This Week In Mavericks Basketball (10/31-11/7)

MAVS FANS! This was a big week for the Mavs. Let’s dive into what was a successful and very telling week for Coach Kidd and his squad. Let’s go!

Recap of last week

Houston Rockets ( Won 116-106)

The Mav's home opener was a success all around. Full crowd, great game, and a great win for the Mavericks. Luka poured in 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists while everyone else on the Mavs put in similar numbers as each other. A concerning takeaway from this game was Porzingis exiting early with a back injury. He looked great while he was in. Sad to see Kristaps have a hard time mentally and physically once again. Will update on his status later on. Overall, great win with what the Mavs had which gave them a necessary boost for a successful week.

San Antonio Spurs ( Won 104-99)

In a similar scoring manner, the Mavs were led by Doncic with 25 points. In this matchup against the Spurs, the Mavs came out a little cold and were losing by as much as 20 in the first quarter. That deficit was soon transformed into a lead midway through the second quarter. The lead would then change more than a dozen times until the 4th quarter when the Mavs outscored the Spurs 28-23 after being tied entering the quarter. It's promising to see the first big comeback win of the year as the Mavs started the week 2-0.

Denver Nuggets (Lost 75-106)

This one may look ugly, but it didn't become that way fast. Not having Porzingis defensively and offensively really hurt the Mavs in this one as Jokic almost had a triple-double while the rest of the Nuggets had a balanced scoring attack. It seems the issue in this game was poor shot choices and poor matchups for playing defense. The Mavericks will need to recuperate on these things as they play the Nuggets later on in the season.

Sacramento Kings ( Won 105-99)

Luka did his thing and recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 assists. The Kings trailed the Mavs for most of this game while only taking the lead twice in the entire game. The Mavs looked better defensively as this Kings team is not very front-court strong. They had issues containing Kings' center Holmes who put up 22, but it seems that was just him having a career night. All things considered, the Mavs finished off the week 3-1. While there's room for improvement, especially in this game of the defensive side, the Mavs have an opportunity this week to shine and get better as a team.

Matchups this week

Heat (11/2)

The Mavs start November at home against a rejuvenated and new roster in the Miami Heat. They have come out hot with a 5-1 start entering this week with the help of Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo all scoring 20+ points per game. Their new addition in Kyle Lowry has made them even more of a defensive threat at the point guard position. Across the board, this is probably the best team the Mavs have suited up against this year. It's going to be tough to contain Miami center Adebayo without Porzingis, but if the Mavericks can play incredible offense, they might key in on a huge win.

at San Antonio Spurs (11/3)

The Mavs played well against the Spurs this past week but did not start well. We've beaten this team, so this is a good chance to try new things to try to be successful. This matchup favors the Mavericks because even without Porzingis, the Mavs have a better frontcourt than the Spurs do. If the talented Dallas guards can out-pace PG Dejounte Murray and SG Keldon Johnson, the Mavs should be in good shape.

Boston Celtics (11/6)

The Celtics come into this week with a 2-5 record along with some chemistry issues. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have combined for 50+ ppg, which is extraordinary, but it is hurting the team in the win-loss column and their cohesiveness. Celtic guard Marcus Smart called Tatum and Brown out in an interview that they need to pass the ball. While this team might be talented, it seems that they might beat themselves when facing off with the Mavs. If the Mavs can do the opposite of what's happening here in Boston, Jason Kidd and his squad might finish the week with a win.

Injury Report

PF Kristaps Porzingis: Has been out since playing the Rockets with a back injury. He’s been ruled out against the Heat on Tuesday. His status past that is TBD

PF Maxi Kleber: Suffering a back injury similar to Porzingis’. He’s been ruled out against the Heat and his status will be TBD from there.

The Big Question Moving Forward:

How valuable is Porzingis?

We saw in this past off-season that the Mavs were considering parting ways with Porzingis. At one point it seemed that it was absolutely happening and now those aspirations have grown cold. It might be too soon to make a call on this but the Mavs seem to do ok without Porzingis. They won most of their games without him and if they found a replacement who can play the same or better defense as him, the team might get better along with maybe acquiring a scorer. Porzingis is a great player, but we are once again seeing that he just might not be a good fit for the Mavs and might be better someplace else where he can get more touches offensively. Don’t be surprised if by mid-December his name will start coming up in trade rumors if the Mavs continue to win without him and/or he continues to struggle offensively. We’ll keep y’all posted in the Mavs Fanatics Vibe if things start to look that way.

This Week In Mavericks Basketball (10/31-11/7)

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