SAN ANTONIO – If you listened closely to the postgame interviews after the Mavericks nicked the San Antonio Spurs 133-129 on Monday, you heard some news that should be very heartening to MFFLs.
Klay Thompson was discussing the way the Mavericks are handling their brim-full injury list and took the moment to praise the play of the interim centers, Kessler Edwards and Naji Marshall.
“They’re going to be so great when we get the front court back because they’re going to be in such great shape and everyone’s confidence will be so much higher and our cohesion will be so much better,” Thompson said.
You notice he said “when” and not “if.” Right? And Thompson has been around long enough to know the difference when it comes to timelines.
The Mavericks realize they can’t just arbitrarily flush this season because of the injuries. Some of those players may come back during the final 16 games of the regular season. And the Mavericks remain solidly in front of Phoenix for the 10th spot in the Western Conference.
Making the play-in tournament sends a positive signal to everybody and that has to be the Mavericks’ goal for the rest of the regular season, which ends a month from Thursday.
Thompson, for one, is not throwing in any proverbial towel. Yes, the season-ending knee injury to Kyrie Irving derailed visions of a championship this season. But it did not end hope that the Mavericks can still overachieve within their new parameters.
“It did hurt, obviously, with Kyrie and he’s out 10 or 12 months,” Thompson said. “We know he’s going to come back stronger. There’s plenty of cases around the league of guys who have torn their ACL and come back and played at a very high level. So I’m not worried about him because I’ve seen his work firsthand. And it’s some of the best I’ve ever seen.
“It sucks to be without him this year because we still have big goals. We still want to make a run. The injuries have been awful. But I still love our team. We have an amazing front court. We miss those guys dearly, obviously, with the lack of size out there. But we’re showing as much heart. That’s all you can control at the end of the day is your attitude. I still believe in this franchise. I’m here for two more seasons after this. I’d love to help them return to glory that they brought in 2011.”
As for the rest of this season, the Mavericks know they have been dealt a tough hand. But a .500 record is likely going to be more than enough to play beyond Game No. 82. Especially with Phoenix still facing two games against Milwaukee, two against Boston and road matches at New York, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Suffice it to say, the Mavericks still have the opportunity to have some fun and success the rest of the way this season.
Here’s our takeaways from the Monday win over the Spurs:
The best things in life: They’re free, remember? The Mavericks hit 27-of-30 free throws and were even better in the fourth quarter, making 11-of-12. In the final 45 seconds, Naji Marshall, Thompson and Kessler Edwards combined to make all eight of their freebies to clinch the win.
Crashing the boards: The Mavericks have had trouble rebounding since they lost all their big men – Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and Anthony Davis. Understandably so. But against the Spurs, who played a significantly bigger lineup, the Mavericks took a 40-38 rebounding advantage. They also were virtually even in points in the paint, something that hasn’t happened much lately. “We got to rebound the ball,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Everybody’s coming back to help each other and we’re trying to keep the ball out of the paint. The defense has been at a high.”
Much-needed day off: The Mavericks have been playing games every other day and there’s often been travel in between. They also had back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday. “Guys are getting tired,” Kidd said. “We talk about next-man-up. But we’re running out of men.” For that reason, the Mavericks had a day of no travel, no game and no practice on Tuesday. The gym was closed. It should provide some time to rest and recharge mentally, as well as physically.”
X: @ESefko
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