DHJ Quick Take: Magic vs. Mavericks<\/p>\n
Defensive Urgency: Dallas returns home having allowed 120+ points in 12 of its last 14 games. After giving up 20 threes to Milwaukee on Tuesday, the Mavericks face an Orlando squad led by Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane that thrives on physicality and getting to the free-throw line.<\/p>\n
Flagg\u2019s Physical Litmus Test: Coming off a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Bucks, Cooper Flagg continues to adapt to teams throwing \u201cbigs\u201d at him and a tightening officiating standard. With Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II out, the rookie remains the primary engine for an offense struggling to find rhythm.<\/p>\n
The Next-Man-Up Rotation: With P.J. Washington, Caleb Martin, and Marvin Bagley III all doubtful, Dallas will again lean on its youth. Brandon Williams (18 points, 6 assists vs. MIL) and rookie Moussa Ciss\u00e9 (13 rebounds, 3 steals) have emerged as key contributors as Jason Kidd looks to snap a 13-game home losing streak.<\/p>\n
DALLAS \u2014\u00a0Cooper Flagg<\/a> watched the Milwaukee Bucks attempt 54 three-pointers on Tuesday night. He was not going to pretend the number did not matter.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of stuff, but I think just helping each other out, rotating,\u201d Flagg said after the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> lost 123-99 at Fiserv Forum<\/a>. \u201cObviously, we gotta guard the three-point line better. But it starts with just guarding your man, keeping him in front so that we don\u2019t have to get into a lot of rotations.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bucks converted 20 of those 54 attempts. Two nights earlier, the Minnesota Timberwolves had similar success from deep in the Mavericks\u2019 loss. The Mavericks have now allowed 120 or more points in 12 of their last 14 games, and as the team returns home to host the Orlando Magic on Friday at American Airlines Center, Flagg\u2019s message was direct: the defensive habits that have plagued this team all season have to change, starting now.<\/p>\n The Magic present a similar test. Orlando\u2019s offense is built around Paolo Banchero<\/a>, who is averaging 22.4 points per game, and Desmond Bane<\/a>, who is shooting 39 percent from 3-point range while averaging 20.4 points per game since being acquired via trade. Jason Kidd<\/a> identified free-throw rate as the key variable to contain heading into tip-off.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir ability to get to the free-throw line \u2014 that\u2019s something we have to limit,\u201d Kidd said Friday. \u201cThey\u2019re a right-handed team. When you look at Paolo and those guys, if you let them get to their strengths, they\u2019re going to hurt you. We have to rebound the ball. For us, we\u2019ve got to play fast. We have to rebound and get into transition and hopefully take advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Dallas guard Brandon Williams<\/a>, who scouted Orlando from the bench during the teams\u2019 first meeting last month, knows what is coming.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a pretty physical team,\u201d Williams said Friday at practice. \u201cYou can see how they defend ball screens, especially with their guards and their bigs. They\u2019ve got size with guys like Paolo, so it\u2019s going to be a tough matchup. We\u2019ve just got to be ready to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper Flagg and the Learning Curve of a Brutal Stretch<\/p>\n The back-to-back against Minnesota and Milwaukee offered Flagg a condensed version of what awaits him in coming seasons. Teams have begun assigning taller defenders to him as the season winds down, and the officiating standard has tightened in ways he was candid about after Tuesday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I think they definitely started to let more stuff go,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cIt gets more physical and obviously you\u2019ve heard that, I\u2019ve heard that \u2014 you know that\u2019s to be expected. So it\u2019s not really a surprise. You just gotta find ways to play through it.\u201d<\/p>\n His response to that physicality on Tuesday was notable. One night after managing just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting against Minnesota, he posted 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals against Milwaukee \u2014 more assertive, more physical on the glass, and more willing to create for others even when his own shot was not falling consistently. Kidd acknowledged the improvement directly.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought his response was well,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe had some great looks that just didn\u2019t go down. Again, being able to rebound the ball, he is starting to see bigger players. They\u2019re putting bigs on him now, so for us it\u2019s to help him navigate through that.\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg\u2019s own prescription for breaking through those matchups was characteristically straightforward.<\/p>\n \u201cJust gotta use my advantages, find mismatches, and still find ways to attack,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cYou gotta dribble, and it gets easier to develop and be confident.