The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Boston Celtics at home Saturday afternoon, losing 122-107. Derrick White led a balanced Boston effort with 24 points. Kyrie Irving had 22 points for Dallas in defeat.
Dallas has been depleted from a health standpoint for much of the season, and it’s cost them several losses up to this point. Since Luka Doncic injured his calf in the Christmas Day game against the Timberwolves, Dallas is now 5-13. Today’s home game against Finals rival Boston Celtics showcased much of the same. The Mavs appeared ready to play at the outset, but were once again fielding a lineup sans Doncic, with an injury report that also included Dereck Lively II, Naji Marshall, and Dwight Powell as scratches.
While Powell may not be relied on as much as he used to in Dallas, it’s important to note that with Lively also benched, Dallas’s only real option at backup center is Maxi Kleber (and he’s technically a power forward). And Maxi injured himself in the third quarter and didn’t return. This injury trend in Dallas has been most unwelcome. It wasn’t a shock that Dallas lost to a healthy Celtics team today. What was a bit shocking is that they almost made it a game late in the second half. Though, ultimately, three factors proved to be too difficult to recover from in this matchup.
Threes
The Celtics picked up right where they left off in the NBA Finals, torching the Mavs from beyond the arch. Boston made 20 threes in this one. Dallas dropped 8. That explains why Boston boasted a double-digit lead for most of the game. Thirteen points down at several moments in the fourth quarter kind of felt close, but it wasn’t. Boston dropped threes often and early in this game, utilizing the long ball to pull away early.
Dallas brought in Klay Thompson from Golden State this offseason to adjust for this very matchup, as Dallas’s performance from deep wasn’t as strong as they’d hoped in the Finals. In 22 minutes of game time today, though, Thompson was 2-2 from deep, and that was the totality of his scoring for the day. Nobody else on the Mavs team made more than two 3-pointers. They led the points in the paint margin by double digits, but overall, they executed an inefficient shooting performance. If anyone was getting tired of the way the offense looked with Luka Doncic taking most of the shots, the speed with which they can appear disheartened from poor shooting lately should provide a quick antidote to that.
Bench Unit
Dallas’s bench was only 1-11 at the 7-minute mark in the 3rd quarter. That stat proved fatal when Dallas attempted to show some life late in the game, bringing themselves back from 20 down to within striking distance. Those misses were definitely going to come back to haunt them. Their bench has seen ups and downs this season, often displaying erratic tendencies within the course of a single game, like this one.
-When Dinwiddie got himself into foul trouble shortly after the half, Coach Jason Kidd utilized Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes to help alleviate the pressure of primary ball handling duties off of Kyrie Irving’s shoulders. Hardy was able to drop 10, but cost Dallas in turnovers and defense. Grimes, however, did what he’s been doing frequently of late, using speed and finesse to out-maneuver defenders, keep the defense on its toes, and put up fast points. He finished the game with 20 points in 26 minutes.
Defensive Woes
With Naji Marshall and Dereck Lively II out with injuries, matching up against the reigning NBA champions became even more difficult, from a defensive standpoint. As mentioned earlier, the Mav’s center rotation is currently severely depleted. Maxi Kleber served as the main backup to center Daniel Gafford, who played 33 minutes (up from his average of 20.7 due to the circumstances).
Kleber went out of the game with an injury in the 3rd quarter, and from that point on, there were multiple times where Spencer Dinwiddie was caught defending the 7’4” Kristaps Porzingis in the paint. That image could most certainly serve as a snapshot of the overall energy for this game. And that’s ultimately how Dinwiddie fouled out of this one, trying to be athletic enough against a player much bigger than himself due to the injury situation. While Dallas wasn’t completely awful on defense, they certainly could have used Marshall and Lively against such a strong offense. Gafford did an admirable job on both ends of the court today, but he was visibly laboring later in the game, and it’s no wonder, considering no one was available to provide a quality spell.
Another tough loss, but definitely not unexpected. What did feel unusual is that this game didn’t feel anything like the fiercely competitive matchups we witnessed in the Finals. Well, it’s currently the regular season, for one thing, But additionally, it shows exactly how much ferocity Doncic brings do the court, in addition (of course) to scoring.
