Mavs-Heat preview: Another challenge from a playoff contender

Another game, another collision with an opponent paddling in the same boat as the Mavericks. You know, the one that’s getting tossed around on the wild waves in the vast and uncertain playoff ocean.

This time, it’s the Miami Heat in an early start (6:30 p.m.) at American Airlines Center. The Heat are the seventh consecutive Eastern Conference foe the Mavericks have seen and six of them have been fighting for position and/or trying to avoid the play-in tournament.

Just like the Mavericks.

That’s the beauty of the NBA. The Mavericks have struggled, losing five of their last six after a hope-lifting seven-game winning streak. But there’s always another game coming quickly around the bend.

And one thing you can bank on is that nobody is more aggravated with the current slide than Luka Dončić.

He’s doing so much to help the Mavericks offensively – four consecutive triple-doubles, all of which included at least 30 points.

But the Mavericks have not been able to stop anybody from rolling up big points and the defensive flaws have overshadowed everything the potent Mavericks have done on the offensive end.

Coach Jason Kidd had this to say when asked about whether Luka has to pick up the defense:

“We all do. We all do. When you look at leaning on Luka offensively, which we do and he delivers, we have to be able to cover him (defensively). And cover not just Luka, but Kai (Kyrie Irving) and the other three that are out there have to protect each other.

“We show signs of it. We have to be consistent. And we’re not being consistent right now. But we do have the guys who can do it. Luka can play defense, but we’re asking him to do a lot on the offensive end. We can fix this. We’ll be ready for Thursday.”

What the Mavericks have to show as soon as possible is that the miracle shot they were victimized by in Cleveland 10 days ago doesn’t become the defining moment of the season.

They lost to the Cavaliers when Max Strus nailed a 59-foot shot at the buzzer. It was a gut-punch defeat. And the Mavericks, even with a win the following night in Toronto, haven’t been the same since.

Tonight is another chance to change that.

Here’s what else to watch for against the Heat:

• Miami is a solid defensive team (eighth in overall rating) but a so-so offensive unit. Even so, they have dangerous threats in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Butler is a full-service player averaging 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Adebayo is a modern-day Otis Thorpe. That is, he’s a 20-and-10 machine, averaging 20.4 points and 10.3 rebounds. He also is a solid playmaker, giving out four assists per game.
• Tyler Herro (foot) and Kevin Love (heel) are out for the Heat.
• They say every team goes through a storm or two during a season. The Mavericks are in theirs. Miami went through hard times in January with seven consecutive losses. However, the Heat have won 11 of their last 14, including seven of their last eight.
• This is the opener of a quick trip for them as they turn around and play at Oklahoma City on Friday night.
• The Mavericks have gotten historic production from Dončić with four consecutive triple-doubles, all four with 30 or more points and the last three with 35 or more. He’s averaged 36 points, 11.3 rebounds and 12 assists in that stretch.
• Kyrie Irving hasn’t been bad, either. In 13 games since returning from injury, he’s averaged 26.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 43.8 percent from downtown.
• The Mavericks are 0-2 on this home stand and hit the road for two more games against Eastern Conference opponents Saturday at Detroit and Monday at Chicago.

MIAMI HEAT (35-26) at MAVERICKS (34-28)

• When/where: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, American Airlines Center, Dallas.
• TV: Bally Sports Southwest, TNT.
• Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

X: @ESefko