Dallas Mavericks continues their losing streak even after point guard J.J. Barea returns. Problem in Dallas is far more complex than it seems that needs more time to fix them. As for now, the Mavericks must forget the playoffs.
The problem in their defense has gone from bad to worse. According to Dallas News, in the game against Minnesota Timberwolves, the Mavericks let the Wolves to make 17 fast-break points. The Timberwolves defeated Dallas Mavericks 101-92 on Monday night, Jan. 9.
Dallas Mavericks had problem with rebounds as shown in the last three games. They have a better rebounder when Andrew Bogut is on the floor. But whenever he is on the bench, the rebound started to decrease.
Coach Rick Carlisle still hasn’t found the best gameplay to put both Dirk Nowitzki and Bogut on the floor. He tried many combination, including to put Nowitzki at center in the 95-102 loss against Phoenix Suns on Thursday, Jan. 5. But Nowitzki was not a good rebounder in his career, and the Suns outrebounded them 60-36.
In the game against Atlanta Hawks on Saturday Jan. 7, Bogut posted 11 rebounds in his 29 minutes playing time. But he is outplayed by the Hawks’ center Dwight Howard who grabbed 20 rebounds, backed by Paul Millsap who took 9 rebounds. On the other hand for Dallas, their front court players do not have rebounding ability like Bogut.
Overall, Atlanta Hawks outrebounded the Mavericks 47-41 as reported by Star Telegram. Nowitzki said they could not do anything against the Hawks with Dwight Howard who is so dominant in the rebound.
“If they have a 7-footer with a 40-inch vertical, there’s nothing you can do about his 20 rebounds,” Nowitzki said.
Dallas continued their losing streak on Monday against the Wolves. Once again, they allowed the opponents to wreak a havoc in the paint. The Wolves made 49 rebounds, while Dallas Mavericks only has 32 rebounds.
Watch the highlight of the game between Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves below:
