The Dallas Mavericks, who lost 117-95 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, are 0-5 in Game 1 of NBA playoff series led by Jason Kidd, but the Dallas Mavericks are now 0-5 in Game 1 of NBA playoff series led by Jason Kidd, who has played four games with the team. They have won three games out of two playoff series. Coach so far. So is that a concern?
“This is a series. No one wins a series just by winning one game,” Coach Kidd told the media after Game 1. “We have a game on Thursday. We're going to go back to the drawing board and see what we can improve on.'' We have to put in a better effort on both sides of the ball, not just defensively. ”
Read more: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads OKC Thunder to blowout win over Dallas Mavs in Game 1 of series
A lot of things can happen throughout a game or series, and the reasons for each loss can be different. In this loss to the Thunder, you could point to Oklahoma City's second-half 3-point shooting, Dallas' turnovers, or just Dallas not doing their job consistently or hard enough. right.
“Game 1 is over. We didn't play as well as we wanted. We missed a lot of coverages and didn't have the attitude we needed to get this W,” Kyrie said. Irving said Tuesday night. “So the pressure they were putting on was definitely due to their excitement. But in Game 2, we needed to settle down a lot quicker and be able to withstand the 3-point barrage that they put out. I think we need to be able to do it.'' Our long three ended up near the free throw line, we had a lot of turnovers, and especially in the first quarter we were trying to calm our opponents down, so we should look back. There are a few things. However, the defensive pressure doesn't stop, so we have no choice but to adjust. ”
There were still some interesting decisions, like Jason Kidd deciding to go small without Maxi Kleber in a series with Luka Doncic, Irving, Derrick Jones Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., and PJ Washington. Ta. Hardaway has struggled lately, and this was his first game back from an ankle injury. He finished with just two points on 1-of-5 shooting and was unable to help the cause.
“At the end of the day, one team has to win four games, right?” Luka Doncic asked the media after Tuesday's game. “Of course we want to play the first game, but we have to watch the film and move on to the next game. We have a new game in two days, so we have another chance to win.”
Luka Doncic is also playing with a sprained knee and is far from playing at 100%. He's not going to use that as an excuse for his poor performance in the last few games of the playoffs, but Coach Kidd may have to adjust the injury to keep him from settling in 3s. As Irving said, OKC is getting out in transition from long rebounds on Dallas' 3-second misses, and Doncic was 1-of-8 from deep in Game 1, lowering his postseason percentage to 22.7% from 3.
“We just move on to the next game. We have to get better,” Doncic said in his post-Game 1 press conference. I have to concentrate…”
Dallas is 2-2 in Game 2 under Coach Kidd, and a win Thursday night would give them major momentum as the series heads back to Dallas. The Mavericks made it a one-score game midway through the third quarter of Game 1 before OKC started the game. All they need is a fresh start.
Game 2 will be played at 8:30 PM CST from Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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