Luka Doncic's Mavs Re-Focus Defensively vs. Heat: 3 Big Takeaways
The Dallas Mavericks bounced back after losing five of their previous six games with a 115-90 win over the Miami Heat on Friday.
Using a hot start, the Mavs jumped out to a 31-19 lead at the end of the opening period. The Heat held the edge in the second period, but another double-figure scoring differential in the third quarter proved to be the difference — setting up a 92-67 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Luka Doncic had a strong game with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, with no shortage of highlight plays along the way. Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in 19 points and two assists. The supporting cast shot efficiently from beyond the arc to further solidify Dallas' attack.
Here are three big takeaways from the Mavs' win over the Heat:
3. Josh Green Showed Impressive Potential
The box score displayed impressive results from Josh Green. He finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists. The dynamic elements that he brings to the Mavs on both ends were displayed after gaining his rhythm following a lengthy absence caused by an elbow injury.
Only a few role players check as many boxes as Green does. He brings significant energy defensively and on the boards. He embraces challenging matchups. With the Mavs often deploying a small ball lineup, all of those elements to his game were pivotal. Perhaps most important of all is that he presents the team with another ball-handling option.
"Since day one that coach came to the Mavs, it’s actually been a big focus on working out, working on my ball handling, he saw that I could pass the ball," Green said
Beyond the defensive contributions, Green is one of the few players on the Mavs' roster that can attack closeouts to acrobatically finish at the rim or draw a help rotation from the defense to create a passing opportunity to an open teammate. With his significantly improved shooting execution, he's been able to put together the complete package.
2. Small Ball Brought Back Swarming Defense
The Mavs' defensive execution had sunk to rock bottom levels entering Friday's game. In January, the team ranked 29th in defensive rating and had given up 406 points over their previous three games. A spirited film session and recommitment to the defensive end helped spark greater results against the Heat.
"I thought they played for 48 minutes," Kidd said of the Mavs' defensive turnaround. "I thought even the group that was in at the end played with energy and effort. I think there was clarity of what we've asked them to do in this game plan, and they responded. It wasn't me calling them out or saying we had a walk-through or shootaround during the game against Atlanta. You could see they were flying around. Now we've got to hold them to that standard."
When a traditional big man is on the court, it becomes naturally more limiting for a team to play a style that features running shooters off the 3-point line and making the second, third, and fourth rotations. The Heat ended up shooting just 4-20 (20.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
What the Mavs could accomplish against the Heat was a reversion back to their previous style of play that helped lead them to the Western Conference Finals. There is continuity with that personnel playing that particular style.
“It was just a team effort," Bullock said of the Mavs' defense. "Obviously, [the lineup] was a lot smaller tonight, people were flying around, giving multiple efforts, trying to take away 3s from them. But it was just the effort that guys put in, the five that Coach [Jason Kidd] put out there.”
The main balance the Mavs face is regarding short-term results versus long-term payoff. Going smaller has a proven formula for defeating many teams since it applies maximum pressure on the defense to solve for Doncic's excellence with shooting around him.
The defense is maximized in their preferred style, too. However, it wasn't nearly enough to defeat the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series, even with Jalen Brunson in the fold. If this is the preferred style of play, the goal should be to find the right personnel to maximize it.
1. Hot Perimeter Shooting Set the Tone
For as effective as the Mavs proved to be at deterring quality looks for the Heat from 3-point range, they were making Miami pay on with their own attempts. Dallas shot 18-38 (47.4 percent) from deep on the night, outscoring Miami by a staggering 42-point margin on 3-pointers.
With the Mavs often deploying a small ball lineup, they were able to play a complete five-out to make the defense pay for loading up on Doncic. When Dwight Powell was on the court, he was able to utilize his screening to create advantages with the rest of the unit being filled with shooters.
Reggie Bullock had just his second performance of the season with at least five makes from deep as he shot 5-6. As expected, he has recovered his perimeter shooting efficiency after a slow start to the season. He receives some of the easiest looks in the NBA from arguably its top playmaker — making it essential that he makes the defense pay.
Doncic was converting at a high clip on his own attempts. He shot 5-8 from the perimeter with a lot of his looks being the usual high degree of difficult step-backs. When those shots are falling, containing the Mavs' offense becomes truly daunting.
Bullock and Doncic truly led the way for the Mavs' perimeter shooting attack considering the only other players with multiple makes were Spencer Dinwiddie (three) and Dorian Finney-Smith (two). However, Dinwiddie did so while taking 10 attempts.
Overall, the formula is clear. The Mavs thrive when they make teams pay for trying to be aggressive against Doncic. It becomes even more challenging to defeat them when their defense is swarming around the half-court, running the opposition off the line. It becomes much easier for them to get a high volume of good looks while minimizing the outlook for their opponent to do the same.
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