It wasn’t long after the Mavericks’ 99-93 Game 1 loss to Utah when Jason Kidd zeroed in on the major difference-maker.
“They didn’t score 100 points and when you do that in today’s basketball, it tends to give you a chance to win,” Kidd said. “But we just didn’t have enough offensive power.”
It’s hard to fault the Mavericks’ game plan for the best-of-seven series opener. They gave themselves a chance. Defense and a grind-it-out offense were the ways to make up for the absence of their superstar.
If the biggest adjustments in a playoff series happen between games 1 and 2, the biggest one the Mavericks could make doesn’t involve strategy.