For the second time this season, the Mavericks are on a four-game losing streak.
After the first one, they rattled off 11 wins in their next 12 games and set themselves up with a solid opening quarter of the season.
This one is a little different. After the 30-4 Cleveland Cavaliers knocked off the Mavericks 134-122, it’s clear that righting this ship is going to be even tougher than it was after that first skid.
Luka Dončić is looking at another couple weeks or so on the sideline to rehab his left calf strain. The Mavericks did a good job of surviving without their superstar point guard when he missed occasional games early in the season.
And, they started their hot streak when Luka was out for several games. At one point, they were 5-1 without him.
More recently, they have gone 2-5 when Dončić has missed games since Dec. 19.
So, this situation has been a bit more of a daunting challenge knowing that he’s not coming back anytime soon.
The Mavericks know how good they are when they are healthy. They are championship material.
So the goal now is to try not to lose too much ground in the standings. They now are closer to the lottery than the top of the Western Conference. They’re 20-15 record is only two games in the loss column better than the 11th-seeded Phoenix Suns.
The Cavaliers were going to be a difficult match even if the Mavericks had their health – and by the way, that’s what coach Jason Kidd said was his New Year’s Resolution. Without Luka and Kyrie Irving, it was too much to ask. But that doesn’t mean the Mavericks didn’t have some hopeful moments that they can build off of against the Cavaliers.
Which brings us to our takeaways:
Grimes may provide future options: When a team is on a losing streak, they need to be propped up a bit. And Quentin Grimes was the stand that the Mavericks could lean on against the Cavaliers. The fourth-year guard stepped into the starting lineup for Dončić and piled up 26 points, 24 of them after halftime. He also had six assists. “He showed tonight he can play-make so hopefully we can add that to the playbook in the sense of not relying just on Kai and Luka and give us another ballhandler,” Kidd said. “But a lot of times it depends on who’s on the floor.” Grimes has been a ballhandler before, primarily in high school and at the University of Houston, where he helped the Cougars reach the Final Four. When Luka returns, Grimes’ time as a playmaker will certainly go down. But until then, he likely will get more opportunities to facilitate the offense.
Long-term future for B-Will? Players who are in the NBA on two-way contracts live a precarious existence. They put in time at the G-League level and treasure the inconsistent opportunities that they get in the NBA. But Brandon Williams has given the Mavericks plenty of reason to like his upside for the future. He had 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench against the Cavs. “B-Will has been good ever since we went to him in Sacramento,” Kidd said. “He’s been a positive, filling the hole that we have, which is a massive hole. For him to give us a spark tonight was big.” The key phrase in that quotation was “massive hole.” Everybody knows that one player won’t make up for the loss of Dončić or Irving.
Final thoughts:
Naji Marshall was out against the Cavs, serving the last of his four-game NBA suspension for his part in the tussle against Jusuf Nurkic in Phoenix last week. Asked what the Mavericks miss with Marshall out, Kidd said: “Everything. Scoring, defense, his toughness. We miss everything that he provides when he’s playing.” . . . Jaden Hardy missed seven games with an ankle sprain and Friday was his fifth game back – and by far his most impactful. He had 17 points, but the Mavericks were minus-19 when he was on the floor. “Just trying to let the game come to me,” Hardy said. “Being out so long, just trying to get back in the flow of things, make the right plays, get my teammates involved and still be aggressive.”
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