DHJ Quick Take: Consistency in the Chaos<\/p>\n
Identity Over Outcome: Despite a season-low 18.2% from three-point range, the Mavericks maintained the \u201corganized\u201d identity that fueled their win over the Lakers. Dallas committed only nine turnovers and shot a near-perfect 27-of-28 from the free-throw line, proving the structural improvements under Jason Kidd are sticking.<\/p>\n
Missing Connective Tissue: The absence of secondary playmakers Naji Marshall (hip) and Brandon Williams (illness) was felt. While Cooper Flagg and Marvin Bagley III (21 points) kept the pressure on the rim, the \u201chumming\u201d ball movement seen on Sunday slowed without the veteran versatilely of P.J. Washington and Marshall.<\/p>\n
The \u201cBunny\u201d Factor: Kidd and Flagg both noted that the shot quality remained high, with the team simply missing \u201cbunnies\u201d and open looks that fell during their 134-point outburst against the Lakers. For a team in a rebuild, trusting the process on a 6-of-33 night from deep is the ultimate developmental litmus test.<\/p>\n
INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2014 The Dallas Mavericks<\/a> shot 35.0% from the field and 18.2% from 3-point range in Tuesday\u2019s 116-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>. The numbers look ugly. The process, according to those inside the locker room, tells a different story.<\/p>\n Dallas committed just 9 turnovers, went 27-of-28 from the free throw line, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, generated 23 fast-break points, and put up 44 points in the paint. The Mavericks got the looks they wanted. They simply did not convert them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe created a lot of good looks offensively from three and in the paint,\u201d head coach Jason Kidd<\/a> told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>. \u201cWe just missed some bunnies tonight that we made in the last game.\u201d<\/p>\n The Same Ingredients, Different Results<\/p>\n That last game \u2014 a 134-128 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> on Sunday \u2014 featured the most complete offensive performance Dallas has put together all season. The Mavericks committed just 7 turnovers, went 14-of-32 from 3-point range, generated 24 fast-break points, and did not turn the ball over once in the fourth quarter. They scored 134 points on 52.3% shooting against a playoff-bound roster in front of a sellout crowd at American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n The ingredients on Tuesday against the Clippers were nearly identical. The results were not.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re taking care of the ball at a high level and getting a lot of good looks,\u201d Kidd told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>. \u201cIn the Lakers game, we were making them. Again, different group out there \u2014 it seems like every night. We didn\u2019t have PJ, Gaff, or B-Will tonight, so it\u2019s next-man-up. We created a lot of good looks offensively from three and in the paint. We just missed some bunnies tonight that we made in the last game. But again, they\u2019re taking care of the ball. The process is there \u2014 if we take care of it, we can get a good look.\u201d<\/p>\n The ball security has been a point of emphasis for weeks. Kidd had pointed to it after Sunday\u2019s win as the foundation on which everything else is built.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re getting a little bit better at taking care of the ball,\u201d Kidd told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a> on Sunday. \u201cWhen we do take care of the ball, we get good looks. Tonight\u2019s another example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper Flagg and Jason Kidd Approve of the Process<\/p>\n Cooper Flagg<\/a> went 9-of-25 from the field Tuesday after back-to-back massive performances over the weekend \u2014 51 points against the Orlando Magic on Friday and 45 against the Lakers on Sunday, making him the second rookie since the NBA\/ABA merger to record consecutive 40-point games. He echoed his coach\u2019s read on the process.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was solid,\u201d Flagg told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>. \u201cLike Coach said, we missed a lot of easy looks that usually fall. But those are the shots we want to get, so for the most part, I think it was pretty solid.\u201d<\/p>\n Kidd pointed to Flagg\u2019s shot selection as something that was not far off from his recent outings \u2014 just without the results.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he got some of the same looks \u2014 they just didn\u2019t go down for him,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cSome of the floaters he had opportunities to make were right there \u2014 just hit the rim and fell off. That\u2019s part of the game. But he kept attacking. Looking at it, we didn\u2019t shoot the ball very well, but the score was still close. We were down six and had an opportunity there.