Lone ranger gambles on "Eastern Europe" in a desperate situation The final 5 games will determine whether Irving leaves

This article was compiled from: The Athletic

Written by Tim Cato

原标题：For Luka, Kyrie and these Mavericks, time is running out

After the Lone Ranger's loss to the 76ers, their record went to 37-40, finishing 11th in the West and dropping out of the play-off zone.

Cuban traded Irving in a mid-season trade, but the combination of Doncic + Irving did not bring victory, and the team fell all the way down the rankings!

If the Lone Ranger can't even qualify for the play-offs, the waiting for the Lone Ranger may be an empty bamboo basket~

1. The same 76ers, but the ending is the opposite

Just four weeks ago, Eastern Europe scored 82 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in the main game. That night, the two both cut 40+, showing the terrifying offensive firepower of the "league first" backcourt combination. With the blessing of this state, the Dallas Mavericks seem to be able to easily enter the playoffs, and even become a spoiler, laying the foundation for continuing to impact the playoffs in the future.

However, today's lone ranger is a surprise.

Wednesday was also against the 76ers, with the Mavericks losing 108-116 while falling out of the playoffs with a 37-40 record. In this game, they took a double-digit lead in the first three quarters several times, but still collapsed in the final quarter. It was also the 13th time this season they had been reversed after establishing a double-digit advantage. Doncic and Irving scored just 24 and 23 points, respectively, a far cry from their fiery performance a month ago. Now to get back to the play-offs, they must seize every opportunity in their remaining five regular season games.

2. The Eastern European combination sacrifices the depth of the team

But in reality, it's not fair to blame "Eastern Europe" for the loss, given that the Mavericks have been lacking quality rotation and defensive talent this season. In this game against the 76ers, for example, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kléber combined for 2 of 12 three-pointers, and Josh Green never found his place on the court. When "Eastern Europe" was wrapped, teammates made a lot of open opportunities, but the team's 39.1% shooting percentage of 46 from three-point range was not enough to keep the Lone Rangers leading in the fourth quarter.

'We have to play to our strengths and if the star is wrapped, everyone else gets the chance.' Lone Rangers head coach Jason Kidd foresaw everything during his pregame media conference, "Role players have to take these opportunities. ”

In fact, the "Eastern European" combination also established some chemistry on the field. However, the two have been absent due to injuries in the past few weeks, and the two have not been so close on the field. As the two strongest scorers in the league, it is simply harder for the opponent to stop "Eastern Europe" than to climb to the sky, especially considering that they have only played together for half a season, and there is room for further development in the future. This season, "Eastern Europe" is already the league's most efficient backcourt double. When they were on the floor at the same time, the Lone Ranger scored 121.4 points per 100 rounds.

3. The offensive firepower of the Eastern European combination is not enough to make up for the holes on the defensive end

Kidd briefly met with "Eastern Europe" ahead of Monday's game against the Pacers. Although the Lone Rangers defeated the Pacers that day, they were 4-9 when "Eastern Europe" played at the same time. Kidd said that the main reason why the "Eastern Europe" combination fell short of expectations was the team's lack of defensive resources, which made them play hard.

"We need to put more effort into the defensive end." Kidd said before Wednesday's game, "We're going to build on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. On the offensive end, Eastern Europe will play a lot with others; on the defensive end, Eastern Europe also needs to be integrated into our defensive system. ”

Now, the Lone Ranger is at a low point of the season. At this point, Kidd's conversations with the two dominant stars may be beneficial to improve the entire team. However, in 13 games, is it a bit less for Kidd to set up only 45 "Eastern European blocking" tactics? Assuming that these two offensive geniuses are placed on one point, the defender will only be caught in a dilemma, which will bring more offensive value to the team.

To this, Kidd responded: "I don't think the 'Eastern Europe block' is really effective in hitting the opponent's defensive weakness, because generally the opposing team will send the two best defenders to target 'Eastern Europe' by changing defenses." ”

4. The Lone Ranger's dilemma is not just a matter of tactics

There is also some truth in Kidd's point. After all, when Doncic is caught in the ball when calling for a block, the surrounding teammates will find open opportunities by passing the ball, and the team also needs Irving to wait for opportunities on the weak side to form an offensive threat on the other side.

In fact, the Lone Ranger also tried to get Doncic to cover for Irving. It's a move that doesn't seem common to defenders, as Doncic tends to be lazy when playing off the ball. In the example below, Irving found Doncic, who was down, and then Doncic misplaced Melton and ended up with an easy layup (note: Doncic waited for Embiid to leave the three-second zone before moving toward the baseline, and Melton didn't wait for the defense from the bottom line).

But offense is not the main cause of the Lone Ranger's embarrassment. Although in the offensive round, the Lone Ranger is not perfect: sometimes players can't make good use of space on the field, and sometimes role players don't dare to make moves, which is a problem. In fact, the Lone Ranger's fall out of the playoffs was caused by several factors: the limitations of Kidd's coaching, management's short-sighted recruitment maneuvers in the summer, and so on.

5. Losing the play-offs + losing Irving is the worst outcome

Perhaps it is a false proposition that we are here to study the untapped potential of the "Eastern European" combination. First, the Lone Ranger's season could be over in five games. Second, this summer, Irving may leave the Lone Rangers as an unrestricted free agent, and the "Eastern Europe" combination will naturally cease to exist.

Or maybe it doesn't make much sense to study the Lone Ranger's season, because the decisions Irving makes after the season will affect the team again, although it may be too early to think about it.

This season, when the Mavericks first played the 76ers, the team looked like it was building a whole new culture. But right now, the outlook for this team is somewhat bleak, and the "Eastern Europe" combination may only have five games left.