The Dallas Mavericks lost 123-118 on the road to the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center in Miami tonight. The Mavericks entered the game without Luka Doncic and fell short in overtime behind a rough shooting night.
Jimmy Butler turned back the clock tonight for a vintage performance with 33 points (11-17 FG), nine rebounds, six assists, one steal, and two blocks in the win with Bam Adebayo scoring 19 points (8-20 FG) and grabbing 11 rebounds. Tyler Herro (8-25 FG) also notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Alec Burks scored 15 points (5-9 FG), and rookie Pelle Larsson put up 14 points (6-8 FG).
Kyrie Irving tried leading the Mavs offensively with 27 points (9-21 FG) and six assists while PJ Washington put up 21 points (7-14 FG) and 10 rebounds. Naji Marshall continued his streak of big offensive performances with 20 points (8-16 FG) and five rebounds. Klay Thompson scored 15 points (5-12 FG) in the loss.
Here are the major factors behind why the Mavericks couldn't extend their winning streak to six straight games against the Heat.
Luka Doncic's Absence Felt Down The Stretch
The Mavericks came into this game without Luka Doncic, although many fans weren't too worried given the team's 2-0 record without Doncic this season. Those wins came against contenders like the OKC Thunder and Denver Nuggets, so a matchup against the Miami Heat was expected to be within their competitive grasp, which they showed by keeping the game close and forcing OT after trailing by five points or more for a huge chunk of the game.
The team had pitiful execution in OT, unable to create opportunities for anyone and scoring just four points. Doncic's offensive talent is extremely useful in creating situations out of nothing due to his perception of the court, with the Mavericks not having another capable on-ball playmaker. They tallied 29 assists as a team tonight, but without one player being a game-changing offensive force.
Relying on isolation shots in overtime made it look like the players were entirely out of rhythm by the time the extra period tipped off. There was little cohesiveness on the offensive end as the players forced ugly shots to go 2-9 in the period, falling short of the gritty Heat. Doncic would've given them better offensive shape and made them harder to predict, but the Heat benefitted greatly due to Doncic's absence in OT.
Mavericks Backup Guard Rotation Is Unclear
The Mavericks do not know who they can reliably play as a backup point guard to Luka Doncic. Kyrie is running most of Doncic's responsibilities as the point guard of the team, but there's a clear disconnect between the talent of the Mavericks starting guards and the unclear nature of their backups. Quentin Grimes is starting as the two-guard, leaving Spencer Dinwiddie and Jaden Hardy as the primary guard backups who split time in that role even when Luka is healthy.
Dinwiddie put up seven points (1-12 FG) and seven assists tonight while Hardy laid a goose egg with 0 points (0-3 FG). Dinwiddie was given more minutes in this game despite Hardy playing more in their last win against the Nuggets. Both backups are meant to be scorers, but Dinwiddie found himself playing more by trying to fill the aforementioned playmaking hole left in the lineup with Doncic's absence.
Neither player seems consistent enough to lock the other one out of the spot, with both having bad nights against the Heat. Dinwiddie had a lot more opportunity but went 0-4 while shooting in OT, leading to the team losing this game while Hrady didn't look competitive at any point.
Instead of splitting time between two average guards, the Mavericks need to pick one to get extended minutes and solidify the backup spot when Doncic is back. Right now, both look like sub-standard options, so trading for an upgrade or hoping Dante Exum returns healthy and can play that role is the franchise's best bet right now.
Abysmal Volume Shooting Is Hard To Overcome
The Mavericks couldn't overcome their substandard offense on the night, having to work extremely hard for every basket they scored on an off-shooting night. The Mavericks went 44-105 from the field (41.9 FG%) and 10-40 (25.0% 3P%) from three in a night where they couldn't shoot their way out of their problems.
There wasn't enough offensive versatility outside hunting threes for the Mavs, with positive moments of Daniel Gafford (10 PTS, 8 REB, 5-6 FG) and Dereck Lively II (14 PTS, 13 REB, 7-9 FG) in the paint not being sustained primarily due to Adebayo's DPOY-level presence on the inside. Without Doncic creating open opportunities out of thin-air or having a scoring impact, the Mavericks' offense fell flat on its face.
Irving's extremely efficient start to the season has started waning in recent games, with Kyrie not being the game-changing offensive force many expected him to be in Luka's absence. Klay Thompson shot 3-5 from three but spent a lot of the late game on the bench as Jason Kidd preferred Dinwiddie to have two on-ball guards on the court with Kyrie.
Poor shooting and bad rotations meant the Mavs were lucky to be fighting for the win in the fourth. Their air went out of them in OT, as their record worsened to 9-8 while the Heat improved to 7-7.
