Mavericks vs. Pelicans: 3 things before Dallas faces a hobbled New Orleans

Dallas should make short work of a Pelicans teams ravaged by injury

After a string of close losses, each one more brutal than the last, Dallas has strung together a couple of wins – not unimpressive with one coming on the second night of a back-to-back against the ascendent Thunder.

Now, with the vibes moving in the right direction, the Mavericks will host the New Orleans Pelicans team that is decimated by injury in an NBA cup game. The NBA Cup is still in its infancy, but Dallas has yet to give fans much reason to care about it by flaming out in the group stage last season and dropping their first cup game against Golden State this year. An easy win sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Let’s hope Dallas can fill the prescription.

Deny, deny, deny

Dallas has been middle of the road regarding their opponent’s three-point shooting this season. Dallas allows 37.4 attempts, which is nearly dead-on to the league average of 37.3 thus far this season. Teams are going to get hot. And cold. Players are going to have off nights or get a hot streak going. By and large, a defense can’t affect how an opponent shoots from deep on a given night. What it can do, and what we saw Dallas do against Oklahoma City, is try and control who on the opposing team is taking those shots.

OKC took 42 three-pointers – higher than their season average – but nine of those came from Lu Dort. He’s an improved but still mediocre shooter. Seven more came from Aaron Wiggins; a decent career shooter, but typically not with that kind of volume. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC’s undisputed number one, who attempts over five threes a game, took just one. He made it, but Dallas seemed content to force other players to make shots for OKC and things got dicey toward the end, but it worked.

With a banged-up Pelicans team, implementing this defensive tactic becomes a bit easier. Essentially: deny Brandon Ingram good looks. He’s New Orlean’s most consistent offensive producer and he’s taking a career-high 6.9 threes per game while trying to carry the team’s offensive load. Making things difficult for Ingram should be enough to gum up the depleted Pelican’s offensive output.

Don’t stop short

Zion Williamson has missed the Pelicans’ last five games and will not be available against Dallas. Over those five games, the Pelicans are giving up the fifth-most shots in the restricted area with over 28 per game, and teams are shooting 72.5% at the rim. Dallas, with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively proving to be hyper-efficient scorers with a nice finishing touch, should exploit this relative weakness. The Pelicans are leaning on rookie Yves Missi at center, and it’s unlikely he’s going to have the gas to keep up with Dallas’ dual bigs.

The Mavs can’t get lazy, though. Somehow, even without Williamson, The Pelicans have managed to be one of the best in the league when it comes to shots in the pain (non-RA) and in the mid-range. They’re holding opponents to 38% and 31% respectively, both among the best in the league. Now, teams aren’t shooting a ton from there. The attempts from those spots are the fewest in the league by a wide margin. Dallas’ creators like Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jaden Hardy need to make sure the bigs are catching the ball deep so they can generate high-quality looks and not relax into the short and mid-range jumpers that the Pelicans have the length and athleticism to contest.

Get right

It seems likely that Luka Doncic will not play against the Pelicans, and that’s good news. It seems insane to think of a player averaging 28/8/8 as having a “slow start,” but those numbers are all down fairly significantly from where Doncic left off last season.

Despite having the summer off since Slovenia didn’t qualify for the Olympics, Luka just hasn’t looked quite right. He admitted as much, saying he was “less than 100%” and finally sitting out to deal with a knee injury.

That just means more opportunities for big games from other guys. PJ Washington is a bonafide Thunder killer and bolstered that reputation on Sunday. Who might step up against the Pelicans?

How to watch

The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. CST on Mavs TV, League Pass, or Channel 29 if you’re local.