Another good win, but the Knicks comeback leaves just a little (bad) taste in my mouth. That should never happen. Oh well...we won.
Streaky Hardaway had an ok night.
DJJ had a bad shooting night.
Dwight Powell is not in the poll--but what choice did we have? He plays hard every night.
Kyrie "THE MAN" needs no lead up. And he was the "Dirkie" man tonight.
Josh Green showed up for most, but not all, of the night
Grant Williams had one of his better nights.
And finally, last, but not least--Jaden Hardy. He was important, but seems to have been bitten by the JG bug...
Highest scoring game as a Mav with 10 dimes and sticking it to Brickson with Luka out, it's Kyrie.
It was good to see Hardaway get back on track although he took some shots that pissed me off. Josh Green deserves a mention for hitting that huge shot late
Josh Green was very good! Honorable mention.
Tim Hardaway was absolutely terrific! Runner up.
Kyrie Irving just completely killed it! Dirkie deserving.
Kyrie is fun to watch with his incredible skills. That very difficult creation of the open shot that Josh Green hit won us the game.
Mostly a Dr. Jekyll night. Mr. Hyde showed up late but Kyrie and company kept him in control. Kyrie and Tim were great and some other guys chipped in with timely plays. I thought they’d play well after that last debacle and they rose to the challenge.
I guess I'm going against the grain here and voting for Josh.
Kyrie was no doubt the MVP of the game and was the primary reason the Mavs won. He basically carried the entire team like Luka. It was incredible watching him orchestrate the offense without having to do more than 1 pass most of the time.
But I'm giving the Dirkie to Green for that clutch 3 that sealed the game. Ice in his veins. He defended Brunson well the whole night, and got out in transition over and over for easy buckets. He even had some solid half court production.
I still need to figure out why Green looks like a legit rotation player when only 1 of Luka or Kyrie plays.
(01-12-2024, 12:23 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]I guess I'm going against the grain here and voting for Josh.
Kyrie was no doubt the MVP of the game and was the primary reason the Mavs won. He basically carried the entire team like Luka. It was incredible watching him orchestrate the offense without having to do more than 1 pass most of the time.
But I'm giving the Dirkie to Green for that clutch 3 that sealed the game. Ice in his veins. He defended Brunson well the whole night, and got out in transition over and over for easy buckets. He even had some solid half court production.
I still need to figure out why Green looks like a legit rotation player when only 1 of Luka or Kyrie plays.
I think Green is not a natural Alpha dog. I suspect he has always been happy to be a third banana...snug in a rug...however you want to say it. If he can learn to be an Alpha--he will be good. The coaches have to help him learn...
(01-12-2024, 01:55 PM)ballsrchr Wrote: [ -> ]I think Green is not a natural Alpha dog. I suspect he has always been happy to be a third banana...snug in a rug...however you want to say it. If he can learn to be an Alpha--he will be good. The coaches have to help him learn...
At some point it has to come from Green though. You can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink. I feel like that rings extra true for Josh. He has all the tools and we've seen flashes of what he could be.
Im also at times wondering if we're harping over a non issue with Josh because his passiveness and willingness to be the oil to make the gears turn also helps keep other guys in rhythm. His comfortability to be without the ball for long periods is a big plus next to Luka and we've seen over and over how rare that skill can be.
Hard to find a middle ground where Josh can float easily between strong 3rd option to passive playmaker throughout a game and expect him to be consistent.
(01-12-2024, 02:34 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]At some point it has to come from Green though. You can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink. I feel like that rings extra true for Josh. He has all the tools and we've seen flashes of what he could be.
Im also at times wondering if we're harping over a non issue with Josh because his passiveness and willingness to be the oil to make the gears turn also helps keep other guys in rhythm. His comfortability to be without the ball for long periods is a big plus next to Luka and we've seen over and over how rare that skill can be.
Hard to find a middle ground where Josh can float easily between strong 3rd option to passive playmaker throughout a game and expect him to be consistent.
Agreed.
Sometimes a player views themselves as the alpha, and has an alpha mentality, demands to get paid like an alpha, but ends up being either a detriment to his team, or an empty-stats guy.
Who would you rather have: Josh Green, or Russell Westbrook?
(01-12-2024, 02:48 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: [ -> ]Agreed.
Sometimes a player views themselves as the alpha, and has an alpha mentality, demands to get paid like an alpha, but ends up being either a detriment to his team, or an empty-stats guy.
Who would you rather have: Josh Green, or Russell Westbrook?
