It’s hard enough to win in the NBA when your jet is cruising at full strength. Winning with one engine gone is even tougher.
And, like the old joke goes, with two engines gone, you may miss your connection.
In this case, that would be the playoff connection.
The Mavericks aren’t in that dire situation yet. But they suffered another tough loss Monday when the Memphis Grizzlies dominated the second half and rolled to a 104-88 victory at American Airlines Center. And when they were done with two consecutive losses to the Grizzlies with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving sidelined, coach Jason Kidd had some NBA wisdom to drop.
There’s no concern in the regular season, he said. But you have to be cognizant of your situation.
“Our health, this is what we have,” Kidd said. “This is the cards we’re dealt, just like anybody in this league. We got to play with the cards we have.
“We played a good half of basketball with a young backcourt that’s learning how to play the NBA game – against a very good defensive team. We’re getting better. It’s just a matter of can we be healthy in time to make a stretch run. And if we’re not, that’s just the season. No one’s dying.”
All true. But it doesn’t make things any easier as the Mavericks fell to 34-35, the first time since they were 15-16 in December that they have been under .500.
The Grizzlies (41-26) got 23 points from Desmond Bane and 19 from David Roddy, the same pair that had stung them in Memphis on Saturday. The rookie Roddy has become a Maverick villain. In the two meetings, he averaged 21.5 points and shot 7-of-12 from three-point range. For the season, he had averaged 6.3 points and 28 percent three-point shooting before these two games.
The Mavericks got 28 points from Jaden Hardy and 23 from Josh Green. But there was not enough punch elsewhere to stick with the Grizz.
In addition to Dončić (left thigh strain) and Irving (right foot soreness, the Mavericks also were weithout Christian Wood, who developed right foot soreness earlier in the day.
The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant, but they had enough of their regulars to run away in the second half. Given the shortage of star power, it probably wasn’t what ESPN was hoping for on one of their national telecasts.
The 88 points was the Mavericks’ second-lowest total of the season, ahead only of the 87 they had at Orlando in November.
The Mavericks actually led 50-49 at halftime, but were swamped in the third quarter 36-21.
“In the second half, we came out slow,” said Josh Green, who hit 10-of-15 shots and had seven assists and five rebounds to go with his 23 points. “A big part of that was me. At the end of the day, it’s an energy thing. We came out in the second half very slow. Energy wins games.”
The Mavericks have lost three in a row and have every right to be a little frustrated now. But with a three-game trip starting Wednesday in San Antonio, there is no time to feel sorry for themselves.
“We got to win,” Green said. “There’s no other option now. We all need to have the mindset that we’re trying to win every single game. The No. 1 thing is 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 we’re winning games.”
Perhaps the notable absentees was why neither team could take charge in the first half.
Again, they leaned on their youngsters to pick up some of the slack left from their superstars sitting on the bench in street clothes.
Hardy had a sensational first quarter with 16 points, but ended up needing 25 shots to get his 28 points. He also was just 5-of-15 from three-point range.
Kidd had said before the game that Hardy had responded to the opportunity he’s getting with the injury situation.
But he also wanted to tap the brakes on the line of thinking that Hardy has grown into a bigger role on this year’s team.
“He’s an infant here,” Kidd said. “He’s just starting. He doesn’t have enough minutes. He’s just a rookie and he’s going to be inconsistent. But he is showing that he’s worked extremely hard. He wants to do the right thing.
“When you look at his 15 threes, that’s probably a little too much. But that’s just youth. I think we have to be careful with the language we use. Hardy’s a second-round pick and we all believe he’s going to be good. And he’s putting in the work to be good. So when someone brings up playoff minutes, let’s just slow down. Let’s finish out the season before we jump there.”
Yes, there will be mistakes as all rookies make them. But when they come from aggression, like in the third quarter with the Mavericks down 71-65 and Hardy committing a turnover on a three-on-one break, they can be a bit more tolerable.
That opened the floodgates for the Grizzlies, who pulled ahead by double figures and stayed there the rest of the way.
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment