SAN ANTONIO – The Mavericks split two games on the San Antonio Spurs’ home court, and left the Alamo City with a defiant feeling.
Even with half the roster injured, they are keeping the faith, which isn’t easy.
Or is it?
“It’s not hard,” said Dante Exum. “We know how good we can be if everyone’s healthy. Timing is everything.”
And that’s the bone that the Mavericks have to gnaw on right now. They don’t have a lot of time.
There are 15 games left in the regular season and while they have a cushion on Phoenix in the chase for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference standings, they need some help to keep their positioning or perhaps improve it.
Help not from anybody else, but themselves.
P.J. Washington is getting closer to a return. That will provide the Mavericks with a bigger body and greatly improve their depth.
And the Mavericks remain hopeful that they can regain the services of one or more of their big men – Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively II – in time to see what they have in the final weeks of the regular season.
The regular season ends a month from today, so they have at least some time to generate a little momentum and positive vibes before they play beyond (they hope) Game No. 82.
“Staying healthy during the season and going to the playoffs,” Exum said. “That’s a big part of it and something we’re going to have to figure out quick. I think everyone’s doing what they can to get on the court. They want to be out there helping us, helping their brothers. So they want to be out here.
“I see it. I was out a lot of the year at the start. And you see guys fighting every day and you get that motivation. I feel that from everybody. Hopefully, they’ll be back soon.”
Against the Spurs, the Mavericks did what they needed to do. They got a split in San Antonio and that helped stop the bleeding that had started after Kyrie Irving’s season-ending knee injury.
They have lost six of seven games, but there are a lot of winnable games on the horizon.
And they got one of their injured players back against the Spurs on Wednesday, which brings us to our takeaways from the 10-point loss that dropped the Mavericks to 33-34 overall.
Williams proving his worth: Brandon Williams may be playing his way into a permanent job next season. He showed his value again on Wednesday when he returned from a one-game absence (hamstring strain) to score 19 points off the bench against the Spurs. In the past four games he’s played, Williams has averaged 19.3 points and 6.3 assists. With Kyrie Irving expected to miss at least part of next season after his ACL injury, Williams is proving he can handle a rotation role. His quickness alone is enough to make him a valuable asset.
The defense rests: The Mavericks simply could not stop the Spurs, particularly anywhere close to the basket. The Spurs shot 39-of-59 (66.1 percent) on shots inside the three-point arc. That was enough to overmatch the 54.9 percent the Mavericks shot from the field.
Points in the paint? What a pain: The Mavericks have been incapable of stopping opponents from point-blank range lately. And that means they haven’t done enough defensively to keep them out of the paint. The Spurs had 66 points in the paint Wednesday. That’s the fourth consecutive game they’ve allowed 64 or more points in the paint (68-point average). Their season average is 51.5 per game.
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