About last night... Loss to Rockets

The Mavericks started off the Orlando seeding games with a heartbreaking loss in an overtime shootout vs the Rockets. There was no defense played whatsoever, both offenses thrived. The Mavericks lead with under a minute left, all that sharpshooter Seth Curry needed to do was nail both of his free throws to all but seal the win by putting the Mavericks up 4 with 5.2 seconds remaining. He missed his first and we all knew how the rest of the game was going to play out. Mav fans are all too familiar with clutch game woes. I was hoping that the time off would change something, I was wrong. The Mavericks fouled harden instead of letting him shoot a 3 to tie the game at 139. He nailed the first free throw, then missed the second. GAME! No. Robert Covington slipped around Maxi Kleber and behind KP, who was tangled up with Pj Tucker down low. Covington easily high pointed the missed free throw and tipped the ball in. Tie game. Box out. With 3.3 seconds left the Mavericks had a fighting chance. Carlisle could draw something up to get KP (who was blistering hot), or Hardaway Jr. open right? Maybe some way to get luka inside the paint, which seemed like the only way he could score last night. Nope, we settled for a off balance Luka three point heave while he was draped with defenders at the buzzer. Once we go to overtime tied at 139, it was over. They had a chance to take the lead with a minute left, but Westbrook was able to make a steal and get it to Covington who nailed a 3 to ice it. According to the L2M report, Westbrook indeed stepped out of bounds. Still, there is no excuse. 

DFS

Another Orlando game, another lackluster performance for Dorian Finney Smith. Our best wing defender has lost a little bit of his shot. He ended up fouling out, but that isn't very hard when you are the primary defender against James Harden, king of drawing fouls. Look for him to regain some confidence tomorrow against the Suns.

Lineups

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason behind substitutions and lineups that Carlise rolled out. At the beginning when boban switched in I thought, "okay yeah. Brilliant, whenever Harden is out, put Boban in so he doesnt get exploited in P&R!" we never saw that again. Trey Burke was on FIRE. Michigan wolverine fire. But then he sat in crucial minutes down the stretch when the Mavs needed scoring. I don't get it. We also saw more Justin Jackson than Cleveland. I felt like Cleveland would match up better against this team, guess I was wrong. 

Luka

I saw many calling Luka BAD. of all things.... He isn't bad. He didn't play great, but was defended by multiple bodies every time down. He got to the paint well, made a couple costly turnovers, and oh yeah that "Luka can play off ball too!" claim I made... forget that. His three wasn't falling but he didn't rely on it. Took a lot less until... the end of the game. Luka defended westbrook very well in the halfcourt. Transition gave him problems. I'd like to see more P&R with KP next game . 

Overall a ton of positives from last night. No other team is going to be able to hang with us at that scoring pace... BUT other teams are gonna be a lot tougher on D than Houston was last night. The Mavericks need to toughen up defensively. They need to play to win in those situations, not play to not lose. Don't settle for jumpers, take it to the paint if you're cold. Play the hot hand. Besides Luka and KP, everyone else should be able to subbed out if they are getting out played that night. 

Even though this was the first seeding game, I think it was critical. It was a chance to make a statement. Clinch the playoffs for the first time in 4 years, while also gaining traction in the west. Now the narrative changes. Houston has Dynamic scorers! Incredible playmakers! Shooters everywhere! just because they won a game they shouldn't have. Dallas, still can't close late games. Can't defend, and there are questions on Luka's numbers and clutch ability. (0-10 on go ahead clutch fg's this year) I hope things change for the better going forward. Let's gain some ground in the west, blow Phoenix out tomorrow. Prove that you aren't a bump in the road for the Clippers.