The All-Star break is a great time for NBA players to recharge the mental battery and rest some joints that might be achy.
But it doesn’t always leave a good residue.
Kyrie Irving has been around long enough and been part of enough All-Star weekends that he knows the first game back from the break can be hard on the eyes.
“You’ll see some examples of good and not-so-good basketball,” he said.
And there was a little of both in the Mavericks’ 111-103 win over New Orleans on Friday.
A first half that was competitive, but not particularly sharp on either side, gave way to an entertaining and well-played second half and that’s exactly what Irving thought might happen.
“I was just telling my guys before the game, the first half, don’t think too much of it,” he said. “We’re coming out of All-Star break. Just get up and down, blow some carbon out of your lungs. See that ball go in the rim a few times and in the second half, we’ll settle down, which I think we did.”
And it was a good thing. Starting the stretch-run with a loss to the team with the worst record in the Western Conference would not have been a good tone-setter.
The Mavericks won for the fifth time in six games going back to that uplifting and perhaps season-altering victory in Boston on the end of a 10-day trip.
The NBA is playing for keeps the rest of the way. The Mavericks have just 25 games left and are trying to avoid the play-in tournament for teams seeded seventh through 10th at the end of the 82-game regular season.
“The timing of the season,” Irving said. “It means something. We’re trying to get a playoff position that matters. So we have something to play for. Not trying to add too much pressure. We want to have fun, but we know where we are in the season.”
Here’s our other takeaways from Friday’s win:
Dad was no joke: P.J. Washington became a dad for the fourth time over the All-Star break, then celebrated with a 20-point first half against the Pelicans, which was just about the only reason why the Mavericks were able to keep a lead for most of the first 24 minutes. “Amazing, I got a chance to actually bring him into the world, you could say,” Washington said of the newborn. “So just being able to cherish that moment with my family meant the world to me. My fourth son, all boys. Just a blessing.” As was Washington to the Mavericks. He was back in his role as either the power forward or center, as opposed to his natural small-forward position. With all the injuries the Mavericks have had at center (Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, Anthony Davis, Dwight Powell), nobody wants to be classified as a center anymore. But Washington says there is a big silver lining to having him play more in the paint. “I think it’s been great for us,” he said. “We switch one through five (on defense) and on the offensive end, everybody can play every position. As long as we share the ball and play together, we feel we can beat anybody with any lineup. I know when those guys get back, things will get really great for us. But in the meantime, you love to get wins, especially with the group we had out there tonight.”
How, exactly, have the Mavericks done it? They’ve won five of six and done it with Lively and Powell missing all those games, Gafford playing in only two and Davis participating in only two-and-a-half quarters. How? “The word: team,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’re relying on each other, not just Kai or (Max) Christie or P.J. We’re relying on everyone to do their part and everyone is playing their role at a high level. We’re probably not the biggest team right now. We need everybody rebounding the ball.” Admittedly, Irving has been the engine, though. “He’s one that’s very patient and understands when to go and what the team needs,” Kidd said. “He’s picked his spots. He wants his teammates to be aggressive and score. When he gets in a zone like this, it’s fun to watch. But when the ball touches the paint, we can’t just watch him play. We got to join the party.” As Naji Marshall said: “We got a ton of bodies still playing. Shout-out to Nico (Harrison, GM) and those guys. They signed us for a reason. We’ve been showing up to the test every time.”
It wasn’t all rosy: The Mavericks won’t ever nitpick about a win, but the elephant in the room remains their interior physicality. The Pelicans outscored the Mavericks in the paint 56-36. Second-chance points were 16-11 in favor of New Orleans. Tack on a 22-10 advantage in fast-break points and it’s kind of a head-scratcher as to how the Mavericks won. Hitting 16 three-pointers didn’t hurt. They now are 16-5 this season when hitting 15 or more triples. But lagging like they did in points in the paint probably would have cost them against a more talented team.
X: @ESefko
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