Normally in this spot, we give you our morning-after thoughts on the previous night’s game.
This time, it’s more about our second-chance points about Tim Hardaway Jr., who suffered a fracture to the fifth metatarsal on his left foot. In other words, the outside bone that runs from near the heal to near the pinky toe is broken.
Severity of things like this can vary. But the Mavericks clearly are going to have to play without Hardaway for an extended period.
So here’s our takeaways from the Mavericks’ 130-92 blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR HARDAWAY? He may or may not need surgery, but either way, the recovery will be long. It’s a cruel blow to one of the Mavericks’ leaders and it happened after he had scored 10 points in just 10 first-half minutes. The Mavericks weren’t the same after his exit, when they were only behind 40-35 midway through the second quarter. Hardaway’s shooting can be streaky. But the Mavericks will miss his ability to draw the defense and slash to the basket.
WHO STEPS UP? This is a multi-pronged question. First of all, players like Reggie Bullock and (when he returns from a left foot injury) Sterling Brown are going to get opportunities that otherwise would not have come there way. It could be a chance for Josh Green to step up, or Trey Burke. Maybe even newcomer Theo Pinson earns some more time. However . . .
OTHER ALTERNATIVES: The Mavericks have about two weeks left before the trading deadline on Feb. 10. They can start scouring for shooters, but the problem is that there are a lot of teams out there who want to be buyers, thinking they have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs, or at least the play-in tournament. While things could change, there don’t appear to be a lot of teams who are clear sellers on the trade market. The Mavericks certainly don’t want to overpay to make a deal just because everybody in the league knows they have a need.
BY THE WAY, THE WARRIORS ARE GOOD: News flash. The Warriors might be pretty good. They dismantled the Mavericks, who had won 11 of 13. The Warriors improved to 35-13 and they have played most of the season without Klay Thompson and much of their recent play has been without Draymond Green. And remember, the Warriors are hoping to get young center James Wiseman active in the relatively near future, although no timetable is set. If all their pieces are healthy, this team would be the one nobody wants to see in the first round of the playoffs.
WRONG NUMBERS: The things that stood out on the stat sheet? The Mavericks had a measly four second-chance points. Four. Even though they had nine offensive rebounds. They didn’t convert them into much of anything. Meanwhile, the Warriors had 21 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds. Major difference, although in this game, the Mavericks simply never had enough spark to keep pace with the Warriors.
Twitter: @ESefko
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