This was another romp against the same Portland Trail Blazers. The bench was cleared, and the scrubs got some meaningful playing time. 6 players were in double figures. Kyrie played 29 minutes and Hardy played 32. This is good for the team.
It's hard to hand out a Dirkie on a game like this. Not because nobody is worthy...but because there are several viable candidates.
Kyrie set the tone and is certainly a candidate. But this is what we expect of him--just like Luka.
Josh Green did better. If he can put together an entire game without hiding somewhere I think he is, or can be, a viable option.
I'm going to give my Dirkie to Jaden Hardy. He's been on the stinky end of the stick for much of the season. Slowly he's starting putting together some better games. This is his night!
Oh damn. I missed Jaden Hardy's 9asts in the poll section--and I haven't figured out how to fix that yet.
So much fun watching this game. Green for me. He’s the reason we got up 30. But Lawson and Brown, in my opinion, are the reasons we won by 30. Our undrafted younguns look better than their lotto picks.
Also, I’m hoping Jerami Grant’s 1 rebound performance ends this board’s discussion of acquiring him.
It was a Hardy party. He almost had a triple double so he gets my vote.
That was a grotesquely pitiful performance by Portland. Kyrie set a good tone but I think this one is between Green and Hardy who both did some damage out of garbage time. I'll lean Hardy for the almost triple double and tying his season high and also because he was robbed of a Dirkie earlier in the season
I know it was garbage time, but really, even the competitive minutes lacked meaning with how bad the Blazers are, even so, I vote AJ just because his performance was more impactful to his future than anyone else’s was to theirs. He may have shown once and for all that he belongs and isn’t just a bounce back and forth player. He’s legit playable in the show and a real asset going forward.
This was a cathartic experience. I don't think the Mavs played particularly well for 3 quarters, the Blazers are just that bad.
Some thoughts:
- DJJ has gained some incredible confidence. He hit 2 stare down threes off the catch and just drained them. He took I believe Simons off the drive at the top of the key and just powered through him for an easy layup. Stuff like that makes me want to believe we don't need any help at the forward (even if it's a ridiculous thought).
- Kyrie wow. Just completely dominated the game on both ends. I felt like he could've had 40+ tonight if he really wanted to, but he picked his spots. That first quarter scoring romp really settled the Mavs. He was on fire and just unstoppable. But not only that, he defended the Blazers so well. He did the patented Dirk slap I believe 5 times and prevented 5 easy layups for the Blazers. He was everywhere tonight. I easily could've given him the Dirkie. Just a great game from him.
- AJ Lawson has a lot of talent. I wasn't a big believer in him last season. This season he looks so much more poised and his aggression driving to the rim is just suffocating for defenses. If he becomes a consistent 3pt shooter, which I don't think he's there yet, I don't see why the Mavs haven't found a consistent rotation guy in Lawson
- Speaking of consistent rotation guys, Josh Green finally had a game where I thought it was a statement game. He needs to play like this every game. I obviously don't expect him to hit half time beating buzzers, or throw some random stuff up and make it all the time. But he looked for his shot tonight. I wonder if the Mavs marathon playstyle finally helped Green get into some rhythm. We know he's a transition player. Of Greens 8 attempts, 7 of them were in the paint where he made 6. Of his 7 overall made shots, 3 of them were off steals and were transition buckets. 1 was off a broken defense forgetting to defend an inbounds pass. 2 were consistent looks he is going to get within the offense, and 1 was just a hail mary end of clock buzzer beater. I want more of Green being aggressive to shoot and less reliant on transition buckets. It certainly doesn't hurt that he generates so many though.
- Finally I'm giving my Dirkie to Omax. I am so excited for this dude. His one little crossover between the legs drive that just left the layup short is the stuff we see from Kawhi, Siakam, and any premium 2 way forward we are clamoring for. His defense was great. He hit 2 threes this game that looked solid. The only downside is that I'm pretty mad at Kidd for not finding more minutes for OMax earlier in the game where stuff mattered. He rather run a 5 guard lineup and put DJJ at center. I guess he also was just having fun with the lowly Blazers. My one small critique from OMax comes from a moment in the late 3rd where he looked lost on an offensive set, and was confused on who to set the pick on, either THJ or Kyrie. It was for Kyrie but it certainly ruined the flow of the play. He shouldn't be questioning stuff like that. He should know the playbook inside and out. Of course this is an isolated moment and it could've come from a random play Kidd had drawn up and the rookie just forgot. But I expect great things from OMax and I want him to have a Tom Brady level "prove it" type vibe. Overall he gets my Dirkie.
Some random Portland thoughts:
- Its a lot of fun to shit talk Powell, even if some of the time (most of the time?) it's undeserved. Watching Portland's center rotation tonight has given me a newfound respect for granite head. Reath and Badji are some of the worst players I've seen in the NBA in a long time. Reminds me of DJ Mbenga and/or Hasheem Thabeet. Just bottom of the barrel stuff. At least Reath can shoot a bit, but both of them are some of the most reckless guys. At times I felt they were trying to hurt people.
- Chauncy Billups is the defacto worst coach in the NBA. In what world does Sharpe not start and play 40mpg on this team? Why is Camara getting so many minutes? What is he doing? The Blazers look lost. I'm glad they lost by so much
I don't usually post in this thread, and I echo Omax being good.
But Josh Green had Exum stats at 14-5-5. He was very active everywhere. If you get Exum and Green both managing several rebounds and assists, that practically guarantees a win if Luca/Kyrie have just average games.
Rotation in general gets a Dirkie.
I really liked the way Hardy played. He is a scorer but I feel like sometimes he has fallen in love trying to get his own this year. His way to earn playing time is how he played last night. I had not idea he had 9 assists and 9 boards.
Kyrie probably deserve the Dirkie. I think we may have been a little rudderless without him out there.
I gave the Dirkie to Josh though. While Hardy played the whole fourth, I think Josh hardly played in the 4th. He was everything I wanted from him last night. Even discounting his scoring. You felt his prescence all night. Not every game will be like this but he has to do it more than once every few games mixed with a bad game. He looked like a starter last night and an important piece moving forward.
(01-06-2024, 03:51 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]. . . Chauncy Billups is the defacto worst coach in the NBA.
He’s really, really bad.
Billups might be terrible for all I know, but what I know for sure is that Jerami Grant was an AMAZING player as a long, switchable defensive specialist in Denver. Since then he has been chasing featured offensive roles and the checks that come with them, and right now he's the offensive focal point of an entire team.
Love Denver Grant, but I don't think any coach could win with a team built around star player Grant.
Grant is a slight 6-7. In Denver he was surrounded by bigs. He’d be a decent wing contributor here. He isn’t a big. DFS is a better big. And a bigger one. As is Omax.
(01-06-2024, 01:49 PM)The Jom Wrote: [ -> ]Grant is a slight 6-7. In Denver he was surrounded by bigs. He’d be a decent wing contributor here. He isn’t a big. DFS is a better big. And a bigger one. As is Omax.
Well, this doesn't really have anything to do with my point, but since you're changing the subject, I disagree.
Grant is the absolute prototype of what an NBA 4 should be. He's strong, can move like a guard, and has a 7'3" wingspan. That's 1" shorter than JJJ, a center, and 2" longer than O-Max (whom I love).
Basically, Grant is the dream player who can literally (not just stated casually) guard 1-5. It's a shame he's trying to become a star, where he will just always come up short. The Grant we saw during that Denver season is the exact mold I'd try to fit O-Max into on the Mavs.