Dirk Returns, Mavs Fall to Clippers

 

If this game stopped after the first quarter this would be a whole different conversation.  The Dallas Mavericks looked downright confident and competitive against the team with the best record in the NBA.  Obviously,  there’s a reason why “we play the games” and finish them out too, because the Los Angeles Clippers had their way with the Mavs after that.

 

What was most impressive about the Clips was their bench unit comprised of former Mav Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, Austin[note]”I’m only on the team because of my dad”[/note] Rivers, Wes Johnson, and Mo Speights.  Somehow this unit with arguably zero defensive minded players[note]An argument can be made for Wes & Rivers[/note] not only stayed competitive but built a lead on lineups consisting of several Mavs starters.  That unit finished the game with 61 points, hitting 10 threes.

 

There were a few bright spots for the Mavs in the 104-124 loss on Wednesday though, Dirk returned after missing eight games and reminded us of better days. 

 

 

Harrison Barnes and Wes Matthews were also fairly good offensively.  Barnes racked up another 20+ point game, he’s scored 20+ in eight of the Mavs 14 games.  Wes shot 6/10 from the field and 3/3 from beyond the arc[note]Don’t worry guys, he can shoot[/note], however, he did contribute five of the Mavs 16 turnovers.  The two also contributed to this really nice possession[note]Just take it one possession at a time MFFLs[/note] that led to an open three.

 

 

Harrison also had what the Mavericks considered the “Moment of the Night” in the second quarter.

 

 

Overall it’s not a big surprise that the team with the best record in the NBA dominated a still shorthanded Mavericks team the way that they did.  If anything the early lead in the first quarter gave MFFLs some sort of empty hope that competitive days were still just a Dirk-start away. 

 

Let's check in on the Mavs Lead Tracker and… OH MY WORD pic.twitter.com/dHU577epjL

— Dallas Sports Fanatic (@Dallas_Fanatic) November 24, 2016

 

Where do we go from here? As always, we have an MFFL support group that’s available if you need anything. Just tweet @TheMavsFanatic or #TheMavsFanatic and one of our trained Tanking Counselors will be standing by.  Also, it might be time to talk about it…

 

 

All stats via NBA.com or Basketball-Reference.com all video obtained from Fox Sports Southwest and all quotes acquired firsthand unless otherwise noted.