Nothing sucks the vibes out of the room quite like a loss to the winless Sacramento Kings on your home court. The Dallas Mavericks’ (4-3) first win streak of the season is no more after Monday’s 115-100 loss to the Kings (1-6) at American Airlines Center.
Kyrie Irving sat out under the “injury management” heading, which means rest, which means the coaching staff likely thought they could get the win without the man who scored a game-high 35 points in 35 minutes in Friday’s 116-111 win over the Houston
Rockets.
Twas not so. The Mavericks have zero other players on the roster who can do what Irving does for this team. Dribble the basketball, for one. Anyway, we move.
Here’s what Mavs head coach Dusty May, center Daniel Gafford and backup guard Walter Clayton Jr. had to say in the postgame press conference about the ugly loss that saw the Mavericks shoot just 7-of-33 (21.2%) from 3-point range.
Dusty May
Opening statement
I want to credit Sacramento — that they were the more determined team tonight, the more prepared team and they came in and earned it. I want to give a lot of credit to their bench, those guys, their backups. Three wings, made a combined 12 threes for 36 points. So on nights like that, you’ve got to find ways to overcome your lack of shooting, and them shooting well, and we just weren’t able to do that tonight.
What led to the team being out of rhythm all night?
A number of things. I thought once they got going, they were physical on the screens. We didn’t put much pressure on the paint or the rim, and we were on our heels.
What did Sacramento do to contribute to Cooper Flagg’s offensive struggles?
They loaded the paint, and there’s a cadence to it where he’s fanning out early, and we miss our first eight threes, and we thought several of them were good looks. And at that point, it fuels their fire to get to him even more in the paint, and they’re collapsing on him. They’re running second guy, third guy at him. I don’t think our spacing, our relocations, were great as a whole, and we just didn’t find any rhythm together.
Flagg grabbed his shoulder late in the fourth quarter — did that have anything to do with it?
I didn’t see that.
On the team shooting 7-of-33 from 3-point range:
Yeah, that’s basketball. When you take [Walter Clayton Jr.] out of it, who made four of those seven, we were three for 28. And so it’s tough to win basketball games like that. You have to have a lot of different areas, the steals, turnovers, getting to the line, which I thought we did a nice job getting to the line. You have to overcome that deficit in so many other areas, and we just weren’t able to do it.
On using the film from this loss to find something and capitalize on it for future games:
Win or a loss, we’re going to look back at our process and just see, did we prepare the right way? Did we have the right game plan? What would we do differently next time? We’ll have several learning experiences from this game. We do have a young team, and when it’s not going well, we just kept stressing that everything’s going poorly for us. But let’s just find a way to hang around and get it till the end. But their shot-making prevented us from doing that. Those guys, they found great connection, especially in the fourth quarter, and found some match-ups, and I thought they played unselfish basketball.
What did you see from the retooled starting five featuring Caleb Martin in the first half and Clayton in the second half?
I thought Caleb did a good job defensively. He made a shot. I don’t think the lineup combinations offhand are the reason that they won tonight. We didn’t do much well across the board, coaching, playing in any way. We just felt like he had a really good game last outing. His defense has been really, really sound for us.
On being without Kyrie Irving in the lineup:
He does so much for us, and making big shots, and calming us down. We haven’t been able to answer runs very well. That’s one area that he does. One of your guys is out, and another one just has an off night. You’ve got to have some other guys step up and making shots as part of that. They just didn’t drop tonight.
On Max Christie’s 3-point shooting to start the year:
He’s put in a lot of work. He deserves to have success. He had a great summer, and there’s ebbs and flows and ups and downs in any season. We always just stress that water is going to find its level, and just keep moving forward with whether things are going well or poorly. Just keep preparing the right way, and keep believing and having faith, and your time will come. So it’s an 82-game season. We’re confident that water is going to find its level on our shooters.
On Christie’s hip injury that kept him out of the second half — did you see it? Do you have any updates?
No, I just saw that he was hobbling a little bit. They just said we’ll evaluate him tomorrow, typically the night of, it’s tough to have a clear evaluation, but we’ll re-evaluate in the next couple days.
Three Sacramento guards scores 20 or more — what did they do to hurt you guys?
They spread us out, and they made tough shots. Those guys are good players. I thought LaVine was very sound. Obviously, Acuff is dynamic. I thought they picked their spots well, but Monk, every time we made a run, he came in with a step-back three, dagger after dagger. It wasn’t as if they didn’t make plays. Those guys went at us, and they made plays.
Daniel Gafford
How would you describe how the game went?
