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MAVERICKS ESCAPE CELTICS BY A FINGERNAIL

The Mavs hosted the Celtics, and numerous MFFLs partied down on the Plaza before the game. Devin Harris and JJ Barea were on hand to share their views on the team. Our boys were looking spiffy in their new City Edition jerseys. After a very one-sided first half in favor of the home team, Boston came all the way back and were tied with 11 seconds left, when Luka rode in to save the day with a brilliant game winner. 


GAME NOTES

Maxi remained out with his left oblique strain. KP returned to the lineup after five games out, and Reggie Bullock also was available, despite his facial injury. Barea opined that it is important that KP play, even if he “plays bad,” because the opponent has to game-plan for him. Said he viewed Brunson’s accomplishments “like a proud papa.” Jaylen Brown was out for Boston. Kidd went back to his original starting lineup — Luka, Timmy, DFS, KP and Powell. 

FIRST QUARTER

Luka begins the scoring with an open jumper. Tim tries to draw a charge, called for a blocking foul. Tim and Kidd complain to the ref on the sidelines, but the teams play on. KP drives and dunks! KP-DP pass leads to a turnover. Powell comes back with a bucket. Timeout. 6-0 9:38

Boston gets on the board with an alley-oop. THJ from Luka for a jump shot. DFS with the Mavs’ first three of the game! Marcus Smart trips KP, who falls to the floor. Hits both free throws. Luka with the spin move! Luka dribbles so long, he is trapped and turns it over. Reggie comes in. Powell with a weak-side block. DFS blocks the following shot! Luka finds DFS, who hits from long! Willie enters. Bullock from the corner on a second-chance opportunity! Dorian called for his second foul. Timeout. This Celtics team looks like they haven’t woken up from their long winter’s nap. Mavs shooting 60%. 23-11 3:06

Frank-Reggie connection! Bullock called for a foul with Tatum backing him down, but what persistent defense! Brunson over Horford! 29-15 after one

Mavs winning the shooting battle 60%-29%. Woah. 

SECOND QUARTER

Frankie with a three after missing his last seven! Horford fouls Frank, knocking him to the floor on a rebound. Then Frank hits from the right sideline! KP dunk on a show-and-go! Sterling Brown — hello, winda! Frank tries to draw a charge, but called for a blocking foul. Call modified on review — foul was on the floor, Celts will take it out. Confusion on the floor, as the timeout clock is running. Brunson to the basket. Celtics starting to score in the paint. Brunson does it again. Timeout. 43-32 5:44

Score changed to 42-32 after one of Frank’s threes is reviewed. Celtics getting to the basket, no problem. Luka fouled, hits both freebies. Luka with a rainbow! Timeout. 46-34 3:58

Some confusion, as someone in the crowd was blowing a whistle during play. There’s always an asshat in the bunch.  Brunson attacking the basket. Luka long three. Starters out there, with Brunson in place of KP. Another long one by Luka! Brunson over Horford with a three. Wow-ee! 57-38 46 seoonds 

KP back in to close the period. 57-40 at the half

This Celtics team has been very disappointing, thus far. I thought they would at least make a game of it. Of course, they still could. Mavs shooting 56%. Boston 2-17 from three, with only forty points in the half. Yikes. Luka and Brunson have combined for 29 — roughly half of the team’s points.

THIRD QUARTER

Starters open the period. KP with a steal, but Timmy can’t convert the three. KP to a cutting DP for a slam! Tatum fouls Timmy on a jump shot. 1-2 from the line. Luka called for his third foul. Boston on a 12-3 run. Tatum coming alive. 60-50 8:28

KP fouled backing down Tatum. Tatum's third. 1-2. Mavs fall asleep on Schroeder’s drive to the basket. Then, Powell with a nice block of Schroeder. Now, Tatum over DFS.  9-1 run for Boston. Barf. Make that 11-1. 61-59 5:57

Someone must have lit a fire under these Boston boys at halftime. Luka attacks the basket. JB-Bullock on the fast break! Brunson approaches the paint, backs out, loses it, commits a loose ball foul. Doe-doe corner three! Luka down, clutching his eye, as Nesmith hits him in the face. Still squinting and blinking as he hits both free throws. Luka from WAY downtown! Luka downcourt pass to KP, who draws a foul. Tatum blazing hot now. KP stolen save-in and three! Woo-hoo! 79-72 after three. 

