Four reflections following the Mavericks’ 122-96 demolition of the Rockets

The Dallas Mavericks lost 122-96 to the Houston Rockets on the road on Friday night. In just 25 minutes, Alperin Senguin scorched Dallas, scoring 22 points and snatching 15 rebounds. With 20 points, Olivier Maxence Prosper led Dallas off the bench.

The Mavericks were without a ton of players for their game on Friday. Due to a variety of injuries, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, Dante Exum, and Dereck Lively were unable to play. It translates to six rotation players for those of you doing the math at home. In order to contend with the Rockets, Tim Hardaway, Jaden Hardy, Grant Williams, and Dwight Powell were forced to take on bigger responsibilities for the Mavericks.

Things did not go smoothly.

Dallas lost 23–17 at the end of the first quarter, but the Mavericks were in trouble from the start. With just one playmaker on the court, Dallas was outmatched by Houston, which was bigger and stronger. Sengun decimated Dallas’ interior defense in the first quarter, finishing with nine points and five rebounds.

Dallas outmatched the Mavericks at every position, and at the half, they only had 39 points. Although G-League stars Dexter Dennis, AJ Lawson, and Greg Brown gave some electrifying play for Dallas supporters, the game didn’t get any better in the second half. We’ll cover them in more detail below.

I wish there had been a running clock for this game because it was a waste of time to watch. The Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 122-96.

Perhaps the most valuable player is Luka Doncic.

Is it impolite to start with a comment on a man who didn’t play a single minute of hoops? Most likely. Nevertheless, as I watched the Mavericks score 22 points in the second quarter and 17 points in the first, I couldn’t help but believe that Doncic should win game MVP. It would be an understatement to say that the offense was the worst I have witnessed in my more than 20 years as a Mavericks supporter. Given that he has been playing with this group and Exum for a number of games, Doncic is a very crucial driver. Even though the Mavericks lacked a point guard, it seemed like the men in the rotation didn’t know how basketball was played.

Does the Mavericks’ offense actually exist?

I was made aware of this the other day during a discussion regarding Tim Hardaway Jr. When Luka Doncic isn’t playing, there’s no incentive to play Luka-ball, yet Dallas still employs a careless pick-and-roll-heavy strategy without him. I’m not expecting the Princeton offense or the traditional Flex system, but aside from post-ups from 17 feet, are there any plays the Mavericks have that make sense? This year, Sean Sweeney took over the offensive, and I’m interested to see what it means beyond just saying that Luka Doncic is good.

What would you say you do here, Jaden Hardy?

Many of you won’t like that I’m being this critical of a second-year player who is put in a different role. I understand that. However, I also see a lot of bullshit about Hardy being “special,” and although I like his play when Dallas gives him the opportunity, he is, at most, a one-dimensional guy. He is a guard who needs assistance in order to score points. He only made 3 out of 17 tonight and seems completely bewildered. His body language is even more concerning. He plays entitled basketball, and there are no rights for players in this NBA. Watching Hardy is one of the most annoying things I’ve had to put up with lately, especially in comparison to these other men we’re about to talk about.

Thank you for playing so hard, young men.

There are a lot of things that a player cannot control on any given night, even with the greatest players now active. One such item is? Make an attempt. Olivier Maxence-Prosper, Greg Brown, AJ Lawson, and Dexter Dennis enter. Do any of these men have any long-term NBA contracts? I’m not sure. However, they performed as though their jobs depended on it versus Houston, and it was impressive to witness Lawson drive with ferocity, O-Max fight hysterically on the boards, and Dexter Dennis step up to score 18 points on 8 of 11 shots. Although this game was awful and fans had a lot of requests, it was admirable to watch the players put in the effort.

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