There has been much (wrong-headed) moaning about this roster.
I've said it multiple times before - this Mavs team is way better than most fans realize. Once they got past the learning curve on Kidd's system this season, they have been on a par with (or better than) almost the entire league. Only Phoenix was an outlier.
IMO they have been demonstrating that "as is" they are talented enough to beat anyone.
That doesn't guarantee anything in the playoffs, because the hard part of the postseason is gaining the knowledge of "how to win in the playoffs." The games are more intense, the focus has to be consistent, you can get scorched if you relax, every game is crucial. So far they have been learning quickly, which says a lot.
But they really don't have a ceiling. They are good enough and deep enough to beat anyone. They just have to do it, on the fly.
(05-16-2022, 01:38 AM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]There has been much (wrong-headed) moaning about this roster.
I've said it multiple times before - this Mavs team is way better than most fans realize. Once they got past the learning curve on Kidd's system this season, they have been on a par with (or better than) almost the entire league. Only Phoenix was an outlier.
IMO they have been demonstrating that "as is" they are talented enough to beat anyone.
That doesn't guarantee anything in the playoffs, because the hard part of the postseason is gaining the knowledge of "how to win in the playoffs." The games are more intense, the focus has to be consistent, you can get scorched if you relax, every game is crucial. So far they have been learning quickly, which says a lot.
But they really don't have a ceiling. They are good enough and deep enough to beat anyone. They just have to do it, on the fly.
Thank you. ^^^This.
(05-16-2022, 01:38 AM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]There has been much (wrong-headed) moaning about this roster.
I've said it multiple times before - this Mavs team is way better than most fans realize. Once they got past the learning curve on Kidd's system this season, they have been on a par with (or better than) almost the entire league. Only Phoenix was an outlier.
IMO they have been demonstrating that "as is" they are talented enough to beat anyone.
That doesn't guarantee anything in the playoffs, because the hard part of the postseason is gaining the knowledge of "how to win in the playoffs." The games are more intense, the focus has to be consistent, you can get scorched if you relax, every game is crucial. So far they have been learning quickly, which says a lot.
But they really don't have a ceiling. They are good enough and deep enough to beat anyone. They just have to do it, on the fly.
Guilty. I'm a pessimist by nature. I still say the Utah series was fools gold, but the Suns are a quality win. Kidd's outcoached the competition and I am a little surprised opposing coaches haven't exploited some of the weaknesses in our rotation, save for Quinn refusing to cover Green. The Kerr matchup will be interesting as I'm never sure what to think of his ability considering how loaded his teams have always been.
Our team plays hard, especially when Luka is giving good effort on defense. It reminds me of the Heat and defense travels.
We still need upgrade and depth at the 4/5. :p
(05-16-2022, 01:48 AM)cow Wrote: [ -> ]Guilty. I'm a pessimist by nature. I still say the Utah series was fools gold, but the Suns are a quality win. Kidd's outcoached the competition and I am a little surprised opposing coaches haven't exploited some of the weaknesses in our rotation, save for Quinn refusing to cover Green. The Kerr matchup will be interesting as I'm never sure what to think of his ability considering how loaded his teams have always been.
Our team plays hard, especially when Luka is giving good effort on defense. It reminds me of the Heat and defense travels.
We still need upgrade and depth at the 4/5. :p
As for whether the Mavs truly NEED a better C, we'll see. In theory they need all-stars everywhere, but the reality is that no team has that, and often times your perceived weak spot doesn't matter at all.
For example, at one point in G7 I noticed the Mavs were using a 3 guard lineup (where Luka wasn't one of the 3) with a front line of Kleber-Bullock and had no problems. It's not a weakness at all if your opponent can't exploit it. And if it gives you advantages in other ways (such as being more mobile on D, and better able to trap or blitz the ball handlers with double teams) ....
(05-16-2022, 03:09 AM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]As for whether the Mavs truly NEED a better C, we'll see. In theory they need all-stars everywhere, but the reality is that no team has that, and often times your perceived weak spot doesn't matter at all.
