Lawal and Poulakidas Give Dallas Two Different Bench Possibilities

Tobi Lawal made all eight of his free throws. John Poulakidas made four threes. Dallas received 16 points from each in Wednesday’s 101-97 preseason defeat against New Orleans, with two young reserves finding strikingly different ways to keep a poor offensive night competitive.

The Mavericks’ bench supplied 70 points; the starters supplied 27. That gap puts Lawal and Poulakidas in the discussion without settling a regular-season rotation. Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg rested, and several other players were unavailable. These were real opportunities for reserves inside a game that was a long way from a normal Dallas lineup.

Lawal, the rookie selected 48th overall in June and playing on a two-way contract, shot 4-of-6 from the field and made all eight of his free throws. His fourth-quarter work showed why Dallas might value his physical approach. With the Mavericks behind 85-71, he hit two free throws at 8:09, reducing the deficit to 12.

He drew another pair of successful foul shots at 3:28, bringing New Orleans’ lead from 90-82 to 90-84.

Those were valuable possessions for a team struggling to create clean offense. Lawal got to the line, converted the reward and gave Dallas a way to score without asking another shaky jumper to behave. He also finished with four rebounds, one steal, one block and no turnovers.

The other half of the evaluation arrived in the form of six fouls. Lawal was disqualified before the final horn, leaving his 23 minutes and 16 points attached to a practical question: can he provide that interior force without spending too much of the night in foul trouble? A reserve who draws contact and protects the rim has obvious value.

A reserve unavailable for the closing possessions because of fouls is a less convenient tool.

Poulakidas offered a different answer to the same roster problem. He made four of Dallas’ 10 3-pointers, going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. His 23-foot shot at 11:26 of the fourth quarter helped spark the Mavericks’ push, and his short pull-up with 8.9 seconds left produced their final field goal.

Poulakidas’ shooting stood apart in a team performance of 10 makes from 49 attempts beyond the arc. Risacher missed all seven of his threes, and P.J. Washington and Caleb Martin went without a field goal. One accurate perimeter option could not solve the whole offense, but it gave Dallas a way to score that was unusually scarce that night.

His audition also contained a late warning label. With Dallas still trailing 93-86, Poulakidas committed an offensive-foul turnover at 2:45. New Orleans did not score at the line on the next possession; AJ Johnson followed with a two-point basket at 2:37.

The Pelicans later leaned on free throws to preserve the advantage, though Dallas made the finish interesting. The Mavericks pulled within three at 98-95 with 33.2 seconds remaining and again at 100-97 after Poulakidas’ final basket. They simply ran out of possessions.

The Mavericks had returned from the China Games after a flight lasting 18 hours, arriving less than 48 hours before this game. Coach Dusty May thought the veterans looked slow after the trip. That helps explain why an exhibition lineup produced such an unusual scoring split. It does not cancel the useful work of players who capitalized on the minutes.

The turnover count sets a harsher limit on that evaluation. Dallas committed 27 giveaways, and New Orleans converted them into 27 points while collecting 14 steals. Sergio de Larrea spent 30 minutes on the floor, supplied six assists and still contributed five turnovers to the problem.

The Mavericks won the rebounding battle and beat the Pelicans 34-26 over the final after trailing 75-63 through three quarters. That is why this was not a wholesale collapse; the comeback simply began from an expensive hole.

Coach Dusty May identified illegal screens, limited offensive variety, poor spacing and New Orleans’ physical pressure as factors in the sloppy attack. Those are coaching and execution issues worth examining, but they also explain why the bench scoring should be treated as information rather than a verdict. Dallas’ young players were solving a difficult game with an incomplete roster.

Lawal can earn trips to the line, and Poulakidas can convert the looks his teammates find outside. Both also need to remain available and protect possessions: Lawal fouled out with six, and Poulakidas finished with five fouls and three turnovers. They offered useful contributions with visible costs.

The rotation will eventually have to work with Dallas’ established players present. Wednesday supplied two complementary candidates for that task. A reserve who adds efficient points to somebody else’s offense is easier to fit than one who needs the entire offense built around him.

Sources

ESPN: box score and play-by-play

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