The playoffs, for all practical purposes, have already started for the NBA.
Maybe not officially. But when it comes to hard lessons learned, Friday night’s overtime loss to Houston was a brutal reminder that the Mavericks still have lots to learn, especially when it comes to executing in crunch time when the stakes are higher.
Late-game savvy was a problem before the season was interrupted. And it remained a problem as they lost a seven-point lead in the final minute and got beat 153-149 by the Rockets in their first game back after 4½ months sidelined by the coronavirus.