If Shooting Improves, Mavericks Just May Have an Outside Chance

There must have been times during Sunday’s game when the Dallas Mavericks believed that the basketball had a mind of its own. One moment, Mark Aguirre was driving to the basket for a layup. Next thing he knew, the ball somehow had left his hand and sailed over the backboard.

Going back down the court, Aguirre looked at his outstretched hands in disbelief, as if they had betrayed him.

Later, after the Lakers completed their easy 130-116 victory over Dallas in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, many of the Mavericks had to be wondering what strange force had altered their normally accurate outside shooting.

The Mavericks made 44.3% of their shots, which actually wasn’t bad considering the horrendous way they began the game. Dallas shot just 27% in the first quarter, when the Lakers first took control.

By halftime, the Mavericks had improved their shooting to 35%, but by the time they shot 63% in the fourth quarter, it didn’t really matter anymore.

Dallas’ trio of Mark Aguirre (14 points), Rolando Blackman (11) and Sam Perkins (8), which usually constitutes nearly all the Maverick offense, combined to shoot 29.5%. Perkins made just 4 of 17 shots, Aguirre 4 of 13 and Blackman 5 of 14.

Just as the Mavericks did not make many of their shots, they did not make many excuses afterward in the locker room. No one had to tell them that they will have to make their outside shots to have any shot at beating the Lakers.

“Let’s be honest,” Blackman said. “We can’t run with the Lakers. We have to execute our offense and make our shots or else. You know what the Lakers can do when they get the missed shots and get the fast break going.

“If we continue not to shoot well, it’s going to be a short series.”

Until now, the Mavericks have been able to survive poor shooting. In the first three games of their first-round playoff series against Utah, the Mavericks shot just 44% and still held a 2-1 series lead. Last Friday night, they broke out of the slump by sinking 56%, thereby sinking the Jazz.

It turned out that the Mavericks’ hot shooting was only temporary.

“We had good shots--we just didn’t connect,” Perkins said. “I wasn’t feeling like I was cold. The shots just weren’t falling. My confidence is still there. I’m not worried about it. I’ll be back.”

Part of the Mavericks’ problem Sunday was that the ball was in Perkins’ hands too often. Perkins attempted 17 shots, all but a few from the perimeter. That’s because the Lakers would sometimes double-team or overplay Aguirre and Blackman and force the Mavericks to go to other offensive resources.

“Every time I put the ball on the floor, there were two guys on me,” Blackman said. “They are switching a lot, and that bothers you. It’s a tough situation.

“But still, some of the shots were there and we had them open. We were missing from outside. Maybe we have to be a little more aggressive and go to the basket.”

Aguirre, who stands only 6-6, likes to work inside, but the Lakers took away his effectiveness there by having power forwards Kurt Rambis and Maurice Lucas alternate on him. That left James Worthy to tend to the 6-9 Perkins on the perimeter.

“They play good defense, and I missed some good shots,” Aguirre said. “But I wasn’t getting the ball enough to get going. I didn’t get a rhythm going. I was facing up (to the basket) a lot. Maybe we’ll design some things to get me the ball more inside.”

The only bulk the Mavericks have inside is their 7-2, 270-pound center, James Donaldson, but he usually is the last option in their offense.

“We haven’t had an inside game all season, so it would make no sense to do it now,” Donaldson said. “We just have to come back Wednesday and try again from the outside.”

Worthy, however, predicts that Dallas will try to do more inside in Game 2.

“I think they are going to isolate more on Aguirre, maybe set up some plays for him down low,” Worthy said. “We really put a lot of emphasis on Blackman and Aguirre. Our game plan worked today. I don’t know what will happen Wednesday.”

Said Blackman: “We saw what happened in the first game. Now, we have to see what we can do in the second game. Hopefully, we can have our outside shooting with us.”