The Mavericks look a little beaten down after their third consecutive home loss, 107-91 to New Orleans on Friday night.
They’ve had some good moments lately, but not enough to keep from going 2-6 in their last eight and falling a lot closer to .500 than to the top three teams that already have separated themselves from the pack in the Western Conference.
This is where perseverance must come into play. And it won’t take long to see if the Mavericks can muster some.
Here’s our takeaways from Friday’s debacle, delivered with a note of thanks that the NBA scheduling gods put another game on the schedule in just a few hours (Memphis, 7:30 p.m. Saturday).
SARCASM? I THINK NOT: Did anybody else wonder exactly what Jason Kidd was trying to imply after the game with this quote? “We’re built to play offense. We’re not built to play defense. We’re built to shoot the ball. And when the ball’s not being shot straight, we tend to feel bad for ourselves. But the thing is that our opponent doesn’t feel for ourselves.” To us here at Takeaways Central, that sounds like a not-so-subtle way of trying to challenge his team to put out a better defensive effort. They have tumbled to 21st in overall defensive rating. Or, Kidd could have been trying to coax a stiffer backbone out of his team. There are two ways to be strong in the NBA: physically strong and mentally strong. The best teams will tell you one is every bit as important as the other.
LUKA HAS TO LEARN: Luka Dončić simply has to do a better job of controlling his emotions when it comes to the referees. He plays with emotion, which is a wonderful thing. But when he doesn’t get a call and spends the next five seconds fuming, glaring at the officials or simply showing his dislike by putting hands on hips in protest, the result is the other team usually busting out on a fast break for easy points. Kidd addressed it postgame. Dončić knows it’s a problem. But he’s in good company. It was a problem for years for Dirk Nowitzki, too. He learned over time to pick his spots, then let it go. Hopefully Luka learns the same sooner rather than later.
KP CONCERN LEVEL: Kristaps Porzingis already has missed six of 21 games. He was out on Friday night with a left knee bruise. There was no clues about whether he would return Saturday night against Memphis, but the Mavericks clearly are a different team without the 7-3 Porzingis. The nagging injuries are certainly concerning for a player who has an injury history. He missed five games in late October/early November with lower back tightness.
MORE FT SHOOTING WOES: Free throws are anything but free for this team. They are 28th in the NBA in free-throw percentage at 72.6 percent. But on the bright side, they don’t shoot many (19.1 per game, 25th in the league). Wait, you’re right. That’s not a bright side. But it is a sign that their shooting problems aren’t limited to beyond the 3-point arc.
Twitter: @ESefko
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