Dallas has been tough enough to win series
Considering that the Dallas Mavericks won two games without the services of their superstar and nearly lapped the Jazz the game after Luka Doncic’s return, it isn’t hard to decipher which team in this series is the better of the two.
But did the Mavs really break the Jazz in Game 5?
Or were they already cracked?
Of course, it doesn’t really matter if it’s the chicken or the egg in this series. The Mavs will gladly accept any reason for their first playoff series win since the 2011 title team, should they clinch Thursday in Salt Lake City or need Game 7 on Saturday at American Airlines Center. But, if they’re to move on, it’d be nice to know if whatever they did to dispatch the Jazz might apply in the next round, too.
Defense is a good place to start. It’s been a constant topic in this series. The Mavs have made it a priority all season. Donovan Mitchell paid homage to it after the Mavs held the NBA’S No. 1 offense to a measly 77 points in Game 5.
Mitchell, who limped off late in the fourth quarter Monday with a diagnosis of bruised quadriceps but may still play Thursday, scored just nine of Utah’s 77 points. He’s been the Jazz’s top scorer throughout the series, though he’s shooting just 37.9 percent from the field and 19.5 percent on 3s.
Mitchell credited Dorian Finney-smith, Dallas’ minister of defense, for his predicament.
“The looks I’ve been getting haven’t been the easiest,” Mitchell said. “I’m just trying to find a way.”
Finney-smith certainly deserves any and all accolades. The Mavs play great team defense, but he makes it go. He can guard anybody, anywhere, any time.
Just the same, it was only three games ago that Mitchell said it was the Mavs’ 3-point shooting that got to the Jazz. Called it “deflating” to be pulling 3-pointers out of the net.
Remember what else he said?
“That can become a mental thing at times.”
The reason for bringing up the effect on
Utah’s psyche is because the Jazz earned a reputation for blowing big leads late in the regular season. Lost leads of 17, 21 and 25. And that after giving away a 25-point lead in the decisive Game 6 of the Western Conference semis last year against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Life tells us that stuff can pile up on you if you let it. Like the mood in the Jazz’s locker room after the loss of supersub Joe Ingles to injury in January. Like speculation that the Jazz would be broken up if they failed to make the conference finals. Like constant discussion about the strained relationship between Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Both players referenced it — Gobert was fined $25,000 for dropping
an f-bomb on live TV — after what seemed a cathartic 100-99 win over the Mavs in Game 4.
But any boost it provided had apparently dissipated by the time they took the floor Monday in Dallas.
Like they have in nearly every game of the series, the Mavs grabbed an early lead and grew it until it reached 16 points by halftime. Only this time they didn’t build it on 3-pointers. They shot just 27.9 percent on 3s for the game. The offense wasn’t pretty at all in the first half, when Doncic committed all five of his turnovers and happily settled for too many 3s.
Watching the gap unfold, it wasn’t remarkable that the Mavs were up by 16 at the half. Frankly, it seemed like it should have been more.
Utah couldn’t do anything right Monday. Despite the presence of the biggest man in basketball against the Mavs’ smallball lineup, the Jazz got beat on the boards 49-40.
And it didn’t help that they were 3 of 30 on 3s.
No wonder the Jazz might seem defeated, right? Except the Mavs haven’t exactly had it easy, either.
Lost their lone superstar for three games and still won two. Outrebounded by 19 in Games 1 and 2 and split them.
Spencer Dinwiddie, the midseason acquisition who provided the Mavs a much-needed third playmaker and occasional second-fiddle?
He’s shooting 32.4 percent from the field in the playoffs and just 22.2 percent on 3s.
How about blowing that four-point lead in the final 39 seconds of Game 4? Could have had a serious carryover effect 48 hours later.
Only it didn’t, because the Mavs just keep playing. Like they did in Game 5 with a 25-point lead late in the second half, still hustling to get in front of the ball. Or diving for it, as Finneysmith did.
Frankly, from everything we’ve seen, the Mavs ought to beat the Jazz in Game 6, especially if Mitchell is compromised. Going into the playoffs, Utah might have been considered the more talented team. Still might be, despite the star turn of Jalen Brunson. Anyway, it’s a good argument. But, what’s not up for debate is which team is the tougher one. It’s the kind of thing that can take you a long way in a tournament.