The Dallas Mavericks need all the frontcourt help they could help to keep the duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving running. Coach Jason Kidd already enlisted the help of Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington. They have been phenomenal additions to this squad but having more depth is a good problem to have. Unfortunately, this squad did not have that in their loss to the Golden State Warriors. Specifically, Dereck Lively II was ruled out.
The Mavericks got outclassed on the glass by the Warriors which led to a narrow loss. A large part of it was the fact that Dereck Lively II was not there to get into a good position under the paint for rebounds. That might even remain the case heading into the postseason for the Mavericks. Coach Jason Kidd unveiled that the young big man is still suffering from soreness in his right knee. This means that he could be out for two weeks, per Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
How much of a loss is this for the Mavericks? Well, it is very big. He is arguably one of Jason Kidd's most reliable players when it comes to guarding the pick and roll and also acting as a good screen setter for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Not to mention, his production is also big. He averages 6.9 rebounds on a nightly basis which helps close out defensive sets and gives them second chances on offense. Whenever he gets an open shot, he also records a 74.7% field goal percentage while scoring 8.8 points on a nightly basis.
All of this is crucial for the Luka Doncic-led Mavericks if they want to make a deep postseason run. Hopefully, Lively makes it back in time to make an impact.
Warriors edge out the Mavericks
© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Everyone on Coach Kidd's squad got locked up in the dying moments of the game. Not even the lethal backcourt duo of the Mavericks could do anything against tough defenders like Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Draymond Green. The main problem, as aforementioned, was their control of the boards. The Mavericks only managed to grab 43 of them. Meanwhile, the Warriors were able to rip 53 rebounds straight out of the air.
Coach Kidd employed schemes that focused on the perimeter. It was unfortunate that they only knocked down 37.5% of their three-point attempts. They also could not get into good positions for second-chance points. The Warriors closed out their defense against the Mavericks well with 41 defensive rebounds and only allowing nine offensive rebounds.
Doncic was the one who led the team in rebounds with 12 of them while their starting frontcourt only secured 17. There is a lot of work to do for this squad if they want to win it all.
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