Another Strong Dinwiddie Performance Wasted: 3 Big Takeaways from Mavs' Loss to Wizards
On Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks lost their second-straight game on the second night of a back-to-back to the Washington Wizards, 113-105.
Dallas got off to a hot start in the first quarter, as they jumped out to an early 14-point lead, but Washington quickly rallied, heading into halftime only down by six.
In the second-half, the Mavericks struggled to score, putting up just 44 points in the final 24 minutes and shooting just 35.9 percent from the field. Washington's Kyle Kuzma erupted for a season-high 36 points along with 11 rebounds and six assists.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Mavericks for the second-straight night, finishing with season-high 33 points, which surpassed his previous high from Wednesday's loss to the Magic. Dinwiddie has been a major bright spot for Dallas in what was a dark 48 hours overall.
Luka Doncic struggled from the floor once again for Dallas, finishing with 22 points on just 8-21 from the field and missing 6-9 from the free throw line. The night before, he shot just 9-29 from the field, so fatigue is definitely starting to creep in after his historic start to the season.
Here are the three big takeaways from the Mavs' loss to the Wizards:
Luka's Unsustainable Workload
During this two-game losing streak, the burden on Doncic's shoulders seems to finally be weighing on him for the first time. Doncic looked sluggish and, at times, a bit disinterested in Thursday's loss, as he struggled shooting from the field for the second night in a row.
Over the last two games, Doncic has also taken several hard falls to the floor. Each time, he got up slowly, grabbing a different part of his body as he winced in pain.
Is it the league-leading usage rate and the sheer amount of offensive load on his plate that's causing these issues? Is playing in EuroBasket finally catching up to his body? Or is he just flat-out tired from his near 37 minutes per night?
All of the above.
"I've been awful for two games now," Doncic said after the loss. "These two games are on me. ... I had a real busy summer. I think a little bit (of that) came after me. I'm just feeling more tired on the court these last two games more than anything, but that's not an excuse."
Doncic isn't one to request a game off for rest, but that would sound nice for him at the moment. However, for the Mavericks, their schedule doesn't get any easier, as they have the Trail Blazers and Clippers coming up next at home. Portland is 9-3 and currently second in the Western Conference.
Dinwiddie's in a major groove ... but the Mavs have wasted it
Though it's been in two-straight losses on back-to-back nights, Dinwiddie has found his shooting touch and has played like a true No. 2 option for the Mavericks.
In Thursday's loss, Dinwiddie topped his performance on Wednesday with a new season-high 33 points, four rebounds, six assists, and one steal on 11-17 from the field and 7-11 from downtown.
Dinwiddie's confidence and aggressiveness has been high all season, but especially in these last two games. After averaging just 1.6 free-throw attempts per game through the Mavs' first nine games, Dinwiddie has been to the line 12 times over the last two game. For perhaps a corner has been turned there. Dallas desperately needs that kind of backcourt production with Doncic seemingly beginning to hit a wall.
Can Dinwiddie keep up his high efficiency? Maybe not at this high of a rate, but it's a great sign going forward that he continues to shoot north of 40 percent from deep on the season. So far, Dinwiddie is averaging 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 48.1 percent overall, including 42.9 percent from deep.
Lack of overall scoring continues to be an issue
As noted above, Dinwiddie has been the scoring spark for the Mavericks over the last two games as Doncic has struggled, but for the other 13 guys on the roster? It's been hard to find, to put it nicely.
Granted, Christian Wood has been out for the last two games due to a left knee sprain and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dwight Powell did combine for 30 points on Thursday, but it's just not consistent production on a night-to-night basis.
For Hardaway Jr., he's still finding his groove after missing half of last season with foot surgery, and Christian Wood is continuing to fight for consistent minutes in the roller coaster that is Jason Kidd's lineup rotations. But, for the likes of Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, and Maxi Kleber, the knock down shooting needs to be there. Bullock, who shoots nearly 40 percent on 3s for his career, is only shooting 31.9 percent in that department. Finney-Smith and Kleber are shooting 32.7 and 29 percent from deep respectively.
This also comes to question why the Mavericks opted not to sign veteran point guard and close friend to Doncic, Goran Dragic, who has played well for the Chicago Bulls off the bench this season. Dragic would currently be fifth on the Mavs' roster in scoring while being just eighth in minutes per game based on what he's done in Chicago so far.
Having another ballhandler and shot creator would do wonders for the Mavericks, especially when Doncic has hit a slump and the team is dealing with injuries. We knew this was coming when the need wasn't addressed in the offseason, and now the struggles are showing up before our eyes in real time. We'll see if any roster shakeups happen over the next month if the Mavs can't get back on track.
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