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The season is over for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, all eyes are on the offseason and August 2, when teams can begin negotiating with free agents.
But we of all people know that waiting for the next big free agent to sign with the Mavericks can be stressful. And basketball should be fun. We also know the real Mavericks basketball junkies can’t wait until October when the 2021-22 season is supposed to start. This is why we’ll do flashback posts, to relive some of the fun and forgotten moments of the past season.
What happened
The Mavericks continued their up and down start to the season. After an impressive win against the Heat, they lost to the Chicago Bulls. Luka Dončić sat out this game because of a left quadriceps contusion. Jalen Brunson, who grew up as a Bulls fan, started in place of Dončić and scored 31 points for the Mavericks. This was Brunson’s highest-scoring game of the season.
However, the Mavericks couldn’t stop Zach LaVine, who had 29 points in the first half and finished the game with 39 points.
Fun moments
Dallas Mavericks were the best team in the NBA on baseline out-of-bounds plays. The Mavericks scored 1.321 points per possession on out-of-bounds plays that started under the basket. The Washington Wizards were second, scoring 1.135 points per possession, trailing the Mavericks by a wide margin. Just another proof of Rick Carlisle’s tactical prowess.
After Brunson scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter, Carlisle wanted to make sure Brunson kept going in the second period. Brunson checked in with 8:54 left in the second quarter and Carlisle ran a play to get him an easy bucket.
Brunson sank the open long mid-range jump shot, as he did most of the season. Brunson shot 50 percent on mid-range jumpers for the season, placing him in top 91 percentile of the league.
On to the next one!