Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images Dallas may very well win this series, but they do not have the ability to make a deep playoff run with the team as currently constructed. The Dallas Mavericks 116-111 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday in Game 4 was a soul-crushing defeat for everyone involved. From the fans who paid significantly over retail price for their seats, to the players on the court, Game 4’s legacy will be another example of a team digging too deep a hole to overcome. Except, the Mavericks did climb out of the hole. Dallas somehow found a way to take a 105-104 lead late in the fourth quarter after being down 31 points in the first half. Kyrie Irving scored 40 points in the final three frames after going scoreless in the first and the Mavericks looked poised to complete one of the most impressive comebacks in NBA Playoffs history. And then, as quick as hope arose, it was crushed. A mixture of questionable defensive assignments, unorthodox offensive possessions, and insane shot making from Paul George cultivated in a six-point loss in a game the Mavericks should have won. In a game where Dallas found a way to claw out of a seemingly-insurmountable hole, they couldn’t get it done. It’s not the slow start I’m upset with. Los Angeles started the game on an unreal shooting stretch, sometimes that happens. Sometimes, a team just can’t miss and you lose. It’s how the Mavericks lost Game 1. But Sunday was different. Dallas cut a 31-point deficit to two in just over 15 minutes of game time. They had the Clippers on the ropes — not just for the game, but for the series — late in the third quarter. A win would have put Dallas up 3-1 heading back to Los Angeles and completely demoralized an LA team desperate for oxygen. But when they had a chance to take the lead late in the third, they faltered. A Kyrie missed three turned into a Clippers 12-3 run that pushed LA’s lead back to 11. The Mavericks had come almost all the way back, but couldn’t keep their focus long enough to get the job done. Instead, they’d created another double digit hole to crawl out of. And against all odds, they somehow climbed out of that hole as well — only to give up four straight floaters to James Harden down the stretch to kill any momentum of a comeback. Paul George’s late three-pointer will be the highlight that’s shown for this game, but there’s nothing you can do in that spot. Derrick Jones Jr. did everything he could do on that shot and George just made it. But the game didn’t end there. Dallas had the ball down two and missed a layup before giving up two of the aforementioned four floaters to Harden. And to clarify, my criticism isn’t solely on coach Jason Kidd and the coaching staff. Lineup adjustments and defensive switches may have made a difference in this game, but I don’t think it would have mattered because Sunday’s loss presented the team and its fans with an uncomfortable truth. This team, as currently constructed and with Luka Dončić not at 100% with his injury, does not have what it takes to make a deep playoff run. Real teams pounce when there’s blood in the water. Real contenders keep pounding their opponent’s ribs when they’re on the ropes. The 2011 Mavericks would have punched the Clippers in the mouth and won this game by seven. They just don’t know how to close the door on a team fighting for its life. You don’t get many chances in a playoff series to seize control off one win. Dallas had that chance Sunday and let it slip away. Can they still win this series? Absolutely. Los Angeles has shown they can go incredibly cold on the defensive end and the Mavericks still have Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić. But real teams know how to throw that knockout punch. The Dallas Mavericks don’t. At least not yet. You can listen to our latest podcast episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Pocketcasts, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox. https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/ ... =generator
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Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/4/28 ... -mavericks