Knicks will add 25 year old Argentinian PG and Spanish league finals MVP Luca (pronounced Luka) Vildoza on a four year deal.


https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/3139...agent-says

This will most likely be the end of Ntilikina, so we´ll see how much the Mavs really liked him.

On paper he could be a great fit on our team, if he ever finds that European season shooting touch again.

MAVS ROMP IN MIAMI
TWENTY-TWO MADE THREES

Buckets were raining down for the Mavericks in a rollicking victory ten years after they took home the championship in this very city. What a fun watch!


GAME STORY

Porzingis was ruled out for Dallas with his sore knee, and Carlisle broke the news that Maxi would be out for this game and probably two to three more, due to Achilles soreness. He said that Maxi has been “very unlucky,” and has been dealing with the issue for a while. Jimmy Butler was unexpectedly out with illness for Miami, and Tyler Herro sat with a sore foot. 

The Heat opened the game with a made three on each of their first four possessions, followed by a score on a Mavs turnover. The Mavs were 3-14 within the first three minutes. They were down double digits several times during the period, thanks mostly to eight Heat threes, and closed the frame trailing 30-39. Luka led the Mavs with 11. 

The Mavericks crawled slowly back into the game in the second, tied it a few times toward the middle of the period, and achieved their first lead of the game on a deep Luka three with 2:39 remaining in the half. That seemed to get your boys going, and Dallas closed the period on a 8-2 run, going into the locker room with a 63-54 lead. Miami went from shooting 8-9 threes in the first quarter to 1-11 in the second. The Heat were only 3-11 even from inside the arc, and were held to an embarrassing 15 points in the period. Timmy and Luka combined for 17 of the Mavs’ 33. Josh Green played all 12 minutes of the period, and gave the team a needed burst of energy. 

Rick made an adjustment to start the third, electing to go with Green and Powell in place of Richardson and Willie, and sticking with that group for most of the period. Your Dallas Mavericks blew the doors off the gym, playing a brilliant brand of basketball in the period.  Hardaway was a flaming streak of incandescence, with the ball repeatedly flying from his red-hot hands to the basket in a blaze of heat and light. The Mavs led 98-77 after three.

The Heat won the fourth quarter 36-29, but don’t let that fool you — it was a Mavs party! The bench guys got some good run, and Luka never had to step on the court. 


STATISTICS

The shooting stats again tell the story. The Mavs were 62% inside the arc, 46% from deep, and 72% from the line. Comparable Heat percentages were 49/44/81. In terms of where the teams scored their points, Mavs were +6 on points from twos, +12 on points from threes, and -4 in made free throws. Miami had a 40-30 advantage in PIP, and a 16-9 margin in fast-break points, but the Mavs had an 18-9 edge in second-chance points. When the Mavericks are hot from three, they’re all but unstoppable. 


PLAYERS

HARDAWAY. Timmy’s bearded grill was a most welcome sight on the court, after the team sorely missed his scoring punch against the Kings. He was a fresh-legged wonder after the rest game, leading the squad in scoring with 36 points. His career-high ten triples tied Wesley Matthews and George McCloud for the franchise all-time record for made threes in a game. Eighteen of his points came in the third quarter, when he practically emblazoned his number on the Miami court. 

Tim has scored a total of 78 points in his last two starts. Carlisle congratulated him for his exceptional shotmaking after the game, and speculated that his starting roles in his last two games may have had something to do with his amazing performances. Hmm. I think Tim likes to have someone to show off for — he played high-school basketball in Miami, his grandma was in the audience, and his Dad’s number was in the rafters, so it was an extra-special night for him in front of his friends and family. He thanked Shamgod for pushing him during a difficult stretch, encouraging him to work for more arc and a little more follow-through on his shot. Effort rewarded! Keep up the great work, Timmy! This guy's importance to the team cannot be overstated. 

DONCIC. It was also a great night for Luka, who had a 23/12/8 line in a relaxing 30 minutes on the court. He was 5-10 from long range, and hit numerous miracle shots, including an extremely difficult basket over a double team in the second. Rick said he was great — I guess, at some point, you just run out of superlatives. 

