HOUSTON – Travel issues ruled the day – and night – for the Dallas Mavericks.
As the Mavs were trying to get out of Minnesota and fly to Houston following Wednesday night’s game against the Timberwolves, they ran into a roadblock. Or, was it a snow block?
After arriving – but not yet landing — in Houston, the Mavs ran into inclement weather that prevented them from landing in Houston.
“We hovered over Houston for an hour at 3 o’clock in the morning, and then we decided to go back to Dallas,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And then we left (Dallas) at 6 (p.m. Thursday) to get here. It all worked out.”
It all worked out, but it was not a normal travel day for the Mavs.
“I think the blizzard that hit Minnesota was our first obstacle,” Kidd said. “We got out of there thinking that was going to be the tough part and that Houston would be the easy part.
“But unfortunately, we got out of Minnesota and couldn’t land in Houston. So we had to go back to Dallas.”
New NBA rules allow teams to fly to certain cities on the day of the game, especially those that are within close proximity with each other. When a reporter told that to Kidd, he said: “I think we’ll be on board with that. We need to read the new rules. Can you send us the new rules, because some of the travel has been tough, but we made it and we have to play the game.
“But there used to be — and now that you bring up that — sometimes Phoenix-to-LA (can be flown on the day of the game), because you gain an hour, so you can fly on game day.
“I think it would be nice if we did fly straight to Dallas from Minnesota knowing that we had a day in between. And then we had the option to fly game day in the morning if we’re talking about more rest for the players and coaches and media, I think it would be helpful.”
SILAS ON DONCIC’S DEFENSE: Rockets coach Stephen Silas has noticed how Luka Doncic has been a much better player on defense this season.
“He’s giving a good effort on the defensive end and understands how important it is for that team to be successful — not just on the offensive end – it’s going to be his defense that helps as well,” Silas said. “So he’s improved in all facets of his game.”
Silas was an assistant coach with the Mavs during Doncic’s first two seasons in the NBA from 2018-20. Meanwhile, coach Jason Kidd agrees with Silas about Doncic taking the time to take his defense to a higher level.
“I think he’s improving,” Kidd said. “The things that we’ve asked him to do offensively — he carries a heavy load every night. We ask him to participate on the defensive end and he’s doing that on a high level for us.”
BRIEFLY: Guard Kemba Walker (left knee, injury recovery) didn’t dress for Friday’s game. Coach Jason Kidd said he wanted to give Walker a break because of the heavy workload he’s been carrying lately. Walker played 42 minutes last Saturday in Cleveland, and 24 and 20 minutes in the two games in Minnesota this past Monday and Wednesday, respectively. . .Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor strain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), Jaden Hardy (back contusion) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring surgery) missed Friday’s game. . .Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal sat courtside for Friday’s game. . .On Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers, point guard Luka Doncic said: “It’s the first Christmas game for me at home. So I expect the gym will be full and a lot of energy, and it’s going to be just fun.”. . . Christian Wood tallied just eight points Friday, but rolled up his sleeves and blocked four shots against his former team. “I think he was great,” Doncic said. “Not every basketball game should be about scoring. He had an offensive rebound at the end that gave us an extra possession, he had two blocks down the stretch that was big. I think he was really big. You can’t see it in the statistics, but he did a great job.”. . .Doncic said he loves it when teams send a double-team at him, because all he has to do is get rid of the ball. “It’s four on three,” Doncic said. “Easy basketball. A lot of space, and we just get the best shot possible we can get in an NBA game.”. .As Friday’s game was winding down, Doncic said he was totally aware of how close he was to scoring 50 points. “There’s a stat of that, so yeah, I’m aware,” he said. “Every arena now has a stat (scoreboard) up there, so you’re aware.” By the way, some fans in the arena were screaming and hollering and hoping Doncic would reach the 50-point plateau. They got their wish.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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