11-16-2021, 02:26 PM
Mark and Brian update us on the team. A few takeaways are bolded below.
Luka’s injury. No practice today, so may or may not be a meaningful update before tomorrow. Internet doctors saying the injury didn’t look minor, but we have no official indication one way or another. Regular injury report will be issued this afternoon. If he is listed as questionable, then we probably won’t know anything definitive before tomorrow.
MF notes that the refs are not calling fouls like they used to, and that has led to frustration and retaliation fouls by players who think they should have gotten calls. That has resulted in scuffles with and physical aggression against opponents, possibly resulting in more injuries. Which leads us to consider —
Luka’s conditioning. Fans are probably more concerned about this than Luka/the team are. The goal is to have Luka at a weight that allows him to maximize his advantage as a big, strong player at his position, and to be able to absorb as much of this type of bodily punishment as possible. He doesn’t rely on a finesse game — he has a very physical approach. They don’t want him to aim for a Trae Young type body. He may drop a few pounds over the course of the season, but don’t expect any kind of radical weight loss.
Denver game. Mavs caught Denver in a weak spot, with players out and on the second game of a B2B, and that factors into the assessment of the win, but it revealed some good things. The Mavs are one of the league leaders in coming back from double-digit deficits to win games, and this was an example. The key run was at the end of third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.
Mavs were able to throw a diversity of styles at the Nugz, particularly in the variety of big guys who played. This team is not limited to Plan A or bust. Two-man game between Luka and KP is really coming along. It’s a good sign that we can talk about their on-court performance together, rather than scrutinizing sideline behavior and speculating on whether they are BFFs or sworn enemies.
Porzingis. The extensive work on reshaping the LD-KP tandem is finally starting to bear fruit. KP has been excellent offensively in the last few games. Part of that is that he is getting better looks.
Two keys to KP’s improvement. First, If he is in scoring position inside, it is best if he moves quickly and decisively, rather than trying to back his defender down. Second, it is best for KP to let the game come to him, either drawing off defenders, or taking advantage when Luka is being aggressively defended, rather than forcing the issue. (These are the podcasters’ takes, rather than reports from Kidd.)
The real question now is whether this level of performance by KP is sustainable. Playing a diversified style, rather than just being a pick-and-pop guy, should help keep him effective. He isn’t likely to keep hitting five threes per game, but if he could be a 25-10 guy, that would be huge.
Don’t look for Kidd to play KP at the 5 full time — Kidd affirmatively thinks that is not a good idea, for both load management and game management purposes. He realizes that his decision doesn’t match up perfectly with the analytics, but he is of the opinion that it’s not smart to rely solely on analytics in determining lineups and roles — the stats don’t take into account the human and psychological aspects of different game plans on the players. Sometimes, he believes, it’s better to sacrifice a little efficiency for the physical and emotional health of the players.
Coaching strategy. The offense is beginning to diverge more from the Rick Carlisle era. For example, Carlisle really didn’t want people taking long twos, unless it was absolutely necessary. Kidd, however, thinks the team is less predictable if they include a mid-range component to their identity. Having said all this, they are still a long way away from deciding on how they want the Mavs to play as a rest-of-the-season matter. We shouldn’t assume that what they are doing in any particular game or stretch of games is written in stone, or will even survive the final assessment.
Maxi. Nowhere close to returning. Doesn’t even have a timetable yet.
Kidd. The word is that the atmosphere is much more relaxed without the tension that Carlisle generated. The various stakeholders in decisions appear to be mostly on the same page.
DFS. Dorian has stepped up his game in the last few matches, including his shooting stats. They’re still not impressive, but at least close to respectable (31% from three). There is no reason to expect that he will return to the doldrums. Doe-Doe has been working very hard on his shot, and on simulating game conditions in practice.
It can be tougher for a guy like Dorian to get through a bad shooting stretch than for the major scorers. We don’t worry too much about Luka or KP or Timmy having a bad night, or even a bad few games — we assume they’ll keep shooting and sort it out in a reasonably short period of time. It’s tougher for Dorian to break out of a slump, because he doesn’t get that many shot attempts, and he isn’t meant to. Dorian’s role is to generate energy, execute hustle plays, play hard-nose defense, and be a glue guy — he’s not intended to play a THJ-style high-volume shooting game, and we can’t expect it. So, patience may be warranted as DFS continues to work his way through his offensive issues.
Brunson. Performing so consistently that we are in danger of taking him for granted. Doing REALLY well.
Upcoming. We should learn a lot about this team in the next six games, which contain a slate of formidable opponents. (That’s assuming that Luka will not miss significant time. If he does, then progress will be harder to assess.) Looking toward Phoenix, the reigning WC champs have DeAndre Ayton back, and are on a long winning streak. The Sarver investigation has galvanized the team a little and instituted a bunker mentality. They’ll be a tough customer and a good measuring stick.
