The Mavs went 2-2 over the past week with wins and losses both at home and on the road. Dallas took care of business vs. Orlando at home while losing to the Knicks on Friday night. They bounced back on the road in Memphis, but would lose their first road game of the season in Boston on Monday.

Here are ten things from the past week.

J.J. Barea is one of a kind

I mean, how can you not like J.J. Barea? (We’re assuming John Wall and Andrew Bynum aren’t reading this.)

For the first time since rupturing his right Achilles tendon in January, Barea was back on the court. He made his season debut against Orlando after not playing in the first six games of the season. Struggling to get any type of offense going, Rick Carlisle inserted Barea to give the team a spark and he did exactly that. After going 2 for 2 from the free throw line, Barea would then hit three straight 3-pointers that would have American Airlines Center rocking.

By appearing in this game, Barea moved into seventh place on the franchise’s career games played list, passing Devin Harris. He is now just 10 games behind Maverick great Jason Terry.

Luka the media member

After the win over the Grizzlies in Memphis, it was time for Justin Jackson to talk to the media. There was a new reporter on the Mavs beat that night and thanks to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, we have video of the reporter in action.

Maxi Kleber’s improved 3-point shooting

There are four Dallas Mavericks shooting at least four 3-pointers a game: Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Maxi Kleber.

Maxi Kleber – 4.7 3PA – 40%
Kristaps Porzingis – 6.2 3PA – 37%
Tim Hardaway Jr. – 6.4 3PA – 32%
Luka Doncic – 8.8 3PA – 31%

Over the last five games, Kleber is shooting 50 percent (13 of 26) from behind the arc. On top of that, Kleber is one of the best spot-up shooters in the league over the first couple weeks of the season. With a minimum of 10 spot-up shot possessions (Kleber has 34), Kleber ranks 10th in the league in spot-up efficiency at 1.441 points per possession, according to Synergy.

Seats for Soldiers

It really is one of the best nights of the year inside American Airlines Center. For the 15th year, the Dallas Mavericks and Nick & Sam’s partnered for Seats for Soldiers night. More than 100 wounded service members enjoyed a tasty meal in Dallas before capping the night off with courtside seats for the Mavericks game against the Magic.

To make the night even more special, TWO Medal of Honor recipients were present at the game and spent time with Mark Cuban.

The unicorn pass

Did you catch this pass from Kristaps Porzingis? How many 7-foot-3 guys can pull this pass off?

Luka is hitting his free throws

Luka Doncic had an incredible rookie season, but you wouldn’t necessarily use the word “incredible” to describe his free throw shooting last year. On the season, Doncic attempted 6.7 free throws a game last year and converted them at a 71 percent clip. This would place him as the 100th best free throw shooter.

Doncic knew this had to be an area of emphasis in year two and, so far, he is delivering on the improvement. Attempting 7.7 free throws a game, Doncic is shooting 84.4 percent from the line. Of players who are averaging at least seven free throws a game, only five players are shooting them at 84 percent or higher: Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Doncic.

Carlisle wins a challenge

With the new challenge system in full force, Rick Carlisle was 0 for 1 on coach’s challenges heading into Friday night’s home game vs. the Knicks. But he improved to .500 when he decided to challenge a Porzingis block attempt at the rim that was originally called a foul.

Carlisle won the challenge, Porzingis was credited for the block, and all was right in the world.

Carlisle meant what he said about fluid lineups

Here are a few numbers regarding lineups after 10 played games for the Mavericks.

4 – Five-man lineups that have logged over 20 minutes together this season

0 – Number of five-man lineups that have logged at least 30 minutes together

6 – Games played for the five-man lineup that has appeared in the most games this season

22 – Number of different two-man lineups that have logged over 100 minutes together

8 – Number of different starting lineups for the Mavericks in 10 games this season

Luka switches shoes…again

Death, taxes, and Luka Doncic loving his shoes. There’s nothing like getting that new pair of basketball sneakers and breaking them out for that first game. But for Doncic, sometimes you have to wear multiple pairs… in a single game.

In what has become a fun thing to track for the sneakerheads out there, Doncic has now changed shoes at halftime six times on the season with the latest coming in Memphis when he switched colors in a Kobe 4 Proto. As far as the shoe that Doncic has shown the most love, it seems as if the Kobe 4 Proto is his shoe of choice at the moment.

Broekhoff is killin’ the game off the court

Ryan Broekhoff has appeared in just two games and a total of four minutes on the season. But can we take a moment to appreciate his class off the court when we arrives on game days? Special thanks to Broekhoff’s Instagram for some of his best looks. (Zoom in on the photos to see the drip up-close.)

Share and comment

More Mavs News