Coach's Corner: Luka Doncic Offers Dallas Mavs Adjustment Guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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During Monday's Game 4 at American Airlines Center, the Dallas Mavericks were in control for 3.5 quarters of the contest, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder by as many as 14 points at one point. However, in the final minutes, the Mavs made some critical mistakes and missed key opportunities from the free-throw line. The Thunder capitalized on Dallas' folly and managed to win the game, 100-96, tying the second-round series at 2-2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the runner-up for the NBA's MVP award, played a significant role in the Thunder's late surge, scoring 10 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter alone. Now, Dallas' top priority needs to be figuring out how to deal with SGA, as he is the biggest key to OKC's success.
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Gilgeous-Alexander has carried OKC in every aspect of the game, averaging 31.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 2.8 blocks over the course of the Western Conference semifinals. Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is aware of the threat SGA presents, stating that he is "very good." Doncic also has some ideas on how to potentially slow down the young superstar, stating "Maybe at some point we've got to send a double-team.. he's just too good."
While Doncic is correct about Dallas needing to do something different defensively, double-teaming Gilgeous-Alexander may not be the best course of action. Dallas has already tried this approach multiple times during this series, and it hardly ever works out in its favor.
So what is Dallas to do about SGA? We have already seen that the Mavericks don't have anyone on the roster who can guard him one-on-one, so that isn't the answer. Dallas had some success with showing a variety of defensive looks in the fourth quarter of Game 3 by changing defenders on each possession, but that eventually lost its effectiveness in Game 4.
While it may seem that the Mavs are out of options, there is one last thing they can try: denying SGA the basketball. The Thunder rely heavily on Gilgeous-Alexander's playmaking ability, and if the Mavericks could somehow keep SGA from getting the ball, it could majorly disrupt what they do on offense. This leads to the question of who needs to be assigned the task of denying SGA the ball, because such a task is a lot easier said than done.
The player in question needs to be able to physically match up with Gilgeous-Alexander in terms of size and speed, and needs to be able to give up fouls. While nobody on the roster completely fits this archetype, there are a couple Mavericks who come to mind.
The first player who could possibly fit this role is Dante Exum. Physically, Exum fits the bill, measuring 6-5 with a 6-9 wingspan. Exum is also decently athletic and could potentially keep up with SGA when denying him. Exum has posed little threat offensively in the 2024 Western Conference semifinals, averaging just 2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. This means that Exum can afford to give up fouls, as he is not as valuable to the Mavs on offense.
The next player who comes to mind is Mavs' swingman Josh Green. Green, who is a better physical comparison to SGA than Exum, measures 6-6 with a 6-10 wingspan and is a top-flight athlete. These physical characteristics could make Green extremely effective at denying Gilgeous-Alexander. However, Green is far more valuable to the Mavs on offense, averaging 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in this series, which means him getting in foul trouble could be a detriment to Dallas.
Whatever Mavs head coach Jason Kidd decides to do, he cannot continue to implement the same defensive game plan if SGA is going to continue to be as efficient down the stretch of games as he was in Game 4. If Dallas makes the same mistakes it made on Monday, it could find itself down 3-2 going into Game 6. Game 5 will be played at the Paycom Center on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. CT.
