There was a very noticeable difference in the musical play list blaring in the building for the Dallas Mavericks during Friday’s practice.
Instead of the rap music that’s often played, the Mavs’ practice facility was filled with the calm effects of gospel music. Some of the tunes included Said He Would be With Me by Isaiah D. Thomas & Elements of Praise, By Myself by Deon Kipping, and Run Away by The Walls Group.
So, why the change in tunes?
“You can’t just beat the ears up all day with rap,” forward P. J. Washington said. “Sometimes you got to take it easy.”
Coach Jason Kidd added: “The Lord’s in the house.”
Now that their genre of music has changed – for a day, at least – the Mavs are hoping they can take it easy and go about their busy on the court by fouling less. That would certainly make things a bit easier as they navigate their way through the NBA’s marathon 82-game season.
For now, the Mavs are seventh in the NBA in fouls with 24 per game. That includes the 27 fouls they accumulated during Thursday’s 108-102 loss to the Houston Rockets.
The abundance of fouls was one of the main topics of conversation for the Mavs during Friday’s film session.
“We talked about it and watched film, just understanding the positioning of some of the fouls that we can maybe look at not doing,” Kidd said. “So, we’ll see how that goes.
“We have another practice tomorrow and we’ll work on that, and then see how that goes against Orlando (on Sunday).”
There’s no one particular reason why the Mavs have been racking up more than their share of fouls this season.
“I think some of it’s reaching, some of it’s maybe just being out of position, but it’s early,” Kidd said.
To reduce the number of fouls the Mavs have accumulated, Washington said they have to start by: “Showing our hands, just being a little better on the defensive end, talking more, getting to our spots and just being more detail (oriented) on that end.”
During last Saturday’s 114-102 loss to Phoenix, the Mavs committed a whopping 28 fouls, leading to the Suns attempting a whopping 37 free throws. Kidd said the games against the Suns and Rockets were “very similar” in terms of the slow start by the Mavs and the number of fouls they committed.
“Again, our offense, when we’re in the fourth quarter and started making our shots, our defense picked up,” he said. “We’ve got to put the ball in the basket. We’re getting some good looks. I think when we do score, it puts us in a different mood and mode. Hopefully we can start building on what we did in that fourth quarter (against Houston).
“But the fouls, we’re giving up a lot of free throws and we’re playing in the half court where we’ve got to get out and run. If we can get out and run, I think we’re the number one transition team in the league. We’ve got to be able to start rebounding the ball and getting out and running.”
Washington also noticed the number of fouls against the Suns and Rockets trending in the wrong direction and affecting the rhythm of the game for the Mavs.
“It was kind of sloppy play from us on the offensive end, especially from the defensive end as well,” he said. “I think it’s a learning experience.
“It’s early in the season that we need to face, and I think film and us being in here talking has definitely been helping us. I’m excited for our next game. I’m excited for us to go out and correct these mistakes.”
Kidd took it a step further, noting that if the Mavs improve their rebounding skills, that in turn would have a positive impact on their defense and very likely the number of fouls would decrease.
“I think when you talk about today’s game, when someone shoots it, four guys are going to the boards,” Kidd said. “So, it’s different in the way you used to talk about transition defense.
“Now teams are sending everyone to get a second or third opportunity. So, we have to be conscious of when the shot goes up, we’ve got to be able to box out, and (Thursday) night we just didn’t do that.”
KIDD’S HIGH PRAISE FOR WASHINGTON: Coach Jason Kidd had high praise for the job forward P. J. Washington performed in Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets.
Kidd was particularly pleased with Washington’s defensive performance on Rockets center Alperen Sengun. Despite being four inches taller than Washington, the 6-11 Sengun went scoreless in the fourth quarter when he was guarded by Washington.
“We need four P. J. Washingtons to guard,” Kidd said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him since he’s gotten here. He’s guarded everybody.
“He did another great job guarding (Sengun), but we have to be better. Our centers have to be better. We as a team have to be better.”
Kidd hopes his team can get some defensive inspiration from Washington.
“We can’t rely on P. J. to turn off everyone’s water,” he said. “It’s got to be a group effort.
“But P. J. was great (Thursday) defensively, being able to get to the (center position) and being able to help us rebound the ball.”
Washington has shown the ability to guard all five positions on the court. That should help him in his quest to be named to one of the NBA’s all-defensive teams this season.
“I think I move my feet pretty well and I’m pretty strong, and I try to keep a low center of gravity and just use my length,” the 6-7 Washington said. “For me I’m just aggressive on that end.
“I take challenges on every night, and for me I love being able to guard the (centers). It was just a challenge for me that I was willing to accept. I’m going to be that guy for us every night and try to be versatile on that end.”
NO BANCHERO FOR ORLANDO: When the Mavs host Orlando on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center, the Magic will be without their best player – forward Paolo Banchero.
In the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s 102-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls, Banchero torn his right oblique and is out indefinitely. That came one game after Banchero
collected a career-high 50 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks during Monday’s 119-115 win over the Indiana Pacers.
“They’ve got a young talented team,” Kidd said. “When you look at Orlando, they’re playing hard, they’ve got guys who can score the ball.
“When you look at Paolo, just understanding his ability. He had a 50 piece already. (His absence) gives another guy another chance. (Magic coach Jamahl) Mosley will have that team ready to play and play hard. It’ll be a good test for us on both ends.”
Forward P. J. Washington said it’s important the Mavs don’t take the Magic for granted just because they’ll be without Banchero.
“They still have great players on that team and a lot of guys who can get to the rim and guys that can shoot,” Washington said. “For us, I think our biggest thing right now is controlling the glass and just trying to be aggressive on that end without fouling, and (trying to) force some turnovers and get out in transition.”
BRIEFLY: Kidd would like to see Klay Thompson get more bites at the apple. Thompson had just 13 field goal attempts against Houston, and five of 
those came in the fourth quarter. And that came after Thompson got off just seven shot attempts during Tuesday’s 120-114 win over Minnesota. “We’ve got to make sure that Klay’s involved,” Kidd said. “I think here of late, you look at (Kyrie Irving) and Luka (Dončić), their attempts have definitely gone up. Again, it’s just being conscious of who’s on the floor. And when Klay’s on the floor, being able to make sure that we use him the right way.” . . . Dončić scored 15 of the game-high 29 points he scored against the Rockets in the fourth quarter. And that came on 6-of-8 shots, including 3-of-4 three-pointers. The Mavs are hoping that hot shooting streak by their best players will carry over to Sunday’s game against Orlando. “He’s gotten off to a slow start,” Kidd said of Dončić. “He’s getting good looks. They’re just not dropping for him. I thought again in the fourth quarter, his ability to get the shots that he wanted and knock them down, hopefully that’s a block that he can start to build on for the next game.” . . . Washington said in due time the Mavs will be clicking on all cylinders. “Obviously it’s a new team and new players,” he said. “Everybody’s trying to match their game together and see how we can go and flow together. For us we just got to pay attention more to details on the defensive end, and then if we start games better, I think we’ll be going in the right direction.” . . . Kidd was puzzled why the Mavs fell behind the Rockets 27-12 late in the first quarter and 82-59 with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter. “I thought our energy, we were flat,” Kidd said. “That’s something that we can control as players. For whatever reasons we started off slow, and we got to get back to being hungry, (and) being able to execute some of the little details of the game plan.”
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