Sometimes, the takeaways from a game are better used on lookaheads to the next game.
This is one of those occasions.
The Mavericks shot the ball like 5th graders in their 116-95 loss at Minnesota on Friday night, although 5th graders may take offense at that comparison.
And that’s enough about takeaways from Friday.
Instead, we look forward to Sunday evening when the Mavericks will play the Utah Jazz at American Airlines Center in a 6:30 p.m. game that could go a long way toward deciding whether the Jazz or the Mavericks will have the home-court advantage if they should meet in the first round of the playoffs, which looks like a pretty solid bet right now.
IT’S THERE FOR THE TAKING: If the Mavericks truly want the home-court advantage in the first round, the Jazz certainly are making it available. They are 1-3 on their six-game trip that includes three consecutive losses at Boston, Brooklyn and Charlotte after starting the journey with a win at New York. After Sunday, the Jazz finish the trip at the Los Angeles Clippers. If the Mavericks can extend Utah’s losing streak, they’ll have the outright lead in the chase for No. 4 in the Western Conference. As it stands now, both teams are 45-29 and the Jazz own the tiebreaker, which won’t change regardless of whether the Mavericks win this game or not.
LUKA RESPONDING TO DOWN TIME: When Luka Dončić took a game off earlier in March, he came back with a vengeance, averaging 32 points, 12 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the next three games. He also hit 5-of-11 3-point shots in two of those three games. So Luka was given a night to rest aches and pains on Wednesday, then returned on Friday with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The point total may not seem like a lot, but considering the rest of the Mavericks shot the ball like it was radioactive, Luka’s game was exemplary. Expect more of the same against the Jazz.
SPEAKING OF SHOOTING: The Mavericks will have to do it better than they did in Minnesota, when they shot 23 percent from 3-point range and 38 percent overall. Take away Luka and the numbers get truly ugly: 15.6 percent from 3-point range for the rest of the Mavericks. This marks three games in a row that the Mavericks have shot below 25 percent from 3-point range collectively. It’s hard to win in this league these days firing blanks like that.
MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES: The Mavericks have this game and Tuesday’s visit from LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers as they finish up a stretch of four home games out of five. After that, it’s four games on the road against Eastern Conference competition, mostly soft touches with a game against defending NBA champion Milwaukee tossed in. This is another reason why the Mavericks have no excuse not to be able to pass Utah in the standings for the No. 4 overall seed. It’s definitely a schedule that favors them as the Jazz have challenging games left against Phoenix, Memphis and Golden State (on the road).
Twitter: @ESefko
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