Stress free wins are never a bad thing
The Dallas Mavericks picked up a nice win at home against the Orlando Magic to move to 4-2 on the campaign. The Mavericks certainly won’t win any awards for this win, especially considering Orlando was missing its best player in Paolo Banchero. However, we don’t apologize for 23 point wins around here. Lets get into the numbers to know.
19: Mavericks fast break points
The Mavs were able to get out and run in this one, which is always a benefit. The offense hasn’t produced at the highest level thus far, so generating those easy points in transition helped Dallas build a lead that got as high as 33. It helps getting in transition whenever your opponents to 33% from the field, which is what Dallas did tonight.
Plus-16: Dallas’ point differential in the paint
Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively contributed 29 combined points in this one, which is outstanding production out of the center position. Anytime the Mavs’ centers can contribute like that, the Mavericks are going to put up some numbers in the paint. Tonight was no exception.
32: Highest minutes total for any Mavericks player
The best part of a blowout win is getting to manage the minutes of the teams most important guys. That becomes even more important when you’re on the first game of a back to back. Getting to keep Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington under 30 minutes, both of whom put up heavy minutes against Houston on Thursday, is an added bonus. Klay’s minutes need to be monitored throughout the year, and blowouts are an easy way to keep him in check. Doncic only playing 32 minutes is important, too, given Indiana’s style of play. The Pacers have been a bad matchup for Dallas as of late, so we’ll see if the extra rest can give Dallas a boost.
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