DALLAS – Finding positives in the wake of Friday’s 123-118 loss to the Charlotte Hornets wasn’t easy for Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle.
“The starters had good numbers all night, which was a positive,” Carlisle said. “We had some stagnancy on offense, and then we had some stretches where we didn’t defend well, but there were positives.”
Shortly thereafter, Carlisle somewhat amended his aforementioned comments by saying: “We have to be careful not to be too positive because once again we gave up over 50 percent shooting and (Charlotte) shot 58 percent from the three, which is crazy. That is an amazing percentage on offense and a catastrophic percentage on defense, so we have to shore some things up there.”
What the Mavs don’t have to worry about shoring up is the play of center DeAndre Jordan, point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and rookie forward Luka Doncic. All three were superb in wowing the American Airlines Center crowd of 18,745.
Jordan collected 18 points and 12 rebounds, Doncic had 18 points and three steals in 31 minutes, and Smith added 16 points as the Mavs finished preseason play with a 2-2 record.
“I do think that going into it, getting (Doncic) some significant minutes was something I knew that he needed with only four games to get a real feel for what goes on in an NBA game,” Carlisle said. “The first (preseason) game was against the Beijing team, who is not an NBA team.
“He has played in three NBA games. He has gotten good experience, but a few years ago we were playing eight exhibition games with a month-long training camp, so this is going to be jumping into the deep end.”
If anything, Doncic proved during the course of the preseason that he was worthy of being drafted third overall – if not higher – in last June’s NBA Draft. On Friday, the 6-8, 218-pounder was at his spectacular best again, rifling nifty passes to his teammates and draining 4-of-10 shots from 3-point range.
“I think he’s great man (and) I think he’s only going to get better,” Jordan said. “He’s such a great basketball mind. His IQ is very high to be so young.
“He wants to pass, but he also is a very great scorer, I believe. And with a big body like that he can get to his spots and create offense and also get other guys involved.”
Doncic tossed a lob dunk pass to Smith early in the first quarter, which ended with the Mavs nursing a 35-29 lead. He also finished with four rebounds and four assists while giving the crowd their money’s worth.
“Not a lot of 19-year olds are advanced like that,” Jordan said. “A lot of 19-year olds really want to just score the basketball and dribble a lot. But he obviously has been a pro for some years now, so he knows how to play the game.
“It’s something that he’s able to control and slow down, and he doesn’t look like he’s rushed out there. He knows when it’s time for him to go get a bucket and he also knows when it’s time for him to get other guys involved, and that’s something that’s going to be very important. And I think that him and Dennis are going to feed off each other with that.”
Charlotte led 58-53 at the half, but buoyed by seven points apiece from Dorian Finney-Smith, Doncic and Smith in the third quarter, the Mavs toted an 86-82 lead into the final period. However, three free throws by Devonte Graham and two more from J.P. Macura put the game away for the Hornets (4-1) down the stretch.
The Mavs played without Harrison Barnes (strained right hamstring), Dirk Nowitzki (sore left ankle) and Dwight Powell (sore right knee). Still, they were able to control the boards, winning that battle by a 41-35 margin.
That was thanks in large part to Jordan, who played his first game against an NBA team for the first time since last season. Jordan, who missed the two preseason games against Philadelphia in China because of a death in the family, made all six of his field goals and all six of his free throws while playing 31 minutes.
“I think Rick was trying to get me to play a little bit more to see if my cardio was right,” Jordan said. “I was just rolling to the basket and doing what Dennis and Luka and Wesley (Matthews) needed me to do tonight.
“Those guys are obviously looking for me, and when I do roll (to the basket) a lot of guys tag, so it opens up the floor for Wes and Luka and Dennis and (Finney-Smith) and those guys to make shots.”
Obviously, the Mavs want the floor wide open again when they play their regular season opener on Wednesday in Phoenix against the Suns.
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