Mavs Clutch Woes: 'Change' Coming, Says Maxi Kleber
On paper, teaming a veteran point guard with playoff experience and a championship, and a center with a revenge agenda, and an international superstar … would have most teams feeling good about their playoff chances.
For the Dallas Mavericks, that's what they had in Kyrie Irving, Christian Wood and Luka Doncic — their three top scorers on the roster — and needless to say, expectations were high for Mavs fans, especially after winning the Irving sweepstakes to bring the point guard to town.
But after the conclusion of Dallas' 2023-23 season, that same paper might be found torn up in the garbage at the American Airlines Center — the place where Dallas effectively gave up on its season just a year after the Mavs' Western Conference Finals trip.
And one of the primary reasons for Dallas' apparent step backward? Close-game losses.
Dallas played in 21 games decided by three points or fewer, which in the competitive West, would each prove to be crucial to the conference standings.
Unfortunately for the Mavs, they went 9-12 for an overall losing record in those matchups, which played a large role in their inability to crack their way back into the play-in after the slide they faced when both Doncic and Kyrie were sidelined with injuries.
"A lot of times, [games] come down to details," power forward Maxi Kleber said following the Mavs' blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs. "It's not just the last possession, but even before in those games. We have to know where to be, and control the game at the end. Obviously we addressed it ... but we just didn't come through."
The close-game struggle isn't new to Mavs fans, either. Multiple times throughout the season, they made known their displeasure at Dallas' seemingly bad luck when it came to tight matchups.
"We have the talent," Kleber said. "We just have to finish games."
It didn't help that the Mavs finished in the bottom eight teams in the league in overall free-throw percentage, tallying just 75.5 percent from the line — another critical aspect down the stretch that plagued Dallas during matchups, especially in overtime.
During the Mavs' final matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas found itself in overtime, needing a win to keep their play-in tournament hopes alive, but instead, guard-duo Trae Young and Dejounte Murray put up a combined 49 points to win the game for the Hawks, and the Mavs missed 10 total free throws.
If those free throws had fallen, perhaps Dallas would have earned the victory long before overtime. In a similar light, however, "What ifs" tend to tell the story of close games — and the Mavs did have some positive moments in their close games.
Kleber was the reason that the Mavs held the series advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers, hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Dallas a 111-110 victory in the third matchup between the two teams.
So, Dallas proved that it could win in close games. The problem lied in consistency however, especially with the trade deadline, which saw multiple key players depart for Brooklyn as a part of the Irving trade.
"We had new players coming in, which changed a little bit of everything," Kleber said. "New roles, new identities. We had to figure out who had to go where, and we just didn't reach the same level as last year when it came to connecting the dots ... it's something that takes time."
Either way, the Mavs are out of the playoffs, so they will have time. Dallas will need to regroup over the offseason to evaluate its future regarding Irving, Wood and even Doncic, because as Kleber put it, change is imminent ... and obvious.
"After a season where you have a disappointing ending, obviously there's going to be change," Kleber said. "It's just part of the game."
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