For example, at one point in G7 I noticed the Mavs were using a 3 guard lineup (where Luka wasn't one of the 3) with a front line of Kleber-Bullock and had no problems. It's not a weakness at all if your opponent can't exploit it. And if it gives you advantages in other ways (such as being more mobile on D, and better able to trap or blitz the ball handlers with double teams) ....
I didn't say all-stars, I said upgrades and depth. Powell was largely a negative this series save for an awesome game seven. We've also gotten away with Bertans playing a bunch of minutes in both series. Ayton had two great games and disappeared, kind of like Paul and I don't think that is a coincidence. I've always been kind of "blah" on Ayton. He should have eaten this series and earned a max contract. And opposing teams should wear Bertans out anytime he's on the floor. Luka would hunt him mercilessly if he were on the opposing team.
(05-16-2022, 03:46 AM)cow Wrote: [ -> ]Powell was largely a negative this series save for an awesome game seven.
He was horrible in games one and two. But, was +33 over the last five (of which we won four). I'd say his game six was actually pretty good also. +11 and he managed to stay on the floor for 17 minutes. Maxi can't play 40 and if we don't like Bertans as a lone big, we have to get more than 9-10 minutes from Powell. Hopefully he has a role/roll against GSW.
I think we need another "big", largely because we are too susceptible to fouls and injury. I don't think a big plodding rebounder is the answer. One of the messages of the playoffs is rim rolling may not be the core of what we do. It might be a specialized option and five-out may be the core. We have been conditioned to think otherwise under Carlisle with players like Powell, WCS and even Brown filling the role (or roll).
Another Maxi, no matter whether he's 6'8" or a 7-footer, is probably what is needed. If you screen for block% and good mobile defense among PF's/C's who can also hit a 3, you get to Maxi pretty quickly. Most of the guys higher on the list are unattainable. Crowder or Batum or Thaddeus Young would give us another bigger guy who can defend. That would probably be enough to make you feel better if one of our current "centers" got into foul trouble and it would solve the concern of having to play Bertans against playoff offenses.
(05-16-2022, 07:07 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]He was horrible in games one and two. But, was +33 over the last five (of which we won four). I'd say his game six was actually pretty good also. +11 and he managed to stay on the floor for 17 minutes. Maxi can't play 40 and if we don't like Bertans as a lone big, we have to get more than 9-10 minutes from Powell. Hopefully he has a role/roll against GSW.
I think we need another "big", largely because we are too susceptible to fouls and injury. I don't think a big plodding rebounder is the answer. One of the messages of the playoffs is rim rolling may not be the core of what we do. It might be a specialized option and five-out may be the core. We have been conditioned to think otherwise under Carlisle with players like Powell, WCS and even Brown filling the role (or roll).
Another Maxi, no matter whether he's 6'8" or a 7-footer, is probably what is needed. If you screen for block% and good mobile defense among PF's/C's who can also hit a 3, you get to Maxi pretty quickly. Most of the guys higher on the list are unattainable. Crowder or Batum or Thaddeus Young would give us another bigger guy who can defend. That would probably be enough to make you feel better if one of our current "centers" got into foul trouble and it would solve the concern of having to play Bertans against playoff offenses.
+/- is a horrible stat, sorry stat heads. I've give you game six. Game seven is where he had impact. With you on another Maxi type. PJ Tucker would have been nice.
(05-16-2022, 07:17 AM)cow Wrote: [ -> ]+/- is a horrible stat, sorry stat heads.
Well +/- just put the Mavericks in the WCF. Say what you want about it, it is the only stat the NBA cares about.
(05-16-2022, 07:07 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]I think we need another "big", largely because we are too susceptible to fouls and injury. I don't think a big plodding rebounder is the answer. One of the messages of the playoffs is rim rolling may not be the core of what we do. It might be a specialized option and five-out may be the core. We have been conditioned to think otherwise under Carlisle with players like Powell, WCS and even Brown filling the role (or roll).
