Game Recap: Mavericks Lack Effort in Loss to Lakers 131-96
by zdgmans on Jan 3, 2010 11:20 PM CST
in News
16 comments
The final game in the Dallas Mavericks four game road trip lands the team in the Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back. The Mavericks saw their road record improve to 12-5 after securing their win against a Kings team that surged late in the fourth quarter (the Mavericks gave up 11 straight points). A positive for the Mavericks squad is that Jason Kidd got a very long rest starting late in the third.
Since the Mavericks handed the Lakers their first loss of the very young NBA season, at home no less, the "Lake Show" has been stellar going 17-2 coming into tonight’s game. The Lakers are a radically different team than the one the Mavericks saw earlier this season. Pau Gasol and his 17 points per game are back in the lineup, Kobe Bryant is coming off another 4th quarter buzzer beater (his 3rd of the season), and this Lakers squad generally shows up for the bigger games on their schedule.
Can the Mavericks, in the middle of a back-to-back, respond if the Lakers come out early, firing on all cylinders?
Game as a Whole:
Although blowouts are a bit hard to stomach, there is much to be learned if you have the fortitude to go back and be brutally honest with yourself. There is no other way to say it, a far superior Lakers squad systematically dismantled the Mavericks and that isn’t even the most disappointing part. All of the Mavericks starters tonight showed a complete lack of effort on the defensive end and completely forgot all the things that have put them at the top of the Southwest.
The most sobering thought for the Mavericks comes in the form of what to do when Erick Dampier goes out and you have to start Drew Gooden against a larger NBA squad. Say what you will about Erick Dampier in the past but today he is an integral piece of what the Mavericks do as a team. This casual observer is unsure if the Mavericks can go deep into the playoffs unless they have some more frontline help. With that rant done,
Let’s look at the quarters…
1st Quarter:
- Drew Gooden gets the start tonight in place Erick Dampier. Let’s see if he can bring some energy early.
- 11:37, Hopefully Nowitzki’s first miss of the night isn’t going to set the tone for the whole game.
- Interesting to see Jason Kidd draw the defensive assignment on Kobe Bryant. I can’t see that lasting the whole game.
- 10:07, Barea almost blew that fast-break layup. Luckily, it falls into the basket.
- 9:14, The Lakers are turning the ball over A LOT but the Mavericks have only received 2 points because of it.
- 7:43, Dirk is mixing his game up early tonight. He has already hit a short jumper and on this trip took it hard into the paint for the foul.
- 6:43, Jason Kidd is way off on the three-pointer. He doesn’t even touch the rim, could be tired legs.
- 6:20, Josh Howard and Jason Terry both have to come in to try to give the Mavericks some lift.
- 6:06, Dirk with the old fashion three-point play. Gasol is trying to be extremely physical with Dirk (picked up his second foul).
- 5:37, Dirk gets another thunder dunk due to a lack of help defense by the Lakers.
- Lakers are up nine as the Mavericks are getting shredded in the paint.
- 4:29, Mavericks go to the zone extremely early and it fails miserably. Lakers get a 3 off of it.
- 3:40, Dirk gives Derek Fisher two fouls by attacking the paint.
- 3:35, DJ Mbenga gives Jason Terry two free throw shots as a house-warming gift. Terry thanks him and makes both.
- 2:16, Marion rushes his shot and blows a layup.
- 1:37, Dirk is relentlessly attacking the paint tonight. That’s the easiest way to cure a slump.
- 1:28, Humphries comes into the game to give the Mavericks some size.
- The Lakers have possibly lost Gasol for the game tonight due to a hamstring.
- The Mavericks have dug themselves a nice hole to climb out of.
2nd Quarter:
- 11:35, Mavericks struggle for a shot, which leads to Jason Terry getting block.
- 11:10, Josh Howard finally gets to the foul line.
- 10:22, The Mavericks plan of attack is pretty good right now. They are trying to get to the free-throw line and put the Lakers in foul trouble.
- 10:02, Humprhies absolutely cannot guard Andrew Bynum. He has gotten schooled on two different post moves.
- 9:57, Barea hits a much-needed jumper.
- 9:18, Josh Howard gets a quick layup and the easiest points the Maviercks have scored tonight
- 8:56, Even though Barea scores a basket on the quick move to the hole, the Mavericks are starting to play at the Lakers pace.
- 7:27, Mavericks see a complete collapse on defense. Jordan Farmar gets a wide-open three.
- Tim Thomas is in and gets fouled by Kobe. Kobe disagrees with the call and gets to enjoy a technical for his troubles.
- How early can the Mavericks give up in a game?