\u201d<\/p>\n Against the Lakers, Flagg had framed the offensive approach as a deliberate choice built around pace and organization.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to play with great pace and get up the floor really fast, just to keep the rhythm in our favor,\u201d Flagg told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a> Sunday. \u201cIt\u2019s something I always come back to when we have a better offensive game \u2014 we\u2019re organized. When guys are on the same page, it looks a lot better out there.\u201d<\/p>\n That same structure was present on Tuesday, and the discipline that defined Sunday\u2019s victory remained intact even as the shots refused to fall.<\/p>\n The Connective Tissue Was Missing<\/p>\n Marvin Bagley III<\/a> posted 21 points and 9 rebounds in his return from injury and was one of the few Mavericks to convert at a high rate Tuesday, going 8-of-11 from the field. He credited execution and decision-making for his own output and framed the team\u2019s collective approach similarly.<\/p>\n \u201cJust making the right decisions and playing together,\u201d Bagley told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>. \u201cDoing what we talk about and what we see on film, and going out there and executing it. For me, it\u2019s big to play a part in that and help in that aspect. It\u2019s just about doing what we talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n Bagley also pointed to Dallas\u2019s 15 offensive rebounds as evidence of the fight that remained even when the primary looks dried up.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting those hustle plays and offensive rebounds can lead to kick-out threes or putbacks \u2014 that\u2019s big for the team,\u201d Bagley said. \u201cIt shows our effort and our want. Sometimes the games don\u2019t go our way, but the process and the fight \u2014 like tonight \u2014 that\u2019s what you can ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n The gap between Sunday and Tuesday came down to more than shots falling. Against the Lakers, Naji Marshall<\/a> finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Brandon Williams<\/a> added 13 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals as secondary playmakers who kept the offense organized when Flagg needed a breather. Both were unavailable Tuesday \u2014 Marshall exited with a hip contusion in the fourth quarter, and Williams was inactive \u2014 leaving Dallas thinner in the connective-tissue roles that made Sunday\u2019s performance click.<\/p>\n P.J. Washington<\/a>, who had returned from a right plantar fascia strain Sunday and knocked in 3 three-pointers off Flagg\u2019s assists in consecutive third-quarter possessions to stabilize Dallas\u2019s lead, also sat out Tuesday with left elbow soreness. After Sunday\u2019s win, Washington had credited the collective rhythm as the engine behind everything.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a good job of bringing who we wanted into the pick-and-roll and letting Cooper kind of do his thing,\u201d Washington told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>. \u201cHe made the right reads on pretty much every possession. We passed the ball, we got good shots, we hit. The ball was humming, and I just felt like everybody had a great game and we just played together.\u201d<\/p>\n That humming was absent on Tuesday. Kidd acknowledged as much when reflecting on what made Sunday work.<\/p>\n \u201cBrandon Williams \u2014 we\u2019ve been talking about him running the team \u2014 he\u2019s been doing a great job,\u201d Kidd told Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a>. \u201cI think Naji also loves playing the point guard position, so being able to play through him and for him to get us organized has been great. And then again, Cooper handling the ball down stretches has been good for us, too.\u201d<\/p>\n An Open Look That Didn\u2019t Go Down<\/p>\n The Mavericks went 6-of-33 from 3-point range Tuesday and still kept the game within reach deep into the second half \u2014 a testament to how consistently Dallas generated quality looks even on one of its worst shooting nights of the season. Dallas trailed by just 6 points at one stage with a wide-open 3-pointer in front of them.<\/p>\n \u201cDown six, we had a wide-open look and just couldn\u2019t knock one down,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cThey were open tonight for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg offered a similarly clear-eyed assessment of a night where the process held, but the production did not.<\/p>\n \u201cHow did you view the offensive process tonight?\u201d he was asked.<\/p>\n