DALLAS, TEXAS — 20 games in and the Mavericks are sitting at 8-12 after suffering a gut wrenching but encouraging loss to the Suns on Saturday. Encouraging, because Dallas kept the game relatively close throughout the game, outperformed the Suns shooting from the field, fastbreak points, and held the largest lead of the night. All the stats and signs pointed to a Mavericks victory but Phoenix made the best out of their opportunities and stole a close one on the road.
Tonight the Mavericks will attempt to win the regular season series finale against the Suns, and let’s just say it will be much different than the last two times these teams matched up. For one, Kristaps Porzingis will get the start after missing the last game due to rehab limitations that prevent him from playing in back to back games, and all of Dallas’s players will be available tonight for the first time this season. Needless to say the availability of certain players have hindered the Mavericks to some degree so having all of their players back in the rotation will be advantageous.
How can the Mavericks snap their 5 game losing streak?
One thing the Mavericks have seemed to correct at least in the last game was not playing from behind. Dallas accomplished this by clamping down on the defensive end of the floor not giving up easy shots and forcing the Suns to make most of their shots from beyond the arc, which the Suns did converting on 80% of their shots from three, but lacked an interior presence for most of the game.
Another area Dallas could improve on since they are healthy again is three point shooting, which has been abysmal so far this season ranking dead last in the league after finishing as the 10th best team from beyond the arc a season ago. Dallas finished Saturday night connecting on 9 out of their 29 shots from deep, which proves how valuable the three ball has become and how it can ultimately decide the outcome of the game.
When everything else is failing, the production in the paint remains consistent. Making the most of their shots inside the paint has been beneficial for the Mavericks and even though it is not the X factor when it comes to winning games it has kept Dallas in many of the games they lost by a few points here and there. There should be an uptick in their success from within the three point line with players like Maxi Kleber and Kristaps Porzingis returning to the lineup, the Mavericks just have to find a way to remain consistent in the paint and find rhythm from beyond the arc to bring the offensive plans for the Mavericks to fruition.
8-12 sounds like a deep hole to dig out of and in the Western Conference it’s no simple task, but the Mavericks are healthy enough to do some digging. Dallas is a scary team that won’t be an easy out for any opponent. With a roster full of healthy players this Maverick team has a chance to knock off a few opponents that may have overlooked them and begin to bounce back from a rough 20 game stretch.
