CHICAGO, ILLINOIS- The absence of Luka Doncic was noticeable in the Mavericks loss against the Bulls. The team didn’t struggle as much as expected. The players stepped up, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulls.
The Mavericks aren’t familiar playing without Luka Doncic in their starting lineup. Since his rookie year he has continued to develop into the leader of this young Mavericks team, so playing without Luka can have an effect on the Mavericks overall performance. But this game was about how deep the Mavericks could go on their bench and still see production.
“Tonight was all about our team in general and the next guys being ready to step up. We had some good stretches, but we just didn’t have enough collective ilk to get it done.”Rick Carlisle said after his team’s 118-108 loss to the Bulls.
Dallas was outrebounded again tonight which has become a common trend and has led to their early losses this season. The Bulls also outrebounded the Mavericks on the offensive side and stole the ball almost twice as many times as the Mavericks did. The Bulls took advantage of opportunities early.
“I thought a big part of it was rebounding, a big part of it was 50/50 balls we didn’t do a good job in any either area which are balls that are up for grabs. We got about 25% of the 50/50 balls they just beat us, and in the end we just didn’t do a good enough job.”
The Mavericks got valuable contributions from Josh Richardson who finished the game with 16 points, Maxi Kleber who scored 16 points off the bench, and Willie Cauley-Stein who shot 80% from the floor. The curator for the Mavericks offense in Luka’s absence was Jalen Brunson who got his first start of the season and helped carry the Mavericks offense in an impressive first half scoring 18 points in the first half and 31 points on the night.
Rick Carlisle had confidence Brunson would step up in his first start of the season.
“Brunson has played very well as a substitute starter at the point, and I had no doubt he would do well tonight, and there were only a few plus performances on the team tonight and he was one of them.”
Although Brunson saw success, it would take the Mavericks much more than his 31 points to help them gain a lead on the Bulls. This game had 20 lead changes and the game was tied 13 times. Dallas struggled to slow down the Bulls offensive approach led by Zah Lavine. Lavine scored 21 first quarter points and finished the game with 38 points. Otto Porter and Daniel Gafford both played a part as well scoring a combined 18 points in the second half and Coby White scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter shooting over 50% from the field and beyond the arc.
The Mavericks will play the Rockets tomorrow night in a quick turnaround trip. If the Mavericks are without Luka Doncic, Dallas has the depth, it is all about how well the team plays together and who can lead the Mavericks while they are without their main guy.
