Nick Angstadt here, the host of the daily Locked On Mavericks podcast, with your daily Locked On Mavericks newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Mavericks and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
How Luka Doncic & The Mavs’ Defense Failed Against the Jazz
Nov 10, 2024; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.|Ron Chenoy/Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Mavericks’ Defensive Woes: A Deep Dive into Recent Struggles
The Dallas Mavericks’ recent performance has been nothing short of frustrating, especially after their loss to the Utah Jazz. It’s hard to watch a team with so much potential falter because of the same issues over and over and over... The Mavericks’ defense, particularly in the third quarter, was awful. Allowing 38 points in a single quarter against a team like the Jazz, who are struggling themselves, is unacceptable. This isn’t just about one bad game; it’s a pattern that needs addressing.
Luka Doncic’s Defensive Struggles
Luka Doncic, who many considered the best player in the NBA coming into the season, has been under scrutiny for his defensive lapses, especially in clutch moments. While his offensive skills remain impressive, his off-ball defense and tendency to fall asleep during critical plays have been detrimental. It’s perplexing to see a player of Doncic’s caliber not fully engaged on defense, especially when the team relies on him for leadership. This isn’t just about pointing fingers; it’s about recognizing that Doncic’s defensive effort sets the tone for the rest of the team. If he isn’t locked in, it trickles down to his teammates, leading to a lack of cohesion and focus.
Coaching and Team Dynamics
Jason Kidd, the Mavericks’ head coach, also shares responsibility for the team’s current state. It’s crucial for Kidd to set the team up for success, ensuring they are prepared and motivated from the start. Allowing bad habits to persist, especially with a player like Doncic, can lead to long-term issues. Kidd needs to find a way to hold his players accountable while fostering an environment where they can thrive. The Mavericks have the talent, but without the right guidance and discipline, they risk underperforming in a highly competitive Western Conference.
The Mavericks’ struggles aren’t just about individual performances; they reflect a broader issue with team dynamics and preparation. The turnovers, poor transition defense, and lack of urgency are all symptoms of a team that isn’t fully in sync. It’s time for the Mavericks to regroup, address these issues head-on, and find a way to play to their potential. The season is still young, and there’s ample opportunity to turn things around, but it requires a collective effort from both the players and the coaching staff. The Mavs got off to another slow start in this game and at this point it’s on Kidd to set this team up with a better plan because this one isn’t working.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Mavericks’ challenges and potential solutions, tune into the Locked On Mavericks podcast for this and much more.
I held off on writing about the apparent rash, or rise, of early-season athlete injuries because there’s always some recency bias involved when the subject comes up. Are there really more injuries this year than any other? Do we have the data to support it? Is there a new, underlying cause? Or are injuries due to the same compounding mix of bad luck and the NBA’s 82-game schedule running into a long postseason, running into the offseason, running back into a brand new long regular season and the erosion of bodies this eventually leads to?
A report early this week showed early-season injuries were up 35%, and indeed ESPN’s list of injuries, at a glance, looks like a ferocious Christmas tree, lit up in blazing reds and yellows. A handful of teams (the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Raptors) are cobbling together rosters game-to-game depending on who’s still healthy. TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott ran a draft of the injured list this week and each team reads like an All-Star squad on steroids, and when Abbott printed out the league’s official injury report it was 10 pages long.
Injuries are definitely up — but why?
The Paris Olympics proved extra playing time for a few top-tier stars, but most of them remain healthy. The early season schedule hasn’t served up any more back-to-backs to longer road game stretches, which tend to be more gruelling on athletes, than usual. However, when everything appears to be normal and the bodily price is anything but, perhaps it’s time to examine that “normal”.
The NBA’s current schedule of 82 games was adopted in 1967. Already, I’m sure your brain is picturing black and white basketball, that’s good. When you picture that grainy, glitchy footage, how fast is it going? The reality is that the game used to be a lot slower. Not just in its mechanics (think of an offensive passing sequence, the ball flipping from set of hands to hands at a speed that can be hard to follow), but the athleticism too. Bodies were moving slower. The game was still physical — the trope of players from the 80s and 90s complaining about the “softness” of current athletes is a trope for a reason — but full tilt sprinting, cutting, complex rotations, these weren’t the norm. Given that, the bodily mechanics were different. Guys weren’t stopping on a dime, pivoting hard, having to force their ligaments and muscles and bones into exacting motions with all sorts of volatile force behind them.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Analysis It’s as simple as this: the Mavericks need to develop a championship edge to truly compete this season. (Mavs Moneyball)
Stat The Mavericks’ struggles in one-possession games have dug them an early-season hole. They need to find ways to close out these tight contests. (Dallas News)
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Replay: Navigating the injury bug
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) holds his leg after a hard following a play against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Paycom Center.|Photo by Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
This week in the fantasy basketball world has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. A major talking point has been Chet Holmgren’s unfortunate injury, which has fantasy managers scrambling for replacements as the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust with potential lineup changes. Keep an eye on players like Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace — who might see increased minutes — and consider them as temporary pickups in deeper leagues.
Isaac Harris talks about the Mavs weird start to the season and ranks the top six reasons why the Mavs are struggling. How much blame goes to Luka Doncic? Is Jason Kidd the top reason to blame or is it because of the injuries? What about the officiating?
Nick Angstadt & Slightly Biased discuss the roles of players like Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and Quentin Grimes, and analyze the Mavs’ performance against teams like the Warriors and Nuggets. Tune in to hear insights on how the Mavs can improve and what went wrong in their recent games.
Join Isaac Harris as he talks about Kyrie’s red-hot start to the season and the stat that only him and Nikola Jokic share. Plus, a look back at Kyrie’s time with the Mavs and what media expected of him in Dallas.
