Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks See Many Adjustments for Game 2 Against OKC Thunder

Entering Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks see significant opportunity to improve after a loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Dallas Mavericks are gearing up for a crucial Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their Western Conference Semifinals series. After a disappointing 117-95 loss in Game 1, the Mavericks are eager to bounce back by evening the series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 29 points in Game 1, with the Thunder shooting 45.7% from deep with 16 made 3-pointers, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds, and only turning it over eight times. It was an efficient all-around display from Oklahoma City, with Chet Holmgren (19 points) and Jalen Williams (18 points) combining for 37 points to support Alexander.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

"We've got to be better on the defensive end," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "We didn't have great balance... We've got to be able to minimize those breakdowns."

The Mavericks struggled to convert on characteristic shot attempts, shooting just 34.1% in the second half. Luguentz Dort's relentless defense on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving was a major factor. Still, the team acknowledges that they need to create more scoring opportunities by setting better screens and leveraging creativity.

"He had some good looks at three. We got to help him out—get Dort off of them a little bit better," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic. "We had some offensive fouls when we were setting screens. We'll look at that to see if we can be better in that area."

Doncic was limited to 19 points, nine assists, and six rebounds in Game 1 but shot 6-19 from the floor and 1-8 from the perimeter. He's averaged 28.3 points, 9.4 assists, and 8.4 rebounds this postseason but is shooting 39.5% from the floor and 22.7% from the perimeter. He's continued to struggle shooting the ball while he deals with a right knee sprain. He doesn't want to dwell on the result. Rather, he's focused on looking ahead to Game 2 for a strong performance.

"Who cares? We lost," Doncic said. "Just gotta move onto the next one. I've gotta be better. We've gotta be better. We gotta focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."

Getting into the restricted area has been a challenge throughout the postseason, with the Clippers and Thunder pre-rotating off of weak-side shooters to pack the paint. Making matters worse, Maxi Kleber, sidelined due to a shoulder injury, isn't an option to deploy as a stretch five to space the floor.

"We just have to continue attacking and continue to play downhill," Irving said. "They do a lot of reaching and do a lot of small pushes. Their defensive pressure's not going to change, so we just got to adjust."

Irving highlighted the need for the Mavericks to solve for the full-court defensive pressure that Dort provides but emphasized how the Thunder go well beyond just the individual pressure Dort poses on an offense. However, Oklahoma City made calculated risks by pre-rotating off of weak shooters, being tied together on X-outs when needing to contest, and mixing up blitzes against superstars while having a low defender waiting in the restricted area.

"Lu's been a great defender since he walked into this league, he's got to be given his credit and respect," Irving said. "I think he causes a lot of issues when he's pressuring the ball handler 94 feet for practically the whole game. That's something that we have to be aware of, but he's not the only good defender out there. I don't think what makes him great is just him individually. I think it's the team game they play, and he does a great job of being the head of that."

With how connected Oklahoma City defends, Irving emphasized the need to continue attacking the paint and playing off two feet. The Mavericks must adapt to the physicality of the Thunder to cut down on turnovers and have greater success attacking downhill.

"For me and my teammates, we just have to continue to attack him and continue to play downhill in a way where we play off of two feet," Irving said. "They do a lot of reaching, they do a lot of small pushes and stuff like that. We just have to adjust to the team that we're playing against."

Doncic echoed Irving's sentiments, emphasizing the need for effort and making shots. "We just got to have the effort for 48 minutes," he said.

Irving was held to 20 points in Game 1 and shot 7-14 from the floor, 3-4 from deep, and 3-3 on free throws, but had four turnovers in the first quarter. The goal was to get his teammates settled, but the Thunder made it challenging to attack the gaps by leveraging Holmgren's defensive versatility as a big. He scored six points entering halftime, continuing the question about his potential need to attack sooner in games than waiting to settle into the flow.

"I had too many turnovers tonight, especially in that first quarter, just trying to get my guys settled," Irving said.

The Mavericks also struggled on the glass, getting outrebounded 52-39 by the Thunder. Josh Green acknowledged the need for improvement in this area. While Holmgren naturally is a player to box out, the perimeter players Oklahoma City deploys stay active in crashing the glass and must also be accounted for.

“They shouldn’t be having that many offensive rebounds,” Green said. “We need to box out and make sure we’re hitting them first. They’ve got one big guy (in Holmgren) but a lot of pesky guards. So, we’ve got to make sure we’re able to box them out.”

