Banking the W
It’s a reflection on how quickly leads in the National Basketball Association can be overcome these days that starters on seemingly sure winners appear to stay on the court longer than they should. Late turnarounds leading to unexpected outcomes have become more commonplace in recent memory that head coaches cannot help but err on the side of caution. Needless to say, the sudden shifts in the scoreboard have been fueled in no small measure by the modern game’s reliance on the three-point shot as a primary weapon; it’s the great equalizer, especially when juxtaposed with the players’ dramatically increased range.
To be sure, the Mavericks’ insistence on staying with vital cogs to start the fourth quarter even with a whopping 34-point lead in their pockets yesterday brings to the fore the inherent dangers of conservatism. Admittedly, there was impetus for them to ensure the triumph; given the need to secure homecourt advantage — or, at the very least, avoid a swoon to the play-in spot — in view of the extreme competitiveness in the Western Conference, they wanted to bank the W pulling away. On the other hand, there can be no discounting the risk they took in the process. What if Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving got injured? How much of a toll did the additional (and arguably unnecessary) workout put on their bodies? These and other queries provide even those from the outside looking in ample food for thought.
Of course, there was another reason Jason Kidd opted to keep Doncic in. With seven minutes and change left in the contest and the Mavericks 35 ahead of the Bulls, he finally saw fit to take out Irving. The Most Valuable Player candidate, however, remained on the floor — ostensibly, as it turned out, to keep a 30-point triple-double streak going. The unprecedented skein, already at six and counting, could have stayed alive had he just canned another three points. And, yes, he did try to go beyond the threshold; just like his previous two attempts, his next two were deliberate heaves from beyond the arc.
Doncic failed to find the bottom of the net, and Kidd proved to be sensible enough to sub him out shortly after. He did manage to up his consecutive run of triple-doubles to seven, and so gives him a legitimate shot at Russell Westbrook’s record of 11. In any case, the Bulls were keenly aware of his bid for stat padding; even with the match already out of hand, they amped up their defense, consciously double- and triple-teaming him to prevent him from scoring. Which, in a nutshell, underscores the key to success in the league: tapping individual motivations to meet collective objectives.