SACRAMENTO – One of the byproducts of having so many players sidelined is that the players who are available are reminded of the old saying “be careful what you wish for.”
Every NBA player wants more playing time. But sometimes, you get a reminder that it’s not as easy as it looks to be “the man.”
P.J. Washington and Spencer Dinwiddie did their best in the 110-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday to replicate what Luka Dončić and Kyrie are asked to do on a nightly basis.
Dinwiddie had 30 points, Washington 28. And they had the Mavericks in position to scratch out a road victory until late in the third quarter when things went south in a hurry.
“We extended everybody’s minutes,” coach Jason Kidd said. “That’s what happens when you’re shorthanded. I thought the group did a great job. Everybody came out with the right intent and played as well as we could. We just kind of ran out of gas.”
Washington played 38 minutes, six above his season average. Dinwiddie was 10 minutes above his 22-minute norm.
Occasionally, players can absorb that kind of increased workload. But over time, it certainly would take a toll.
“Obviously, he’s our best player, so trying to win games without him is going to be tough,” Washington said of Dončić. “But we’re professionals for a reason. With or without Luka, we’re expected to win.”
And they gave themselves a chance against the Kings. The turning point was the final few minutes of the third quarter and the opening moments of the fourth, when Sacramento went on a 25-3 blitz.
In that run, they had a possession with four offensive rebounds that ended in a Domantas Sabonis tip-in.
“Fatigue caught up to us,” Kidd said. “They got the offensive rebounds and we had done a good job. They hit a couple threes and that stretched the game out.”
Here’s our other takeaways from the loss to Sacramento.
Glass kickers: The rebounding absolutely obliterated the Mavericks. They lost the boards 58-36. But it was the 18 offensive rebounds they gave up to the Kings that made all the difference. The Mavericks had two offensive rebounds and were outscored in second-chance points 17-2. Giving away that many extra chances to score is a sure recipe for disaster.
Assist-turnover ratio lacking: The Mavericks had 17 turnovers. They had 17 assists. That’s known in basketball circles as losing numbers. Part of it was that the Mavericks didn’t have their main facilitators, Luka and Kyrie. But they also didn’t make shots. After a 7-for-8 start from three-point range, they were not good from long range (5-of-23, 21.7 percent). Hard to get a lot of assists when shots aren’t dropping.
Final thought: It was the Mavericks’ fifth loss in their last nine games. When you put it that way, it sounds bad. But the other way of making numbers work in your favor is that they are 15-6 in their last 21 games. This is only the second time this season they’ve lost multiple games in a row.
X: @ESefko
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