Mavs are 8th seed going in to the break!
(03-04-2021, 12:29 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Mavs are 8th seed going in to the break!
Great run since Feb 3 (10 of 13). Plus, we missed out on 2 wins imo against the Rockets and Pistons. Moving up 6 spots is pretty cool although easier through the lottery types than it will be chasing down the playoff teams ahead of the Mavs now.
(03-04-2021, 12:29 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Mavs are 8th seed going in to the break!
It feels nice, REAL nice. And I think Spurs are going to sell-off so Mavs would benefit if that happens as its one less team trying to compete for the playoffs.
Now would be a good time to pull the trigger on any role player trades. Give everybody a chance to start whatever COVID transition is required and start acclimation to Mav's culture.
Once the season re-starts there won't be much time to integrate new players.
Hard to be the guy trying to clean up Vlade's mess.
(03-04-2021, 05:03 PM)ItsGoTime Wrote: [ -> ]Hard to be the guy trying to clean up Vlade's mess.
So far, every team who passed on Luka has a casualty. GM's from PHX and SAC, and the coach in ATL. ATL gm is next, I think.
(03-04-2021, 05:02 PM)ClutchDirk Wrote: [ -> ]There could be a number of changes to the roster before the March 25 trade deadline. Changes to the coaching staff could come even sooner than that. The Kings (13-21) will play host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday before concluding the first half on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. After that, anything could happen.
The Kings are still smarting after losing nine in a row during one of the longest losing streaks in franchise history. Walton’s critics are carrying torches and pitchforks through the public square on social media, calling on the organization to fire the coach for the 11th time in 15 years. Meanwhile, Kings general manager Monte McNair is calling around the league to explore trade possibilities, with one source recently saying Sacramento was working on something significant.
https://kingsherald.com/articles/report-...gnificant/
Getting another high pick is probably the best strategy for the Kings. They hit a homerun on Haliburtan. Fox is good. I have no idea what happened to Bagley. He was my second favorite guy in that draft. I thought he would be an walking 20-10 very early in his career. I have not seen him play this year, but his performance is odd. I was sniffing around a Buddy Heild trade for Hardaway this offseason. I was wrong on that. I thought Heild would bounce back, but it looks like he is pretty similar to last year, I think.
They will probably lose Holmes this offseason, so it would be best to get something for him now. Same thing for Bjelinca. Maybe they can get some assets for both. Same thing for Barnes...who is playing well. But as we have seen, he does not move the needle. Contenders will want him though, so it will allow the Kings to get off that contract.
So build around Fox, Haliburtan. Draft another young player. Hope Bagley bounces back. It will be a long road, but if they find a nice young player in the next draft, they may have some hope for the future.
(03-04-2021, 05:21 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: [ -> ]Getting another high pick is probably the best strategy for the Kings. They hit a homerun on Haliburtan. Fox is good. I have no idea what happened to Bagley. He was my second favorite guy in that draft. I thought he would be an walking 20-10 very early in his career. I have not seen him play this year, but his performance is odd. I was sniffing around a Buddy Heild trade for Hardaway this offseason. I was wrong on that. I thought Heild would bounce back, but it looks like he is pretty similar to last year, I think.
They will probably lose Holmes this offseason, so it would be best to get something for him now. Same thing for Bjelinca. Maybe they can get some assets for both. Same thing for Barnes...who is playing well. But as we have seen, he does not move the needle. Contenders will want him though, so it will allow the Kings to get off that contract.
So build around Fox, Haliburtan. Draft another young player. Hope Bagley bounces back. It will be a long road, but if they find a nice young player in the next draft, they may have some hope for the future.
I still kind of think a THJ/Buddy Love swap makes some sense. THJ is a better locker room guy and a guy that you can let walk if you don't like the tire kick. Buddy's contract and more consistent shooting would be attractive to Dallas. Buddy could use a change of scenery.
(03-04-2021, 11:39 PM)Hypermav Wrote: [ -> ]https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/04/knick...rce-trade/
Yawn, more Knicks fantasy.
The blog boi uses Jay Williams as his source too for this article too.
I will say that he doesn't actually think this is a realistic scenario, but I mean c'mon. This is why the Knicks are better off being bad. This is their best season in nearly a decade, where they wouldn't even be the 9th seed in the West (but are 5th in the East), and they're already conjuring up ridiculous trades because they think they deserve it.
Imagine the Knicks writing about them trading for Jayson Tatum. Or better yet them trading for CJ McCollum. Wait they actually did write about that and their package is built around Frank the Tank/Obi and this years first
https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/03/new-y...ilikina/4/
Like my god. Please Knicks go away back to obscurity.
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_...oel-embiid
The Dallas Mavericks ranked 21st in points per possession on Feb. 2. That was not shocking given how the coronavirus ravaged them. But even as Dallas started cobbling its rotation back together, things didn't look right. Something ineffable -- a certain pop -- was missing.
Not anymore.
This was the sort of improvisation that made the Mavs' offense special last season. They had a style and an identity beyond Luka Doncic running streams of pick-and-rolls. Doncic is one of the league's give-and-go geniuses. When he makes in-between plays like this, it enlivens the Dallas ecosystem with a joyful, hyperaware verve. Hell, it helped turn Kristaps Porzingis into a decent passer at times.
Josh Richardson is attacking with renewed rigor (even if his 3-pointer is still M.I.A.), and the Mavs are hunting points in semi-transition -- healthy for a slow team that prefers the predictable organization of half-court sets:
Numbers don't reveal evidence of any systematic transformation -- beyond the Mavs finding their collective 3-point stroke.
Their passing numbers -- total passes, hockey assists, assist rate -- are up a little, but there is no dramatic jump. They aren't generating more fast-break buckets, though they have been more efficient in transition, per both Cleaning The Glass and Inpredictable. They have exchanged some midrangers for 3s, and their improved 3-point accuracy is partly the product of cleaner shots. (Most of their uptick in attempts has come via catch-and-shoots.)
But sometimes you just know it when you see it. A bunch of small improvements adds up to something bigger. The Mavs look right again. They are settling into a rotation, and leaning on what we all expected would be their core lineups.
Now we have to see progress on defense. That starts with Porzingis, who has appeared livelier in the past week. If the Mavs emerge as a slightly above-average defense by the postseason -- assuming they get in -- nobody will be excited about playing them.
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