Even in situations when the odds weigh heavily against you, there are opportunities for growth.
The Mavericks had one of those moments in the 118-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday night, which they played without Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, the first time this season both have missed the same game.
The results were predictable. But don’t just cavalierly toss this showing into the trash bin.
What we saw out of the Mavericks’ second-youngest player, 21-year-old Jazian Gortman, was enough to provide a kernel of positivity out of a rather gloomy night.
The 6-2 guard played only 11 minutes, but he had five points and two assists in his spot duty and provided a spark against the Clippers.
Gortman also has an influential fan in the locker room. A bunch of them, actually, but one in particular.
“I love Jaz,” Klay Thompson said. “I got a great impression of him from the very first time I met him.”
Why?
“His hunger to be in the gym – he’s a gym rat – he’d always hit me up to shoot late at night and I appreciate that from such a young, hungry player,” Thompson said. “He’s so naturally gifted. He’s going to play in this league a long time. Incredibly young. Such a bright future.”
Gortman, who is with the Mavericks on a two-way contract, which he earned after being promoted from an Exhibit 10 contract that he received in training camp, deserves credit for having good taste in workout partners. He’s a scoring point guard and Thompson knows a thing or two about shooting.
Of Gortman, he said: “He has a great jump shot. His form is great, so he didn’t need much coaching from me. I just told him to enjoy the process.”
Here are the other takeaways from Thursday’s setback:
How the other half lives: The Mavericks had Dončić (left heel contusion) in street clothes and also were missing Irving (right shoulder soreness). They found out it’s a lot different trying to run an offense with two of the most talented scorers in NBA history. The Clippers, who are an improved defensive team this season, didn’t feel the need to double-team anybody and that made easy buckets hard to come by. They were outscored 54-34 in the paint and the 34 points were the Mavericks’ second-lowest output in the paint this season.
Bricklayers’ union: To say the least, the Mavericks’ shooting was hard to watch. They were 7-of-30 from three-point range. The seven made triples were their fewest in any game this season. Hard to believe that just a few days earlier, they plopped in 21-of-41 three-pointers against the Golden State Warriors. Of course, when those long-distance missiles are mostly unguarded, they’re a lot easier to make.
Heating up the Klay: Over the past five games, Thompson has averaged 20.2 points and made 45.5 percent of his three-point shots. Is there something he attributes the uptick to? “Just being more familiar with the offense and my teammates,” he said. “And we haven’t even gotten to the new year yet so I know there’s still another level to get to and that really excites me.”
Reason for optimism: It’s impossible to say whether the 40-day grind of playing just four home games and 13 road games took a mental, as well as physical, toll on the Mavericks. But there is some good fallout from that portion of the schedule. “That’s insane,” Thompson said of the schedule. “The good part about that is I thought we played very well on the road and eventually the schedule has to balance out and we’ll have a nice home stretch.”
X: @ESefko
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