1-of-6 from three. While the numbers look bad on their own, the context makes it feel worse. Klay took 8 shots in the first half tonight, with six of them coming after Anthony Davis was checked out of what ended up being the entire game. His one three-pointer in the second quarter started the Mavs’ run back into the game; however, he contributed almost nothing else the entire night.
Klay is shooting a whopping 26.7% from three this season, and only 37% from the floor, while contributing what most would say is the worst defense on the entire team. Because of this, it is making it difficult for Jason Kidd to keep him on the floor, leaving him out of the rotation in the 4th quarter completely tonight. Klay is making $16 million a year and is one of the vets on this team; he will almost certainly play. But Klay is making it increasingly difficult for him to get consistent minutes and heat up the way Klay probably wants to. Worse for the Mavs, he is making it harder to trade him with his poor play. The Mavs are stuck in a sticky situation with Klay, whose only option is to play better or be benched.
10-of-12: Dwight Powell from the free-throw line
Dwight Powell had a surprisingly increased role tonight and certainly made the most of it. With Anthony Davis checking out early with knee soreness, and Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively out with respective injuries, Dwight Powell was thrown into action after receiving 0 minutes in Monday’s loss to the Thunder.
Dwight was great; in 30 minutes, he had 18 points and six rebounds, while leading the team with a plus-12 in the box score. The most impressive part of Powell’s night was the fact that he got to the free-throw line 12 times. Powell’s aggressiveness and willingness to roll to the rim and take contact were a nice sight to see from someone on this team. His ability to get to the line not only generated offense, but kept the Pacers in foul-trouble-check, and let the Mavericks slow down and set up their defense.
Powell showed why he is still deserving of being on this team and that he is ready and able to contribute, when it looks like we might need him with all the front-court injuries looming over this team. He also proved that even with everyone injured, having a big man on the floor is detrimental to this team’s success.
5: Maverick Turnovers in the 4th quarter
The Mavericks cruised into the fourth quarter with an 81-73 lead over the Pacers, looking the healthier of the two depleted teams. However, the Pacers made it a game and kept it close thanks to the Mavericks’ turnovers in the 4th quarter. The Mavs lost the ball five times in the last 12 minutes, including two in the last five minutes that almost cost them the game.
The reason this is so important is because of who made them. Four of the turnovers were made by two of tonight’s starters, PJ Washington Jr and Max Christie. The fifth was D’Angelo Russell dribbling off his own leg. All three of these players are not only key players in the Mavericks’ rotations, but also three of the players Jason Kidd trusts the most to handle the ball and generate offense for the main part of the roster when healthy.
The fact that those three in particular are nearly costing the Mavericks a game with their sloppy mistakes says a lot about how this roster is constructed. The Mavericks need guard depth and help, and they need it fast.
