At times like this, I’m reminded of that all-time movie classic Cool Hand Luke.
“What we’ve got here is, failure to communicate.”
It was classic in 1967. And it applies today in the aftermath of the Mavericks’ 127-125 loss to Golden State on Wednesday.
The controversial sequence with just under two minutes left in the third quarter may not have cost the Mavericks the game. But it certainly didn’t help them.
To review, let’s look at this objectively.
After an apparent offensive rebound by the Warriors that also trickled out of bounds, the referee pointed to the Mavericks’ end of the court, as if to say “Mavs ball.”
But the second he did that, Kevon Looney stops complaining and turns to go to the Golden State bench. Did the ref yell “Mavs ball?” Or was he signaling that the Mavericks called timeout?
That was the first miscommunication, at least from referees to players.
Then, when play resumed, why were the Mavericks all down on their offensive end if they didn’t think the ball was in their possession? And why did the refs start play with all the Warriors down on their offensive end.
Inbounds pass, quick dunk by Looney, two points for Golden State, irate Mavericks over the confusing course of events.
And so, the protest process is on, Mavericks’ governor Mark Cuban said postgame.
We’ll see how that plays out. But no matter what happens as the Mavericks try to fight city hall, the situation should have been handled differently. A collaboration by the refs like they do on so many judgment calls would have been helpful. A stoppage to make sure both teams were clear on what the ruling was would have been sufficient.
But the Mavs got neither.
So we move along. They don’t have the luxury of wasting time agonizing over what happened. It’s time to move on.
But not before we check out a few other takeaways from the heartbreaker against Golden State.
REBOUNDING WOES, AGAIN: You’ve heard this one before, but the Mavericks had trouble stopping the Warriors. And when they did, they had trouble securing the rebounds. They were beaten 44-31 on the glass and to be frank, it seemed worse than that. They only lost the second-chance points 18-13, but that was enough to doom them in a game when there were 14 lead changes and 12 ties. None of the Mavericks’ forwards or centers got more than four rebounds.
LUKA LOOKED STRONG: After 13 days between games, Luka Dončić returned from a strained left thigh and looked like he’d gotten a nice rest, on top of letting the soreness subside. He finished with 30 points and 17 assists and while his shot was iffy (11-of-27, 2-of-10 from three-point land, 6-of-10 free throws), it was a successful return. “Good, a little better than I expected,” he said when asked how he felt. “I’m ready. In the fourth quarter, I was a little tired for one minute, but there were a couple free throws, so I got my breath back. It was good.” The next step, hopefully, will be getting Kyrie Irving (right foot soreness) back on the court with Luka.
HARDY MAKING HIS MARK: The recent play of rookie Jaden Hardy has been sensational and Wednesday was no different as he banked 27 points to go with five rebounds. He hit 6-of-9 three-pointers and was 10-of-18 overall. “He’s going to be a great player,” Luka said. “He’s already very good. But I think talking to him, (he’s) understanding the game. Sometimes, he goes really quick. I just tell him to slow down. But he’s really good. And he listens. I think he’s going to be really good.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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