There are nights when there is no way. And surely there is no further analysis of the horrible game of the Mavericks in Washington (135-103 final) against some Wizards who have just been eliminated from the fight by the play in, who were less after a brilliant start to the season and who are ending the season with Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma injured. It was not the day or the rival: the Wizards added 120 points in Dallas and 135 this time, and have won both games of the course against the Mavs. The second, Clearwith Kristaps Porzingis on track.
It was the morbid of the night. Reunion. The airy affair of the revenge games in the NBA, the opportunity to settle some accounts with those who stopped counting on you, with those who preferred to do business (sports and economic) with your contract. So are the things. And that is why Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, champion with the Lakers in 2020, made it clear after playing his best game of the season (35 points, 6/11 in triples) that, for them, it was important to win: “We told Kristaps that they had let him go and now we were going to to crush for him”. On the opposite side, returned to Washington the main piece of exchange for KPa Spencer Dinwiddie who did not go too well from the capital: “I told my teammates I wasn’t going to beat us here,” he said KCP.
Porzingis, for his part, was elegant, although he did make it clear that he is where he wants to be: “It has been fun playing against my former team. Now I’m here and I’m happy, everyone supports me. The biggest mistake people make when it comes to my time with the Mavs is that I didn’t get along with Doncic off the court. There is no problem between us, he is a guy cool and it’s hard not to get along with him. Sometimes things just don’t go as expected. For me it was great to play with a generational talent, but it is already past. Now I am happy to be here in Washington. I miss a lot of people from Dallas but it didn’t go as we expected. These are things that happen, but everyone there treated me well.”
The Mavericks played their third game in four nights, and have an early game tomorrow in Milwaukee.at the champion’s house. It was logical to expect some fatigue, physical and mental… but not such a poor level against a motivated but inferior rival. Porzingis started rolling and finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Rui Hachimura added 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Avdija 14+4+3. The Wizards made 54% of their shots, 51% of their 3-pointers (17/33), and 90% of their free throws. The Mavericks stayed at 28% in triples (11/38), a fatal fact because they did not have legs to attack the rim with continuity, and they gave 14 assists for 13 turnovers. A very low level that was only saved by Jalen Brunson (21 points) and, of course, Luka Doncic: 36, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Of course, five losses and -22 in his 36 minutes.
it was not the day and it was not from a first quarter in which the Wizards scored 41 points (41-20). In the third quarter the advantage reached 26 points (88-62) and there was no epic comeback for the visitors, just an attempt at reaction that left a couple of important shots in limbo with the lead at -13 (91-78). The defeat, as things are tight, is important: now the Mavs are fourth again, and therefore return to the side of the Phoenix Suns box (theoretical rival in the second round), the ogre that everyone wants to avoid. Today the Warriors play (third again) and the Jazz, fifth, a game and a half behind the Mavericks. This defeat is obviously not dramatic… but it can be remembered in a few days, when the regular season is over.
Not only that: there are unflattering symptoms. Specially in a defensive decline that has been evident in recent weeks after an extraordinary and surely unsustainable level, especially in the month of February. In seven of the last ten games, the Mavs’ rival has scored at least 110 points. In the last two weeks, Jason Kidd’s team (sent out in this game) has the 19th defense in the NBA. Opponents seem to hit shots that previously missed, and sometimes it’s as simple as that. But it may also be influencing the fatigue of a team with a short rotation and a highly demanding defensive scheme. We’ll see, because tomorrow in the Spanish afternoon (19:00) the Mavericks visit the champion, Milwaukee Bucks. Doncic vs. Antetokounmpo. The opportunity to erase the bad taste in the mouth with a stroke of the pen… or to open certain dangerous debates a few days before the playoffs. Tomorrow we will know why the rhythm does not stop in the NBA.