Spencer Dinwiddie is quickly becoming the most real-thinking Maverick when it comes to analyzing situations.
We all remember his monologue on the merits of Dwight Powell and how what Powell does makes him one of the best professionals and most under-appreciated teammates in the NBA.
On Sunday, after the Mavericks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 124-115, Dinwiddie again summed up the situation perfectly.
His point: losing to the Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back in Milwaukee is no sin.
Nobody expects to win that game, although everybody is playing to win.
What makes that loss and the Mavericks’ losses in Boston and Toronto to start their trip so painful is what happened before them.
You lose to Denver without Nikola Jokic, in Dallas. You lose at Washington without Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. You lose to Houston, period. In Dallas, no less.
Those are the unpardonable sins. Not losing at Milwaukee.
As Dinwiddie said: “This is why we can’t drop winnable games.”
And the truth is, you never really get those “bad” losses back. Even unexpected wins, when they come, don’t remove the feeling that you let so many games get away early in the season.
And they always – always – come back to bite you.
Rebounding woes: The Mavericks were outrebounded in all three games on the trip – by eight in Milwaukee, 14 in Toronto and three in Boston.
That’s 25 possessions more for the opponents.
Allow Jason Kidd to explain.
“We’re ball-watching a lot,” he said. “Shot goes up, and we just kind of watch. We got to be a little more physical thought we were physical (in Toronto) after we gave up 10 (offensive boards) in the first quarter. Maybe the message isn’t being heard that we got to box out.
“We got to be physical. Teams are just crashing on us, getting second and third opportunities. Our defense is giving up a tough two, but we got to be able to finish the play.”
With a rebound.
Briefly: The Mavericks on Monday afternoon waived Facu Campazzo, ostensibly to make room for a new player, which could be announced as soon as Tuesday. Campazzo played sparingly in eight games for the Mavericks. On Sunday, he had three points in three minutes against the Bucks . . . Christian Wood sometimes doesn’t get a lot of playing time with Luka Dončić, but the two were together at the start of the third quarter against the Bucks. “It’s good. It’s a good lineup,” Dončić said. “Christian is a great player. And he helps us a lot.” . . . Dončić took a hard tumble at Milwaukee and came up holding his left knee. “He (a Bucks’ player) ran into my knee. But it’s fine,” he said. “There were a lot of hits.” . . . The Mavericks will be home for slightly more than 48 hours before heading to Detroit and New York for games Thursday and Saturday. They are in a stretch of playing seven of 10 games on the road.
Twitter: @ESefko
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