No Devin Harris. No Deron Williams. No chance.
Without their top two defensive point guards, the Mavs were hapless against Atlanta’s Jeff Teague Monday night.
The Hawks’ guard drove the basket when he wanted and spent the entire night shooting – and making – uncontested 3-pointers that led to a 32-point performance and a 15-point victory.
Harris is the Mavs’ quickest perimeter defender, but he’s missed the last six games with a sprained toe. Williams, coming off a 27-point performance in a win Sunday night in Dallas, left in the first quarter after a violent hip-to-hip collision.
That left Dallas with only J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton to stay in front of Teague. And for all their hustle and grit and desire, those two guards just aren’t going to slow down any of the NBA’s top point guards for any extended amount of time.
The Mavs, seeking to go six games over .500 for the first time this season, came out flat against a Hawks team that had lost three in-a-row. They missed 23 of their first 29 shots, managed only 15 points in the first quarter and never got closer than four in the second half.
Now the bigger concern is Williams’ health. Without him, the Mavs’ defense will be severely handicapped.
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“I don’t know anything about a timetable,” said head coach Rick Carlisle. “But I’m concerned.”
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
