Last season, one of the great strengths of Mavericks was to succeed in winning the close matches. Behind the duo Luka Doncic – Kyrie Irving, Dallas had won 71.9% of matches when there was less than five points difference in the last five minutes. That is 23 victories for 9 defeats.
Only the Lakers (24 wins – 9 losses) were more “clutch” than Jason Kidd’s men in the regular season.
A completely reversed situation at the start of the season, where the Mavericks have had a series of short defeats. Last night, they were still +6 in the last four minutes, before being subjected to the law of Stephen Curry.
“There are about four matches that could have gone in our favor” assures Klay Thompson. “This one hurts because we were +7 in the last four minutes. But I am still proud of the team, which fought. We're still getting to know each other and I keep telling the guys that it's better to experience this early in the season, rather than the 60th game. I know that we have the means to achieve great things. »
Luka Doncic's bad choices
This record of 1 victory for 5 defeats in the “clutch” is partly explained by the very questionable choices of Luka Doncic, who only shoots 4/12 in these particularly important minutes, including 2/8 from distance. His final brick to try to snatch the extension illustrating his lack of effectiveness in “money-time” at the moment.
“It lasts 82 matches” tempers the Slovenian. “People forget it. We come to a single possession. We could have won three games in a row, but it's my fault. I didn't put things together at the end. I just have to be better in the decisive moments. »
Because the change compared to last season is spectacular, even if the sample is necessarily smaller and the Mavericks have ample opportunity to catch up.
“Last year, we had a very strong team in clutch moments. This year, not really” recognizes Luka Doncic. “I think we lost three games in a row by one possession, against very good teams, title candidates. There are a lot of positives. When you play with rhythm, it's very hard to stop. »
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