- 6:31, Josh Howard swoops into the paint for three the hard way. The Mavericks actually have the lead down to 19.
- 5:27, Tim Thomas pushes it into the paint and gets fouled. The Mavericks are going to have to get the whole Lakers squad in trouble if they want to find a spark.
- 4:52, Making a bad night worse, Drew Gooden rushes an ill advised shot that doesn’t touch a thing.
- 3:42, The Mavericks are getting embarrassed by the Lakers right now. If they continue at this pace the Lakeshow will score 130.
- Only Barea seems to be playing like himself tonight. There is no fire tonight coming from anyone.
- 3:07, Dirk picks up another set of free throws. The way the night is going, he only makes 1 of 2.
- 1:47, Jason Terry hits a three to bring the Lakers lead down to 25.
- 1:27, Shawn Marion takes and hits a runner off of a Lakers turnover. The Lakers crowd is completely silent right now.
- I do not want to be in the locker with the Mavericks at halftime. Can Rick Carlisle say anything good about that half?
3rd Quarter:
- 11:42, Drew Gooden gets the tip-in on a Nowitzki miss.
- Lamar Odom gets sent to the line and helps the Mavericks out by missing both shots.
- 11:19, Marion and Barea show how out of sync the Mavericks are tonight. Marion doesn’t even jump for a pass that is thrown up toward the rim.
- 10:09, Dirk is doing a bit too much dribbling in the corner. A call from the refs bails him out.
- 9:58, Nowitzki follows his own basket with a tip-in. Seems like he still wants to win tonight.
- I am searching for reasons for why the Mavericks aren’t double-teaming Bynum.
- 8:11, The Mavericks get an easy layup from Shawn Marion as the Lakers take a break on defense. The Lakers have a tendency to relax when they get up big.
- Dirk is trying to do too much now. Trying to pass out of a triple team almost always leads to a turnover.
- Gooden is still getting beat up by Andrew Bynum. The Mavericks are having a big weakness exposed. What do you do when Erick Dampier goes out and you have to play a big team?
- 6:29, Dirk picks up some more foul shots. Seems like he is the only one scoring in this quarter.
- Thinking that all of the starters should be benched at this point for lack of effort on the defensive end.
- Beaubois gets to come in for the first time in a long time.
- 3:40, Jason Terry hits back-to-back jumpers.
- 3:13, Roddy tries to take it all the way to the rim but ends up missing. Roddy is unafraid as Dirk is there to clean up his miss.
- I can’t believe we aren’t even into the fourth quarter yet. :(
- 2:37, Beaubois tries to imitate Kobe with a circus shot and fails.
- 1:35, Dirk gives the Lakers another possession by trying to save the ball under his own basket. Should have let that ball go out, Dirk.
4th Quarter:
- I can’t even remember the last time Adam Morrison scored a basket at the NBA level. I can’t even remember the last time he got to play 12 minutes.
- 10:47, Beaubois has a nice three from deep. Keep shooting Roddy, see if you can’t make the deficit respectable.
- 10:06, That’s another triple for Roddy. Is he about to explode?
- 9:24, Tim Thomas looks like he is jogging into the lane. Lucky for Tim, the Lakers are in a generous mood and foul him.
- 8:35, Humphries, you get the "hustle" award for the night. Even though the game is already in the box you still find a way to throw the ball off of Adam Morrison.
- 8:25, Beaubois gets another running layup.
- 7:44, Jordan Farmar blows a dunk badly. I have to say I am glad he doesn’t get to put an exclamation point on his night.
- 6:27, Tim Thomas is going to lead the comeback for the Dallas Mavericks. He hits Back-to-back threes for the third team.
- 5:41, Humphries gets to add to his highlight reel with a coast-to-coast dunk.
- 3:55, Quinton Ross gets his first basket in eons. Where is Matt Carroll?
- 3:04, James Singleton gets a dunk and the Lakers crowd gets restless.
- You know the rest.
Some Choice Statistics
- The Mavericks have played 9 back-to-backs this season.
- Dirk Nowitzki has lead the team in scoring in 23 out of the Mavericks 33 games this season.
- 33 Games into the season and Jason Kidd has led the team in assists 30 times. Runner-ups were Jose Barea (2 times) and Jason Terry (1 time).
Closing Thoughts:
The most surprising thing for the Lakers, they play much better without Ron Artest (he really throws off their chemistry). Most surprising thing for the Mavericks, they looked like a completely different team than the one Mavericks fans have become accustom to this season.
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Wow. I never come to another teams blog after a win (to gloat) or a loss (to whine), but this caught my eye.
