The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Phoenix Suns 123-114 Wednesday night in Dallas. It was the Mavericks fifth loss in the last sixth games, as Dallas drops to a disappointing 3-9.
This was the first game since the firing of general manager Nico Harrison. It was evident the team had a bit more life to it starting the game, as the Mavericks raced to an early 10-4 lead, forcing an early Suns timeout. From about the midway point of the first quarter though, it was all Suns.
PJ Washington left with a shoulder
injury five minutes into the game, and the Suns pounced. Early shot making from Suns backup Jordan Goodwin got Phoenix back into the game, and then Devin Booker, Grayson and Dillon Brooks secured a halftime lead. The Suns then blew the game open in the third quarter, building as large as an 18-point lead, which essentially put the game away.
It wouldn’t be this Mavericks team if it didn’t show any fight however, and while the deficit was too big to claw back from, the Mavericks did whittle the lead down to three points late in the fourth. Dallas just didn’t have the juice to complete the comeback, which has sort of been a theme for a lot of their fourth quarters this season.
Here’s what we noticed from this game.
Nico Harrison is gone, but the team hasn’t changed
It’s been a wild 24 hours in Dallas, with news of Harrison’s firing leaking out before lunchtime on Tuesday. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of reactions, speculation, and at times celebration. Ding dong, the witch is dead, and it was clearly time for Harrison to be shown the door. Unfortunately it happened about nine months too late.
That means no more “fire Nico” chants ringing out inside the American Airlines Center, something Mavericks players and coaches have addressed. Coach Jason Kidd said before the game that the chants late in the fourth quarter while PJ Washington was shooting free throws were “disrespectful.” Washington during his own pregame media availability echoed the same.
Well, there weren’t any “fire Nico” chants tonight, and the Mavericks were down 18 in the third quarter. Guess it wasn’t the chants?
In all seriousness, it is good that Dallas’ home court advantage has been restored, and the players have every right to feel the way they’ve felt for a situation they have zero control over. The problem is firing Harrison doesn’t really change the predicament the Mavericks are in — Dallas woke up Tuesday morning with Harrison as its general manager and a team in freefall with injuries and a broken approach to team-building. The Mavericks will wake up tomorrow and the next day without Harrison as its general manager, and those same problems will still be here.
Harrison’s firing didn’t magically give the Mavericks a point guard, or extra shooting. It didn’t heal Anthony Davis or Dereck Lively’s ailments, or help the team guard the three point line. Every flaw the Mavericks had before they still have now. That doesn’t mean Harrison shouldn’t have been fired, but that it is just one small step on the long road back to becoming a contender again.
It was good to see the fans happy and engaged, but the losses will continue to pile up so long as Davis and Lively are hurt, and heck, even maybe when they’re healthy too. This is a broken basketball team in a lot of ways, and while it was literally one man who broke it, it will take more to fix it than simply removing that one man.
Moussa Cisse is a future MVP
OK, I’m maybe being a touch hyperbolic, but hot damn I love watching Moussa Cisse play basketball.
The dude just goes. He’s never not giving 110 percent effort, and good things tend to happen when he plays extended minutes. Next time you sit down to watch a Mavericks game, for a few possessions just watch Cisse and focus on how hard he runs to get down the floor during a change of possession, either defensively or offensively. Cisse is almost always beating his man back down the floor, and while that doesn’t always do something, it does reflect the absolute killer motor this guy operates with.
Cisse fouled out in 15 minutes, but racked up four points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. Four blocks in 15 minutes of action should be illegal. Man this guy is fun.
As the Mavericks look toward the future, hopefully they can find more burn for Cisse. He’s on a two-way contract, and is burning through his eligibility, so the Mavericks should do what they can to clear cap and roster space to convert Cisse to a full-time deal. Dude has earned it.
Hard to win with these turnovers
Dallas had a staggering 21 turnovers tonight, and Phoenix scored 31 points off those 21 turnovers. That is simply an untenable number and the Mavericks had almost no shot to win this game despite the comeback solely because of all the turnovers.
They were evenly distributed too — six Mavericks players had at least two turnovers, with Cooper Flagg and Brandon Williams leading the way with four apiece.
There’s nothing much else to say about this point. The Mavericks don’t have a ton of guards, and their best active, healthy point guard is a former G-League guy that was on a two-way contract last season. Brandon Williams is seriously awesome, but if he’s your best point guard, that is a sign of trouble.
