It’s not going to always look this easy. The shots won’t always drop at better than 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
But the Mavericks gave us a nice snapshot of what they hope will be an unstoppable force with Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić at the controls of what has been an epic offense since they got together.
They rolled up a season-best 142 points against the San Antonio Spurs and cruised to a 26-point win. In five games Irving has played with the Mavericks since the trade (three with Luka) they have averaged 124.8 points per game.
They have shot over 39 percent from three-point land in four of those five.
The defense? Well, will worry about that later.
But the multiple styles and paces with which the Mavericks can play have made for confounding moments for their opponents. They have picked up the tempo, but still can slow it down when the situation calls for it.
“I don’t have to say much,” said Tim Hardaway Jr. “We’re putting some points up.”
Hardaway had 22 points against the Spurs off the bench. He hit 6-of-11 from distance. He joined Justin Holiday (five) and Reggie Bullock (four) as Mavericks who had four or more three-pointers.
The bottom line is clear: it’s going to be fun to watch this offense.
Here’s a few other takeaways from the win over San Antonio:
HELPERS ALL AROUND: Since the trade for Irving, the Mavericks are averaging 25.7 assists per game. That’s a big bump from the 22.0 they were averaging before the deal. “The ball is moving,” coach Jason Kidd said. “When people have said that Luka and Kai need the ball, they also know how to use their teammates. And their teammates are delivering right now.”
SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE: With both Irving and Dončić, the Mavericks have two of the best in the NBA at getting to the paint, getting to the rim and finishing strong. “When you can finish at the rim and then also in the paint, that helps,” Kidd said. “A lot of times those that they don’t make lead to offensive rebounds or to the free-throw line. So, that’s something that both of those guys can do. Luka did that in the first quarter. I think he got to the paint 10 times. When you have those two quarterbacks getting into the paint and being able to get to the rim – we would say that Luka is a great finisher, and we would say Kai is the best finisher in the league with either hand. So, to have that ability to get to the paint or the rim is big.”
DEFENSE TO COME: The Mavericks surrendered 52.3 percent shooting. It’s the fifth game in a row an opponent has made at least half of its shots. But newcomer Justin Holiday, who had a pair of steals and knows a thing or two about sticky defense, said he sees hope. “A comment I made on the bench was ‘I feel like guys were there to help me.’ Guys were rotating and doing things, the things we were doing in practice,” he said. “We know exactly what we’re supposed to do in certain situations. That’s the first step to being a good defensive team. I just think with a little more time, I think we have a lot of potential to do well on the other end.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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