“The most surprising thing for the Lakers, they play much better without Ron Artest (he really throws off their chemistry).”
I usually have a very finely tuned sarcasm detector but it isn’t going off. Is this a serious comment? If so, that’s probably the most inaccurate statement I have ever read on a blog. Really. I can only assume you are basing this on the fact that you beat us with him and we beat you without him? If so your two game sample size is grossly inadequate. Ron has been the Lakers 3rd MVP this season behind Pau and Kobe.
He leads the league in +/- and our team defense has been atrocious since his injury.
If you are being sarcastic then I just wasted a few minutes of my life typing, however I hope you were anyway.
As far as the game goes I wouldn’t put much stock in it. It’s just one game and the Mavericks were either not ready, or tired.
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Nailed what I was about to right
If anything, we ironically played better when Gasol exited the game. Our offensive flow was better than it’s been in ages.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
about to write*
So sleepy…
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
I think it was fatigue more than anything that beat the Mavericks tonight
Dallas doesn’t really have an active rivalry or are still bitter from being owned by the Lakers so they don’t think it’s the game of the year like Portland, Sacramento, and Denver do. That extra motivation is what gives other teams the energy to come out and play with fire even on the 2nd night of a back to back.
If Dalls had played the Heat today I’m sure the Mavs would have played better.
Ron is a great ball handler and play maker, his skills are assets in the triangle offense plus Lamar Odom off the bench should make the bench players play better. It just seems like sometimes the Lakers aren’t interested in their opponent.
by KBZ on Jan 4, 2010 1:24 AM CST up reply actions
true
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Happy I got you to comment:)
It was mostly sarcastic. I liked the squad the Lakers had last year with Ariza and saw no real reason not to give him more money.
well they did offer him more money, but not more than he could get elsewhere.....
that would be pretty bad business. Truth is his agent screwed him and he ended up in Houston. I think it is a good move for him since he wouldn’t ever be the “man” in LA, but I still think he wanted to be a Laker. Either way it worked out for everyone in the end, just like the Pau trade with Memphis. (yes that last part was sarcasm)
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Always tempted to say the Pau trade was the steal of the century
but then I remember that the Mavericks traded Robert “Tractor” Traylor for Dirk and I have to keep my mouth shut.
lol
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Dallas should be favored in th next outing
considering it will be on a 2nd night of a back to back and they will most likely be missing Gasol and probably Ron Artest. Not to mention that the Laker bench played out of it’s mind today.
by KBZ on Jan 4, 2010 1:19 AM CST up reply actions
also true
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
I'd favour my Mavs to win against anyone at home...
but unfortunately so far this season, they’ve been languid at the AAC.
Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.
On the flip side, garbagetime galore. PGQ
Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle
Now, please turn around so i can break your neck..
On tonight’s game: "Just an embarrassing effort. We all own it so I don’t know how else to put it. They played great and we played terrible. You know, it was atypical of the year we’ve had so far but it’s very disappointing."
On how much of tonight’s loss was due to the Maverick’s poor shooting versus the Lakers’ good defense: "I’m sure it’s a mixture. Just very disappointing. Not much else to say.
On whether this is the type of game that they try to forget and move on: "I hope not. I hope we don’t forget about it."
On whether the Lakers were trying to make a statement due to their matchup against the Mavericks earlier in the season: "Well I’m sure that they wanted to come out and play and win the game. It’s just not an excuse for how we played."
On whether the back-to-back games the Mavericks faced factored into tonight’s loss: "No, no excuses. No one played defense."
On whether this was just one of those losses that happens every season: "Oh I don’t know. It’s the first time all year we really didn’t put up the kind of fight we really needed to. That’s disappointing. Again, it’s on all of us, coaches, players, everybody. It’s on all of us. It’s very disappointing."
Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki
Hatschi
On tonight’s game: "Offensively we just could not get anything going tonight, combined with not getting the stops, that’s a rough combination. Some nights you don’t have it offensively, but you at least have to get some stops to stay in the game. They had whatever they wanted. Bynum was on the inside, the shooters were on, Kobe was making shots everywhere. On offense we just couldn’t do anything right. Instead of playing the game better we started forcing shots and everyone started to try and do it single-handedly instead of playing together and playing the way we always do. So we got ourselves in an even deeper hole and it was just a tough outing for us. Lose by one, lose by forty, either way it counts as one loss so I guess that is the only positive thing we can take away from tonight."
Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Kidd
brrrr
On tonight’s game: "They are the champs, they came out and played from the beginning and we just didn’t. It is something that we can learn from, we just have to make shots and we tend not to make shots we are used to on defense, and that is what happened, we reverted to that tonight. But it was one game and now we go back home and get ourselves going in the right direction."
