Thunder VS Mavericks G1
The format of the G1 match between the two teams is not much different from what was expected in the preview, so I will simply write about it today.
The G1 Mavericks did some of the things they needed to do, mainly three things:
The first is to let SGA and Jaylen go to the middle distance and not so easy to play. In this game, the Thunder shot 53.6% from the basket and 34.6% from mid-range, both of which were not high. SGA has the ability to frequently go to the free throw line, which can't be helped, but the Mavericks' alignment strength and basket protection are generally given, and the results of interior and forward upgrades are received. SGA and Jalen were able to shoot three-pointers with the ball in the middle of the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter — including open three-point responses from other puzzle pieces — which is the same scenario as the first-round "originally held on both sides, but the Thunder suddenly opened the game";
The second one, let Giddey go down. Although it didn't appear in the opening game, the picture of the center defending Giddey was taken out by Kidd as the game progressed. Giddey failed to continue the feel of the first round, and the Mavericks caught up with the score in the first half of the third quarter due to constipation. Then Dagneault made a change, and Isaiah Joe came on the pitch and hit a triple set. In the fourth quarter, Carson Wallace and Wiggins made one shot, and the Mavericks sent it. But in any case, the Lone Ranger can also be regarded as seeing the second form of Thunder;
In the third, he tried to suppress the outside shots of the first two and a half shooters. PJ-Washington and Jones Jr. combined for three three-pointers. That's not the point, the point is, they only made six threes combined. Both of them were released and handed over to a decent deal under their respective abilities. The Mavericks are not big enough for the Thunder to try to lean the game in the direction of "main attacker shooting" and "finishing under the basket if they are in good health", which fits their strengths.
But none of that was enough to beat the Thunder.
The Mavericks defend against the Thunder, and the smooth plot is to use the forward body size and interior basket protection to try to suppress the performance of SGA, Jalen, and Chet in the near basket area, so that the Thunder can rely on the three-point line to solve the set. In this part, the Mavericks did what they could, and the Thunder responded to the three-point shot and did what they had to do. Both sides handed in qualified answers on this end, and the Thunder were at least a tie.
Therefore, if the Mavericks want to win, they must also smooth their offensive logic, that is, use the long-distance ball-holding and shooting ability of Eastern Europe, combine the ball with the center to go down, and open up the depth of the middle. To do this, the first thing that needs to be Doncic is to play dominant.
In this game, Doncic passed some good balls, but Gafford couldn't put them in through the guard (fortunately, the free throws were okay), Doncic's own efficiency was even lower, he continued to be unable to hit the jump shot, and only scored 4 goals outside the reasonable collision zone. This is very fatal, which means that one end and one end of the main artery in the middle have not completed the task. If this situation continues, PJ Washington and Jones Jr. will not have a good time, they will be less tested to shoot, and in the end, they will still need to solve as many battles as possible in the middle.
It is certainly not easy to maintain a high level of performance with Dort's grappling and Chet's co-defense. But this is an objective existence that Doncic can't escape. Some people questioned why the Mavericks didn't target Joe's single defense when Daigneault freed up space with Isaiah Joe.
In fact, Doncic named Joe for the first time. But as mentioned in the preview, Doncic's pick-and-roll outside the No. 5 position in this series is very difficult, because you have a finishing center inside, and it is not difficult for the Thunder to protect the perimeter single defense weakness. The Thunder's way to protect Joe was to pinch Doncic directly and let him play the ball to Josh Green at the top of the arc. Usually the three-point production at the top of the arc is not high, and Josh Green, who only shot one three-pointer at the top of the arc in the playoffs before today, is not what the Thunder are afraid of when he makes a three-point shot.
Therefore, Doncic is destined to ram the steel plate in this round, and for the Mavericks to win, the necessary condition is that Doncic can still play dominance when he rams the steel plate. Whether he can overcome his knee injury and pick up his hand in the rest of the game will be decisive for the Mavericks.
The impact of Kleber's absence was felt in G1. In addition to not being able to play the roll call when the Thunder took Joe, the 2-of-10 shooting of Hardaway and Exum was also particularly eye-catching, and Kleber's crosshairs in the last round were missed. The bench puzzle relies more on outside shooting than Washington and Jones, and is less capable of fighting defense, so they need to be more accurate in the next game.
Overall, G1 was a game in which the Thunder successfully responded to the Mavericks' defensive efforts, and the Mavericks themselves failed to complete their own offensive fundamentals. Both of these things can be variable, with the harder one being Doncic's own hand. Since he started playing in the playoffs, we haven't seen such a sluggish Doncic, and this season's regular season has been his strongest season with the ball. It is precisely for this reason that the direction of team building that the Lone Ranger is currently taking has a certain degree of rationality.
Doncic needs to prove that he still has the ability to carry without relying on the outside five in the playoffs despite the intensity of the defense. If he can do it, he will have no regrets about losing the series, and the Mavericks will continue to repair the roster in the future.
If you can't do it, the Lone Ranger still has to wonder if there is an upgraded version of the fellow on the market.