SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — The 8-9 Mavericks received some great news a day before tip-off in Salt Lake City. Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell will make their much anticipated return to the Mavericks rotation after missing the past two weeks due to Covid 19 health and safety protocols.
Now the Mavericks can take a deep breath- count to ten- reset- and try to pull out a road win against the Utah Jazz who are on a nine game winning streak.
Over the course of the last two weeks there have been two times the Mavericks have been blown out. Against the Raptors and the Rockets, but even those games weren’t necessarily blow-outs. Most of the games have been closer than many would think but the grand separator seems to be who can grab the lead first and separate quicker than the other team.
The Mavericks record since their win in Denver is 4-5 and in the four games they won, the Mavericks averaged a 9 point lead at the end of the first quarter. For the games the Mavericks lost, on average they trailed by 5 points at the end of the first quarter which isn’t a huge deficit to overcome by any means, but for Dallas it has been a challenge.
We don’t know if the unavailability of these players attributes directly to how poorly the Mavericks have started games, but we do know it hasn’t helped the Mavericks turn it around when the going gets bad.
When the bad gets going, it’s always beneficial to have one of the best coaches in the business at your disposal.
The way Rick Carlisle has coached and adjusted during this time has been impressive, and the moves he’s made along with star studded performances from Luka Doncic, has kept the Mavericks head above water. The Mavericks are a middle of the pack team as it stands which isn’t where they would like to be on the totem pole, but it’s much better than being at the bottom.
For example, when Carlisle made the switch from Powell and Hardaway Jr to Cauley-Stein and Kleber in the starting lineup, it sprung a four game win streak for the Mavericks. In another occurrence, Carlisle started Hardaway Jr and rookie Josh Green while Cauley-Stein came off the bench which helped the Mavericks win two consecutive games again before dropping their last two games at home. Coaching matters, especially when your team has dealt with so much so early.
It’s a new day, and everything that was done or wasn’t done last game can’t be changed. The Mavericks are healthier now than they were before at the beginning of the season. Let’s just hope the altitude in Salt Lake City doesn’t hinder how many deep breaths Dallas can take before walking out of Vivint Smart Home Arena with a win.
