This time, it was time for Jason and the Mavs to be on the winning side of a blowout.
No.2’s stifling defense on Golden State’s Stephen Jackson helped the Mavs defeat the Warriors, 117-93.
For Dallas, it’s all about the defense. No team in the league has a greater disparity in points it allows in wins vs. losses. When the Mavs win, they give up an average of 92 points; when they lose, they give up an average of 107 points.
This recent four-game trend of winning or losing games by at least-20 point margins demonstrates the Mavs’ need to concentrate on defense perfectly.
As Jason told the Dallas Morning News:
“When we play good defense, we win.”
Down by six early, the Mavs went on a 21-8 run to end the first quarter, putting the game firmly in their control. J-Kidd finished the game with a solid all-around effort with 3 points, 7 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
Coach Carlisle talked about a key defensive adjustment of putting Jason on Jackson:
“I don’t know what the defensive number was, but I imagine we held them in the high 30’s low 40’s shooting. When we do that our offense is always good. We shoot in the 47-48 range. Stops are always going to lead to good things for us and I thought also in the second quarter, Kidd had to play a lot of minutes in the first half, because of Barea got the three quick fouls, so I thought when he switched over the Jackson that was a key period because he was able to keep in front a little better than we had and you know, he was able to come up with some things to get us going. It was scary when Jackson got off to a 6-for-8 start and hit a couple of three’s. I’ve coached him before and he is capable of nights like that, where he goes for 35 and just throws in shots from everywhere. You know, after he was off to the real hot start, he only ended up 7-for-14 which I think was a tribute to how we sort of zeroed in on him and it looked like he got a little tired there too.”
STILL LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY
Jason knows that the key to the Mavs success, particularly if there’s going to be a post-season, rests with more consistent basketball.
As J.Kidd told Hoops World:
“We’ve been two teams. We’ve got to be consistent and we’re fighting to do that. We’ve had some no-shows. If we want to make the playoffs, we have to play every night.”
NEXT UP
The Mavs hit the road again for a quick two game trip. After another 2-day rest, they face the Miami Heat Saturday 5:30 pm.
RELATED STORIES
Warriors 93, Mavs 117 (ESPN.com, Jan. 28th, 2009)
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290128006
The Mavs are officially the league’s most inconsistent defensive team (Dallas Morning News, Jan. 29th, 2009)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/the-mavs-are-officially-the-leagues-most.html
Postgame Quotes January 28, vs. Warriors (NBA.com, Jan. 28th, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/mavericks/matchup/pgq_012809.html
Terry helps Mavericks cruise past Warriors (Hoops World, Jan. 28th, 2009)
http://www.hoopsworld.com/TheWireStory.asp?id=16024