The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their first-round series. They were without Luka Doncic, granted, but losing a home game must really hurt the team and their fans.

 

However, it is only the first game and it was without Doncic, their best player by far. This team has a lot going for them, and they were still in position to steal a win even without their star. It is unclear if Doncic will play in Monday's Game 2, but no matter what, there are some things the Mavs must do better to secure a win.

Here are some adjustments for the Dallas Mavericks ahead of Game 2 against the Utah Jazz.

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Mavs adjustments for Game 2 vs. Jazz 

Don't let Donovan Mitchell's teammates beat them

While Donovan Mitchell is an amazing talent and a player who can scorch any team, he needs support from his teammates and cannot solely carry his team to victory. Thus, the Mavs should really concentrate on defending all the other guys on the team. Of course, they still need to be active when defending Mitchell, but the focus should be on stopping his supporting cast from impacting the game in any way. That is difficult, but with the correct game plan, they can do it.

In this game, Mitchell did play reasonably well, scoring 32 points, but he also shot 10-of-29. What really killed the Mavs was Bojan Bogdanovic. The Croatian forward scored 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting and was the X-Factor for Utah. Even worse for the Mavs, Bogdanovic did not kill them from the 3-point line, where he scored only two of his 11 shots. Leaving him open would be suicide, but the Mavs need to do a better job of containing the drives, which is difficult without a proper center in the middle.

While Dallas did a good job overall defensively, it will be tough to win if Mitchell's sidekicks have big games.

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Play more zone defense to neutralize the lack of a rim protector 

While the Mavs finished 14th in the league in allowed points in the paint, we cannot run away from the fact that they have a serious issue in the middle. Their starting center for this series is Dwight Powell, with the only other big man playing minutes being Maxi Kleber. With those two in the middle, the Jazz will look to exploit and attack the paint, mostly through drives and cuts. While Rudy Gobert only scored five points in Game 1, Utah still managed to put up a whopping 50 points in the paint.

If they want to neutralize that, the Mavs need to do something. Since getting a rim protector is impossible at this time and asking players to be something they are not is also impossible, the Mavs need to turn to a zone defense, forcing the Jazz to shoot their way into points.

Of course, with guys like Mitchell, Bogdanovic, Clarkson, and Danuel House Jr. on the Jazz it might be a risk. All of these guys, together with Mike Conley, can all shoot and hit 3s, which largely remain free shots against a zone defense, but they are harder to rely on than easy points in and around the paint. Thus, the Mavs need to surprise the Jazz in Game 2 and try to nullify their driving threats by mixing in some more zone, though they must also focus on the glass after giving up 13 offensive rebonds and getting torched on the boards.

Better shot selection and actually make the open shots they get

We can talk about the defense all we want, but the fact of the matter is the Mavs allowed under 100 points but still lost because they only managed 93. Not having Luka Doncic obviously played a major factor here, because this hurt Dallas' shot selection and simply the ability to knock down shots.

Overall, the Mavs hit only 29 shots out of 76 attempts, and it is even worse when we look at their 3-point effort. The Mavs shot an abysmal 9-of-32 from deep, with all the Mavs players except Powell attempting at least three triples in this match. Dallas did miss some great looks, including a crucial one from Kleber late in the fourth quarter that would have given them a lead, but taking better shots in general would still help. This is easier said than done with Gobert in the middle, though, especially without Doncic.

Getting Doncic back would help tons, with this one specifically. Not only is Luka amazing offensively in terms of scoring, but he also has other factors that the Mavs can really utilize to better prepare for Game 2. His playmaking is amazing and creates great opportunities for Mavs shooters behind the 3-point line. Additionally, he is great at finishing through contact, so the Mavs can possibly force Gobert into some early foul trouble. Thus, this adjustment will be heavily dependent on Luka Doncic being available for Game 2.