Mavericks need more defense, sustainable rhythm at halfway mark of season

On New Year’s Eve, the Dallas Mavericks (13-28) polished off a year-ending victory over Oklahoma City to give them a fourth consecutive win and strong momentum going into 2018 and a four-game homestand.

While many figured it was important to break out the blueprints on a potential run to the eighth place spot in the Western Conference, a three-game skid to start the year proves that another lottery pick might be in the offing for the Mavericks at the halfway point of this season.

Game No. 41 of 82 came and went Sunday in a 100-96 loss to the New York Knicks. While it looked close on paper, it was as far as the Mavericks could be from a playoff-caliber team.

A gut-wrenching loss to Golden State, topped off with a Stephen Curry 35-footer to bury the Mavericks with 3 seconds to go, opened the latest crash last week.

Dallas could never pull away from Chicago on Friday and then the Mavericks never had a lead against New York on Sunday.

The Mavericks open the second half Tuesday at home against Orlando.

“Team rhythm is an interesting topic and I don’t know if there’s a quantitative true measure for it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ve been together now for a while and defended better for the last six to eight weeks and that helps.

“Better defense puts you in a better position offensively and then execution-wise, we’ve gotten used to each other and slightly better as time has gone on. Better defense and rebounding is usually something that stimulates good play.”

The numbers seem to bear out that Dallas is playing better defense.

In fact, the Mavericks, with a young group of players that includes rookie point guard and ninth overall draft pick Dennis Smith Jr., have played 28 games in which either team was within five points of the other with 5 minutes remaining.

To say the Mavericks have been competitive is an understatement, but perhaps the bigger problem is closing out games.

Dallas is 6-14 in two-possession games this season and 2-5 in games decided by a single trip up the floor.

Couple the lack of closing ability with abundant young talent brings frustration.

“We are who we are,” forward Dwight Powell said. “We’re the ones playing, it’s the situation we’re in, but we’re competing and trying to turn the corner in some way.”

Sunday’s physical game with New York was a microcosm of the season and an eye-opening reminder of what’s ahead.

The Knicks were 73.7 percent from the field in the first quarter and had a 33-25 lead.

“It’s not a big secret as to how we win,” veteran superstar Dirk Nowitzki said. “It’s basically defense and keeping teams in the low 90s.”

Giving up 125 to Golden State, 127 to Chicago and then 100 against the Knicks doesn’t translate to success.

Learning how to win is a challenge, especially for the younger players coping with an 82-game schedule.

NBA rookie Maxi Kleber, 25, who was signed as a free agent last summer and has worked his way into the starting lineup, pointed out recently that most European regular seasons and playoff games have run their course by the time a team reaches 41-45 games.

Dallas has another 41 to go with a host of young players making the transition to professional hoops.

Still, Golden State coach Steve Kerr has been impressed with what Carlisle and the Mavericks have put together.

“With Smith and Kleber, they’ve had to sort through some things lineup wise and found a really good formula,” Kerr said. “They’ve gone big there with Kleber at center and Dirk and Harrison at forward and they come in with that energizer-bunny second unit with J.J. Barea, Devin Harris and Dwight Powell and they really push the tempo. It gives them that little burst of energy.”

There have been flashes of brilliance.

Smith virtually grabbed the spotlight on New Year’s Eve, scoring the Mavericks’ final 11 points that included two 3-pointers and a lightning move to the basket for an easy layup.

“We all know by now, Dennis is an unbelievable competitor, he doesn’t back down or shy away from any competition,” Nowitzki said. “He’s a confident young man, and we just need him to keep attacking and get in the paint and make plays for us.

“At full speed he’s tough to guard.”

Dallas was 11-11 after a horrendous 2-14 start, its second consecutive season to do so.

Still, playing .500 basketball the rest of the way doesn’t spell playoffs, but does get the organization closer to emerging from the fog.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Mavericks need more defense, sustainable rhythm at halfway mark of season."