SACRAMENTO — The Dallas Mavericks have established quite a bit of momentum as of late. After defeating the Sacramento Kings 132-96 on Tuesday night, Dallas continues to battle for position in the Western Conference standings, winning nine of its past 10 games.
“We don't take for granted how well we've been playing,'' Kyrie Irving said. “However, we are not satisfied with just our position in terms of rankings.”
The Mavs nearly won despite shooting well from the perimeter against the Kings, shooting at a 56.4% clip while making 22 shots from beyond the arc. . Over the team's past nine games, they've shot just 32.4% from deep (26th), and many players, including Tim Hardaway Jr. (34.0%), P.J. Washington (18.2%), and Derrick Jones Jr. The shooting success rate of key players fell below 35 percent. (25.0%), followed by Maxi Kleber (25.0%), and Josh Green (25.0%) during this period. Dallas remains confident that these results will improve with Luka Doncic and Irving producing quality shots for their teammates.
“I think every game or practice we've talked about the shots we're hitting,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “We've been like that all year. It's a successful season. It's a repeat of failure.” We made them early in the season and were able to take some of our legs in a positive direction with a focus on the defensive end. Right now, the emphasis is on playing defense and protecting each other. Our offense probably took a step back from making threes, but I thought P.J. and D. Jones set the tone for us today with their threes. ”
Washington experienced the most significant shooting contests for each of the Mavs' role players, which have mostly continued since they were traded to the team. After shooting 4-6 (66.7%) from deep against the Kings, he continued to express his confidence in the results achieved thanks to the process of working on his shots away from game action.
“With confidence,” Washington said. “I go to the gym every day and work on my training. My confidence never wavers. So I keep taking what's open. They came in tonight and got the W.”
Hardaway has had an up-and-down season, which is typical for players with a high percentage of shot attempts from the perimeter. He scored his 22 points while making 8-14 (%) of his shots overall and 4-6 (66.7%) from deep. He has shown more focus on making extra passes recently, and his playmaking has improved accordingly, with four assists against the Utah Jazz and six against the Kings. It was the first time he recorded four assists in consecutive games this season, and the Mavs went 9-0 when he reached that mark.
“Just looking at Timmy, the shots he's hitting right now and the confidence he's playing in both games against Utah and tonight, I think he's starting to turn a corner. You know, we're going to need him.'' , I've said it before. Some people probably won't agree, but that's cool. But if you look at what he's doing for us offensively, you can see it here in the last two games. Again, we need his leadership and his toughness and ability to make tough shots. But now that he's been able to make plays, he's starting to find his teammates. That makes the game easier for everyone.”
The Mavs superstar's overall stats had a big impact against Sacramento. Doncic finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists without appearing in the fourth quarter. Irving added 24 points and eight assists. But the most interesting thing was how that outcome happened. Against the Kings, the Mavs benefited from a multi-layered attack. Doncic set the tone from the start, scoring 26 points and dishing out five assists before halftime. Irving had 18 points and six assists after the break. The formula for a big win was created as the role players continued to make consistent shots and the team's defense kept the Kings under 100 points with a consistent effort throughout the game.
“I thought our leader, Luka, set the tone early and came out aggressive,” Kidd said. “And the other leader in Kai has set the tone for the third with his pace. So when they get going, somebody's going to be open and we're going to be good offensively and defensively. I thought we played for each other.”
Irving talked about how the Mavs benefit from being a team that values each other's success. He realized the makings of an impressive unit after making quality moves and building continuity with each other as a unit at the trade deadline. Players with a sense of responsibility to achieve results are leading without constant input from the coaching staff, demonstrating the collaboration that has been built.
“When guys are taking difficult shots, you can tell if it's a great move or a quality possession and you can see how it affects our group,” Irving said. . We are all big fans of each other. I think that's the most beautiful thing. You know, we came together at the right time, we had a good trade deadline, and now we're doing our best every game, every night.
“With that kind of communication, no matter what happens in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter, if we do the right things and follow the game plan, we have a great chance to win. “There will be,” Irving continued. “We don't rely on our coaches to do everything and fix everything. We adjust as players on the court and know where we need to be. It's a really communicative atmosphere, so everyone's paying attention to the game plan and being mature in their approach. ”
Doncic and Irving are two of the NBA's best shot creators, but the Mavs have benefited from moving the ball effectively with play-finishing execution, primarily in the paint. Still, when shots come down from the perimeter, Dallas has a difficult offense to contain. They had 34 assists against the Kings, marking the 15th time this season they had 30 or more in a game, six of which came in March. They are 14-1 in those games.
“I think this is a true testament to the selflessness that we have here. “We go into every game with the mindset that we're ready to take any punches that the team throws at us. That’s it,” Irving said. We have patience, we have IQ, we are very good communicators and we are improving in that area. So I think as the team starts adjusting to us, we're going to see some high-level, quality chess matches with other coaches and other players.
“When it’s going well, and players are coming off the bench, or starters are getting easy baskets in transition, or players are getting into iso situations and being very efficient. When you're firing on all cylinders, we just want to do that.''
Over the past 10 games, the Mavs have posted a defensive rating of 106.5, trailing only the New York Knicks in that span. This laid the foundation for the team to overcome nights of poor lap shooting from the unit and even an uncharacteristic shooting performance from Doncic. Dallas improved to 7-0 when holding opponents to under 100 points, with four of those games coming in March. A key element of that success was the addition of Daniel Gafford and Washington added size and length to help thwart tougher matchups, run help defense, and close down possessions with rebounds.
“With the addition of Gaff and P.J., we understand what those two guys can do on the defensive end, their length, their athleticism and their ability to rebound the ball.” [and] You may be bounced out of position. Speaking of Derrick Jones Jr., his jumping ability is unparalleled. He can go get rebounds even out of position. But again, they're just focused on the game plan and what they have to do and who's in front of them. It won't be easy to protect Fox or Sabonis.
“PJ, we asked him to play games one through five, and he did that tonight,” Kidd continued. “He protected Sabonis. He protected Fox. He never complains. He wants to go out there and do his job at the highest level. Everybody is there for each other on both sides. is playing.”
Considering the Mavs' recent defensive output, Kidd sees the process the team has put in place since training camp as paying off. We got results because we had people who could execute at a higher level. When you combine defensive improvement with having two elite offensive threats who rely on their teammates to make the right decisions on the basketball and make plays, confidence in what this team can accomplish is high.
“Sometimes during the season, coaches want to perfect their defense in training camp, and sometimes it takes a little bit of time,” Kidd said. “There's no better time to play defense than in March when you're playing for something. And again, I believe our offense is among the best in the league. Our two… With our leaders, we're counting on them to be quarterbacks and trust their teammates when they let the ball go. ”
The Mavs will face the Kings again in a rematch on Friday, looking to build on Monday's strong performance. Dallas is 1-2 in the season series, so if they lose, they will lose in the tiebreaker. The implications are significant when you consider the implications of chasing a No. 6 seed to avoid a play-in tournament.
