The Mavericks went 1-1 on their season-opening trip that ended with a solid 103-95 victory over Toronto on Saturday night.
It was a much-needed win since they didn’t want to return home for Tuesday’s game against Houston staring at 0-2.
There’s lots to digest after two games, but here’s our takeaways so far, with an emphasis on the good that came out of the win against the Raptors.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY: As the immortal Bobby McFerrin said so well, the Mavericks didn’t have any reason to panic after Game 1. And that includes worrying about Luka Dončić, who admittedly had a very un-Luka-like start to the season in Atlanta. What he did was come back with 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds against the Raptors. “I thought he had an incredible game,” coach Jason Kidd said. If you want to nitpick, point to his 4-of-17 3-point shooting through two games. But the fact that he’s one assist away from averaging a triple-double through two games is proof that he’s going to be just fine, in case anybody was having a panic attack.
OFFENSE PERKS UP: The Mavericks had been punchless for the first six quarters of the season, but that changed after halftime against the Raptors. They shot 52.3 percent and only suffered two turnovers. That’s against a team that had forced 46 of them in their first two games. This team never worries about scoring. And rightfully so. They got too many guys who can get hot. We saw Tim Hardaway Jr. take off in the second half against the Raptors. That sort of outburst is likely to happen – from somebody – more and more.
LAYING A FOUNDATION: Kristaps Porzingis is, shall we say, smoldering and waiting for that spark to ignite. He had a respectable 18 points and 10 rebounds against the Raptors. But he was 7-of-20 from the field and the Mavericks were minus-3 when he was on the floor. But it was the rebounding that was eye-catching. He has to come up with more than the five boards he had at Atlanta. If he goes the next 10 games averaging 18 and 10, pretty much everybody would be happy.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT DORIAN: One of the things that was almost an afterthought against the Raptors was the play of Dorian Finney-Smith, who had 11 points and eight rebounds, but more importantly had the hardest defensive assignment in the second half trying to slow down OG Anunoby, who had bashed the Mavericks for 20 points in the first half. “Mentally, we just didn’t give in to the physical play,” Kidd said. “Dorian, again, defensively taking the challenge on the best offensive player. He set the tone for us in that second half.”
TEAM COMES FIRST: The Mavericks went with just one big guy at times in the second half, and often it was Maxi Kleber. There was a reason. Said Kidd: “I just love that Maxi is a team guy. He can play any position on the floor and guard any player. He causes a problem on the offensive end due to his shooting, but also he can put the ball on the floor. To have him out there with the four mediums (non-centers or power forwards) helps us because the floor spacing for us is big. And when we have (Jalen Brunston or Luka) handling the ball, causing a problem, they find the open guy.” It worked when it was used. The Mavericks were plus-8 in Kleber’s 20 minutes. If you didn’t notice, they happened to win by eight points.
Twitter: @ESefko
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