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Wins and losses don’t really matter in the preseason, but if you’re going to play the games, you might as well win them, right? Winning is better than losing and the Mavericks remained winners in the preseason after a 122-114 Friday night win over the Clippers in Dallas.
It was a really fun night for the whole list. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis showed up in the first half, then in the second, the young Mavericks players energized the local public and closed the victory.
Let’s take a look at three things we noticed.
Kristaps Porzingis continues to look good
By far the biggest question on this Mavericks roster was what does Kristaps Porzingis look like after an offseason where he wasn’t in rehab and instead was training as usual? So far, everything is going well through two preseason games.
Against the Jazz, Porzingis evolved well and had a good game defensively, his attack still seeming a bit stiff. Against the Clippers, Porzingis was much more balanced – he continued to move his feet well, kept the rim tremendously and went offensively, playing well with Doncic in the pick and roll. The only downside was that whenever Porzingis tried to create for himself he always looked a bit stiff and robotic, but that’s a small complaint compared to what else he’s done. In just 19 minutes, he had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and three mind-blowing blocks.
The most important thing that caught my eye? The seven free throw attempts. Porzingis had a career low season last season when it came to fouls, so seeing Porzingis dribbling hard towards the bucket and getting fouled was a sight for sore eyes. It is as good a sign as any other that Porzingis feels healthy.
Young people are great fun
NBA preseason games are normally a chore. Plenty of minutes for undrafted free agents, rookies and training camp prospects. While the starters are sitting down, these guys, who usually haven’t really played together, have to put together some competitive basketball minutes. It is generally not pretty.
In these two preseason games, however, the young Mavericks are a lot of fun. Apparently, each of Moses Brown’s group, Eugene Omoruyi, Carlik Jones, and Feron Hunt all did something in every game. Against the Jazz, it was Jones who scored 13 points in 14 points and against the Clippers, it was Omoruyi who showed up in style, leading the team with 19 points while registering five rebounds, two assists and two interceptions. Omoruyi returned to play for part of the third and fourth quarters, giving the Mavericks a second-half lead they would never give up.
Omoruyi did almost all of his damage around the basket, as the Mavericks guards continually found him off screens and in transition. He also did a good job just intimidating his defender at the post, driving hard on the rim. It was really fun. He was not alone, however.
Jones put in another solid effort with six points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Hunt landed another good dunk in transition and Brown registered late but still managed to score eight points in eight minutes.
There’s something to be said about why these guys splash the TV screen as former first-round pick Josh Green continues to be a long distance player, but that’s for another time. Watching these guys is fun.
Luka Doncic is ready for real matches
Yes, we highlighted Doncic’s extremely efficient first half in the win against Jazz, but we have to talk about him again because against the Clippers he achieved a near triple-double in 18 minutes in the first half.
A net 14 points, eight rebounds, nine assists for Doncic on 11 shots. He’s made this look really easy so far and although this is only the preseason, it’s nice to see that Doncic doesn’t look worse after a very busy offseason that has left him. saw his Slovenian national team lead on an incredible Olympic race in Japan.
Here is our articlega podcast, with Josh and Church Matt Phillips gives a quick recap of the game. If you don’t see the integration below, Click here. Or go to your favorite podcast app and search for the Mavs Moneyball podcast.
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