There are not many positives to enjoy an evening like tonight. The game was relatively close, but the Mavericks just lacked the necessary level of execution required to win an NBA game. The Phoenix Suns prevailed, beating Dallas in the trajectory to win 111-105 and hand Dallas his fifth straight defeat.
In the first half, the Mavs were able to hang on hard, but never stretch a lead. The offense noticeably stalled, and the defense was … fine. Thanks to a handy tip-in from Willie Cauley-Stein, the Mavs managed to capture the game on their way to half time.
Things got interesting in the second half.
At the Mavs’ first offensive possession in the third quarter, Luka Doncic looked depressed. He hung 30 feet from the basket and let Josh Richardson and Cauley-Stein play a two-man game that wasn’t exactly pretty. Somehow possession ended in a successful Cauley-Stein midrange jumper. At this point, things didn’t look like they were going the way of the Mavs.
But then Luka went nuclear. He was light out in the third quarter and it turned everything around. The Mavs came out on a 15-point lead, and things actually improved. Unfortunately, as soon as things turned positive, they turned negative. The Suns closed in at the end of the third quarter and never looked back.
Chris Paul is one of the most dangerous players in the NBA in the fourth quarter, and the MAVs couldn’t play with him shot-for-shot late in the game. Here are three things about the loss.
Willie Cauley-Stein had a surprisingly positive influence on the game
It’s no secret that Willie Cauley-Stein isn’t exactly a world breaker. He is a long, flawed center doing some things right and many things bad. But tonight, in the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, Cauley-Stein was surprisingly good. In 30 minutes, he finished with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.
I particularly liked the energy level of Cauley-Stein. He had active hands on defense, rolled aggressively to the edge, and generally just looked like he belonged on a professional basketball court – something that hasn’t always been said about him.
I hope the Mavs aren’t in a position where they often have to rely on Cauley-Stein, but tonight he was solid. At this point, it’s impossible to expect consistency, but at least he gave the team something on Saturday night.
Energy is contagious
This is a basic concept for basketball that all high school students are familiar with. It’s the reason banks stand up to give out high fives when a player comes off the field. That’s why a man like Marcus Smart makes more than $ 10 million a year. Energy is contagious and also essential to success.
24 hours ago in Utah, the Mavs had no energy. It was embarrassing. Tonight they should have turned that around, but it still wasn’t great. The bench looked engaged during the game and celebrated accordingly when something cool happened on the track, and as Dallas continued that nice run into the third quarter, it looked like the team had fun. That didn’t last the entire game, but at least it appeared tonight. The Mavs should try to have fun more often.
The need for a secondary playmaker is more evident than ever
The simple fact is that the Mavs don’t have a qualified attacker named Luka Doncic. If it’s not on the floor, that’s dirty. Really dirty.
If Porzingis isn’t a man who can take his own shot (and take that shot), what have they got? Trey Burke? Jalen Brunson? Josh Richardson? Those guys are good enough to beat bad teams in the regular season, but they’re not good enough to beat playoff teams. Something has to change – as soon as possible.