Luka’s injury. No practice today, so may or may not be a meaningful update before tomorrow. Internet doctors saying the injury didn’t look minor, but we have no official indication one way or another. Regular injury report will be issued this afternoon. If he is listed as questionable, then we probably won’t know anything definitive before tomorrow.
MF notes that the refs are not calling fouls like they used to, and that has led to frustration and retaliation fouls by players who think they should have gotten calls. That has resulted in scuffles with and physical aggression against opponents, possibly resulting in more injuries. Which leads us to consider —
Luka’s conditioning. Fans are probably more concerned about this than Luka/the team are. The goal is to have Luka at a weight that allows him to maximize his advantage as a big, strong player at his position, and to be able to absorb as much of this type of bodily punishment as possible. He doesn’t rely on a finesse game — he has a very physical approach. They don’t want him to aim for a Trae Young type body. He may drop a few pounds over the course of the season, but don’t expect any kind of radical weight loss.
Denver game. Mavs caught Denver in a weak spot, with players out and on the second game of a B2B, and that factors into the assessment of the win, but it revealed some good things. The Mavs are one of the league leaders in coming back from double-digit deficits to win games, and this was an example. The key run was at the end of third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.
Mavs were able to throw a diversity of styles at the Nugz, particularly in the variety of big guys who played. This team is not limited to Plan A or bust. Two-man game between Luka and KP is really coming along. It’s a good sign that we can talk about their on-court performance together, rather than scrutinizing sideline behavior and speculating on whether they are BFFs or sworn enemies.
Porzingis. The extensive work on reshaping the LD-KP tandem is finally starting to bear fruit. KP has been excellent offensively in the last few games. Part of that is that he is getting better looks.
Two keys to KP’s improvement. First, If he is in scoring position inside, it is best if he moves quickly and decisively, rather than trying to back his defender down. Second, it is best for KP to let the game come to him, either drawing off defenders, or taking advantage when Luka is being aggressively defended, rather than forcing the issue. (These are the podcasters’ takes, rather than reports from Kidd.)
The real question now is whether this level of performance by KP is sustainable. Playing a diversified style, rather than just being a pick-and-pop guy, should help keep him effective. He isn’t likely to keep hitting five threes per game, but if he could be a 25-10 guy, that would be huge.
Don’t look for Kidd to play KP at the 5 full time — Kidd affirmatively thinks that is not a good idea, for both load management and game management purposes. He realizes that his decision doesn’t match up perfectly with the analytics, but he is of the opinion that it’s not smart to rely solely on analytics in determining lineups and roles — the stats don’t take into account the human and psychological aspects of different game plans on the players. Sometimes, he believes, it’s better to sacrifice a little efficiency for the physical and emotional health of the players.
Coaching strategy. The offense is beginning to diverge more from the Rick Carlisle era. For example, Carlisle really didn’t want people taking long twos, unless it was absolutely necessary. Kidd, however, thinks the team is less predictable if they include a mid-range component to their identity. Having said all this, they are still a long way away from deciding on how they want the Mavs to play as a rest-of-the-season matter. We shouldn’t assume that what they are doing in any particular game or stretch of games is written in stone, or will even survive the final assessment.
Maxi. Nowhere close to returning. Doesn’t even have a timetable yet.
Kidd. The word is that the atmosphere is much more relaxed without the tension that Carlisle generated. The various stakeholders in decisions appear to be mostly on the same page.
DFS. Dorian has stepped up his game in the last few matches, including his shooting stats. They’re still not impressive, but at least close to respectable (31% from three). There is no reason to expect that he will return to the doldrums. Doe-Doe has been working very hard on his shot, and on simulating game conditions in practice.
It can be tougher for a guy like Dorian to get through a bad shooting stretch than for the major scorers. We don’t worry too much about Luka or KP or Timmy having a bad night, or even a bad few games — we assume they’ll keep shooting and sort it out in a reasonably short period of time. It’s tougher for Dorian to break out of a slump, because he doesn’t get that many shot attempts, and he isn’t meant to. Dorian’s role is to generate energy, execute hustle plays, play hard-nose defense, and be a glue guy — he’s not intended to play a THJ-style high-volume shooting game, and we can’t expect it. So, patience may be warranted as DFS continues to work his way through his offensive issues.
Brunson. Performing so consistently that we are in danger of taking him for granted. Doing REALLY well.
Upcoming. We should learn a lot about this team in the next six games, which contain a slate of formidable opponents. (That’s assuming that Luka will not miss significant time. If he does, then progress will be harder to assess.) Looking toward Phoenix, the reigning WC champs have DeAndre Ayton back, and are on a long winning streak. The Sarver investigation has galvanized the team a little and instituted a bunker mentality. They’ll be a tough customer and a good measuring stick.
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