Mavs Inching Closer to Rock Bottom: 3 Big Takeaways From Loss to Grizzles
DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks haven't hit rock bottom just yet, but the view of the hard ground is getting bigger as the team continues to free fall since Feb. 11.
The Mavs are 3-9 in that span and have fallen to eighth-place in the Western Conference Standings while also being just a half-game away from falling out of play-in tournament range altogether with a 34-35 record. The latest loss came against the Memphis Grizzlies at American Airlines Center on Monday night by the final score of 104-88.
Here are the biggest takeaways from yet another disappointing outing from the injury-riddled Mavs.
Jaden Hardy Continues to Prove He Belongs
Mavs rookie Jaden Hardy has been thrown into the deep end over these last two games with both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving being out due to injuries, and the 20-year-old has done well keeping his head above water as a starter.
In Saturday's game against the Grizzlies, Hardy scored 22 points in 37 minutes while shooting 9-21 overall. In Monday's rematch, he put up 28 points – 16 in the first quarter alone – eight rebounds and three assists in 41 minutes. This time, though, he shot just 9-25 from the field, including 5-15 from deep.
"I think he's grown here. He's had an incredible run in the sense of work and being able to play," coach Jason Kidd said when asked if Hardy could potentially get some playoff minutes. "Tonight, being able to get to the paint, to score, to shoot and then also to play-make to find open teammates when he was driving – and the ball touched the paint. A lot of good things.
"Let's not talk playoff minutes yet. We've got 13 more games, so let's get the 13 games in and minutes there as we get healthy and go forward. Let's just finish the season off before we start talking playoff minutes."
Although the 20-year-old is prone to making rookie mistakes at times, he's proven that he's capable of handling more responsibility. For a team that desperately needs more young talent and fresh legs, one would think Hardy would've gotten more of an opportunity earlier even if the Mavs hadn't endured so many injuries.
Over Hardy's last 10 games, he's averaging 12.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 21.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from deep and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
“I feel like we got good looks and we didn't knock them down in the second half," Hardy said on Monday. "But, we’ve got to move on and just play together on defense. We’ve got to lock in on the defensive side of the ball. On offense, just continue to play together and move the ball. We’ve got to get healthy on to the next road trip and try to take advantage of the road trip and get wins.”
And when the Mavs do finally get healthy again, Hardy should still be a key part of Kidd's bench rotation.
Unfortunately For The Mavs, Maxi Kleber Seems to Have Lost a Step
Although Maxi Kleber returning as soon as he did from a torn hamstring was admirable, perhaps he returned a little too soon.
The 31-year-old veteran started out hot by shooting a combined 63.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep in his first two games back against the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers two weeks ago. He has had to sit out two of the five games since with hamstring tightness, though, and has shot just 27.3 percent overall and 22.2 percent from deep in his last three games played.
On Monday, Kleber scored just one point on 0-3 shooting and grabbed just three rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. He was a team-worst -18 on the night.
Kleber, when fully healthy, can be a big difference-maker for this Mavs' roster, but the version we’ve seen over the last handful of games is hurting the team more than helping. We'll see if Kleber is able to round into form over these last 13 games as the rest of the roster attempts to get healthy again.
Has Josh Green Finally Broken Out of His Funk?
After struggling heavily over the last few weeks, Josh Green has taken advantage of his increased role with both Doncic and Irving being out.
During these last two games against Memphis, Green is averaging 22 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 61.3 percent overall and 50 percent from deep. The 22-year-old 3-and-D wing is vitally important to Dallas' playoff chances, especially when considering that Dorian Finney-Smith is no longer part of the Mavs' wing rotation.
“It's a lot different," Green said of playing without the team's two superstars. "When two of the best players are not on the court, you definitely feel that. But, it's up to us, and we shouldn't have to rely on them [as much as we do]. We should be coming out there and giving them the energy to show that we have their back.
"When they're back out there, they can trust us and that we can do stuff. For us, it's not about whether they play or whether they don't play. At the end of the day, we have one thing in mind and that's to win the game. Obviously, the game plan changes without having them. But, whether they're in there or whether they're out, from a player standpoint, we're looking at just winning. So obviously stuff changes, but we still have one outcome.”
Perhaps Green's renewed confidence will continue when Doncic and Irving eventually return to action, which, according to Kidd, will hopefully happen on this upcoming three-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Grizzlies for the fourth and final time this season.
“We’ve got to win. It’s no other option now. We all need to have the mindset that we're trying to win every single game from here on out," Green said. "We're playing against teams like the Lakers coming up and even the Spurs, where the young guys are trying to beat us. So, at the end of the day, whatever's on all of our minds, it's no more than that we need to win for the rest of the season and continue to win.
"Right now, the Western Conference is completely wide open and we need to make sure that we're winning games.”
Green is averaging career-highs across the board this season by putting up 9.3 points per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep in 25.1 minutes.
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