In their 113-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Mavericks showed their multiple personalities.
They can be pick-and-roll beasts in their new incarnation with Anthony Davis joining an array of other ballhandlers as a lob-passing threat. They can rebound better than ever this season. And they can get to the free-throw line.
On the other hand, they can look disjointed defensively as they adjust from being a super-small team to one with size.
And then there’s what happens when they get to the free-throw line, which ain’t good. Or at least it wasn’t on Monday.
It would be too simple to say that the Mavericks’ 12 missed free throws ( out of 29 tries) cost them a game that they had no business losing. There were other reasons, too. But some were more costly than others.
“If we’re going to be the No. 1 team getting to the free-throw line, we can’t be the 30th-percent shooting team at the free-throw line,” coach Jason Kidd said Tuesday after a rare, full practice day for the Mavericks. “When it becomes one-possession games, those games you’ll lose (with faulty free-throw accuracy).
“And we know we’re not going to be the sixth seed, so it’s going to be Game 7 situations to start if we’re in the play-in. If it’s a one-possession game and we’re shooting 58 percent from the free-throw line, that’s going to lead to a loss. So we got to work on that.”
That, along with transition defense and other concerns were addressed during the practice, which is the first time since the All-Star break that they’ve had enough healthy players together to run a full practice.
“We touched on everything,” Kidd said. “It wasn’t just one message. We talked about transition – teams are going to try to play faster if we’re going to be bigger. And so that’s something we got to be cautious of. Giving up 51 threes last night is something we can’t do if we want to win.
“(It’s about) effort. Just being better and two understanding what teams are trying to do, especially if you’re big. They’re not going to challenge you at the rim. So for us, it’s about not bringing the house. We brought the house yesterday a lot of times on the drive and they took advantage of that.”
If you’re getting the impression that this is a new team learning how to play from scratch, you’re catching the right drift.
The Mavericks were so small and shorthanded for weeks that they had to learn how to play that way.
Now, in the span of a few days, they have added Davis, Daniel Gafford and, perhaps, Dereck Lively II. Kidd said Lively practiced in full on Tuesday and he could play Wednesday against Atlanta. But if not, he’s on track to return soon.
So they are moving forward with a bigger lineup that presents different problems for the opponent, but also new challenges for the Mavericks.
Speaking of moving forward, Kidd mentioned the possibility of re-signing Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards, both of whom have been working on two-way contracts and have exhausted their 50-game limit for being active on the Mavs’ roster this season.
With the Mavericks’ salary situation, they could sign either or both of those players for the final game or two of the season and not pass over the first salary-cap apron. That also would get them eligible for postseason games.
And there is no doubt that Edwards and Williams, along with Kai Jones and Moses Brown, who was with the Mavericks briefly on a 10-day deal earlier this season, have been instrumental in keeping the team afloat during the onslaught of injuries.
Call them the duct-tape brigade. All of them more than earned their paycheck this season – and probably for the 2025-26 season, too.
And nobody takes a greater appreciation than helping players get new, bigger contracts than Kidd.
“It’s great,” he said. “As a coaching staff and as teammates, it’s great that we’ve done that since we’ve been here. Sometimes, that doesn’t mean that you stay a Mav, but you go somewhere else and you get employed and financially rewarded.
“Looking at these two (Williams and Edwards), we’re really excited about the next step for their journey in the NBA and that’s hopefully with the Mavs. But sometimes when you can help others, they go somewhere else, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t part of it. And so, it’s great. And not just those two, but Kai also. And Moses Brown was here. He won us a game. Hopefully that helps his journey as he goes forward.”
And it’s not just the two-way players, but contributors like Naji Marshall, who is having a career season in his first with the Mavericks.
That the Mavericks are in this position is a testament to a lot of hard work from Kidd and his staff. Not that he’s ready to get all caught up in that.
“This is great, but the season isn’t over yet,” Kidd reminded. “And there’s a lot of basketball still to be played, but the work those coaches have put in, it’s great to see.”
Here’s a couple more takeaways from Monday’s loss to Brooklyn:
One that got away: There was no denying that the Mavericks felt this game was theirs for the taking. “Definitely a tough loss, winnable game for us – a game we should have won,” Davis said. “But hats off to them. They shot the ball really, really well, made 20 (threes). We just got to do a better job on the defensive end.”
High-low combo: The combination of Gafford and Davis with Davis being the distributor from the high post worked like a charm on the first score of the second quarter against the Nets. The lob was there – and they expect it to continue to be there. “We’re using him as a playmaker in the pick-and-roll,” Kidd said. “He’s running the pick-and-roll, so he’s got to get comfortable throwing the lob or the bounce pass because he has the skillset of also being able to pass.” That will come in time – hopefully sooner than later.
X: @ESefko
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