The Dallas Mavericks, or at least the summer version of themselves, knocked off Cam Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night to win their first game of the Las Vegas Summer League. As the old adage goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and that should be true of any grandiose Summer League takes from Dallas’ first three games.
Dallas, TX
4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 8-1 loss to the Dallas Stars: ‘We have to get stronger mentally’
DALLAS — The Chicago Blackhawks ushered in the new year by getting ushered out of Dallas via a two-game weekend sweep.
Whereas Friday’s loss to the Stars was a roller-coaster ride that was settled with 8 seconds left in overtime, Sunday’s 8-1 loss at American Airlines Center was all but a foregone conclusion after a three-goal first period and two-goal second.
The Hawks entered the rematch knowing what to look for: odd-man rushes.
The problem was, the Stars hardly left the offensive zone, so they did most of their damage from below the blue line.
Craig Smith deflected in Sam Steel’s snipe for the game’s opening goal.
Ryan Suter and Tyler Seguin scored two minutes apart.
The Hawks had a few of their best chances during a second-period push.
Ryan Donato backhanded a backdoor pass to Jason Dickinson but Dickinson couldn’t capitalize. Isaak Phillips had a short-range wrister.
A blast from Lukas Reichel couldn’t find its mark, and Nick Foligno tried a wraparound.
Nada.
Then the Stars collected themselves and continued the onslaught.
Sam Steel blew through the Hawks defense to score on a roofer, and Mason Marchment scored on the power play to pad the lead to 5-0.
The Hawks must’ve had a heart-to-heart or drew up a play in chalk or something during the second intermission.
Philipp Kurashev scored a power-play goal on a tick-tack-toe from Connor Bedard and Cole Guttman 39 seconds into the final frame.
But that glimmer of hope faded quickly when Roope Hintz batted in a rebound goal out of midair.
Petr Mrázek got the hook and Arvid Söderblom got the nod.
He didn’t emerge unscathed either. Marchment bagged his second and third goals of the night in the final 5 1/2 minutes.
The Hawks played a dismal first period, allowed 35 shots, committed three penalties and generally looked worse after getting a second crack at the same team.
And they gave up a hat trick to Marchment, just like they gave Roope Hintz a hat trick on Friday.
[ [Don’t miss] ‘Dumb play by me’: Connor Bedard learns valuable lessons from a split-second decision that led to a Chicago Blackhawks OT loss ]
So what did they learn?
“We have to get stronger mentally and learn to play a little simpler, to the game plan, and getting pucks behind the team, forecheck them well, and then we have to be on top of our checks everywhere,” coach Luke Richardson said.
“We can’t hang behind them,” he said. “We don’t have the wheels for it, the strength for it yet, as individuals or as a team, to play loose run-and-gun hockey.
“We just got to be stronger to sit with our game plan for 60 minutes, not 15 or 45, which has happened lately.”
Tyler Johnson left in the second with an apparent leg injury.
“He’ll probably be out for a little time,” Richardson said.
Here are four takeaways.
Foligno often gives animated postgame gut-check whenever the team has a bad performance, but he was practically apoplectic after an 8-1 beating.
“That is really, really disappointing,” he said. He expected the same “compete” the Hawks showed Friday and didn’t get it.
“My only hope for a game like today is we just finally hammer it through our thick heads how we’re going to need to play, and that is not it. That is just not who we are, not who we can be. That’s not what we expect in the room, that’s not what our fans should expect.
“That’s what pisses me off. That’s not a winning team, that’s just a team hoping. Hoping, ‘Ah, maybe it’s an easy night. Maybe the other team doesn’t have it.’ Are you kidding me? That team’s record, and we’re going to play like that? I’m sorry, just that one is really, really frustrating with the strides we think we’ve been making.”
Foligno mentioned “easy” again: “Tonight it was just like we were hoping to have an easy game. Who are we to have an easy game right now?”
So what does he mean by “easy”?
“Just the compete,” Foligno said. “You watch our puck battles, our battles in front, our changes, the way we change.
“Things that sometimes you can get away with here and there, but when a team like that is playing against you that’s structured, that’s older, that has had winning habits and understands the game, you’re going to get picked apart, and that’s what it was tonight.”
Kevin Korchinski broke the puck out, drop-passed to Bedard in the neutral zone and made two Stars defenders bump into each other as Bedard passed to Kurashev.
Kurashev hit Cole Guttman and drifted backward, Guttman passed to Bedard, and Bedard threaded a backdoor pass to Kurashev for the goal.
Richardson said the execution on the power play hadn’t been great to that point, “so Derek Plante talked to them and kind of fine-tuned it a little bit.
“But that was more their individual skill, making that line rush on that goal and it was a nice goal,” he said. “But a little bit too late for us to play with that kind of fire.”
Tinordi was benched Friday after a terrible night culminated in him getting turnstiled on a third-period goal.
It was worse for Phillips.
He was on the ice for six of the Stars’ eight goals.
He got caught flat-footed by Steel before Steel backhanded a roof shot past Mrázek. Mason Marchment whipped in a power-play goal from the low slot while Phillips wasn’t scrambling to find the puck between his legs.
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Richardson said he told Phillips that he had a strong game on Friday.