Boston coming on. Dallas scored only 22 points in the third. C’mon, boys.

FOURTH QUARTER

Timmy and KP the two starters on the floor, with Reggie, Frank, and Brunson. Bullock corner three. JB to cutting KP for an authoritative dunk! KP wins more freebies. KP over Tatum! The Celtics look like a totally different team this half. Bullock from the corner on the third chance opportunity. KP outlet pass to Tim, Tim scores over Tatum. 93-86 8:07

This is the Luka-Tatum match, folks. Brunson replaces Timmy. J Rich strips Powell.  Celtics coming on strong. 96-94 4:35.

Timmy over Schroeder. Four starters on the floor with Brunson. Powell goes out, Doe-Doe returns. KP from Hardaway!. Celtics are pouring it on. Brunson fouls Schroeder — fifth in the quarter. Bullock in for Dorian. Lead down to 1. Luka turns the ball over under the basket, Boston takes advantage. Down two. Boston turnover. KP puts back a missed three. Tie game. KP blocks Schroeder, but ball is off Dallas. Boston turnover again, but Mavs can’t capitalize. 104-104, 17 seconds

Boston’s foul to give used on Luka. Luka with a rainbow three out of a 3-man sideline trap!!!! OMG! For real?! Mavs win!  LUKAAAAAAAA! 107-104 FT


ANALYSIS

This was very much a game of two halves. 

In the first half, the Mavs closed with a 17-point lead. They shot 56% and lost only two points to turnovers. The Celtics on the other hand, were 2-17 from three, shot 40% overall, and looked like dog poo on both ends. 

The second half was a completely different story. The Celtics came out like gangbusters, and outscored Dallas 64-50. They rocketed up to 58% shooting, and 50% from long range. Meanwhile, they turned up their defensive intensity, and double-teamed Luka almost constantly. They put up 28 points in the paint, and doubled up the Mavs in second-chance points. Another significant factor was Mavs' 13 turnovers. Fortunately, Luka’s teammates made the opponents pay, to the barest extent necessary to win, and Luka himself was fierce on the offensive end, despite being heavily defended. 

As far as the game as a whole, Boston had a great advantage in the paint (54 PIP, 40 for the Mavs), as was evident watching them dance to the basket repeatedly, and also had a 16-8 edge in second-chance points. Critically, the Mavs had 15 turnovers, for a loss of 15 points. 


PLAYER NOTES

DONCIC. Luka was the hero of the game, hands down. What an incredible shot at the buzzer! Amazing! The stupendous Slovenian had a game-high 33 points (12-21, 5-10 from three), 9 boards, 5 assists, and was a team-high +10. As Boston clamped down on the home team, Luka started taking over in the second half, despite the constant double teams, and all for the best! What a man!

BRUNSON. Jalen co-led the team in minutes, joining Luka and Hardaway with 35. He had a solid outing, putting up 13 points, 5 boards, and 5 dimes. He was 6-12 on the night, 1-6 from three. His ball handling and playmaking were badly needed, and he answered the call. Some of the bigger matchups gave him a little trouble, especially in the second half, but he turned in a yeoman’s performance, overall. He didn’t start the game, but played starter minutes, and was included in the closing lineup of Luka-Brunson-THJ-Bullock-KP. 

HARDAWAY. Timmy’s stat line was modest, with 7 points and 3 assists, and he took only 8 shots. Kidd says that anyone looking at that who thinks Tim has a bad game would be wrong. He thought THJ had one of his better defensive games, and that Tim provided vocal leadership on the floor the whole night. 