There is a huge space between a Green and a Westbrook...
But, more aggresive Green would have much more value. Either for this team or someone else, if they couldn't make it work. We can also see on this very same team that more aggresive guys have place - THJ, Exum, Hardy and even DJJ. Some take the opportunity, some try to take it but are not always very efficient. Some take the opportunity and pass Green in the pecking order...
Green not taking good chances and not using all of his abilities is not a virtue, it is an excuse about his weakness.
(01-12-2024, 03:02 PM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]There is a huge space between a Green and a Westbrook...
But, more aggresive Green would have much more value. Either for this team or someone else, if they couldn't make it work. We can also see on this very same team that more aggresive guys have place - THJ, Exum, Hardy and even DJJ. Some take the opportunity, some try to take it but are not always very efficient. Some take the opportunity and pass Green in the pecking order...
Green not taking good chances and not using all of his abilities is not a virtue, it is an excuse about his weakness.
I'd argue that a player provides the greatest value to his team when he complements the players around him. This might or might not maximize his own abilities.
I'll go back to Westbrook as an example. His attitude and style of play has always been: "This is who I am. This is how I play. Y'all adapt!"
I remember when he and KD were on the same team. When the game was on the line, he'd often insist on taking that last shot himself, even though KD was ridiculously more efficient.
What would his career have been like if he'd been willing to defer a bit more? Try to maximize his teammates rather than insisting on being the alpha?
I've appreciated Kyrie's game lately. He clearly could choose to dominate every possession, demand the ball - yet he willingly shares and seeks to get teammates good looks.
Could Josh Green look for his shot more? Sure. Could any player? Also, yes.
Would it be helpful to the team? That's the bigger question.
(01-12-2024, 03:14 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: [ -> ]I'd argue that a player provides the greatest value to his team when he complements the players around him. This might or might not maximize his own abilities.
I'll go back to Westbrook as an example. His attitude and style of play has always been: "This is who I am. This is how I play. Y'all adapt!"
I remember when he and KD were on the same team. When the game was on the line, he'd often insist on taking that last shot himself, even though KD was ridiculously more efficient.
What would his career have been like if he'd been willing to defer a bit more? Try to maximize his teammates rather than insisting on being the alpha?
I've appreciated Kyrie's game lately. He clearly could choose to dominate every possession, demand the ball - yet he willingly shares and seeks to get teammates good looks.
Could Josh Green look for his shot more? Sure. Could any player? Also, yes.
Would it be helpful to the team? That's the bigger question.
But we can see on this very team, that it is helpful. Exum... THJ chucking every shot and has value...
(01-12-2024, 12:23 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]I still need to figure out why Green looks like a legit rotation player when only 1 of Luka or Kyrie plays.
The Luka/Kyrie/Green lineups are a net +10 with a crazy 128 offensive rating, so there doesn't seem to be much harm in him being passive in those lineups.
Personally I think he needs to be a little more aggressive offensively, but my bigger concern is the defense. I feel like he needs to play better point of attack defense to be a truly valuable rotational player. Last night was a good start.
(01-12-2024, 03:14 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: [ -> ]I'd argue that a player provides the greatest value to his team when he complements the players around him. This might or might not maximize his own abilities.
I've appreciated Kyrie's game lately. He clearly could choose to dominate every possession, demand the ball - yet he willingly shares and seeks to get teammates good looks.
Could Josh Green look for his shot more? Sure. Could any player? Also, yes.
Would it be helpful to the team? That's the bigger question.
I like what someone said yesterday about their kid having a "B" and demanding a teacher conference. Is this really a problem?
I think the picture you are painting is especially pertinent on this team. Luka is going to just demand a certain amount of usage. I think Kyrie is also announcing he can only defer so much (he said as much the other day regarding the beginnings of games). And, THJ, right or wrong, is going to 'get his'.
I find it incredibly valuable that Josh has this switch to his game. The issue would be if he couldn't come through on those nights when either Luka or Kyrie is missing. I'm glad he's not jacking up 23 shots per 100 possessions or hitting 38% of his FG's like some of our other guards. Would it hurt my feelings if he found a usage groove closer to Exum's? No, not at all. But, I think we tend to miss what Josh is because we spend so much time trying to make him something he isn't...yet. Frankly, I'm really glad he has that gear even if he only uses it occasionally.
Also, how long did it take Exum to find that groove??? Way longer than Josh has been in the league. Give him another year or 2. Or may just a couple more months will do it.