Key plays, moments and stats for the Mavericks 120 – 114 win over the Timberwolves
Welcome back to The Good, The Bad & 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 Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
The Good
Injuries Avoided
Mavs Nation already saw Maxi Kleber suffer an early-season injury, so when Daniel Gafford bumped knees and exited to the back immediately, it was a nervous moment. He fortunately was seen riding the stationary bike on the sideline a few minutes later, and returned to the game no worse for wear. In a real hold-your-breath moment, Luka took a strange shot to the back of his knee just before Halftime. Unable to get back on defense, he was well positioned for an easy layup a play later, but immediately asked out and made the Halftime Show feel uncomfortably long. Again, he fortunately returned, laboring a bit, but generally looking ready to play. Avoiding any real time off the court was a huge plus for the Mavs as they continue to find their groove.
Improved D on Anthony Edwards
After getting smoked by Anthony Edwards in the first quarter (see The Bad), The Mavericks got things together and did a much better job on closeouts, holding Edwards to zero FG’s from the end of the first through more than midway through the third period.
Luka’s Insane Pass to Dinwiddie
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Luka drives to the hole, rises up, throws a pass over his head backwards to a teammate who nails a three-pointer. The only real difference from the last time he did this against the Spurs opening night, was that this time the recipient was Spencer Dinwiddie instead of P.J. Washington. We’ve almost become accustom to it, but plays like this are not normal. They are amazing to watch, but also swing momentum and give the opponent a lot to think about on defense.
P.J. Hitting Threes (Quentin Grimes, too)
P.J. Washington has put together two very nice games in a row. Tonight had some extra glow as he broke the ice on his three point shooting, going 3-for-6. This was especially good timing, as Klay Thompson had his first off night in a Mavs uniform and because the Wolves outscored the Mavs from beyond the arc, especially early on. Quentin Grimes broke out too, going 3-for-5 in only 12 minutes of play.
The Bad
Anthony Edward’s First Quarter
It’s the NBA, and superstars get hot. We have the luxury of watching Luka and/or Kyrie put on a show on any given night, so we’re no strangers to insanity, but for a team trying to show they are a defensive force, the Mavericks cannot let Anthony Edwards (or anyone else) do what he did in the first quarter. Edwards scored 24 points (a career high for any single quarter), on 8-for-10 shooting, including 6-for-8 from three. The team needs to find better ways to adjust more quickly to stymie these types of spurts.
Wolves’ Shooting Percentages
For the game, the Mavs allowed the Wolves to hit over 50% from the floor overall and nearly 50% from three. Much of that was kicked off by Edwards’ otherworldly play in the 1st Quarter, but allowing that level of efficiency is not a good recipe.
The Ugly
Luka Got Another Tech
Luka picked up a technical foul in his second consecutive game. This one came early in the third quarter after he was called for a non-shooting foul. It simply needs to stop, but this one had a bit of extra ugly on it because it hardly seemed warranted. There was nothing demonstrative about what he did, so he either quietly said something especially offensive, or this one will be rescinded. Let’s hope it’s the latter.
Free Throw Rebounding
While the Timberwolves experienced some struggles from the free throw line, they mitigated a couple of the misses with offensive rebounds. On two occasions in the second half, the Mavs gave up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw, resulting in five second chance points for the Wolves. This is all about doing the little things to prevent big things.