Another Maxi, no matter whether he's 6'8" or a 7-footer, is probably what is needed. If you screen for block% and good mobile defense among PF's/C's who can also hit a 3, you get to Maxi pretty quickly. Most of the guys higher on the list are unattainable. Crowder or Batum or Thaddeus Young would give us another bigger guy who can defend. That would probably be enough to make you feel better if one of our current "centers" got into foul trouble and it would solve the concern of having to play Bertans against playoff offenses.
I think we also need to think long-term. Powell and Maxi are both expiring and entered their thirties. So how long will they be able to provide what they provided this offseason? Are you rolling with them for next two or three seasons and hope their production will remain similar? Maxi also surpassed his previous playoff and regular season achievements, so I wonder how sustainable that is.
It might be prime time to sell high. I would strongly seek for an upgrade, if available. Batum and others mentioned might be a short term solution, but Mavs need something long term.
(05-16-2022, 07:22 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Well +/- just put the Mavericks in the WCF. Say what you want about it, it is the only stat the NBA cares about.
The Mavs team put themselves in WCF, not an outdated and flawed stat.
(05-16-2022, 07:55 AM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]It might be prime time to sell high. I would strongly seek for an upgrade, if available.
My stance exactly on Maxi.
Maxi is a guy you work to extend next year as long as you can get close to his current contract number. I don't think you can return a lot of value for him since he's expiring, gets dinged up a lot, can't play starters minutes and is getting older. His skillset isn't going to be easy to upgrade. It's a case of more valuable to us than other teams.
Maxi has answered a lot of questions. I was really worried how he struggled with play and health the last two playoffs. I think he is an ideal bench piece who can finish games for you. I think he is a guy you really need to watch his minutes on. Maybe play him 20 minutes a game and then in certain stretches get him up to 28-30 minutes. I just don't think he can stay at 28-30 minutes for long stretches of regular season games.
If we swapped Maxi for Kevon Looney, I would give the Mavs 0% chance in the next series. As is, I’d call it 50/50. I love you guys, but from my seat the “trade Maxi” crowd is smoking crack.
(05-16-2022, 07:07 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]Another Maxi, no matter whether he's 6'8" or a 7-footer, is probably what is needed. If you screen for block% and good mobile defense among PF's/C's who can also hit a 3, you get to Maxi pretty quickly. Most of the guys higher on the list are unattainable. Crowder or Batum or Thaddeus Young would give us another bigger guy who can defend. That would probably be enough to make you feel better if one of our current "centers" got into foul trouble and it would solve the concern of having to play Bertans against playoff offenses.
In terms of potential, Marquis Chriss sure looks like the kind of body/athlete who could develop into another Maxi.
(05-16-2022, 08:31 AM)Jommybone Wrote: [ -> ]In terms of potential, Marquis Chriss sure looks like the kind of body/athlete who could develop into another Maxi.
That would be quite the development. Most of the time he looks lost on the court. I agree he has the athleticism, he has to want it though and that's why he has bounced around the league.
There were people on this board calling for this team to tank.
More importantly, there were people on this board who think that a team with Luka f*cking Doncic was capable of tanking.
What a ride.
(05-16-2022, 08:27 AM)Jommybone Wrote: [ -> ]If we swapped Maxi for Kevon Looney, I would give the Mavs 0% chance in the next series. As is, I’d call it 50/50. I love you guys, but from my seat the “trade Maxi” crowd is smoking crack.
Simmons/Rusillo both think Looney won't even play much in this series. We'll see, but nobody is saying that about Kleber.
(05-16-2022, 08:47 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]Simmons/Rusillo both think Looney won't even play much in this series. We'll see, but nobody is saying that about Kleber.
I figure he'll match Powell's minutes definitely feels like we're going to be seeing about 40 minutes a game of small ball from both teams.