DALLAS – The formula the Dallas Mavericks used to achieve their 110-104 evening win in Game Two on Monday looked painfully familiar to the Utah Jazz.
Without an injured star Luka DoncicThe Mavs opened up the floor by playing a five-point attack, constantly taking advantage of Jazz’s poor perimeter defense to create a plethora of 3-point open looks. It was a script quite similar to the one the Los Angeles Clippers used last year for four straight wins after loss. Kohi Leonard to a ripped ACL, eliminating the Jazz in the second round.
“The good thing is it’s Game 2,” Jazz Center Rudy Gobert She said. “It’s not a 6 game with the series being online. We have a lot of time to watch the movie and the adaptation, all of us individually and collectively to see things we can do better and go from there.”
One of the primary problems jazz needs to solve is whether anyone on the roster is able to stay ahead of the Mavs. Galen Bronson. He had a career night with 41 points and five assists, becoming the first player in franchise history to score this many points without committing a turn in a playoff.
Continuous dribbling penetration by Bronson and the goalkeeper Spencer Dinwiddy He played a major role in the Mavs breaking the franchise record after the season by making 22 3s in 47 attempts. Time after time, Joubert had to dip into the paint to protect the rim, resulting in kick-off passes that opened 3s wide. The biggest beneficiary was Mavs . reserve center maxi clipperwho scored 25 points in a shooting 8 out of 11 with three points.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, 17 Mavs’ making 3s have not been disputed, more than any team over the last 10 seasons. This included seven of Kleber’s eight duets, a performance of potentially a sequential variant of a shooter who’s been in a long slack.
“Every time I hit the ball, I hit the ball,” Kleber said. “We’ve analyzed how they play defense and where the looks are coming from. You have to be ready to shoot and let it fly.”
Clipper shot just 18.8% of the 3-point range from the All-Star break through to the end of the regular season, and ankle soreness held him back for much of that time, as he missed the last four games to recover. He took nearly 3 seconds to win on Monday as he did the entire month of March, when he was 9 of 51 from long distance.
“He is very trusted by his team-mates,” said Maffs coach Jason Kidd. “He has to shoot them, because he can shoot, and today he made them. We’re going to need him. Regardless of whether he makes or misses, he just creates space.”
Presentations by Bronson and Clipper evoked memories of the chaos caused by the Clippers, Reggie Jackson And Terrence Manwhile eliminating jazz.
Jackson was the primary goalkeeper who rose to the occasion when he was pushed into a more basic offensive role due to an injury to a star, scoring 27 points at the end of the series. Mann was the unexpected 3-point shooter, going 7 out of 10 from the 3-point range during his career best of 39 points.
jazz star Donovan Mitchell He acknowledged the similarities, noting that Jazz’s biggest problem is defense around the ball. But Mitchell notes one major difference from that series. The Jazz is in good health, unlike at the time, when he sprained his ankle and was a point guard. Mike Conley Missed the end of the series due to a strained hamstring.
“I don’t look at it as, ‘Man, here we go again, the same thing as last year,'” said Mitchell, who led the Jazz with 34 points on a 13-of-30 shot. We do what we are supposed to do. You have to give credit where credit is due – Galen had a great game, Clipper had a great game. We can make it easier for the player guarding the ball by substitution.
“I don’t think any of us look at it like, ‘Ah, like it’s been the last year all over again,’ because we’re healthy. We can do that.”
The Mavs, who felt as though a shooting day cost them a win in Game 1, feel confident they can compete in the series with or without Doncic.
Sources have told ESPN that there is hope that Doncic will play at some point in the series, but that it would be too early to predict when he will be ready to return from the strained left calf he suffered during the regular season final on April 10. Kidd said Monday morning that Doncic is “definitely going in the right direction,” and the two-time All-NBA first-team pick underwent a long shooting exercise before the game without putting too much pressure on his calf by pushing that leg.
“I know he’s dying to get out there soon, but he has to take his time,” Bronson said. “I know he’s doing everything in his power not to let his team down, but he has to make the decision that’s best for him. He doesn’t necessarily know where he is. [in the recovery process], but I just know he’s a competitor and he wants to be there. We’re trying to preserve it for him.”
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