DFS. Dorian had 9 points in 30 minutes, and the big news was that he hit three triples out of five attempts, after going 20% from long range over the first seven games. Was really good to see him recovering his stroke. 

PORZINGIS. Before the game, Kidd indicated that KP’s minutes would be limited to 30, and he came in at 28, looking good out of his 5-game layoff. He was the Mavs’ second-leading scorer at 21 points (7-13), and drew a team-high 8 free throws, completing 7. He filled out the stat sheet with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. He took only three long shots, and was aggressive going to the basket. Also had some nice passes. Kidd thought that he was great, especially considering that he was just returning. Complimented his big block at the end of the game, and big tip-in when the Mavs were down two. Hopefully, he will be able to stay on the floor for a while. 

BULLOCK. Reggie had 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench, and was in the closing lineup. Played very determined defense, as well. Kidd reminded us that he had stitches today, and commended him in general for being tough on both ends, staying composed, and not getting lost in the moment. Enjoys having a guy like Reggie whom the team can call on to guard the opponent’s best wing when DFS is in foul trouble. It might be noted that he put Reggie in Dorian’s place in the closing unit, when Dorian had only 2 fouls. I thought that seemed to be a situational offensive substitution. 

POWELL. Dwight was on the court for about half the game (23 minutes), and had 6 boards and 3 blocks, along with a steal. He took only 2 shots, and made them both. 

MENTIONS. FRANK had 5 points, one assist, and some important defense in 13 minutes on the court. Getting some reps out there. WILLIE and STERLING combined for 15 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. MOSES, BURKE, GREEN, BOBI, and OMORUYI were DNP-CDs. 

CELTICS. Jayson Tatum was easily the second-best player on the court, dominating with 32 points (12-19, 6-8 3PTA) and 11 boards. This is one skilled and talented guy, make no mistake. Schroeder started the game, put up 20 points and 6 assists, and did a job getting under the Mavs’ skin. Robert Williams had 16 points and 8 rebounds, and was 7-8 from the floor. Al Horford, the wily old veteran, plied his trade with aplomb, and contributed 14 points. Former Mav Josh Richardson looked pretty good tonight, with 13 points and 6-12 shooting off the bench. I thought the Mavs made the right decision to offload him, but I’m happy to see him fitting in and contributing on another team. 


OBSERVATIONS

Kidd was proud that the team kept their composure while Boston fought back in the second half, especially for the Boston stretch run. 

This was a somewhat puzzling game, with the Mavs dominating the first half, and then almost collapsing in the second. They gave up a 19-point lead, went 2 points behind, but then managed to pull it out down the stretch. Notwithstanding the roller coaster ride, I thought there were some good things to note. 

For one, the return of the Mavs’ three-point shots to at least a moderately respectable level (33%). Luka, Doe-Doe, Reggie, and Frankie combined to go 12-25, for 48%. (KP, THJ, and Brunson combined for a horrendous 1-13, but who’s counting?)

The issues with the paint continue at both ends of the court, but Dallas did have some good plays, and after all, they did pull out the W. I’m really glad Brown was out for Boston. 

It wasn’t the prettiest, but a win is a win is a win, and I think we did see some signs of progress. And one heck of a game-winning shot!


NEXT. The Mavericks will face the Pelicans on Monday at the AAC. 

Most satisfying win of the season. Maybe it was Luka´s buzzer beater. Maybe the added bonus that JRich was on the receiving end. Just feels better than all previous wins.

The only guy whose performance bummed me out tonight was WCS. He has had some impactful minutes this season, imo, but tonight I thought he was really ineffective on both ends. 

Literally everyone else did their thing, to one degree or another. 

I'm becoming more and more fascinated by Ntilikina, personally. He looks confident on the offensive end. I didn't expect that.

(11-06-2021, 11:59 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]The only guy whose performance bummed me out tonight was WCS. He has had some impactful minutes this season, imo, but tonight I thought he was really ineffective on both ends. 

Literally everyone else did their thing, to one degree or another. 