Shots weren’t falling, and it kind of got in our head, honestly. I think that was one of the main things. They played harder than us throughout the whole game.
How much did the team miss Irving?
We definitely missed his impact, 100%. He has a lot of gravity when he’s on the floor, and he makes everyone’s jobs a little bit easier. Whenever he’s not on the floor, everybody knows it’s the next man up. Everybody has to take that next step and find ways to just make an impact with our star players on the floor.
Have you noticed anything missing from the team’s preparation coming into this loss?
Not necessarily. I feel like just the energy was a little low. I feel like we started off good. Throughout the course of the game, we were having plays here and there where it’s like our energy wasn’t into it. P.J. said it a lot in locker room. We played their record tonight, 100%. They came in with the mindset to just, it doesn’t matter their record, they came in and they played like pros tonight.
How do you make sure low energy doesn’t continue to be an issue?
I mean, we let this hurt [until] midnight, and we focus on the next one. Keep it pushing. We got a big game coming up in two days. Playing a good Spurs team — can’t really dwell on this too much. We know the things that we need to do to get better. And I feel like our response to this one is going to dictate how this season is going to go for us, for sure.
Did the Kings play hungry after coming into the game without a win?
Yeah, we can’t let the record fool us at the end of the day. 0-6, they’re coming in with a fire lit up under their tail. So it’s like we have to be ready for anything. And that’s exactly, I feel like we kind of, you know, there was times where shots didn’t fall. Like we kind of let go of the rope in those situations. So it’s just, we just have to stick with it. Communication could have been better from probably me in certain areas, communicating to the guys that were feeling like, you know, shots weren’t falling. So it’s like, what else can I do? But, you know, talking to the guys when that stuff happens, it’s just ways we can find ways to keep making impacts for the game. If your shot’s not falling, we can get a stop on defense. Come down. You can make a layup or something. So it’s just, we just have to get over that slump. You know, I have the same thing. You know, a shot doesn’t fall for me. I mess up on a play when it comes to the offensive side, defensive side, and sometimes we get it in our own head. But self-doubt is one of the most contagious things when it comes to any team in the league. You know, one shot doesn’t fall. One guy has his head down, the next shot doesn’t fall, another guy does it. So it’s just like we have to find ways to get past that. And I feel like we’re going to, you know, we’ve responded the right way time and time again when it comes to games that we’ve lost. So I feel like we’re going to be okay.
How confident are you that [Flagg] bounces back on Wednesday against the Spurs?
I got all the confidence in the world. You know, I was trying to make sure I talked to him. Pretty much any guys, you know, throughout majority of the game, because I know they’ll do the same for me. You know, trying to build confidence and just speaking life into people. That’s one of the things that will help us down the stretch of the games that we have. You know, there’ll be games where shots don’t fall, but at the end of the day, we still got to play defense, too. So it’s like they get a rebound, get back in transition, you may get a blocked shot, you may make a play to where it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. And that’s making an impact for the game. Now, that should let you know, you know what I’m saying? It’s not the end of the world. You know, we have possessions further and further into the game. So we just got to keep playing.
What did Sacramento do to make it tough on [inaudible]?
I feel like, you know, the main thing the coach has said is they were comfortable. You know, we didn’t really make them do the things that we wanted them to do. They got the shots that they wanted. They were crashing the glass crazy. They kind of, you know, hit us in the mouth coming out in the second quarter and making us turn the ball over, honestly.
What do you think of Morez Johnson’s growth so far this season (13 points in 17 minutes)?
I feel like he’s developing into the player he wants to be. 100%. You know, he works every day. And as much as, you know, he has to, of course, pay attention to certain things when it comes to, I guess, his health. If I’m not mistaken, you know, he’s obviously really paying attention to details of what he can do to be successful in this league. You know, short roll, being a guy, you know, a threat on the offensive glass, defensive glass, and it’s been a threat defensively in general. So, you know, I’m proud of him. Sky’s the limit for him. He’s going to have a good career in this league.
With the team playing another up-and-coming 19-year-old in Darius Acuff, what do you think of the young talent in the NBA right now?
Man, I feel like they’re getting younger every year, you know. I feel like some of these days we’re going to have a 16-year-old in the league. So it’s just like, you know, props to everyone that’s around these younger guys because, you know, it’s like they have their head on their shoulders the right way, you know. And that’s no disrespect to any other generation when it comes to just coming into this league. But these guys are coming in hot. And it’s like, you know, they have the mentality of just going out and just making the best of their minutes. If they don’t make the best of those minutes, they find ways to make an impact on the floor, whether they’re on the sideline or not.
