In a surprising turn of events, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Toronto Raptors. Luka, who is having an MVP season, so far, managed to get his usual, 31 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. But it wasn’t the Mavs scoring that was the problem, but their rebounds.
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The Mavericks lost badly on the boards, losing 38 to 50. The major loss took place on the offensive boards, as the Mavs lost that contest 6 to 15. The media has also raised questions about the Mav’s lack of bodies to protect the rim. For athletic teams like the Raptors, the Mavs pose no real threat at the glass, and it showed.
After the game, Kyrie Irving was asked about the game and their rebounding issues. Responding to the question, Irving said,
“Being able to be in that locker room and just be honest about what we did tonight. We were soft in the interior and in the paint tonight. When your coach is calling you soft, you gotta take that personally and take that as a challenge.”
Kyrie Irving: “Being able to be in that locker room and just be honest about what we did tonight. We were soft in the interior, in the paint tonight. When your coach is calling you soft, you gotta take that personally and take that as a challenge.” pic.twitter.com/OWhB98P3u7
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) November 9, 2023
This statement from Kyrie Irving is something we haven’t seen in a while. While it is great that Kyrie has been vocal about a plethora of social and cultural issues, basketball hasn’t been part of his discourse for some time.
Turning back the clock, Kyrie took Kidd’s words “personally”. And almost in a Jordansque way pointed to upcoming games as an opportunity to shut down any negative debate around the team.
The Mavs hit the ground running
Luka and the Dallas Mavericks have started their campaign in an epic fashion, going 6-2 in their first eight games. This puts the Mavs just behind last year’s Champions and this year’s table leaders, the Denver Nuggets. The two losses that Dallas was handed, were very avoidable ones. Both games were good offensive contests, but on the defensive and rebounding end, it was a blowout.
The Mavs were handed their first loss by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The much larger Dallas squad posed a significant problem to the smaller Dallas Mavericks. After the game, Luka told media personnel,
“I really think sometimes we’ve got to go with a little bit bigger lineup, especially with [Nikola] Jokic and [Aaron] Gordon in there and [Michael] Porter Jr. — tall guys. They really have a lot of people that can get offensive rebounds.”
Luka Doncic highlighted how the Mavericks should have used bigger lineups more often against the Nuggets:
“I really think sometimes we’ve got to go with a little bit bigger lineup, especially with [Nikola] Jokic and [Aaron] Gordon in there and [Michael] Porter Jr. — tall guys.… pic.twitter.com/ow3NwgOsZu
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 4, 2023
This observation from Luka was also validated by Kyrie who talked along the same lines. For Kyrie, it was important for everyone to keep each other accountable for the small things.
With the Mavs having enough firepower, it’s time Dallas thought about getting a dependable big man like Joel Embiid, Karl Anthony Towns, or Jarret Allen. The lack of a proper rebounder and lob threat may continue to hurt the Mavs, as heart overheight may not always work.
