On Christmas Day, the Dallas Mavericks got coal in their stockings.
Luka Doncic re-aggravated his left calf strain against the Minnesota Timberwolves, putting him on the shelf for a while. Klay Thompson, the feature Mavs off-season pickup, just missed this last game against the Kings.
Players like Kyrie Irving, Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes, and P.J. Washington have all been sick. Dante Exum has missed the whole year. Dereck Lively II just got off the shelf. The list is extensive.
The Mavs and their extreme health issues pose both short and long-term effects, and none benefit the team at all.
Error 404: Chemistry Not Found
A team with no on-court chemistry is a team destined for little postseason success, and building chemistry requires consistent minutes.
Neither can be accomplished if lineups are constantly in rotation to fill holes left by injury. Unfortunately, this is where the Dallas Mavericks stand. Their players simply aren’t getting enough time on the hardwood together.
The Mavs’ most common lineup has 119 total minutes played with one another. That’s good for 22nd in the league and 66 minutes underneath the average minutes a team’s most common lineup has played this year of 185.3. Dallas has also run through 337 different lineups this season, and in the last month of basketball alone, they’ve trotted out 15 different starting lineups. The term “plug-and-play” has haunted – and defined – the Mavericks season up to the present day.
With the little playing time they’ve gotten as a collective unit, the Mavericks haven’t been able to iron out those lapses that get erased with reps. Take this failed pass from Klay Thompson to Daniel Gafford, for example.
At this point, Klay has only been playing in live action with Gafford for two months, and it shows as he throws a pass too high, even for Gafford’s stature. This pass, with a month or more of practice, would’ve been much, much better. However, Thompson and Gafford haven’t gotten that, so this is the end product.
This can be sorted out. In fact, it will be sorted out as everyone gets healthier. However, it will take time, and as we reach the halfway point of the season, there’s less of it to go around, meaning less time for the Mavericks to get everyone on the same program.
Don’t Bring Your Best, Don’t Get Your Best
Back to those common lineup numbers for a bit here.
Take note of the teams who have the five most minutes out of their most common lineup: the Knicks (561), Rockets (403), Timberwolves (391), Hawks (271), and Kings (264). The teams with the least amount of minutes from their most common lineup are the Grizzlies (85), Wizards (81), Warriors (75), Pelicans (60), and 76ers (54).
There is a pattern for both. Four of the teams listed in the top five are currently seated in the playoffs, while four of the bottom five teams are currently out of the playoffs. In fact, two of the bottom five teams – the Pelicans and Wizards – are the two worst teams in the entire NBA. Generally speaking, the shuffling of players and lineups leads to less success. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, as with every rule.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the #1 seed in the West, yet their most common lineup has only played 160 minutes – ranking 14th amongst teams’ most common lineups. The Cleveland Cavaliers are even lower at 20th and have been on fire all year. Depth plays a huge part in that, of course. In fact, depth is what’s keeping the Mavericks somewhat floating.
It Can Only Help So Much
Eventually, being unable to trot out the A+ guys will take its toll, and it seems to already be happening.
The Mavericks have lost four consecutive games and five of their last six, including the game Luka went down. Their hardest stretch of games is approaching as well. They have the Grizzlies, Thunder (2x), Nuggets (2x), Lakers, T-Wolves, and Celtics all in the month of January. All of it must be navigated without their best player and potentially others.
Needless to say, the Mavericks standing could absolutely tank while they navigate the injury bug. Even when/if Luka comes back, the Mavs could be looking at another all-road playoff, a much harder task than getting some game time at home. They’ve got an uphill slope to climb, and they’ve got to do so on crutches. Can they overcome this injury bug and morph into the team they can be?
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