After Dark: Recapping a madding Mavericks loss to the Suns

After writing a recap of the Dallas Mavericks falling to the Phoenix Suns, 107-105, Josh Bowe and I got together just before midnight to discuss and analyze the loss.

I start out piping hot and annoyed, laying the loss at the feet of Jason Kidd for pulling the very hot Christian Wood and leaving him out long enough for the game to be lost. Though I eventually walk that back and assign the key to missed free throws and an ugly third quarter, Josh and I work our way both with what happened throughout the game and then how it happened.

Josh correctly points out all the good parts of the game, namely how good the offense could be if things are rolling right, like how the shots fell in the second quarter. The Mavericks showed a lot of good process and connectivity from last season. The third quarter was the muck and was an example of the worries many of us have had about a lack of a third ball handler.

We also lament some of the sloppy play from JaVale McGee, the weird play from Josh Green, and how Dorian Finney-Smith got a lot of cardio and not near enough shots. Luka Doncic showed the best he can offer but also faded too long in the third quarter. There’s a lot to build on in this game, and that’s not something we were able to say about the early games last year when Dorian was getting post ups and the Hawks were beating the Mavericks by double digits,

There’s a lot to go over in this episode of After Dark and we thank you for listening.

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