Mavericks’ blatant failure in key area leads to disappointing loss to Rockets

Will Miller

Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II / David Berding/GettyImages

After being down by 22 points versus the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, it almost seemed as if the Dallas Mavericks were going to make a comeback reminiscent of their 22-point comeback versus the Rockets toward the end of last season.

However, Dallas ultimately lost the contest by a score of 108-102, as the Rockets put together a spirited defensive effort to derail Dallas’ offense.

Dallas’ two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic did their part in helping Dallas have a chance in this contest, as they shot a combined 22-47 from the field for 57 points.

Doncic struggled immensely early on in this contest from a shooting perspective, continually settling for preemptive mid-range fadeaways or step-back 3-pointers. With that being said though, Doncic turned things around for the better and nailed some clutch shots from distance late in the game to keep the Mavericks within striking distance.

Mavericks lost to Rockets in the trenches and on the glass

Overall, Dallas’ inability to secure rebounds is what lost them this game, as the Mavericks lost the possession battle handily and gave up way too many offensive rebounds to the Rockets.

Dereck Lively II getting into foul trouble and subsequently only playing 15 minutes didn’t help this issue whatsoever though, as Lively II was one of the only individuals who was helping defy Houston’s attack on the offensive glass.

There have been instances in years past where Dallas has gotten out-rebounded because of a lack of personnel, but tonight this happened because the Mavericks were simply out-hustled and out-executed by the Rockets.

Lively II and Daniel Gafford both had solid offensive games, but five rebounds between the two most highly touted big men on Dallas’ roster simply isn’t going to cut it.

The Rockets didn’t have an electric shotmaking performance in this contest, as they only shot 41.2 percent from the field. Houston’s 18 offensive rebounds and the easy second-chance opportunities that those led to in scramble situations are what won them this game.

The Mavericks didn’t go down lightly in this contest and finally got their shooting rolling late in the game, but the lack of a definitive third shot creator was readily apparent in this contest, and the Mavericks have also got to do a better job at getting Klay Thompson more looks.

Even with veteran big man Maxi Kleber being out of the lineup due to a hamstring strain, the Mavericks have the personnel with Gafford and Lively II to stick with any team in the league on the glass. Even Doncic only had five rebounds in this contest, which is very atypical from his usual stat line.

The Mavericks simply have to bring a more concerted effort in the rebounding department following this contest at the end of the day, and they can take notes from Irving. Irving had eight rebounds in this game and was Dallas’ central hub of offense for most of the contest.

Irving brought his usual sense of urgency in this game, but plenty of Mavericks didn’t, and Dallas frankly lost this game because of not matching the Rockets’ intensity.

This can be merely a learning experience for Dallas since it’s at the beginning of the season, but they can’t expect to win games on a consistent basis when they get out-rebounded by a 50-37 margin, especially since that’s considered one of their strengths based on their personnel.

The Mavericks have two days off before they next take on the Orlando Magic on Sunday evening.

Will Miller

Will Miller is a senior contributor and is in his second year with The Smoking Cuban. Will has been following the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade and is currently working on getting a Bachelors in Science in Sports Journalism from the University of North Texas, as he is also covering sports for the North Texas TV station. While Will is opening up his coverage to cover other sports for UNT, basketball and the Dallas Mavericks are his true passion and he hopes to continue writing and producing Mavericks related content as his career continues. Will has very solid in-game analysis and knowledge about the intricacies of the game, and has a very broad understanding about the NBA as a whole. Going forward Will is looking to be more expansive in his coverage of the Mavericks beyond writing as well. Outside of writing about the Mavericks, Will enjoys hanging with friends, going to the gym, and watching other sports and live events.