Mavs Seek Defensive Recalibration After Disappointing Road Trip
When they entered the season, the Dallas Mavericks were not expected to be a top defensive team. However, the expectations were undoubtedly higher for where they should be by now compared to what they've achieved to this point.
A recent decline in results can be quickly attributed to injuries to instrumental defensive contributors as a starting place. The Mavs played much of the last month without Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Green, and Maxi Kleber available due to injuries. They will gain Finney-Smith and Green for Wednesday's nationally televised matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
On the season, the Mavs now rank 25th in defensive rating (114.7), with only teams like the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs producing lesser results. The results have worsened as they have a 117.7 defensive rating (26th) since the start of December.
“(Recent injuries) gave guys an opportunity to play,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “Numbers-wise, not very nice. The 25th defense isn’t what we want. To win in this league, we have to be better. So it’s good to hopefully get Josh, Doe back and have some wings that do defend and have helped us defensively.”
Gaining Dorian Finney-Smith back from injury will significantly boost the Mavs. His size, length, and quickness have enabled him to be an instrumental on-ball defender for their defense. His weak-side defensive rotations are another element that was missed while he's been sidelined.
“Just being able to guard one through five. And also his ability to shoot the three and the comfort level with Luka on the floor," Kidd said of what the Mavs gain from Finney-Smith's return. "The continuity of having him, Reggie (Bullock), and Josh out there defensively, that’s where we’ve had some success.”
While Kleber's switching ability and rim protection still will be missed, the Mavs will benefit from Green's return, too. He offers physicality as an on-ball defender in addition to general energy to fly around the half-court and crash the glass.
Following a rock-bottom stretch for the Mavs' defense that featured allowing a staggering 278 points to the Portland Trail Blazers, Finney-Smith is embracing the challenge of getting the team back on track on that front.
“It’s hard to win in this league when guys are scoring 130 points,” Finney-Smith said. “We’re scoring. We’re doing a good job on offense. But we got to stop the other team. Coach has been giving us a great game plan. It’s on us to execute.
“We showed plenty of stretches this year that we can guard. We just got to focus on it. Sometimes when scoring gets easy, we kind of let go of the ropes on defense. We got to start finding some joy in stopping guys.”
As the Mavs work their way back into form defensively, Finney-Smith made the bigger picture known that the team is still fifth in the Western Conference standings. They are in a good starting position as they aim to get back on track following their 1-4 road trip during part of his absence.
“We still got to stick together,” Finney-Smith said. “We’re still in fifth (in the West). If we get hot right now, we can put ourselves in a good position.”
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