Mavericks Unleash Youth In Saving Season In Denver
The Dallas Mavericks used yet another unconventional lineup at Pepsi Center in keeping their playoff hopes alive with a huge win against Denver Nuggets.
Having lost 10 of 12 games since the beginning of March, the Dallas Mavericks needed something – anything – that might snap a three-game losing skid as the team had fallen out of the Western Conference playoff bracket entering Monday night’s content against the Denver Nuggets.
Head coach Rick Carlisle, already without starters Chandler Parsons and Deron Williams, turned to perhaps the most unexpected lineup possible to keep the 2015-16 season alive for his disintegrating Mavericks.
While players such as Raymond Felton and Salah Mejri have seen their bench roles turn into starting responsibilities over the last couple of weeks with mixed results, the Mavericks brought out yet another combination at Pepsi Center that proved a huge difference-maker for Dallas.
Rookie Justin Anderson, a first-round pick in the NBA draft last summer, got his second start while Dwight Powell, a 6’11” second-year veteran acquired from the Boston Celtics last season, made surprising starts against a Denver team that had already beaten the Mavericks on the same court back on March 6.
It wasn’t perfect, but Carlisle’s decision paid off in a big way.
Clear was the added athleticism brought forth by Anderson and Powell, which included some obvious plays above the rim that you don’t see very often from this team.
Anderson responded to just his second start with 11 points and four rebounds in just under 24 minutes of work. A look at the final score of 97-88 tells you that there was far better defense in this game just a night after the Mavericks gave up an abysmal 133 to the Sacramento Kings.
Powell, in his first career-start, posted 16 points and seven rebounds. Again, that athleticism and added length was key to fending off the Nuggets while Dallas was without Williams, Parsons and also dealing with a tough night for Dirk Nowitzki, who had just 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting.
The Mavericks were killed on the boards, and if not for forcing 21 Denver turnovers, this game likely would have gone the other way. Holding a slight edge in points in the paint was a clear indicator of the quickness and stamina that the Mavs had on Monday night.
J.J. Barea had one of his biggest games of the year in coming off the bench with 18 points and 11 assists. If the Mavericks needed a double-double from anybody, it was probably Barea, especially with Williams out.
In a game that the Mavericks simply had to have, the whole team, which obviously had a short bench in the thin air of the ‘Mile-High City’ stepped up with a more-than-gutsy performance.
Nowitzki summed up the game perfectly for Sports Illustrated.
"The team rescued me today. We were obviously not a team that’s blessed with athleticism. So those two guys were great for us. They’re active. They’re young. They’re quick. It was fun to watch. We need some more of that going down the stretch."
Yes, the Mavericks need a lot more of that – and probably then some.
The Mavericks are now tied with the Houston Rockets, who hold the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. Dallas trails the Utah Jazz by just a single game for the seventh seed. With eight games remaining – one of those against the Rockets in Dallas on April 6 – the Mavericks have given themselves a fighting chance to score either of the last two seeds in the conference.
Next: Dallas Stars: Jamie Benn Defines Captain
The Mavericks take on the struggling New York Knicks (30-45), losers of two-in-a-row, on Wednesday night at 7:30pm CDT in a brief, one-game home stand at American Airlines Center.