Dallas Mavericks 94, Utah Jazz 91: Phew

by Boweman55 on Jan 20, 2012 1:02 AM CST in Game Recap

After two back-breaking losses, this will do. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't fun to watch for a majority of the second half. But somehow, the Mavericks left Salt Lake City with a win, the first for the franchise in Utah on the second night of a back-to-back, breaking an 0-16 streak.

The game was bizarre, frustrating and downright baffling. Onto the bullets:

Quietly, Shawn Marion has been the Mavericks best and most consistent player all season long, tonight was just a showcase of everything he's done all year. A typical Marion night, dive-cutting to open spots and flashing off the sneaky-effective post game (which he never really used until he came to Dallas). 22 points, seven rebounds, three assits on 17 shots for the Matrix with the typical pesky defense. Utah doesn't employ much firepower from the wing, but whatever talent the Jazz have out there, Marion made sure to keep it contained when he was out on the floor. Gordon Hayward and C.J. Miles were nullified when they shared the court with Marion. The Mavericks won't need to rely on his offense like this very often, but it was nice to see from a player that is as consistently under-appreciated and undervalued like Marion is.
For example, Charles Barkley on the post game said DeShawn Stevenson was the Mavericks second-best defender behind Tyson Chandler. Puh. Lease.
The Mavericks offense, as a whole, was almost sublime. Keyword, almost. In the first half, Dallas sliced and diced the Utah defense with excellent pick and roll sets and great passing. Marion found himself at the rim, Dirk was getting open 18-footers and Brendan Haywood hit not one, not two, not three but four free throws...in a row. Jason Kidd was absolutely delightful in the first 24 minutes, orchestrating the Dallas offense to almost 60 percent shooting. But...that third quarter. Seven turnovers and sub-40 percent shooting almost ruined any forward progress the Mavericks made. It seemed inexplicable as Kidd and the rest of the Mavs fumbled the lead away, but the Jazz clearly made changes. They showed hard on the pick and roll and trapped more, especially in the corners. It wasn't anything remarkable and certainly not anything the Mavericks haven't seen before, which makes it a little concerning that such a veteran team can be so overmatched by a simple halftime adjustment.
Jason Terry was absolutely brutal. He missed plenty of open opportunities and threw away way too many possessions. Terry's playmaking was on the rise in the first few games of the year, one of the few bright spots when Dallas was getting blown out by 30 almost routinely. It's hard to watch Terry endure a 3-for-14, one assist night while Delonte West was looking lively and great with eight points on five shots in 15 minutes. Carlisle seems to be giving West the same amount of leash that he gave DeShawn Stevenson last year. But make no mistake: West is far and away the superior player to Stevenson in almost every way. Hopefully Carlisle realizes that.
Dallas second ranked defense continues to hold water. Many (including myself) wondered if this turnover-creating defense the Mavs had would be able to last once the schedule wained. It seems to be holding up quite well, for now. The Jazz shot 38.8 percent and honestly, it could have been worse if not for the points the Mavericks gift-wrapped the Jazz with their second half turnovers. Utah's only consistent offense was on the break and in a half-court, tight fourth quarter game, that means the defense is working. Only four steals tonight for Dallas, which makes the effort even more impressive. The Mavericks rotated well and didn't let any of the Jazz's sub-par wing players do much damage, while Haywood and Ian Mahinmi did damage control on Al Jefferson after Jefferson's efficient first half. Haywood deserves a ton of credit: Jefferson was toying him with a variety of post moves and Haywood clearly adjusted accordingly in the third and fourth quarters. He contested better of Jefferson's outside game while staying down on his ball fakes and spins.
Rodrigue Beaubois. Hi. Nice to see you. Beaubois' advanced numbers have been screaming for the third-year guard to get some more burn from Carlisle and tonight it finally paid off. Beaubois saved the Mavericks when the ship appeared to start sinking in the second half by attacking off the pick and roll and using that freaky athleticism to make some defensive plays. His block shot on Paul Millsap followed by a three point make help show off the difference Roddy can be when given appropriate minutes. It's been three years. It's time for Carlise (and Beaubois) to figure it out and get the results. Tonight's result needs to be a stepping stone, not a blip on the radar.

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onto new orleans.

by go87 on Jan 20, 2012 1:11 AM CST reply actions

0-16 streak? Maybe there is something about the theory that

Utah is like kryptonite to Dirk. He seems really hot-headed during the game. Well, if it’s true, here’s hoping we don’t face them during the play-offs.

You’re right. Matrix has been very underrated. I really like him and I know how much he means to this team so I’m really hoping he signs with us again next season. A player who gives such a consistent effort on defense and also gives us offensive numbers is always great.

Man, that 2nd half was just horrible to watch, so many turnovers and so little energy and hustle. I was practically screaming at the tv for the Mavs to get some rebounds because we were giving them too many second chance points.

Dirk seemed slow and also out of it. He looked like he didn’t care. He fumbled a lot of passes as of late and seems really hesitant to take shots unless he’s wide open. He doesn’t attack the basket anymore like he used to and seems content in shooting jumpshots. He didn’t demand the ball during crunch time and only had one shot attempt during the whole 4th quarter. When a defender is on him, he just passes the ball. I have no idea what’s wrong, but here’s hoping it will pass.

