As the only game in the books, all eyes were on Salt Lake City on Thursday for a matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. As two teams with vastly different expectations this season, you might think the score would have been lopsided in favor of the reigning Western Conference champions. Instead, the Utah Jazz pulled off an upset win (115-113) to send the Mavericks two games below .500 (5-7).
John Collins was the leading scorer for the Jazz with 28 points (10-20 FG), 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 35:30 minutes of action. He had help from Colin Sexton in the backcourt, who dropped 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists on 7-12 shootings. Jordan Clarkson had 20 points off the bench to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists on 3-9 shooting from three.
For the Mavericks, who were without Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic was the star of the show with 37 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds on 13-25 shooting. Quentin Grimes contributed 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds on 55.6% shooting. Klay Thompson totaled 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists on 5-13 shooting from three.
It was close in the beginning until the Jazz made a run and took a big lead in the second half. There was a moment there in the final frame when the Mavericks re-took control of the game thanks to a massive run but it wasn’t enough to get the win and the game itself exposed several key areas of weakness for the team.
Mavericks Are Getting Torched On Defense
The biggest culprit for the Mavericks’ struggles this season has been their efforts on defense. Tonight, they continued the trend by allowing the Jazz to shoot 50.6% from the field and 38.2% from three. For the season, the Mavericks rank 13th in defensive rating with an average of 112.6 points per game.
Individually, Luka Doncic was arguably the worst of any Mavericks player on defense. He was -8 in 38 minutes on the floor and offered no resistance against the 2-8 Utah Jazz, who had six different players score in double figures. Essentially, the Jazz were able to do whatever they wanted offensively and the Mavericks were unable to pull away when it mattered most.
After acquiring Klay Thompson this summer, the Mavs were hoping that their defense would improve but it’s been more of the same this season under head coach Jason Kidd. Unless the Mavericks can get better defensively and figure out how to slow down opponents from scoring, they may always be at a disadvantage against the NBA’s most elite squads.
Bad Body Language For Luka Doncic
Arguably the most concerning sign from the game was the body language of the players, and most notably of Luka Doncic himself. For a team fresh off an appearance in the NBA Finals, morale looked dangerously low tonight as the Mavericks struggled to keep up against one of the worst teams in the league.
On several occasions, Luka had his head hung low and was caught looking at the floor in distress. He appeared frustrated at times and the energy seeped down into the rest of the team. Doncic, who finished with 37 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, did his part statistically but it wasn’t enough to make up for his lapses on defense.
At 5-7, there is still so much of the season left to play and it’s far too early for the Mavericks to make any major changes. Even so, this is hardly the start that Klay and his new team were hoping for and one has to wonder when the panic will begin to set in if things don’t turn around soon. By the looks of it after tonight, it may not be too much longer.
No Third Option
With no Kyrie Irving tonight, it fell on the other Mavericks players to step up and fill his shoes to deliver this win. But in what has been a recurring theme this year, the Mavericks didn’t get much help from anyone not named Luka Doncic. The loss tonight made it clear that, outside of the star duo, the Mavericks don’t have a reliable third option that holds everything together.
Klay Thompson was supposed to be that guy for them but his shooting woes have made it difficult for the team to flourish. For now, it may be best for him to take a step back and make some room for others to shine like Naji Marshall, who just had his best game this season with 19 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds on 64.3% shooting.
As it stands now, the Mavericks will only go as far as Luka Doncic takes them but if Klay Thompson or one of their other players can up the mantle as a star for the organization it might just be enough to make a run in the West this year. If not, GM Nico Harrison may have to make another trade in order to give his team, the best possible chance to win.
Up next, the Mavericks will face off against the Spurs in American Airlines Center at 8:30 PM EST. It’s their final game of the week before starting again on Sunday with a match against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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