Can Mavs Keep Jazz Off Free Throw Line in Game 5?

The Dallas Mavericks gave up 42 free throw attempts in their Game 4 loss to the Utah Jazz. Can they cut down on fouls?

The Dallas Mavericks came up short in their 100-99 loss to the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. Giving up 42 free throw attempts proved to be among the significant factors contributing to that outcome. 

''It's tough to win a game when you give them 42 free throws,'' Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic said. ''We got to stop fouling.'' 

The inability to limit fouling coupled with ramped-up intensity from an opponent in survival mode was tough to overcome. At times, the Mavericks are wrapping up Rudy Gobert to prevent easy attempts, but overall, there was slippage in staying solid in Game 4. 

There have been significant struggles from the Mavericks to keep Gobert from getting to the free throw line. He's generating a trip to the free throw line on 39.5 percent of his offensive possessions, which leads all 97 players with at least 20 offensive possessions by a staggering 11.9 percent.

“We got to be physical without fouling,” Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson said. “Obviously, some of those of those fouls down low we had to wrap him up so he couldn’t get easy ones.

“But when we do take those fouls, we have to be conscious of the other fouls we’ve been committing. We just got to be solid. At the same time, he played well today. Got to give him credit. But we just can’t do that. We can’t foul as much as we did.”

To make matters worse, the Mavericks gave up 22 second-chance points in Game 4 and have allowed the Jazz to score an average of 16.3 second-chance points (T-14th) in the series as a whole. Dallas has faced a league-worst differential of 7.0 points in this department. 

The Mavericks are naturally going to be at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to keeping Gobert off the free throw line and contained on the offensive glass. He's a true center that is primarily tasked with pursuing putbacks and rolling to the rim while going against a team with an undersized frontcourt. 

Some of the Mavericks' fouls down the stretch were meant to send Gobert, an underwhelming free throw shooter, to the line to have to make shots. Overall, he finished with 18 free throw attempts with eight coming in the fourth quarter.

“Their whole game plan is to hit me on every rebound,” Gobert said. “You’ve got guys running to try to box me out with elbows out, stuff like that, grabbing me. So it’s their game plan. In Game 3, I didn’t get none of those calls. So I didn’t think it was fair.

“In Game 4, I get a few. Not all of them, I got a few of those calls. You know, it’s part of the game. They try to make sure I don’t get offensive rebounds and they (referees) allow them to do a lot more. So I think they (Mavericks) should be happy about that.”

Arguably the Mavericks' X-factor in the series, Maxi Kleber, fouled out after 18 minutes of action in Game 4 and had his playing time limited, in general. Dallas had no choice but to deploy Dwight Powell in clutch time — limiting their floor spacing when they needed it most. 

“Look at the offensive rebounds,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “And then he had 18 free throws. We have to stop fouling. They shot 42 free throws at home. That’s way too many and they got up to 35 threes. Those are two areas we got to be better at for Game 5.”

The Mavericks will need to tighten up their execution in these key areas to maximize their outlook of winning Game 5. The winner taking a 3-2 series lead with the series shifting to Salt Lake City for Game 6 should be motivating enough.