I'm becoming more and more fascinated by Ntilikina, personally. He looks confident on the offensive end. I didn't expect that.

Fully agree nice observations KL. And thx again for an amazing recap to ML! After the games, this is the favoruite thing to do and read.

I think WCS is playing really bad this season. Comes too late, and without effort. I dont recall a single time he challenged a shot around the rim this season. On the other end, he doesnt have that feel for scoring around the basket. He is very ineffective indeed.

Frank. He has something to prove. And he does prove it. Playing with confidence. What a great signing.

Luka - He opened the game scoring with a two pointer, getting open on a step back mid range. Then he closed the game, with a step back 3 to win the game. That's what a real leader does - opens and closes the games. In between he was doubled like crazy, and found teammates well. Celtics did close him on some situations and he made some mistakes there, but in general he found teammates really well, and today Mavs shot better than earlier in season in these open situations, and this showed up. Despite that, the open shots, should and will get better over time. The entire team, including Luka, needs to find a way to benefit from the double teams. When this happens - the lanes to basket will open up to Luka. The paint was stacked once again I noticed and I dont believe this will continue once the 3 point shots start to go in more regularly.

Brunson - Amazing player. We need to sign him long term. The thing about Brunson. Since his first game and until now, he kept improving. Not once did he decrease his level of play. You always sign these players long term that keep improving and are on that kind of trajectory. He can easy be a all star someday, and important championship starting level player. His skills are rare, you dont find many players that can do the tricks and difficult shots and dribbles what Brunson does. He is a star in my eyes already. We just need to play him next to Luka. This season he seems to developed more confidence, showing even in the most clutch situations, his rare skillset. Previous seasons we all knew he had those skills, but maybe didnt yet develop that confidence to show it. Now, his confidence is shining. And Luka can see this, and knows what he can do, and defering the playmaker role several times to Brunson. Now we are really dangerous with two playmakers in same lineup!

THJ - Really really really impressed by this man. Mature player now and sets the team before his stats. He has developed so much since his first season here, where his shooting and stats were focus, and not necessary doing the small things for the team and defense. I was critical of him some seasons ago of his defense. Now, he does a ton of those small things. In the open court, in defense, its just clear he has become a team player and does what it needs to win. He is more and more to me a championship piece as well. He has that maturity to his game he didnt had before. He makes many smart plays now.

Bullock - It is clear the guy can shoot. The catch and shoot, he does this with crazy motion and quick release. These skills are much appreciated in a Luka run offense, where he finds those small spaces for these skills. It is the skill that also Curry has and that Mavs are really missing. Bullock brings this back IMO. Very impressive shooter, although his percentage is not that yet impressive, but it is clear that his quick release and motion is indicative of a great shooter. He is a big improvement over Jrich that does not have this catch and shoot skill. I think he will fit in very well, once the offense is set more. 

KP - Great to see him back, his skills are also rare (we tend to forget this) and he helps the team so much on the defensive end. He was used more correctly this game offensively. Although a fewer post ups are needed but thats up to the coaching. But his blocks and rebounds, make fear on the opponents, and this changes games IMO more than people notice. The paint was much more secure with him back. When Maxi is playing next to him, this will be even better.

Overall, the team is getting into shape. There are still many weird situations where the angles and scheme breaks down. But all in all, the chemistry is developing.

This is the first quality team playing well after a team meeting that we’ve beat (I realize they were sans Brown, we had a few excuses too albeit not to the magnitude of being sans Brown). A couple more of these type wins and we might be a bit more believable as a team!

With Maxi out, we still don't know much about rotations and the closing lineup when everyone is healthy.  Boston was a good opponent to be missing Maxi as all they have is Williams and Horford.  They start together and have one or the other in alone except for the beginning of each half.

Interesting numbers...Luka was +10 and Brunson was +1.  When they were on the court together they were +8.  