\u201d<\/p>\n The team-wide shooting struggles are a separate, more complicated problem. Dallas has lacked rhythm for weeks, and Flagg did not shy away from the root of it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough. We just don\u2019t have any rhythm,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s tough when nobody is in good flow, good rhythm, guys aren\u2019t on the same page. I think it\u2019s gonna be tough unless we get guys healthy, get guys on the same page, and get organized. It\u2019s not gonna happen overnight, so it\u2019s gonna take a lot of coming together, fighting for each other, and growing in a lot of areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason Kidd Finds Reason for Optimism in Depleted Roster<\/p>\n Dallas arrived in Milwaukee without Kyrie Irving<\/a>, Klay Thompson<\/a>, Dereck Lively II<\/a>, Marvin Bagley III<\/a>, Caleb Martin<\/a>, P.J. Washington<\/a>, and Naji Marshall<\/a> \u2014 and then lost Daniel Gafford<\/a> to a right shoulder stinger in the second quarter. The team played the final three quarters with Moussa Ciss\u00e9, Tyler Smith<\/a>, and Dwight Powell<\/a> rotating in the frontcourt.<\/p>\n Despite the lopsided final score, Kidd found threads worth pulling on.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly being down at halftime by 10, we talked about it against Minnesota \u2014 I think we were down 14 and we let the game get away, and the same thing happened tonight in that second half,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cWe get a little frustrated because we\u2019ve missed some shots that we normally have made, and we have to be a little bit better on the defensive end. We gave up 20 threes where they attempted 54 of them, so we have to be better there. But I thought early on we were moving the ball. The more that we moved the ball, the better shots we got.\u201d<\/p>\n Kidd also highlighted the team\u2019s defensive activity as a genuine positive. Dallas forced 10 steals on the night, a number that stood out given the depleted roster and back-to-back fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we were active, being able to come up with some steals and then play in transition \u2014 that\u2019s something we\u2019ve been successful with,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cOn a back-to-back, to be active like that shows there\u2019s improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n Injuries have made consistency nearly impossible to sustain, and Kidd was candid about the toll that reality has taken on the group\u2019s continuity.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at health, it\u2019s been very inconsistent,\u201d Kidd said Friday. \u201cIf it\u2019s not an injury, it\u2019s an illness. Naji was playing some of his best basketball \u2014 we lose him to illness, but he\u2019s back. P.J. was playing well \u2014 we lose him to illness, and he\u2019s not back yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Kidd pointed to individual growth as evidence the group has not stopped competing. Max Christie<\/a>, who went 1-of-12 from the field in Milwaukee, received a direct message from his coach postgame.<\/p>\n \u201cI told Christie I was proud of him to keep shooting,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe was one-for-12. In the past, maybe he stops at one-for-six, but that\u2019s growth. We need him to shoot \u2014 he\u2019s one of our scorers.\u201d<\/p>\n Brandon Williams and Moussa Ciss\u00e9 Step Up<\/p>\n With Gafford unavailable for the final three quarters in Milwaukee, Ciss\u00e9 delivered the most consequential reserve performance of his season. The rookie center finished with 8 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in 22 minutes, and Kidd singled him out without hesitation.<\/p>\n \u201cHis competitiveness, he plays hard on both ends,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cWith Gafford being out, I thought he did a good job picking up the slack.\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg echoed the praise.<\/p>\n \u201cMoussa always brings great energy,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cHe\u2019s just been big for us all year, coming in and playing with incredible energy. He\u2019s been somebody that we can rely on in that aspect throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams started the second half and finished with 18 points and 6 assists \u2014 one of the cleaner offensive performances on the night. Kidd used his postgame remarks to publicly recognize a growth arc that has been building all season.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the start of the season, he was just a scorer, and now he\u2019s one that I think can set the table and run a team,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cBeing able to run the pick-and-roll with a big or with Cooper \u2014 his speed, being able to get to the rim and cause a problem \u2014 not just scoring, but now he\u2019s starting to find his teammates. You can see he\u2019s taking a big jump in being able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks Injury Report Heading Into Friday<\/p>\n The injury situation in Dallas heading into Friday remains severe. Irving continues to recover from left knee surgery, and Lively remains out following right foot surgery. Bagley III is listed as doubtful with a left shoulder impingement, Martin is doubtful with a right plantar fascia strain, and Washington is doubtful due to illness. Gafford, whose shoulder stinger in Milwaukee raised immediate concern, does not appear on the injury report and is expected to be available.<\/p>\n On the Orlando side, Anthony Black<\/a> is out with a left lateral abdominal strain and Jonathan Isaac<\/a> is out with a left knee sprain.<\/p>\n