What has Clayton brought to the team so far?
I mean, from what I’ve seen, I’ve been a fan of Walter’s game ever since he was at Florida. And just seeing the things that he’s done in a couple of games that he’s actually had, you know, good stints. You know, he’s a good shooter. He attacks the basket. He facilitates. He communicates with us. He finds ways to, you know, show how he’s a true point guard. So it’s just, you know, sky’s the limit, like I said with Morez, sky’s a little bit for him too, because he’s just steady building. He’s producing and he’s progressing like how he wants to. And he got, you know, a great guard in his ear — Kyrie Irving — giving him, I’m pretty sure, tips and pointers on just how to be good in his game.
What did you see from the Sacramento backcourt that made them so productive?
Like I said, just they were comfortable. You know, they were getting pretty much whatever they wanted. They were getting downhill. You know, they were getting — our guards were getting killed on some of the screens. So some of the communication kind of fell on our shoulders, like the big shoulders, trying to get them over those screens. But they were just comfortable all in all. You know, they got whatever they wanted. They took the shots that they wanted. They got the matchups that they wanted. They put everybody in the action that they seemed to where they could go score on them.
What is Flagg’s reaction in the locker room when he has a down game like this?
I never really pay attention to the reaction because I know he’s going to bounce back. So I just, whenever it comes to just the conversation throughout the locker room, I always say our response is going to dictate how we feel the next day or just like the next game. So it’s more of just me. I try to, like I say, speak life into people. So whenever it comes to where I see anybody has their head down or, you know, one of the main things he said was [unclear]. I’m sorry for how I played tonight. It’s not on him. You know, this is a team game. So when I didn’t night out, if one person has a bad game or two people have a bad game, I mean, that’s still on the team because we played defense at the end of the day too. So it’s like, it’s not just on one person at the end of the day.
Walter Clayton Jr.
What do you want Mavericks fans to know about your game and what you offer?
Just I’m willing to adapt to kind of whatever the team needs me to be or whatever night it is, you know, whether that’s with the ball in my hands or without the ball in my hands. So just trying to be a team player to whatever the team needs to win games.
What are you learning from Irving?
Just a lot. Just from a day-to-day standpoint: how he takes care of himself, how he works, and then the mental aspect too. You know, I think he’s been giving me — he doesn’t want to throw everything at me at one time. So he’s just been giving me little bits and pieces, you know, day by day. So it’s definitely great having him and I’ve been learning a lot.
What did you see out there that helped you score 20 points in 24 minutes?
Just shots. You know, I think whenever we got paint touches and we was kicking the ball out, it was getting great shots. You know, for me, they fell tonight.
How did the team miss the opportunity for a win against a previously winless team?
Yeah, for sure. I think, just to be honest, I think they were more hungry than us tonight. You know, I think we kind of played to that record when we played up. It’s our abilities. It’s our abilities. Lost the rebounding battle. They beat us on a lot of 50-50s. They beat us a lot of 50-50. So I think, you know, we just got to come out with more energy.
On turning around the offensive struggles quickly:
I mean, we got good shots tonight. I don’t think we got bad ones. Like I said, whenever we got in the paint, we kicked out. We got great shots. It’s 82 games. Sometimes they just don’t fall. So I think tonight was one of those nights.
On his fit with the team:
I said it before in another interview. We just got a bunch of unselfish guys, man. It could be anybody’s night at any point in time. So we just got a bunch of unselfish guys, and you know, they’ve been finding me.
On his initial impressions of Dusty May:
Man, Dusty’s great. I think he cares about us, more like even like just being a person. So I think that’s big, going out there playing for a coach that cares about you as a person. And he’s just obviously a great basketball man, great dude. And he’s been just, adapting to this as well as his first year in the league. So he’s been great. I think. It’s only going to get better.
On Irving being a kind of coach on the floor:
Yeah, for sure. Just seeing the game — there might be a point where he feels like I could have rejected a screen. He’ll just get in my ear, let me know about that. And then the main thing really is just don’t get down on myself. Whenever something bad happens, move on to the next play. He’s big on next-play mentality. So that’s something he’s been preaching to me a lot.
How did the Kings “mix it up” on Flagg?
Yeah, for sure. I think they was just kind of timing his dribble whenever he was getting down there to the paint, playing him for his middy. Obviously, they was going under on the screens. … And obviously, it’s 82 games, like I said, man. Cooper’s going to be good. He’s going to bounce back next game. He’s going to. He’s been great for us, and he’s going to continue to be.
