The Dallas Mavericks drop another close game on the road, this time to the Portland Trailblazers, 125-122. Deni Avdija scored 27 to lead all scorers for Portland to go along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Max Christie led all Dallas scorers with 25.
Defense was optional for both teams in the opening period, though for Dallas it arguably wasn’t on the agenda at all. Portland shot 53% from the field and grabbed six offensive rebounds. This somehow resulted in 13 more attempted field goals. Despite the Mavericks getting to the line nine times and shooting 53% on their own shots, Dallas was down 42-29 after 12 minutes of basketball.
Cooper Flagg finally came alive in the second quarter after a scoreless first. He made plays all over both ends of the court, but it wasn’t enough as the Maverick team defense remained awful throughout the period. A brief run closed the Portland lead down to single digits, but Dallas was unable to cut into it further. Hot shooting from the Blazers, paired with horrible closeouts from the Mavericks, sustained the Portland lead. The Mavericks still trailed at half, 75-63.
Dallas switched out Ryan Nembard for Brandon Williams to start the second half to give the Mavericks a different look. The Maveriks spent most of the frame trying to cut into the Portland lead and did not get it below eight points until Naji Marshal free throws cut it to seven with 28 seconds left. A Klay Thompson bank at the end of the quarter pulled Dallas within four to end the period. Dallas trailed 97-93 after 36 minutes of basketball.
Klay Thompson tied the game at 99 all around the 9:30 mark, making it the first time the Mavericks weren’t losing since early in the first quarter. Dallas tied the game twice more before finally retaking the lead on a Max Christie three around the seven-minute mark. The two teams would exchange leads repeatedly before Dallas took a four point lead on Flagg’s first free throws of the game with 3:13 remaining. A 7-0 run puts Portland back on top, 120-117. Dallas retook a 122-121 lead on another Christie three. Caleb Young free throws gave the lead back to Portland. An Avdija offensive foul gave Dallas one last chance, but Naji Marshall could not connect on a three following a Dallas timeout. The Mavericks fall in Portland, 125-122.
Play better in the first quarter, please
Perhaps getting off to horrible starts is playing a factor in why the Mavericks can’t hold on late in these clutch games? Surrendering 42 points to a team that played last night is pathetic. I get that Anthony Davis is out, but the Mavericks can clearly play better defense as they did the remainder of the game against Portland. This keeps happening, though, and Jason Kidd needs to find a solution. Ryan Nembhard has not been getting off to good starts, which is probably why he was buried in the second half, but I have to believe Kidd is capable of getting more out of these limited players. Or maybe Dallas is just not good enough at the guard position and this will keep happening.
Could Cooper Flagg get a foul call already?
Mavericks star rookie Cooper Flagg gets a horrible whistle. That’s not shocking; he is a rookie. But if you watched tonight’s game against the Blazers you saw how both Cooper and Avdija attacked the rim. One guy had 12 free-throw attempts, the other had two. I’ll let you guess which player had which.
It’s annoying to watch and head coach Jason Kidd needs to do a better job advocating for his star. But he never did that for Luka Doncic so why would he do it for Flagg? Still, the Mavericks need to lobby behind the scenes for Flagg. He attacks relentlessly and gets bodied all the time to no call. If he gets hurt because of the refs refusal to protect him, we should all be pissed.
Bad defensive strategy
Running drop coverage with Dwight Powell is stupid. Look at this.
Dwight Powell is not a rim protector. He is incapable with his high hips and short arms. He is who he is. You do not let a defense attack him. You use him to attack on defense. Think about how Dallas made the Western Conference Finals in 2022 with Powell playing a ton of center; they used him to blitz in a frenetic defense with everyone covering ground and disrupting offense.
This drop coverage makes sense for Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively. It does not make sense for Gafford and it really doesn’t make sense for Powell. Dallas has to stop ceding easy things due to poor coaching strategy. If they want to win games (hey maybe they don’t), the Mavericks have to stop allowing easy points for quarters on end.
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