“And then tonight, just on the wrong side of guys and not aware,” Richardson said. “I think when things start to go bad, kind of like what we talked about with Tinordi last game, it seemed to go like that with Philly.
“I think he started to guess a little bit instead of just playing and doing his job and trusting everybody else, and when teams and individuals start doing that, it breaks down.”
It’s the much-maligned plus-minus rating.
Sure, there’s some fluke factor baked into the stat. But that can’t totally explain away Vlasic’s team-leading plus-10 rating entering Sunday’s game, especially because he’s not exactly a big contributor on offense.
“I was not aware of it,” Vlasic said about the stat. “You know, there’s going to be times where you get lucky and you’re on the ice when your team scores. And then there’s going to be times when you get unlucky and you’re on the ice and the other team scores.
“It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault or whatever, so it’s not always an accurate representation of how people are playing. But I like to take pride in just shutting down things defensively and then trying to contribute a little bit offensively.”
Dallas, TX
Mavericks vs Thunder Game Preview and Injury Update
The Dallas Mavericks play on Thursday afternoon at 3pm on Amazon Prime against the Summer Oklahoma City Thunder. Honestly, I forgot about this game, regular work day and all for me, and I suspect most Mavs fans won’t be catching this one either. But in case you do, here’s a discussion board:
I have no idea who isn’t playing. I hope Morez Johnson does but calf injuries are serious.
The Grizzlies game was fun. Here’s hoping this one is too. How’s that for a game preview. If any of the guys drafted in Dallas plays, then that’s a good thing. We want to see them play basketball.
Dallas, TX
Big picture takeaways from the Dallas Mavericks first week at Summer League
Nonetheless, after attending the Mavericks’ first game in Vegas and loosely watching the last two, there are at least some big picture thoughts that I think could matter as we get closer to the NBA’s regular season.
The rooks have impressed far more than the sophomores
It’s not like Dallas was in a position where they needed a second-year guy to come to Vegas and show that they’re too good for Summer League. Cooper Flagg showed plenty enough last year in route to winning Rookie of the Year to avoid playing in Vegas again. The Mavericks did, however, bring each of their three two-way contract players to Vegas, and the results have been mixed at best.
Ryan Nembhard was legitimately terrible against the Lakers on Saturday night, with five turnovers complimenting his 3-for-11 night from the floor. John Poulakidas has been fine, albeit the shot has been a bit uninspiring after yet another 1-for-4 showing against Memphis on Monday. And then there’s Tyler Smith, who received a DNP – coaches decision on Monday against the Grizzlies after playing just 28 combined minutes in the first two contests.
Meanwhile, Morez Johnson Jr. had 27 points in game one, Sergio de Larrea just dropped 16 points and 12 assists in the win over Memphis, Tobi Lawal is doing some fun athletic stuff, and Seva Ishchenko has been better than I thought in his three games of action. That juxtaposition leaves Dallas in an interesting spot as they evaluate what the end of the roster will look like.
Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio de Larrea two-man actions should be a bench-group staple
One of the more intriguing things about the first two games was seeing the synergy of the Mavericks two first round selections. In game one against the Warriors, Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio de Larrea hooked up for a couple of excellent possessions, with Johnson Jr. slipping a screen and de Larrea throwing an excellent pass, resulting in nice finishes at the rim.
As Sergio continued to get increasingly comfortable, you saw the best of him against Memphis. Twelve assists against that Memphis group is quite salty! De Larrea showed off his vision and passing creativity, throwing several pinpoint lobs for dunks. Of course, as the pair learns to scale this into the NBA there will be some challenges. But as an early return, I like the idea of this two-man tandem alongside Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.
Seva Ishchenko isn’t ready for the NBA… yet
I’m actually more impressed with Ishchenko after the first week in Vegas than I thought! He’s been a pleasant surprise to watch, as he hasn’t been as overwhelmed athletically as many have feared. Granted, it’s been very hit or miss on that, but on the whole, he’s fit in quite nicely.
Another year or two of seasoning for The Big Lebowski would do him very well. The Mavericks should be angling for him to end up in a stronger European league than where he was last year, playing for Lokomotiv in Russia. Ishchenko needs to get stronger, which will help him overcome the issues he’s had finishing at the rim during the first week of Summer League. But there have been glimpses of what the vision there is. Here’s to hoping the Mavs can play the long game here.
Dallas, TX
Timothée Chalamet ‘Starstruck’ by Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Card-carrying SAG member Timothée Chalamet was “starstruck” to meet the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders — doubtless due to their impressive collective bargaining skills, as depicted in docuseries America’s Sweethearts. Or because they’re classic Americana, either way. The Cheerleaders and Anna Kate Sundvold posted a video of Chalamet meeting the group and expressing his starstruckedness. “Imagine when he finds out that every single one of these dancers trained in ballet…” one commenter wryly snarked.
Chalamet was in Dallas for the FIFA World Cup, watching the France vs. Spain game. He wore a France jacket to the event, eliciting cheers and boos at Dallas Stadium in equal measure according to People. So Mr. Knicks met the cheerleaders for America’s football team at a fútbol match? Is there a single sport this guy isn’t stumping for? We eagerly await learning Timmy’s favorites in hockey, lacrosse, and individualized synchronized swimming (it’s real, look it up).
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