Mavs' Kyrie Irving Misses Game-Winner vs. Pacers: 3 Big Takeaways
DALLAS — After blowing a 27-point lead against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks proved unable to bounce back against the Indiana Pacers in their following outing. The Mavs lost 124-122 despite having a chance to win it on the final play.
Here are three takeaways from the Mavs' loss to the Pacers:
3. The Mavs Don't Play Their Best Players — Why?
There have been some strange personnel choices by the Mavs this season, but particularly lately. In general, there isn't a case for either Christian Wood or Josh Green to come off the bench and see limited minutes.
Green is playing behind a buyout player that was out of the Atlanta Hawks' rotation, while Wood was has played behind a player the team deemed needing to be upgraded from after a Western Conference Finals run in Dwight Powell.
Holiday may be 6-foot-6 with some length, but he's not an impact player on defense. He also furthers the team's undersized theme given he weighs only 180 pounds. The Mavs are deploying an ineffective swarming unit that is significantly undersized at all three spots around their two superstars, who naturally need extra cover.
While Dorian Finney-Smith offered valuable layers of impact defensively, deploying a wing with similar offensive limitations in favor of a far more dynamic threat in Green doesn't add up. Green is 20 pounds heavier than Holiday with a stronger frame and can attack closeouts to finish at the rim or make a play for a teammate. He's also recently shown ability to attack out of a ball screen. He's far more dynamic.
As far as Powell is concerned, it's fairly common to encounter limitations with different matchups due to his smaller frame and inability to use length to pressure shots. He's fundamentally sound in his approach, but again, trying your best isn't always going to be enough. He's best served as a backup center.
Kleber is a helpful option to switch screens as a small ball five, but that should be a situational approach, not a base lineup. He fits well with Wood on offense and defense, making it the cleanest option to start and frequently use both players. Having a big with some shot blocking talent with a switching option that can also protect the rim while maintaining a shooting threat at all five spots sounds ideal.
From a 30,000-foot view, the Mavs have failed to fully utilize their best players. It's not too surprising that currently, they've struggled to achieve consistent results and find themselves in a play-in tournament seed.
Which leads into the next takeaway...
2. Disparity in Interior Defensive Presence; Continued Poor Defense Overall
Right now, the Mavs are not executing nearly well enough to overcompensate for the underwhelming personnel options they have at their disposal. Doncic had alluded to some defensive coverages not being executed, which was clear in how Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner were picking them apart.
"Luka understands and has a great basketball IQ and he's right. There's mistakes but that's gonna happen," Kidd said of what stood out defensively. "We just got to keep watching film, keep practicing it and get better so we can limit those mistakes. In the game of basketball, everybody makes mistakes."
Kidd explained: "But if we can just limit those mistakes at the right time and capitalize on our opponents' mistakes, we'll be fine. New bodies — just communication. We gotta be a little bit better talking to one another on the floor."
It's possible that integrating new personnel has led to a lack of continuity mixed in with a general lack of capability. That raises the question, though. Why start Holiday when Green has been with the organization for years and has more talent? He's made more mistakes defensively both on and off-ball dating back to a few games before the All-Star break, but those are things that must be worked through.
On the flip-side, it was pretty clear when Myles Turner was on the floor to anchor the Pacers' defense, even Doncic wasn't nearly as aggressive in attacking deep on a drive. When Turner was on the sideline, Doncic got very aggressive in taking advantage. The way the Pacers' defense looked without Turner is how the Mavs defense looks with Powell filling the anchor role.
With Turner manning the middle, the Pacers' defense is afforded more leeway with staying tighter on off-ball spacers to run them off the line, or to tightly contest a potential shot attempt. There was more settling for step-back 3s from Doncic. Overall, Turner's presence raises the floor for Indiana's unit.
The Mavs need a presence of this nature to anchor the defense. It helps to take pressure off superstars by covering up their mistakes, but most importantly, it helps to overcompensate for deploying a smaller perimeter. The opposition is not deterred from attacking the rim with Powell on the floor.
1. Kyrie Irving Still in Early Stages
A common theme in Kyrie Irving's post-game answers has been that he's not accustomed to joining a new team midseason and working through the nuances that typically would be resolved in the preseason. He's been trying to play within the flow for most of the game and if his shot isn't falling when he's leading non-Luka minutes, then it's hard for his overall superstar impact to be felt.
Irving says that he must "show up to the party" and make the impact that his team is expecting him to make. He finished with 16 points while shooting 7-18 from the floor and 0-4 from beyond the arc. He did haul in five boards and dish out nine assists and was a +8 in terms of plus/minus.
"As much pressure as I put on myself, I have goals that I would love to accomplish, but all those are pushed to the side because I know I have 15 other guys on this team that are relying on me to do things that they've either seen me do, or they're expecting me to do as one of the best players in the league," Irving said. "So sitting alongside Luka, I just have to show up to the party."
Irving texted with his father after the game and shared with reporters that he discussed the need for him to be more aggressive. He's been trying to stay within the flow of the game and be complementary to the team after being traded midseason.
"I'm human. I would love to play well, every single night I was just texting with my dad — my biggest fan, one of my harshest critics," Irving said."But he's always gonna keep it honest, and I appreciate that. He's been watching me play for a long time, and he just told me to stay aggressive, and he looked like I was overthinking out there."
Irving explained: "And I was just telling him like that we have new lineups. I'm playing with new guys out there. It's an adjustment period. As much as I would love to play well, it doesn't happen as often as you would like, but I think moving forward, when I can ease kind of my own burdens or overthinking, I think things will naturally flow."
Irving had a chance to overcome a tough scoring outing with a step-back 3 for a potential game-winning shot. The shot was offline. However, whether it was Doncic, Kidd, or Irving himself, they all agreed that it was the right shot to take.
"I just appreciate the coaching staff and my teammates trusting me with that shot and just the comfort they gave me afterwards," Irving said.
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