The Dallas Mavericks were fortunate enough to deliver an utterly humiliating death blow to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of their first-round series in the 2021 NBA playoffs. The Mavericks had upset the Clippers in each of the first two. games to take a 2-0 lead in the series, and headed to Dallas for the next two games. The Clippers had absolutely no answer for Luka Doncic getting everything he wanted against the LA defense. The Dallas cast also stepped up and fired enough shots to put LA on the brink of disaster.
Game 3 couldn’t have started better for the Mavericks. After the first two minutes, the score was Doncic – 8, Clippers – 0. By the time Doncic left the game on his regular replacement schedule with five minutes left in the quarter, Dallas was leading 28-11. The Clippers responded with a 14-4 run with Luka on the bench, and the game was hotly contested from there.
The Clippers would win, 118-108, to return to the series and give themselves a chance to tie it in Game 4. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George played like the superstars they are, setting the Dallas defense ablaze the entire time. night to combine for 65 points. As a team, the Clippers shot 58% from the field. For as brilliant as Doncic was again – 44 points with nine assists in 15 of 24 shots – it was the first game in the series where LA looked like the decidedly most talented team.
There is no reason for the Mavs to panic. Part of the loss can be attributed to the old ‘make or miss the league’ axiom: Part of it was that Leonard and George were amazing and a fragile Dallas defense simply has no way of stopping them, just like the Clippers’ defense has no way of stopping Doncic. The Mavs can tighten up some things, hope the Clippers role players get cold, and give themselves a big chance to climb 3-1 in the series when Game 4 kicks off on Sunday night.
This is the positive spin for Dallas. The counterpoint would be that the Mavs let a winnable game where Doncic was incredible slip through their fingers. It feels like Doncic is a solo show right now, and it’s not meant to be. The Mavs are supposed to have a legitimate co-star, but Kristaps Porzingis just doesn’t play like that.
Porzingis finished the night with nine points and three rebounds on 3 of 10 shots on the ground. For the series, Porzingis averages 14.3 points and less than four rebounds per game, without winning defensively. As the Clippers clinched victory in Game 3, Porzingis’ performance made him a punching bag on social media:
Facundo Campazzo (who is 5’11 “) is averaging 1 more rebound per game than Kristaps Porzingis (who is 7’3”) in these playoffs. pic.twitter.com/pRouzV9wRe
– StatMuse (@statmuse) May 29, 2021
While there is still plenty of time for the Mavs to win the series, the situation with Porzingis is starting to look like a red alert level issue for the immediate future of the organization.
The Mavs traded for Porzingis just before the 2019 trade deadline to be Doncic’s preferred partner for the next decade. At the time, Doncic was a 19-year-old rookie sensation and Porzingis was a 23-year-old, 7’3 center who could stretch the floor with his three-point shot and had shown his superstar potential at his best. Porzingis was rehabilitating a torn ACL at the time of the trade and had irreconcilable differences with the New York Knicks due to Phil Jackson’s tenure as the team’s chief decision maker.
Moving to Dallas, Porzingis not only made a fresh start in a new city, he also found a supposedly perfect match with a superstar shooting creator. It was easy to envision the Doncic-Porzingis two-man game as the fundamental offense for the Dallas contenders for years to come, while Porzingis’ blocking of shots helped tie the defense together. The Mavs rewarded him before he played a game for the franchise, signing him for a maximum extension of $ 158 million ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Porzingis’ first season in Dallas was pretty solid, but as the Mavs entered the playoffs in the bubble he suffered another knee injury. This time, Porzingis tore the meniscus of his right knee – the opposite knee of the ACL tear – and that ended his run in the playoffs and delayed his debut this season. Porzingis still had a pretty good year in his 43 games – a second straight year averaging over 20 points per game, better three-point shooting and better overall scoring efficiency than his first season in Dallas. – but the game against the Clippers exposes some troubling long-term questions regarding its compatibility with the Mavs.
The Dallas offense almost looks like it has to do everything it can to get some shots from Porzingis. As Doncic dominates the ball and shooters wait to shoot around him, Porzingis often feels like a strange man unless Dallas prioritizes making him look inside. Head coach Rick Carlisle’s thoughts on post-ups are well known, and Porzingis was solid but unspectacular on these types of play anyway, scoring in the league’s 58th percentile.
The biggest problem looks like the defense of Porzingis. He was supposed to be a terrifying 7’3 tackle who could protect the paint and fortify Dallas’ baseline, but that didn’t happen. The Clippers confused Porzingis by sliding screens and cutting behind him throughout the series:
It’s a nice slide from Kawhi with Porzingis ready to jump PG coming out of a pindown leading the way and a great pass from Jackson to him. With the confidence that Jackson threw the pass, it was almost certain it was a call out of the time out. Two more paint points for the clips. pic.twitter.com/jNXZzaMLlV
– Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) 29 mai 2021
All of this leaves a bigger existential question in Dallas: Is Porzingis really good enough to be the running mate that Doncic needs for the foreseeable future?
Porzingis has three more years and $ 101 million left on his contract – it should be noted that the final season is an option for the players. For that kind of money, the Mavs just need more of him at both ends of the pitch.
Doncic is good enough to compete for the championships right now. If he’s not the best player in the league, he’s certainly comfortably in the top seven. Yes, Luka is only 22 and will continue to improve, but he’s still good enough to be the centerpiece. of a championship team from this second. The Mavs need everyone to step up around him, and that starts with Porzingis as the team’s highest paid player.
Porzingis’ ground spacing has certainly helped Doncic’s development, but the Mavs need higher volume and increased accuracy from him if he especially wants to be a catch-and-shoot player. The big man the Mavs thought they were trading for was supposed to be more dynamic than that. The Mavs are still waiting for him to show it.
The Mavs’ non-Luka perimeter missed Kristaps open on the arc several times in Game 3. The loss isn’t entirely his fault, of course. But if the Mavs let the Clippers return to the series – and especially if they lose it – Porzingis’ performance will be in the spotlight. For the present and the future of the Mavs, Porzingis must give them more now.
