Jason Kidd said all along that he would withhold judgment on the Mavericks until after Christmas.
His belief is that you need that much time to get a grasp on any team’s personality.
But on Santa’s big day, he deferred again, citing the circumstances of the last few weeks.
And, to be fair, their 120-116 loss at Utah on Saturday night at Vivant Arena in Salt Lake City illustrated that this team still has no identity.
To put it in holiday terms, they are somewhere between joy to the world and bah-humbug.
The Mavericks continue to give themselves good chances for success despite having 10 players out with injuries or because they are in COVID-19 protocols.
Kristaps Porzingis returned from two games out with a foot problem, matched Jalen Brunson with 27 points against the Jazz, then summed up the frustrating situation pretty well.
“We fought hard,” Porzingis said. “We fought our butts off. But that’s not enough.
“We can take a lot of positive things out of this game. But once we get our guys back . . . once we’re all locked in, then I think if we keep playing this way, we’ll go pretty far. Hopefully we can get our guys back and get in some sort of rhythm.”
The Mavericks, still leaning heavily on six new players who were emergency signees under the COVID-19 hardship allowance, fell two games under .500 for the first time this season at 15-17.
They were tied at 90 after three quarters against the Jazz, fell behind 107-97, rallied within two points, but came up short in the final minute.
It was a familiar script lately. Without so many players, the Mavericks have relied on scrappy play to stay competitive.
But they have not been able to close the deal often enough when given the chances.
“With COVID and the injuries, it’s hard to put an actual (analysis) together,” coach Jason Kidd said. “But I think when you look at up to this point, we haven’t shot the ball straight. That’s a fact. That’s nothing that we can hide from. We have to get better at that.
“But in December, I think defensively we’re in the top 10. There are a lot of good things happening. But at the end of the day, you’re measured on wins and losses. But with COVID and the injuries, it’s hard right now to actually say who we are.”
The manpower crunch can be blamed. And it once again was a major storyline against the Jazz. Even as Porzingis returned after missing two games, Dorian Finney-Smith – until now the only Maverick to start every game – missed Saturday’s event with a non-COVID-related illness.
This in addition to Luka Dončić, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock and JaQuori McLaughlin, all of whom are in COVID-19 protocols.
Willie Cauley-Stein was out with personal problems and Josh Green also was out, although he has cleared protocols, has rejoined the team and presumably will be back in action Monday at Portland.
And yet, the Mavericks were battling back and forth against the Jazz. They led by as much as 16 points early, but the Jazz, who got 33 points from Donovan Mitchell, don’t have one of the best records in the league (23-9) for no reason.
Much of what the Mavericks are doing during this time is building up battle scars. They are learning the hard way about how hard it is to make plays when the pressure is on.
But that experience should come in handy when Luka and friends start trickling back from the protocols.
Brunson in the meantime, has been playing great and made a couple of big 3-pointers and the Mavericks got as close as 109-107.
But a 3-pointer from Bojan Bogdanovic helped vault the Jazz ahead 118-109. Frank Ntilikina hit a triple to cut it to six and the Mavericks got possession of the ball with a minute to go after a Rudy Gobert offensive foul.
Porzingis (27 points) scored, and after the Jazz misfired, the Mavericks had a chance, but Brunson’s 3-pointer careened off the rim. Bogdanovic hit two free throws with 26.5 to play to put the Jazz up 120-114.
Briefly: Kidd said he found out Saturday that Josh Green was rejoining the team, having cleared health and safety protocols. But he wasn’t sure if any other of the COVID-19 absentees would be returning soon. “I can only tell you when someone is here,” Kidd said. “I only knew that Josh was flying here today if the test was negative. I couldn’t tell you who’s the next one up to be out of protocol. Maybe Reggie or Maxi. But I really don’t know who’s next.
Twitter: @ESefko
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