Dallas Mavs vs. Brooklyn Nets: 3 Big Things to Watch
The Dallas Mavericks (5-3) will take on the Brooklyn Nets (4-6) in part of the NBA's Monday slate of action.
A lot has changed since the Mavs' 122-117 overtime win over the Nets earlier in the season. Kyrie Irving is currently suspended, and while Kevin Durant remains the 'head of the snake' when it comes to Brooklyn's attack, the head of the bench is different; Steve Nash recently was fired, and Jacque Vaughn is the interim coach.
Here are three key things to monitor when the Mavs take on the Nets on Monday.
3. Mavs' 4th Quarter Execution
The Mavs established a 19-point lead during the second half of their previous outing but failed to allow the Raptors to rally back. Losing leads in the second half of games has been a problem at times for Dallas early this season, and it's something they seek to change.
“Just getting off to a better start and not being down 10 or 12, and that next group trying to fight to get it within four or five,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “You look at different combinations that we’ve been playing.
“Again, quarters one through three were really good and quarter four we’re awful. We have to get off to better starts. But the biggest question for us is to get better in the fourth quarter, and those are things that we talked about today.”
The way the bench unit executes in the first six minutes when Doncic is not on the court have been challenging at times for the Mavs. However, in three of their last four games, that group was actually a net positive, but Kidd sees that as an area to emphasize.
“It could be a lot of reasons,” Kidd said. “Offensively leads to bad shots, defensively not stopping anything.
“And those first six minutes are without Luka, so I think as a whole we have to do better at the beginning of the fourth (quarter) to stop the team’s runs. We’ve had the lead in all eight (games), so we just got to do better.”
Against a Nets team that is led by Durant, they have the capability of getting hot in a hurry. Having letup is something to be avoided as a result.
2. Nets' Defensive Strategy
The Nets will rely on Ben Simmons and Royce O'Neale to do some level of defensive work against Luka Doncic in his return to the lineup. It just remains to be seen how much of a workload Simmons will have, or if he'll even be starting or coming off the bench.
"I feel great. ... I'll probably be in for 20 minutes," Simmons said.
The Nets have played small often this season and have found success doing it over the last few games. With Simmons on the floor, they will be fully emboldened to switch in ball screen coverages — requiring an on-ball defender to get the job done in isolation.
"Stick to our gameplan defensively," Simmons said of stopping Doncic. "Stick our focus to that and it's team presence. Just have to make him feel everyone around him. Just got to make it tough on him. I don't think that's a guy you're going to completely stop, but just make it tough."
1. Luka Doncic vs. Kevin Durant
Whenever two superstars are set to face off, those are the talents that set the tone for the whole matchup. Right now, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant are both playing some of the best basketball in the NBA.
Doncic is coming off a performance that featured him ripping apart the Toronto Raptors' many defensive schemes deployed in an attempt to slow him down. He finished with 35 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. He is averaging 36.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists in eight appearances.
“Luka’s playing chess at a very high level,” Kidd said. “That’s what he does. He has seen everything, he enjoys the defense that can be changed on the fly to help with his creativity. It makes him special.”
With Irving not involved with the Nets right now, Durant has to shoulder an even heavier share of the offensive responsibility. He's averaging 31.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor in 10 performances.
It will be as challenging as imaginable for both defenses to contain the opposition's star. They are matchup nightmares and need to be accounted for at all times when on the floor. Who will have the top performance?
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