Dallas Mavericks: Three reasons the Mavs lost to the Jazz

Defense

This is not just an issue tonight and it will not be an issue that is fixed over night. The Mavs are not a good defensive team. Not even close. They can get better if the team grows together and starts to understand their teammates better than they currently do, but again, it will take work and patience.

Luka is not looking like he will be a great defender yet. He understands the game well and is a very intelligent player, but his lack of lateral speed is going to kill him for a little while. If he can get better at that over the next couple years, his defense will come along as well.

Dennis has not been an excellent defender either. Although he does have the speed and athleticism to be elite, he doesn’t stay in front of people very well. His chase down defense is pretty good, but that isn’t going to cut it in the long run. Our guards have their work cut out for them.

DJ has been excellent protecting the paint, but his individual defense does need some work. Players like Jonas Valanciunas who are solid post players and good offensive weapons give DJ a lot of struggles, but others who aren’t key parts to the offense of their teams he handles just fine.

Harrison Barnes and Wes are both solid defenders, but Matthews has struggled some this year with a lot of his lateral quickness waning. He is still a smart defender and an aggressive defender, but many of the wings in the current NBA are just too skilled and can get past him fairly regularly.

The defense was especially bad tonight, as the Jazz shot over 52% from the field and 40% from three. They created 18 turnovers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the excellent shooting numbers for Utah.

Dallas will get a chance to right their wrongs tomorrow as they face the Spurs in San Antonio. The game will tip-off at 7:30 pm central time as we get our first look at the new-style Spurs.