Mavs Game Observations: Game 3 vs Jazz

Ugly task completed—eyes already on the Wolves tonight

Photo by Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images

The Mavericks got it done in another less-than-pretty offensive game, beating the Utah Jazz 110-102 at home. While the offense (again) wasn’t much to look at, there were other aspects that made this game both more interesting and better looking overall.

Before we dig into it, a quick note: this was the first game in a back-to-back, with the Mavs heading to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves tonight. I’ll post a short preview for that game later this afternoon.

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Today’s notes:

1. The defense and athletes showed up early...

2. ..while Luka and the shooters didn’t

3. Mavs depth chronicles: Spencer Dinwiddie to the rescue

4. Winning the rebound battle

5. Run Lively, run (🎞️VIDEO)

Bonus short notes on: Kyrie Irving’s patience and Naji Marshall’s activity

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1 - The defense and athletes showed up early...

In the last game, the loss to the Suns, I mentioned that the Mavericks' biggest problem was their lack of force. I also noted that the Mavericks’ “athletes” didn’t make enough impact on defense to offset the poor offensive performance. Last night, the force was certainly there, and it won the game for Dallas.

One of P.J. Washington’s goals this season is to make the All-Defense team, and last night he looked like he just might. He was active, deflecting countless passes, flying around for recovery blocks, and finishing with a game-high 6 "stocks" (4 steals and 2 blocks).

The rim-protecting duo of Gafford and Lively added another 6 blocks combined and contested countless others, effectively shutting down the paint (the Jazz shot 22-of-48, or 46 percent, in the paint). Their hustle also made a difference on the other end (more on that in an upcoming point), cleaning up after plenty of Mavericks’ misses.

2-...while Luka and the shooters didn’t

Speaking of misses, the Mavericks had another terrible shooting first half, hitting just 4 of 21 from downtown for 19 percent before the break.

The three-and-D guys can’t buy a three early in the season. Washington’s other season goal—to shoot 40 percent from three—isn’t going as well; he went 0-for-4 last night and is just 3-of-16 through the first three games. Naji Marshall hasn’t fared any better, going 0-for-2 last night and 0-of-6 for the season. And Quentin Grimes, 0-for-2 last night, hasn’t made a three-point shot yet (0-for-3 for the season).

Then there’s Dončić who looks like he really missed the preseason to work out some of the kinks. He missed his first eight three-point attempts and started the game shooting just 3-of-19. I can’t remember a game when Dončić looked so out of rhythm and lacking confidence that he was benched for his usual rotation minutes to start the fourth quarter. To be fair, his play was part of the reason. The other reason was Spencer Dinwiddie.

3 - Mavs depth chronicles: Spencer Dinwiddie to the rescue

Those of you who joined me here early in chronicling this season (shoutout to the digginbasketball OGs!) during the quietest days of the NBA offseason might remember that one of my first analyses was about the Mavs rotation. Back in early August, I placed Dinwiddie above Dante Exum and Jaden Hardy as the first ball-handler off the bench (and had Gafford starting over Lively, for that matter). The logic was that Jason Kidd would lean toward veterans early. Exum’s injury and Hardy’s preseason showing didn’t exactly make that prediction look good, but I still wondered how long of a leash Hardy would get.

Last night, Kidd reshuffled the rotation, bringing Dinwiddie in as the first guard off the bench, taking most of Hardy’s minutes. The 31-year-old veteran made that adjustment look great, making the plays we were so accustomed to during his first stint in Dallas: staying patient while playing alongside Dončić and Irving, then taking his chance by getting to the line and hitting his spot-up threes. Dinwiddie scored 11 points and delivered a nice feed for a Lively reverse dunk in the third quarter, when everything else looked off in the Mavericks’ offense.

4-Winning the rebound battle