Gobert Stifles Doncic in Clutch; Bad Officiating or Bad Strategy?

Luka Doncic thought the end of the Dallas Mavericks’ loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday night could’ve been officiated better. Dallas’ strategy in the clutch might have been more of an issue than the lack of foul calls, though.

In the Dallas Mavericks' 114-109 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday, the underwhelming results on offense in the second half proved to be too much to overcome. 

Over the final two-quarters of the game, the Mavericks were held to just 42 points while shooting 17-of-43 (39.5 percent) from the floor and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc. To make matters worse, Dallas got to the free-throw line just once in all of the second half.

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

With the Mavericks fully leaning into the "Luka ball" approach, they are going to struggle if he's not putting up big scoring figures with efficiency. In the second half, he finished with just 12 points while going 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from the floor and 2-of-6 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.

"We were too indecisive in the drop in the first half," Gobert said. "They were getting whatever they wanted. So we switched more in the second half. We wanted to make Luka work. We wanted to trust anyone on Luka

After the game, Rudy Gobert explained his strategy when guarding Doncic out on the perimeter and when containing him deep on a drive. Containing the stepback is the top priority, but maintaining balance and absorbing contact on the drive without leaving his feet are also key.

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

"He knows I'm trying to take away his stepback," Gobert told Ryan Miller of KSL.com. "And then he's driving and I know he's going to try to use my body and then stop, so I've got to stay balanced and absorb the contact. And then he's going to try and get me in the air, so I've got to stay down."

In terms of team defense, the Jazz stayed home on the Mavericks' shooters—requiring Doncic to score on his own or kill a possession if he were to attack deep on a drive since there wouldn't be an opening to get the ball to a spot-up shooter on a kick out. 

Where Gobert's strategy worked best was on a possession midway through the fourth quarter. After the switch, Gobert played up to deter Doncic from getting to the stepback three-pointer and then stayed on his feet against Doncic's shot fake deep on the drive. The end result? Doncic killed his dribble late in the shot clock with nowhere to go. 

This was an impressive possession from Rudy Gobert. After playing up against Luka Doncic out on the perimeter to deter the step back three, he did not leave his feet deep on the drive against the shot fake. pic.twitter.com/YLmCDdrIcF

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 26, 2022

Doncic experienced his greatest success against Gobert in the fourth quarter when he leaned on his shot creation ability as opposed to attacking deep on a drive. He capitalized on being given space when using a few ball screens but also got to a fallaway jumper the paint on a drive.

Where Doncic and the Mavericks offense encountered problems was when attempting to drive straight into Gobert to finish at the rim as the game was winding down. Whether the referees "should" have made calls or not, it's a tough strategy to live and die by given the risk. A three-time Defensive Player of the Year is likely going to get the benefit of the doubt when doing what he does best; protecting the paint. 

There were two drives, in particular, where Doncic felt as though he was fouled but did not get the call from the officials. Those were also pivotal possessions that caused the Mavericks to go from being up two points with just over two minutes left to the momentum shifting for good.

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Take the possession late in the first quarter when Doncic drew Gobert on a switch for example. Gobert's stance was more straight-up—leaving him vulnerable to the step-back three going to Doncic's left that he likes to get against switches. Late in the game, Gobert began to load up on Doncic's left to take his chances on the drive right. 

Compared to this 1st quarter possession where Gobert guarded Doncic more straight up and allowed the step back three, he adjusted his approach.

In clutch-time, Gobert loaded on Doncic's left to deter the step back and took his chances on the drive right (Doncic felt were fouls). pic.twitter.com/iPh0frDCN9

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 26, 2022

On those two late-game drives, Doncic felt as though Gobert fouled him but the officiating crew did not make the call. Doncic also expressed after the game that he likes Gobert on a switch as a matchup to attack, but the referee "doesn't like me." 

“I like the matchup,” Doncic said. “I think twice I got fouled. But I know the ref. He won’t call a foul. He don’t like me. But I thought I got fouled. We got the matchup we want. They were good shots. They just didn’t go in.”

Gobert was not having it when asked about Doncic's comments on the officiating on the late-game drives that ended with him getting the stop. The Jazz star alluded to the way the game was officiated throughout the course of the game as to why those plays shouldn't have been fouls. 

"I'm not a ref. It was a physical game," Gobert said. "Luka always pushes, so if they're not going to call that, then they shouldn't call anything else."

It was later announced on the NBA's Last 2 Minutes Report that the drive that occurred within the final two minutes should have been called a foul. The other play took place outside of the final two minutes but based on the circumstances, it likely could have warranted a foul call, too.  

Whether Doncic was fouled or not late in the game, it doesn't change the fact that attacking a three-time Defensive Player of the Year downhill is probably not going to command the benefit of the doubt to your benefit in the officiating department. Regardless, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stated the matchup is "to our advantage."

“That’s to our advantage," Kidd said. "For a big (guy) to be out on the perimeter, we believe that’s to our advantage to be able to have Luka with the ball and he can dictate what he gets, whether it’s a layup, a three or an open shot.

“They were going to switch and hope that Gobert kept him in front or could get away with Luka taking a tough shot. I thought Luka did the right thing. He drove him, he got to the basket. Was there a foul or not. There was not call. But you look at the threes he got, they were open.”

Perhaps the larger question is why did the Mavericks look to hunt Gobert in the first place? Of course, Doncic has experienced strong success hunting bigs off switches (Ivica Zubac), but Gobert has a 7-foot-9 wingspan that he can use as a weapon out on the perimeter to deter the stepback and with Utah using a corner stunt, they are betting he can recover deep on the drive to be a factor with his length. Then it's up to the referees to decide to want to make a call if there's contact.

Regardless, Doncic and the Mavericks like the matchup, and they will have two more games (barring injury) before the regular season comes to a close to come out on top against the Jazz in what could be a first-round playoff matchup.