Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Cuban, Pelicans, Rockets, Wood

February 7th, 2021 at 8:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spoke to his team prior to the club’s game against the Warriors on Saturday night, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes.

Cuban addressed the locker room at the request of head coach Rick Carlisle, whose Mavs are now 3-7 in its last 10 games.

“He was just very encouraging about the entire situation,” Carlisle said. “He reiterated that we’ve had the toughest schedule in the league to this point, that we have an opportunity here and none of these games are going to be easy.

“He just wanted everybody to know that he was fully supportive of everything and everybody. Good stuff from the heart.”

The Mavericks defeated the Warriors 134-132 in the contest, led by Luka Doncic‘s 42 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists. The team, which has been impacted by injuries, holds the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 10-14.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans have emphasized the meaning of “trust” in recent games, Christian Clark of Nola.com writes. New Orleans is on a three-game winning streak, and Stan Van Gundy, Zion Williamson, and others pointed to that as one reason why. “It’s just coming together and telling each other we trust each other to make the right play,” Williamson said. “Ultimately, I think it’s just trust with us.”
The Rockets are continuing to struggle with slow starts, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Houston dropped a 116-106 contest to the Spurs on Saturday with another relatively slow start, causing the team to fight an uphill battle the rest of the game. The club is still 7-3 in its last 10 outings.
Houston will have to adjust without the likes of Christian Wood, who suffered a right ankle sprain last week and will be re-evaluated on a weekly basis, Feigen notes in a different story. The Rockets started DeMarcus Cousins on Saturday, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. “You just go to know your personnel,” John Wall said. “It’s two different guys. It’s the game of basketball, knowing your guys and knowing where your guys like the ball and what type of position they like to be in. That’s my job, to make the game easier for him and put them in the right positions to be successful.”

Mavericks Send Tyrell Terry To NBAGL

February 4th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Mavericks have sent rookie point guard Tyrell Terry to join the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League ahead of the NBAGL’s Orlando “bubble” season, according to a team tweet. The Mavs’ G League affiliate, the Texas Longhorns, will not be participating in the 18-team 2021 NBAGL season. Dallas drafted Terry with the No. 31 pick in the 2020 NBA draft out of Stanford.

Porzingis Struggling To Shoot From Deep

February 3rd, 2021 at 9:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

During this young season, Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis has yet to recapture the tantalizing play he flashed during the 2019/20 season, his first full year in Dallas, per Drew Maresca of Basketball Insiders. Maresca notes that Porzingis, who rejoined the Mavs last month after an offseason knee surgery, has not been able to replicate the long-range shooting touch he exhibited last season.

Mavericks Send Bey, Hinton To NBAGL

February 3rd, 2021 at 6:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Two-way Mavericks rookies Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton have been sent to the NBA G League’s Long Island Nets to participate in the NBAGL 2021 season in Orlando, per an official team tweet.

Community Shootaround: Mavericks’ Outlook

February 3rd, 2021 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, the Mavericks had one of the best offenses in NBA history, led by MVP candidate and First Team All-NBA guard Luka Doncic. Dallas led the league with a 115.9 offensive rating, and while the team was only the seventh seed in the West, there was a sense that it would build on its 43-32 record in 2020/21 and solidify itself as a contender.

Instead, the Mavs have gotten off to a disappointing start in ’20/21. Hampered by some health issues and additional absences related to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Dallas currently ranks 13th in the West with an 8-13 record, and is in the midst of a six-game losing streak.

The Mavericks’ defense is posting similar numbers to the ones it did a year ago, but the offense has taken a major step back. Dallas’ 109.0 offensive rating is 21st in the NBA, and the club has been the worst three-point shooting team in the league so far — its 32.8% mark from beyond the arc is dead last by a full percentage point.

Outside of Tim Hardaway Jr., who is converting 39.0% of his 7.7 three-point attempts per game, the Mavs’ top long-distance shooters simply aren’t making enough shots. Doncic (29.3%), Kristaps Porzingis (30.2%), Dorian Finney-Smith (32.3%), and Josh Richardson (28.6%) launch a combined 24 threes per game and are all making well below their career rates — all but Finney-Smith have posted career-worst percentages so far.

While it’s safe to assume that the Mavs’ fortunes will reverse to some extent if some of those shots start falling, there are still reasons to be concerned about the club. Porzingis, who is coming off another knee procedure, may not be capable of being the second star who can take some of the pressure off of Doncic, and the rest of the supporting cast is somewhat hit and miss.

As the Mavs look to break out of their slump against Atlanta tonight and Golden State tomorrow, we want to get your thoughts on their outlook. Is it just a matter of time until they regain the form that made them the NBA’s best offense a year ago? Are there any adjustments they need to make to their lineup, rotation, or game plan? Are roster changes necessary, or should the team wait until the offseason – when it will have a significant chunk of cap room open – to make any major moves?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your two cents on Dallas’ recent struggles and what they mean going forward!

Exploring The Rise Of Luka Doncic

January 29th, 2021 at 3:51pm CST by JD Shaw

Tim MacMahon of ESPN explores the rise of the Mavericks‘ Luka Doncic, one that happened sooner than most people expected. Doncic has cemented himself as a superstar at the young age of 21, averaging 27.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists in 17 games this season.

Maxi Kleber Cleared From Quarantine

January 27th, 2021 at 10:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Maxi Kleber, one of five Mavericks players who were quarantined, has been cleared and has started individual workouts, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Coach Rick Carlisle said Kleber won’t be available for Friday’s game against the Jazz, but may return this weekend. “His clock is ticking at a different rate because his episode was longer,” Carlisle said. “He certainly won’t play in either of these two games (at Utah). Saturday I suppose could be a possibility, but I don’t know.” (Twitter link)

Mavericks Expect Three Players To Return From Protocols

January 26th, 2021 at 1:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks may have three players back from NBA health and safety protocols in time for Wednesday’s game at Utah, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell are all listed as questionable for the game after spending nearly three weeks in quarantine. However, Maxi Kleber is still in the protocols and won’t accompany the team to Salt Lake City.

“It’s great having them back on the floor … it’s three of our best defenders.” coach Rick Carlisle told Townsend (Twitter link). “I think we’ll have all three of them available.”

Finney-Smith, Richardson and Jalen Brunson all remained in Denver after a January 7 game due to coronavirus concerns. Finney-Smith and Richardson both tested positive for COVID-19, and all three spent more than a week in Denver. Positive tests were confirmed later for Powell and Kleber.

Brunson never got the virus, but he said it was difficult to be quarantined for so long, which resulted in missing four games.

“I don’t recommend taking 10 days off from playing a game,” he said, “but sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Cuban Eager To Keep Doncic Happy

January 25th, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will go to great lengths to keep his superstar Luka Doncic happy, as Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News details. Cuban has expressed interest in playing exhibition games in Slovenia, where Doncic grew up, and Spain, where he played for Real Madrid. The Mavs are confident that Doncic’s youth and talent will help them secure a top-level free agent during the offseason, Sherrington adds.

Josh Richardson Could Return To Lineup This Week

January 24th, 2021 at 8:00pm CST by JD Shaw

At least two of the Mavericks‘ players who tested positive for COVID-19 were “pretty sick,” Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The team received four positive tests, with some of those players recovering quicker than others, according to Townsend.
Mavericks guard Josh Richardson could return to the lineup this week, Townsend notes in a different tweet. The most likely return order is Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber, Townsend reports, though head coach Rick Carlisle cautioned that everything remains fluid.