Roddy was great especially during the 4th quarter but I still wish he would pass the ball more. This is the 4th game we haven’t seen anything from either Wright or Yi. Seriously, Coach Rick, please give these guys some minutes. They have so much talent and potential that it seems such a waste to see them on the bench.

by bleed_blu on Jan 20, 2012 1:56 AM CST reply actions

I was at the game tonight

and holy cow do those fans hold a grudge against Dirk for comments he made over 10 years ago. Don’t know how well it came across on TV, but every time he entered the game or touched the bar the booing was deafening. I haven’t seen the numbers but if Dirk’s numbers are low in Utah it’s probably because it’s hard to concentrate when boos rain down on you as loud as a jet engine. As a pro athlete he shouldn’t let it affect him, but that’s easier said than done.

by ChrisFoley on Jan 20, 2012 2:26 AM CST reply actions

What comments?

I thought they boo’d him for that flagrant fo on Andrei Kirilenko a few years back.

0:1:4331933 29:28 35 0

by BenjiDoc on Jan 20, 2012 5:43 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

I honestly don't know why they should be mad about that.

I found a video of that flagrant on youtube and it looks like Dirk just went for the ball. He didn’t really mean to hurt Kirilenko. Why would he? I even read he apologized right away.

by bleed_blu on Jan 20, 2012 7:15 AM CST up reply actions

He said "Utah is a bad city" back when he was new in the league (and didn't know US geography).

Basically, its boring, cold, and there isn’t much to do. For some reason the citizens of Salt Lake City didn’t react kindly to that

by ChrisFoley on Jan 20, 2012 8:36 PM CST up reply actions

So can Yi play center?

I can’t imagine him being any worse or more offensively challenged than Haywood is. I’ve always got an axe to grind with guys that get heavy minutes and can’t really put in points (if you recall I wanted to strangle D Steve most of the time). Damn you, Rick, and your love for playing the old guys into the ground.

by elbow greater than face on Jan 20, 2012 3:01 AM CST reply actions

Quietly, Shawn Marion has been the Mavericks best and most consistent player all season long

A guy averaging 10 points and 6 boards a game is the Mav’s best player so far this season? o_0

Woof…

by ap3604 on Jan 20, 2012 3:05 AM CST reply actions

If you've been watching the games, you'd see that.

by mike_o on Jan 20, 2012 4:46 AM CST up reply actions

His defense has been great, as well as an occasional decent offensive game, but “best” player? laughable :-P

by ap3604 on Jan 20, 2012 9:53 AM CST up reply actions

He numbers don't wow

But he’s been the Mavs best two-way player all year.

by Boweman55 on Jan 20, 2012 9:12 AM CST up reply actions

*his

by Boweman55 on Jan 20, 2012 9:12 AM CST up reply actions

watch his all around play, champ.

by go87 on Jan 20, 2012 3:03 PM CST up reply actions

Knees

Last night, I’ve read somewhere that Dirk is hurting right now. I can’t find the link though.

"The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot."

- Bill Russell

by Marjun Raposon on Jan 20, 2012 4:03 AM CST via Android app reply actions

maybe this

by zigg on Jan 20, 2012 4:17 AM CST up reply actions

I don't know what's up with Kidd but maybe he should come off the bench

A starting lineup of Roddy – West – Marion – Dirk – Haywood with a bench of Kidd – Terry – VC – Odom – Mahinmi would be great IMO. They could also do a West – VC – Marion – Dirk – Haywood starting lineup as well since it worked pretty good.

by Raptorel on Jan 20, 2012 5:48 AM CST reply actions

Only caught 2nd half, but

not enough people are pointing out how badly jason kidd has played this season. I respect Kidd’s game a lot, and have watched him play for years, so I’m not just getting on his case. the thing that’s been strangest has been that what’s really been missing isn’t just his jump shot, something that’s mostly come and gone in his career (especially before Dallas), but his decision making. He’s gambling a lot on defense, and it’s led to a lot of steals, and mostly solid play, but it’s had some major drawbacks. Kidd would never have made that crucial late game error against Billups two years ago, and there have been many cases where his gambles have compromised the defense in general. But the real problems are on offense, where he’s more turnover prone than I ‘ve ever seen him. the strange thing is that it seems to be because he is forcing the issue far too often, something that was never a major issue of his before. His shooting numbers are also down, and i hope he can get it together, but if he’s lost his mental edge as well as the step or two that have gradually vanished in the last couple years, it seems pretty hard to argue he should start over west/carter moving forward.

by nickswarriors16 on Jan 20, 2012 12:50 PM CST reply actions

By the way, Dallas had won in Utah on the second night of a b2b before

Just got some info from Stats, inc. The Mavs are 4-26 all-time in Utah on the second night of a back-to-back. Their last win in that situation had been on November 13th, 1985 and it was an 0-21 streak they snapped last night.

by ChrisFoley on Jan 20, 2012 3:07 PM CST reply actions