On Lakers defense: "It was us not making shots. I do not know if it was so much their defense. We had great looks early on and we just didn’t make our shots and if we had this might have been a different game, but the name of the game is to put the ball in the basket and we just didn’t do that this evening."
Dallas Mavericks’ Tim Thomas
And he hits it …from long range with the chair
On tonight’s game: "We played against a team that was determined. They came out playing harder than us and they established themselves on the defensive end. They made shots and just everything was going for them."
On expecting a different outcome: "Of course I did. We wanted to come out and try and establish ourselves just like we did earlier in the year and I am pretty sure they remembered that game and they wanted to get back. You have to take your hat off to them.
Lakers Coach Phil Jackson
EY! Jerry Sloan does not have bigger hands than me!
On Pau Gasol’s injury: "Any time Pau has an injury, we’re very concerned. Obviously we thought that the initial one in the pre-season was very slight because there was no activity and there was no significant impression that he’d have a pull. So obviously it’s something that we have to take seriously."
On tonight’s win: "Our defense was relatively well at the start of the game and we shot the basketball extremely well tonight, particularly the 3 point shot. The bench output, another big reason. Yes, you can expect this every night"
On what this win means for the Lakers in the Western Conference standings: "They had a game last night. It’s hard to judge. I think it’s their fourth consecutive road game, which is kind of a different road trip for them. I know it started out in Houston, Sacramento, I don’t know where else they went on this particular four game road stand. Obviously we will see them again in 8-10 days or something like that and we’ll find out on their home court."
On the Lakers defense tonight: "I just thought that we reacted a little bit better to the ball. We had some turnovers, which is always a big key. We got a couple blocked shots. They missed some shots obviously. They were wide open. I was concerned about that in the game you can’t leave them with wide open shots. But we got back and held them up a little bit better."
On Jordan Farmar tonight: "He got a run out early in the game. I think it always helps when you get something easy to go, then you’re much more willing to shot the ball and be confident. This game I thought that he got a block. He got a defensive block on Terry. All those things he did well in this game."
Lakers Kobe Bryant
Those were the days
On the Lakers’ bench performance tonight: "They played well tonight. Offensively, they did a good job."
On how concerned he is about Pau’s injury: "Not concerned at all. He’ll be fine."
Lakers Andrew Bynum
Holla!
On the Lakers size advantage: "They were small on the inside so we took advantage of it tonight. I was able to get some space down there and work my way towards the rim."
On the fact that so many Lakers contributed tonight on offense: "That was unbelievable. I think the rim was like the ocean for everybody today. Everybody was just throwing it up there and it was going in."
Lakers Jordan Farmar
Landei
On the play of the Lakers’ bench: "We just played well. We’re playing with the right rhythm. We’re playing good basketball. Everybody is taking comfortable shots instead of forcing them. It really helps everybody be successful."
On whether tonight was evidence of the Lakers playing well or the Mavericks playing poorly: "I think it had to be a little bit of both. We played pretty well. You could tell that they were tired from the night before. It was over early. We just had to make sure we keep it up. We’ve gotten leads before and let down and played lackadaisical so it was good to see us play, for the most part, the whole night like that."
The Charles Barkley 2009/10 Ancestors Count: 4 Grandmothers , 0 Mother Alltime: Reg. 27-0 Playoffs 7-0
"There were arms coming from everywhere, and I knew they weren’t going for the ball," Miller said. "I was just trying to get [the shot] up before they called some crap like ‘on the ground.’ "
"What do you want me to do?" Wright asked. "Do you want me to Derek Fisher him?"
"Give them some fucking credit, i mean for real." Jackson said.
"I just fell on my face for no reason," Bryant deadpanned. "I'm a klutz."
"Fucking right i'm preachin' it!" Carlisle replied. He later added "We need to not always make hard work out of sex."
"Rough life, isn't it. It's tough all over, isn't it." Smith chuckled.
Sheed for $30k: "They've got to know that he's a [darn] flopper. That's all Turkododo do."
Mutombo, Ewing and Yao at the restaurant...
MUTOMBO: "The chicken is the bomb."
EWING: [Rubbing belly] "I gotta go work out tonight. I'm full. You got a treadmill for me?"
YAO: " Leave your car keys here and run home. I'll give you the keys tomorrow."
by DOH on Jan 4, 2010 3:15 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
I just joined Mavs Moneyball
And I love the agreement. “Be a good person.” Hilarious.
Well let me welcome everybody to the wild wild west. A state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness.
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