Dallas might’ve finally found a winning formula, despite nagging injuries
For the fourth and final time this season, the Dallas Mavericks will take on the Portland Trailblazers. It’s the teams’ fourth matchup in just over five weeks, so it’ll be two squads familiar with each other. That said, with both teams dealing with several injuries, who ends up on the court may have this game looking a little different than their previous three.
Lock in
After struggling through a five-game losing streak and the absence of their two star players, Dallas finally found a winning formula against the Lakers – on the second night of a back-to-back no less. The team should have breathed a sigh of relief having gotten off the snide, and who doesn’t like beating the Lakers?
They held Los Angeles to just 97 points in the win, a defensive performance they would do well to repeat. In their last matchup, Dallas had no problem putting up points, finishing with 122 (albeit, bolstered by a beautiful 46-point performance from Kyrie) but in a losing effort as four different Blazers scored 20+ points, and two others in double digits that totaled up to 126 and the victory.
The reserves showed they could play with some grit, and that’ll be key to stringing together wins while they await the return of their more high-powered scorers.
Shoot em if you got em
This season, Portland is giving up over 10 corner threes per game and their opponents are hitting them at a nearly 41% clip. Even without Doncic and Irving, Dallas has guys who can get hot. That list starts with Klay Thompson, who had a personal 11-0 run against the Lakers in just a few minutes that served as a huge momentum boost. But guys like Quentin Grimes, PJ Washington, and Jaden Hardy are all potential “hot hand” guys on any given night.
And, oh, by the way, Dereck Lively, who cashed a wild three against Boston in the finals has yet to unveil that skill as a regular part of his game; he hasn’t taken a three all year. There’s going to be plenty of shots to go around, and if he’s open, he might as well let a couple fly.
At your own pace
With Luka and Kyrie at the helm, there is a distinct advantage to running an up-tempo offense. Trying to squeeze in as many possessions as you can, running the floor, hitting guys down down court with long passes. Dallas’ pace has been in the top 10 of the league this year, but during their losing streak, playing that fast was doing more harm than good. Their assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.41, the fourth-worst in the league. Their turnovers on average were up and it was creating easy points for opposing teams.
Against the Lakers, they slowed way down, had just 10 turnovers for the whole game, and controlled the flow of the game. It should be a repeatable game plan against Portland.
How to watch
You can broadcast or stream the game on NBAtv, Channel 29, or MavsTV at 7:30