The Whiteboard: The Dallas Mavericks are back, and better than last season

Ja Morant was nine points into a fourth-quarter takeover when Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd made one last adjustment. Down five with 3:12 left the game, Luka Doncic answered Morant’s 3-pointer with one of his own. As Dallas got back on defense, P.J. Washington took the Morant assignment.

Washington fought through a Marcus Smart screen, slid his feet and forced Morant into a tough fadeaway jumper. On the next Memphis Grizzlies possession, Washington forced Morant to pass it away from the baseline. Washington and the Mavericks defense buckled down over this final stretch, powering a 13-0 run that swung Tuesday night’s 121-116 win.

Morant, who scored 31 points and was mostly sensational, was taken out of the game during that decisive stretch. The Grizzlies shot 1 for 8 in the final three minutes, besides Morant’s pointless heave in the dwindling seconds of the game.

P.J. Washington's defensive impact

Washington is Kidd’s defensive joker, capable of matching up on all kinds of players. Kidd slotted Washington on MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a win in Oklahoma City last month, but also had him guard Lauri Markkanen and Karl-Anthony Towns last week.

On Tuesday, the Grizzlies scored just three points on 13 possessions when Washington defended Morant. Memphis scored 59 points on the other 53 possessions when Morant was matched up with a different Mavericks defender.

The Mavericks have won nine of their last 10 games to climb to third place in the West. They are fourth in offensive rating and eighth in defensive rating during that stretch.

The Mavericks defense isn’t perfect – and wasn’t in the final minutes vs Memphis – but it doesn’t have to be when Doncic is playing at an MVP level and surrounded by shot-makers like Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Spencer Dinwiddie.

Spencer Dinwiddie is a great fit

If Washington was the late-game defensive hero on Tuesday, then Dinwiddie was his Robin. He closed the game over Thompson, who struggled as he was dealing with the lingering effects of left foot plantar fascia. 

Dinwiddie’s defense was a plus over Thompson. He and Dereck Lively II connected for a clutch defensive stop while Washington was occupied with Morant. The Grizzlies queued up a pick-and-roll between Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. Dindwiddie denied the middle of the court and switched onto Jackson and Lively stepped up to contest Bane’s long 2-pointer. It was after this stop that Dinwiddie made his first consecutive 3-pointers, which gave the Mavericks a five-point lead with 70 seconds remaining.

Dereck Lively II is taking a leap

Memphis made 15 of 30 shots (50%) in the paint when Lively was on the court, compared to 14 of 22 (63.6%) in the 16 minutes he was on the bench.

Lively’s effort on the boards (11 rebounds, six offensive) was the biggest reason the Mavericks won the rebounding battle against the league’s top rebounding teams. (Dallas actually ranks first in rebounding rate during this 10-game stretch. Lively has been awesome, but so has the team’s dedication to taking care of the glass.)

Because the Mavericks play three guards as often as they do, Lively, Daniel Gafford and Washington must hold up as the backbone of the defense. The consequence of signing Thompson and Dinwiddie this offseason and committing to playing that style was that it put even more responsibility on Lively to take a leap on the defensive end in his second season.

That leap is happening. The Mavs defense allows 12.4 points fewer every 100 possessions when Lively is on the court, per Cleaning the Glass. Their defensive rating of 103.5 in those minutes would rank first in the NBA for the season.

After a listless start, the Mavericks are surging. Doncic, back from a recent five-game absence, posted 30 points in back-to-back games, and the Mavs have notched statement wins over some of the league’s best, like Memphis, Oklahoma City, New York and Denver. Their only loss during this stretch was an overtime game in Miami without Doncic. 

Dallas, Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Memphis are the only teams to rank in the top 10 in offensive and defensive rating for the season, and the Mavericks have the league’s best net rating (plus-10) over this 10-game stretch. The team that won the Western Conference last season is back, and they are better.

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NBA news roundup

• Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant left Tuesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs early after turning his left ankle in the second quarter. Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game it is too soon to know if Durant will miss any additional time. “We’ll have to evaluate him in the morning and see how he feels, see how he does overnight,” he said.
• Scottie Barnes scored a career-high 35 points in the Toronto Raptors’ win over the Indiana Pacers.
• Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt is targeting an early January return after experiencing a setback in his return from a left knee injury, according to ESPN.

NBA Cup knockout round preview

The knockout round of the NBA Cup is set. The eight-team, bracket-style tournament will begin Dec. 10. Teams will play one game to decide who advances to the semifinals and championship rounds in Las Vegas later this month.

In the East, the no. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks will host the no. 4 seed Orlando Magic, and the no. 2 seed New York Knicks will host the no. 3 seed Atlanta Hawks.

In the West, the no. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder will host the no. 4 seed Dallas Mavericks, while the no. 2 seed Houston Rockets will host the no. 3 seed Golden State Warriors.

The Knicks and Thunder are the betting favorites, with the Bucks and Warriors after them. But why not the Rockets?

As we saw with last season’s Indiana Pacers, young teams can surprise the field and make a March Madness-like run through the one-and-done tournament. 

The Rockets went 3-1 and posted the third-best point differential in group play. They have the league’s third-best defensive rating and, already this season, have wins over Dallas and Oklahoma City. If they can beat the Warriors, who they were beating by 31 before losing the lead and the game in overtime earlier this season, they would have to advance to the final.

The NBA Cup is unpredictable, but here’s my prediction: Bucks over Rockets.