Despite the struggles, the Mavericks remain confident in their ability to adjust and come out on top in Game 2. They've been in this situation before, having lost Game 1 in all five of their playoff series under Kidd. In the previous four, they've won Game 2 twice and rallied to win the series three times.

"We're on the road, we lost Game 1, we have to learn from that," Kidd said. "We have to be better in Game 2."

In particular, the Mavericks must find ways to create better looks for Doncic, who struggled in Game 1. Dort continues to be physical with Doncic to prevent him from comfortably getting to spots he wants to attack, which has proven challenging while playing through an injury.

"We need to do a better job of creating for him," Kidd said. "He's a great player, but we need to do a better job of getting him open looks."

Another adjustment the Mavericks must make in Game 2 is to have the rim rollers be aggressive when they catch the ball in the pocket on short rolls since the Thunder not only want to blitz Doncic and Irving at times, but they are well-connected with the low defender rotating from the weak-side to protect the restricted area.

"I think both D Live and Gaff had a lot of reservation," Doncic said. "We talk about playing off two legs and just go dunk it. If Chet's gonna be up there, there's gonna be a small down, and they both need to go and dunk that."

Lively acknowledged the need for him to slow down and make better decisions when playing out of the short roll. He felt there were times when he was sped up. He totaled two points and four rebounds but turned it over twice and shot just 1-3 from the floor, not playing with the typical aggression he tends to have in the paint.

"Slowing down on my role, slowing down my decision making, so I'm making the right decision," Lively said. "There was some times where I sped myself up and I threw a turnover or I didn't make the right play, but that's just going to come with just repetition. That's what they do defensively. You just got to learn in the deck."

Gafford acknowledged the need to finish at a higher rate on rolls. He encountered multiple instances of drawing a smaller defender, making a low-man rotation, and getting vertical to pressure him in the paint before missing a finish as the short roller. He still impacted the game to record 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks, but shot 5-12 from the floor but did shoot 6-8 on free throws.

"I got to fix those at the end of the day and put the ball in the hole," Gafford said. You know, usually people would be like, 'Oh, somebody's living right today.' But just around the basket, it just wasn't the case for me. I just got to be better in that area. ... We got great looks left and right shots, just didn't fall."

The Mavericks understand the need to settle into the game sooner and navigate the hot shooting streaks the Thunder showed capable of, particularly when going away from Josh Giddey to deploy shooters at all five spots. Reducing giving up long rebounds and turnovers will help control the game, but regardless, Oklahoma City's defensive pressure will not relent. Dallas outscored the Thunder by a seven-point margin in 17 minutes with Giddey on the court, compared to being outscored by 29 in the remaining 31 minutes he didn't play.

When the Thunder turned to options like Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins in place of Giddey, it proved challenging for the Mavericks to contain the perimeter whlie also accounting for slowing down Gilgeous-Alexander. Dallas' priority is reducing their own mistakes on offense—including turnovers and long misses—to help eliminate transition and early offense chances for Oklahoma City to get clean looks and get on 3-point shooting barrages.

"The pressure that they were putting on was definitely attributed to their excitement, but I think in Game 2, we just have to settle in a lot earlier and be able to withstand some of their 3-point barrages that they get off of our long 3s that end up coming around the free-throw line or some of our turnovers," Irving said. "There are some things to look back on, but the defensive pressure is not going to stop. So we just got to adjust."

The Mavericks must also stay focused and composed in the face of adversity. In Game 1, they struggled to maintain their composure, committing 15 turnovers and allowing the Thunder to score 22 points off those miscues.

"We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Kidd said. "We can't afford to give them easy opportunities."

Despite the challenges they face, the Mavericks remain confident in their ability to bounce back and win Game 2. They've shown resilience and determination throughout the season, and they're eager to prove it once again.

"We're a good team," Kidd said. "We've been in tough situations before, and we've always come out on top. We just need to stay focused and play to our strengths."

The Mavericks will look to do just that in Game 2 as they seek to even the series and take momentum into Game 3. With their season on the line, they're ready to put in the work and come out on top.

"We're not going to give up," Doncic said. "We're going to keep fighting, and we're going to come out on top."

Irving echoed the importance of learning from their performance in Game 1, particularly tightening up their execution on coverages. However, having the right attitude entering the game is also crucial.

"I think that's the most important thing. This Game 1 is done, we didn't play as well as we would have liked," Irving said. "We failed on a lot of our coverages, and we didn't come in with the attitude that was necessary to get this W."

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