Mavs Working to 'Figure Out' Slow Starts, Focus on Defense

The Dallas Mavericks have struggled to produce positive starts to recent games with a lack of defensive execution being at the forefront of the issue.

After getting off to a pair of hot starts in their initial two games of the season, the Dallas Mavericks have experienced shortcomings in recent first quarters. 

In the Mavs' most recent outing — a 114-105 win over the Orlando Magic — Dallas started the game being outscored 34-29 in the first quarter before outscoring the opponent in each of the remaining periods. It has become a trend over the last four games, with Dallas being outscored by a 9-point margin in the first quarter of games despite Luka Doncic averaging a league-best 13.0 first-quarter points.

In the opening period of Sunday's game, the Magic shot 13-21 (61.9 percent) from the floor and 4-6 (66.7 percent) from 3-point range. Contributing to Orlando's early success was the Mavs' lack of connection as a unit defensively. 

“We’re starting to get into this trend of giving up a big first quarter that we got to address,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “Looking at the scores around the league, there’s a lot of points being scored. If you’re not comfortable getting to the 115, 120, you’re probably going to be in trouble. Until we can become connected on the defensive end, we’re just going to have to ride our offense a little bit. Our offense is playing at a high level. We’ll figure out the defensive side.”

The Mavs' slow defensive start against the Magic displayed some areas for improvement. A common theme was a lack of paint presence from JaVale McGee despite playing in drop coverage in addition to continuing to slowly get back on defense. There is plenty to clean up, in general. Orlando benefited from the Mavs' off-ball defenders ball watching at times, miscommunications on rotations, and generally not completing a play on the boards.

It has been a challenge for McGee to provide a positive overall impact, especially to start games. Dallas has been outscored by 22-point margin during McGee's first-quarter minutes over the last four games. Dinwiddie hasn't fared better either. For now, the commitment to starting McGee remains 'strong.'

“Strong," Kidd said when asked about his commitment to starting McGee. "When you look at the rotation today, we’ll give him a chance. He’s going to play. He’s going to get into the swing of things, and we believe in him. He’s going to start. You saw tonight we can play DP, and C-Wood, and Maxi. We’ll look at that combination, but we believe in JaVale, and he’ll be better.”

It does appear a potential lineup change may be needed for the Mavs. Dinwiddie has experienced lapses defensively and is at his best when he's leading plug-and-play lineups, enabling him to aggressively attack the basket. Meanwhile, McGee just generally hasn't offered much for positives altogether. Dallas could benefit from monitoring those two spots for potential change.

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