Key plays, moments and stats for the Mavericks 114 – 102 loss to the Suns
Welcome back to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, a new recurring series at Mavs Moneyball that will look at different aspects of the game that may, but don’t necessarily, show up in the box score. We’ll be looking at the positives, negatives and not so pretty of Saturday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
The Good
Klay Thompson
Thompson picked up right where he left off, hitting a contested shot that was waived off due to a foul prior to release, then came right back moments later to hit a tricky baseline jumper in the opening minutes, establishing his aggression almost immediately and carrying it through the game. He dropped in 19 points, going 5-for-12 on threes. He continues to look less like the new guy than some others who have been here longer.
Luka Doncic
In a reversal of the sluggish start in the season opener, Doncic got off to a nice start scoring 5 points and pulling down 3 rebounds in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the game. For the 1st Quarter, he logged 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block, en route to a 40 point, 10 rebound, 4 assist and 1 block night. Despite missing Preseason, which showed in the season opener, he looked to be rounded into form for this one. Hopefully it will stay that way.
The Bad
Jusef Nurkic’s 2nd Quarter
After Dereck Lively got into foul trouble (3 in the 1st Half) and the Mavs went small, Nurkic got literally anything he wanted in a 2nd Quarter stretch that saw him score 12 straight points for the Suns. His buckets weren’t alley-oops or wide-open chippies generated by others, either. He most often backed the defender down from outside the key, and pulled off a series of moves before hitting his shot.
P.J. Washington’s Shooting
Washington had a few nice defensive plays that won’t show up in the stat sheet, as he hounded both Kevin Durant and Monte Morris into contested misses on two separate plays, but there wasn’t much to write home about beyond that. Washington was 2-for-10 overall and 1-for-5 from three. A few of the missed threes were wide-open from the corner but he just couldn’t convert them. These are exactly the shots he needs to hit, as he will likely get more open shots than he did last year due to the arrival of Thompson. Even just another bucket or two would have kept the team better connected in this one.
The Ugly
First Quarter Fouls
The Mavericks committed 8 fouls in the opening frame. Had it not been for a successful challenge on another foul call, the total tally would have been 9. The ugly of this speaks for itself.
Inbounding Violation
It what we will likely not see again for the rest of the season (and possibly beyond), Luka attempted to inbound the ball on the baseline after a Suns score, only to find all of his teammates on the other end of the court. By the time Quentin Grimes raced back, the refs had blown the whistle for an inbounding violation.
The Loss in General
The Mavs were facing a team that played three games in four nights, one of which went to overtime, and who were on the second night of a back-to-back without a key starter in Bradley Beal. This game was absolutely ripe for the picking, but the Mavericks were just disjointed enough all night to where they couldn’t break through. Games like this matter, regardless of it only being October. The Mavs were one game better than the Suns last year with having won the season tie-breaker. These aren’t the types of losses you want when jockeying for playoff positioning. Ugly indeed.