Time For Josh Green to Become Starter? 3 Big Takeaways From Mavs’ Win Over Pelicans

The Dallas Mavericks led by as many as 27 points in their win over the New Orleans Pelicans, but Luka Doncic's injury made it a close game in the end.

Despite nearly blowing a 27-point lead, the Dallas Mavericks (28-25) defeated the jet-lagged New Orleans Pelicans (26-27), with 111-106 being the final score. Luka Doncic's night ended early after he sustained a heel contusion caused by falling after a drive attempt. 

The Pelicans made it a real game and came within three points (109-106) with 10.1 seconds remaining in regulation. Brandon Ingram converted a 14-foot step-back jumper on the play, then nearly forced a turnover by deflecting the Mavs' inbounds pass. The officials said he stepped out-of-bounds, but it was clear on replay that he did not. 

Here are three big takeaways from the Mavs' win over the Pelicans:

3. Luka Doncic Was Brilliant Again

It's challenging to have enough positive things to say about a player who managed to total 31 points, eight rebounds, and four assists despite playing for 23 minutes of action. Doncic had set the Mavs up quite well before going down with injury, establishing an 84-56 lead at the 6:47 mark of the third quarter.

The Pelicans are one of the more limited teams defensively in the NBA since they have to commonly stay in a traditional base pick-and-roll coverage when Jonas Valanciunas is on the court. Doncic ripped that apart, scoring 17 points from plays derived from ball screens — often with Valanciunas on the court.

New Orleans likes to use Larry Nance Jr. as their designated defensive switch hitter in a sense, enabling them to switch ball screens. There seems to be too much confidence from the Pelicans in his ability to stay in front of dynamic isolation threats as Doncic made light work of getting by him, too. 

While Doncic was on the court, the Mavs had a 132.7 offensive rating, resulting in a 32.7 net rating. In the 25 minutes that he wasn't playing, Dallas posted just a 95.8 offensive rating and a -20.2 net rating. The team completely fell apart without having Doncic to tear apart the Pelicans' defense. 

2. Josh Green Needs to Start

A lot of the Mavs' supporting cast around Doncic lacks much for dynamic elements to their game. Josh Green routinely makes an impact in a low usage role by attacking closeouts, running out in transition, and being more aggressive in taking open shots from deep. 

Green scored 15 points while going 7-10 from the floor and 1-2 from beyond the arc. With four rebounds and a pair of steals, he made a real impact with his determination to make hustle plays for his team. He scored seven of his points out of spot-up with four coming from transition. 

While the opportunities to be deployed in half-court actions have been limited for Green, he has shown in his limited chances being capable of aggressively attacking the paint using a ball screen. His athleticism makes him a real threat in off-ball actions as well. None of the team's other spot-up threats offer paint pressure remotely comparable to Green.

With how Green shows a willingness to take on tough on-ball assignments and flies around in the half-court defensively, there's so much value being provided when he's on the floor. The Mavs need to maximize how often he plays and make him a starter as soon as possible. 

1. Concerning Reliance on Doncic's Excellence

The Mavs had things rolling early on, largely due to the play of Doncic. Failing to maintain a big lead is one thing, but the Mavs' struggles to execute without their superstar allowed the Pelicans to make it a tight game in clutch time. A lack of urgency defensively was clear.

“Looking at the defense, sometimes you can relax with a big lead,” Kidd said. “Understanding the Pelicans are a good team, they're trying to break a losing streak.”

While Dinwiddie was excellent in the two recent games the Mavs were largely without Doncic, the team needs greater efficiency from him when he's not being sent to the free throw line. He scored 21 points with 11 coming from the free throw line. He shot 4-19 from the floor and 2-6 from deep. 

Tim Hardaway Jr. took twice as many shot attempts (18) as he had points (nine) in 40 minutes. He was letting it fly as if he was the third member of a "Big 3" but wasn't connecting. He's consistently been a liability on drives and isn't the caliber of shooter to make up for it. He's undersized playing the three and limits the defense. It's overdue to start Green. 

Hardaway is shooting 31.8 percent on drives to the basket. That looks awful in itself, but it's by far the worst in the NBA among players who have a similar volume of shot attempts derived from these situations. He is dead-last by a 2.3 percent margin in field goal percentage among players with at least 80 field goal attempts resulting from drives. 

The Mavs have a talent deficit when compared to their Western Conference peers. A major move at the trade deadline would be ideal, but again, they are limited in what picks they can send out midseason. They also need Christian Wood back, who is nearing a return.

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