Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle on Trey Burke: “He’s a very good player; a terrific scorer. I was thrilled when we were able to get him back.”
The Michigan connection was back in action on Friday night with hoisted up balls touching nothing but net for most of the night. But it wasn’t enough as the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Houston Rockets in a high-scoring overtime loss 153-149.
It wasn’t through lack of trying, however.
Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., guards and former University of Michigan teammates did what guards do. They made buckets and lots of them. Burke scored 31 points off the bench and Hardaway Jr. ended up with 24 points of his own.
These Wolverines did Wolverine things.
“That was the Michigan difference at hand. I’m happy to have him back,” Hardaway Jr. said of Burke, who was signed as a Mavs replacement player after Willie Cauley-Stein. “This is the perfect scenario for him.
He continued:
"“Trey? He’s a guy that gets buckets. A bucket-getter. He’s a playground type of basketball player and when you need someone to go out there and come off the bench and have that spark in times like these, in situations like these, it’s him. He’s a great person to have on your team. He came out and played phenomenal.”"
Burke’s performance – a season-high 31 points (11-of-16 from the field and 8-of-10 from 3-point range) and a 19-point showing in the first half sparking a Mavs run that ended with a halftime lead of 85-80 – may have surprised everyone but him.
“I don’t think I surprised myself. Teammates and the coaching staff, they really was on me about being myself when I got out there on the court and just telling me that’s who I am,” Burke said post-game.
Burke went on to say:
"“That’s why they brought me back is to play-make; that doesn’t necessarily mean, you know, always be aggressive for my own shot, but they know that one of my strengths is breaking the defense down, getting in the paint and making a play for myself or others. So I just try to do that.”"
Burke is not new to the Mavericks and Carlisle’s system of play. He was on the roster last year when he joined the team along with Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Kristaps Porzingis, all acquired from the New York Knicks. He signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason and was waived in February.
Now he’s back with the Dallas Mavericks and only two weeks into the bubble, the former National Player of the Year has turned into the Mavs’ secret weapon. Who knew?
Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle was effusive in his praise:
"“He’s a very good player; a terrific scorer. I was thrilled when we were able to get him back. He’s worked, kept himself in great shape, only had a couple of live practices and one scrimmage. What he did was terrific. Right now it’s about who’s ready to play. Who can help us. He was terrific and he gave us a lot of juice the whole game.”"
Burke gave the team juice and more, providing a spark off the bench, making shot after shot with a stellar offensive performance that seemed to have no end in sight. Until the Mavs eased up on its offensive pressure, failed to execute plays, and allowed a series of costly errors to erase the momentum and eventually lose the game.
Regarding their late failures, Hardaway said:
"“It was a missed opportunity; it’s a lot of ‘what if’s.’ As players, you have to take it on the chin and eliminate as much of those (mistakes) as you can. Tonight we didn’t get it done. It’s the little things. We just didn’t get the job done.”"
That was never more apparent than during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter when the Mavs offense collapsed and the hot hand that had been Burke was not reinserted into the game to make some shots.
In fact, he played only one minute and 55 seconds in the fourth quarter. That cost the team dearly as they scored just 20 points in that quarter and failed to hold onto a seven-point lead in the final seconds of the game. The Mavs shot 47.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point territory but missed 10 of their 38 free throw attempts.
The loss left everyone – Burke’s teammates as well – wonder why Burke wasn’t out on the floor with the game on the line.
Burke had this to say:
"“I think some of the guys on the side were wondering the same thing. But I just got here, I know Coach has a line up at the end of the game that he still trusts at this point. You know, things change, you never know going forward. It could be Seth (Curry) out there, it could be me out there, depending upon who has it going at that particular moment. I think we all figured I would go back in but it was a moment where that unit had it rolling as well. I think it got to a point where Coach probably thought ‘Oh, he’s a little tired or he’s been sitting for a while,’ and then it goes down to a minute and 45 seconds left in fourth and I think he just kind of let them roll which I’m fine with”"
When asked during his media session about not playing Burke late, Carlisle said he thought he was tired. Burke, 27, showing why he’s highly thought of by all who encounter him, shared his overall perspective.
"“I think the biggest thing is whoever is out there on the court just has to be ready to produce. I was ready if my number was going to be called. But I just understand that coaches make decisions and everyone has to understand that and be ready when their number is called. This was a big game, the first game for us and I think we all wanted to set a tone. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win but I think it was a wake-up call going into Sunday.”"
With the loss, the Mavs (40-28) dropped four games behind the Rockets (41-24) in the loss column. There are seven seeding games left before the playoffs begin on August. 17th. The Mavs take on the Phoenix Suns next on Sunday at 8 p.m. Let’s hope their new secret weapon gets all the time he needs.