Once again, slow starts and clutch time woes haunt the Mavericks in their 122-120 loss to the Denver Nuggets. After Denver started the game hot, the Mavericks battled back from down double-digits to take multiple leads at different times of the game.
Despite having all the momentum at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Dallas once again choked when it mattered most. A common theme this season has been the Mavericks’ lack of defensive rebounding, and this once again came back to hurt them in the last five minutes of the game in Denver.
While rebounding came to the detriment of the Mavericks’ lack of boxing out, the team’s perimeter defense didn’t help whatsoever as Denver hit 48 percent of their threes attempted.
After returning from a seven-game absence, the Mavericks were getting much-needed bench depth with the addition of Maxi Kleber to Sunday’s lineup. Kleber was listed as doubtful before last night’s game but was upgraded to available for the first time since the second game of the season.
Kleber’s addition to Dallas’ lineup should be seen as an instant positive with his defensive capabilities and ability to stretch the floor on the offensive end. Despite just getting upgraded to available before the game, Kleber’s presence would still be considered a positive on both ends of the floor given the Mavericks’ lack of forward depth with all the injuries the team has faced over the last two weeks.
Throughout the game, it became clear that the Mavericks’ lack of attention around the perimeter was beginning to hurt the team after Denver’s hot start to the game. Inserting Kleber may not have been the instant switch fans wanted to stop the Nuggets’ lethal shooting from deep, but he could have contributed positively.
Instead, Jason Kidd refused to put the veteran forward in at all during the game, and when he was asked later that night why Kleber didn’t see any playing time, Kidd responded by saying “it was a coach’s decision.”
Refusing to play Kleber due to health concerns is one thing but not inserting the German forward in when the team is having rebound and defensive lapses is a whole other thing.
It’s unclear if Kleber dressed with the anticipation he was not going to be playing in Sunday night’s game, but refusing to play Kleber when the team was struggling to rebound and defend the ball past the 3-point line should fall on Kidd.
Despite losing in yet another close game, Dallas held on to the very last second but with six seconds left, the Mavericks hoisted a low-percentage shot for the win which ended up clanking off the front iron of the rim.
Going forward Kleber will need to be a huge part of the Mavericks’ success if they wish to milk out the full potential of Dallas’ team.
The Mavericks will have yet another tough matchup as they play the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night in San Francisco to tip off the NBA’s second-ever NBA Cup tournament.
