Dallas Mavs vs. Utah Jazz Preseason: 3 Things to Watch
The Dallas Mavericks (1-1) will conclude their shortened preseason schedule with a matchup against the Utah Jazz (1-2) on Friday.
A lot has changed for the Jazz since these two teams last met. Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Royce O'Neale, and Bojan Bogdanovic all are on new teams — accounting for an 80 percent turnover in their starting lineup.
With the Mavs having a full week between their 111-105 preseason loss to the Orlando Magic last Friday, the team held a scrimmage on Wednesday. Two of the standouts mentioned were Jaden Hardy and Christian Wood.
In the Mavs' previous preseason outing, Luka Doncic stole the show early with 10 points in the first 3.5 minutes of action. His night ended after just the opening half with 16 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Wood led the team with 23 points overall.
Here are three key things to monitor when the Mavs take on the Jazz on Friday in their preseason finale.
3. Is There a Shooting Rhythm?
It's easy to expect greatness from Luka Doncic, especially when considering he's entering this season in great shape. One issue the team faced last season was a near unit-wide underwhelming 3-point shooting start until they finally established a rhythm as they shot 32.6 percent through 33 games.
“If you think about last year, we couldn’t shoot straight to start the season,” Kidd said. “Then, somewhere after All-Star break, we started shooting the ball straight. If we’re going to be a team that shoots a lot of threes, we have to learn from last year.”
The Mavs relied significantly on 3-point shooting execution in the playoffs as they took 41.5 per game, and it paid dividends when things were clicking. However, even though their shot profile "won" the Western Conference Finals, the actual lack of shooting execution did not lead to that result. Little has changed in their reliance on these looks as they have taken 88 total through two preseason games.
While a strong shooting performance against the Jazz on Friday doesn't indicate how the Mavs will shoot for the whole early portion of the season, seeing execution is still important.
2. How Does the Defense Look?
The Mavs do emphasize working on their defensive execution during practices, and it was a focus in their recent scrimmage. After allowing 40 points in the second quarter of their loss to the Magic, their defense could use some fine-tuning.
“Defense is always first that we talk about, and last," Kidd said. "We have guys who can score, but being able to have everybody on the same page defensively is what we’re working at. And I think the guys are getting it done.”
A common sentiment among Mavs coaches and players has been the value of having a full training camp with a roster that largely is the one that made the Western Conference Finals run. The team is able to become more advanced in their approach with greater understanding of timing and reactions as plays develop.
The Mavs only having three preseason games has enabled them to focus more on practice time. How that translates to game action, especially for newcomer Christian Wood will be key to monitor.
1. Closer Look at Regular Rotation
The Mavs only have Davis Bertans listed on the injury report ahead of their preseason finale. With the team only having three total preseason games, the finale is likely to be utilized as close to a real game compared to the others.
"Everybody makes the trip, and we'll go with our rotation and just see how that looks. ... On that flight home, we'll talk as a staff of what we liked about the rotation and maybe about looking at something different. "
How the Mavs treat the rotation in this game will offer the best look for what they could utilize in Game 1 of their 82-game regular season. How much of Spencer Dinwiddie's minutes get staggered? How long will Christian Wood play overall? What does Jaden Hardy's role look like? There will be plenty of things to keep tabs on.