There was a 9-0 run late in the second and a 10-0 run late in the third that righted the ship after Boston runs.  The common denominators were Brunson, Luka, DFS and no KP (Powell was the C for the first one and Willie for the second one).  

Bigs got 59 total minutes (so, only 11 minutes of two bigs.  +12 to start the game and -10 to start the third).

With Maxi out, we actually had some THJ at PF minutes in this game (KP with four guards)

Reggie is .529 on corner 3's (38% of his total attempts), but still only .333 on three's overall.

We are 24th in the league in Net Rating and have the 5th best record.  I still have no idea which number is real.  The first half was the first time this season that I felt we looked like we are supposed to look.  The second half was disappointing (except for the ending obviously).  Given that they won, I don't mind that they had to overcome adversity, but I'd really like to see that level of first half dominance on a regular basis soon.    

If you break down the Net Rating to individual players, Tim, Jalen, Powell and Maxi are the only regulars with a positive differential.  DFS (-15), KP (-8), Luka (-7), Bullock (-12), Frank (-7) and Willie (-6) are all negative.  The last two seasons Dorian was +9 and +10.  Luka was +6 and +3.  KP was +4 and +7.  And, Willie was +30 and +18 among the guys who were here during that time.  

As a contrast to Dallas, in Sacramento they are thrilled to be the best team in California at 5-4 with the league's 5th best offense.  I'm not sure I believe Harrison Barnes is going to continue to hit 46% of his threes any more than I believe Luka, DFS and KP will continue to be under 30% on theirs and Dallas will continue to be the 23rd best offense.  But, that is the nature of the numbers when you squeak by in the wins and get blown out in the losses.

(11-07-2021, 08:59 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]If you break down the Net Rating to individual players, Tim, Jalen, Powell and Maxi are the only regulars with a positive differential.  DFS (-15), KP (-8), Luka (-7), Bullock (-12), Frank (-7) and Willie (-6) are all negative.  The last two seasons Dorian was +9 and +10.  Luka was +6 and +3.  KP was +4 and +7.  And, Willie was +30 and +18 among the guys who were here during that time.  

Prior to yesterdays game it was easy to spot the trend. Whoever starts has terrible +/- numbers. Whoever plays bench only minutes (mostly bigs like WCS, Boban) has the best +/-.
Boston game was the first one that saw Luka as the team leader in +/-. Going against the trend.

(11-07-2021, 08:59 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]As a contrast to Dallas, in Sacramento they are thrilled to be the best team in California at 5-4 with the league's 5th best offense. 

Don´t disagree with the overall point but you forgot about the Warriors. Team with the best record, net rating and defensive rating in the league.

(11-07-2021, 09:24 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: [ -> ]Don´t disagree with the overall point but you forgot about the Warriors. Team with the best record, net rating and defensive rating in the league.

Doh! (palm slaps forehead)

(11-07-2021, 09:18 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: [ -> ]Boston game was the first one that saw Luka as the team leader in +/-.

Luka was team leader in +/- against HOU and second against SAC. But other than those two and last night it has been quite the abomination.

(11-07-2021, 02:52 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Luka was team leader in +/- against HOU and second against SAC. But other than those two and last night it has been quite the abomination.

That would abberation... 
Picking Sam Bowie is an abomination

(11-06-2021, 11:59 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]The only guy whose performance bummed me out tonight was WCS. He has had some impactful minutes this season, imo, but tonight I thought he was really ineffective on both ends. 

I have felt the same way, watching Willie this season. (Tbh, before this season, too.) He strikes me as an example of a certain type of guy -- very tall and super-athletic, who was mostly able to get by based on those qualities through the college level, rather than ever developing elite skills. That is such an unusual body type that sometimes those guys can do that until the very top levels of the sport, when they tend to get Peter Principled until they fade from view. 

By all accounts, he is a good person, and I hope he can find his way, but I won't be too shocked if this is his ceiling. Maybe there's always hope for a high lottery pick, but after this long in the league, he might just be who he is. 

In all honesty, I was a little surprised that the Mavs re-signed him.