It started badly for the Mavericks on Wednesday night against the Jazz, and it got progressively worse. Dallas never led in this game and trailed by 21 points at halftime and as much as 25 in the game. Ultimately, they would get routed on the road by Utah 116-104.
The Jazz, who won their 10th-straight game, were without their leading scorer Donovan Mitchell. However, Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score a game-high 31 points, and Rudy Gobert added 29 points and 20 rebounds.
Dallas has now lost three straight, and according to Luka Doncic, who had a team-high 30 points against the Jazz, the Mavericks are not playing like themselves right now.
“There’s a lot of things wrong,” Doncic said. “We’re just not ourselves right now. We gotta pick it up and be way better than this… We just gotta play harder; that’s it. Just bring more energy and play hard.”
Dallas got a few of their key contributors back on Wednesday night. Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, and Dwight Powell all returned after missing time due to health and safety protocols. Maxi Kleber is still on the list.
As guys return, Dallas will have to build chemistry, which Kristaps Porzingis said is an issue for this team.
“We don’t have that chemistry yet,” Porzingis said. “That we’re looking for. We don’t have our roles clear, I think. We’re just kind of out there playing, and we’re a talented group, but until we have everybody playing together and also have some time together off the court. I think we won’t really have that chemistry, so it’s just a rough night for us.”
With the COVID-19 restrictions, and players going in and out due to health and safety protocols, building chemistry could be an issue for many teams in the NBA this season, and the Mavericks are no different. But, they are going to have to find a way to get chemistry on the fly. It’s just that simple.
Dallas will get another crack at the Jazz on Friday night in the second game of their two-game set.