GREEN.  We got a serendipitous turn tonight from Josh, who showed out well with a peppy performance in 24 big minutes in his best game as a Mav. His 4/4/3 line doesn’t really reflect his contribution, so perhaps an elaboration is in order. He first appeared in the second quarter, and in Rick’s words, changed the game. He fought for an offensive rebound, made a drive from the baseline for a pretty finish, had a steal resulting in a bucket for Hardaway, and tossed a kick-out pass to THJ for a three. Toward the end of the period, he wrestled Robinson to the floor for a jump ball. He earned a start in the third quarter, and continued his impactful play in similar fashion. Such a treat to see that display of explosiveness and athleticism, which is not really a trademark of the skills-oriented Mavs. 

Rick praised Green's “heart” post-game. He has gotten minutes in, I believe, four of the last five matches, and perhaps this is a harbinger of things to come. Congratulations, rook, you looked like a veteran out there!

BRUNSON. Jalen was outstanding off the bench, with 19 points on 7-12 shooting .He played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, and his competent performance was a big factor in giving Luka some much-needed rest. 

DFS. Dorian led the team in minutes (33), and continued to show his offensive chops with 12 points on 5-6 shooting. The Mavs were a team-high +28 while the Doe-ster was on the court. 

POWELL. Dwight was the primary big on the night, and had 7 points and 10 boards in 29 minutes off the bench. I thought this was one of his best nights of the season, and he was very effective on both ends of the floor on an evening when the Mavericks were missing their two main bigs. 

RICHARDSON.  J Rich was replaced by Green in the second quarter and most of the third, and responded well, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half and making some good defensive plays as well. He lives in Miami in the off season, and going home was probably a bit of extra incentive for him, as well as for THJ. 

MENTIONS. It was a good night for all the Mavs. Willie provided 18 minutes in a de facto backup center role. Burke and Redick also contributed in short minutes, and Hinton and Bey had a couple of minutes at the end of the contest. 

HEAT. Duncan Robinson and Luka’s Slovenian compatriot Goran Dragic led Miami with 19 points apiece. Trevor Ariza, always motivated against the Mavs, had 18. Kendrick Nunn and Gabe Vincent added 14 apiece, and Bam Adebayo barely missed a triple-double with an 11/9/11 line. The team actually played pretty well, but the better team on the night definitely won.  


OBSERVATIONS

Rick was not crazy about the “terrible start,” but was proud of his squad for fighting their way back with some stops, and then making good things start to happen. He termed the victory an important win. 

This was expected to be an intense game, as it involved relatively high stakes for both teams. Each side was in sixth place in its respective conference, and in danger of falling back to the play-in seeds. It did not disappoint in that respect, and even the minutes when the game was already out of reach were entertaining. The Mavericks imposed their style of basketball on the contest, and numerous players made significant contributions to the win. It was a huge break for Dallas that Butler was out, but they were short-handed themselves, and still had to put in the work to take advantage. 

This was an excellent bounce-back game from Dallas, after laying an egg against Sac. Your boys face the loaded Nets on Thursday. Maxi will be out, and KP’s status is game-to-game. The Mavericks are currently a tiebreaker ahead of the Lakers in fifth place, and are playing musical chairs with the Blazers and the Lakers for the 5-6-7 seeds. Let’s hope for a spirited performance against Kyrie and the boys!

Fun times, Mavs fans!!

Who was the player of the game who elevated his game above normal to help the team win?

MAVS BLOWN OUT IN SEASON SWEEP BY SACRAMENTO
CARLISLE, DONCIC EJECTED

The Mavericks never led in a rec-league style game. Thank goodness the mighty Kings are in the rear view mirror. 


GAME STORY

A couple of key guys were missing for both teams — Fox and Barnes for Sac, and KP and Hardaway getting some rest for the Mavs. 

After a hot start the night before, Dallas got off to an 0-8 opening. They fought back to within two points a couple of times in the first quarter, but ultimately found themselves down double digits and closed the period trailing 26-36.

The second quarter was one of the loonier periods of the season, with a number of bizarre happenings. Within the span of approximately a minute, Luka was called for an offensive foul, both Luka and Rick were teed up, Luka had a travel, and Luka threw a bad pass for a turnover.  Things did not improve from there. Josh Green crashed into a chair on the sideline. Powell had a flagrant one for elbowing his defender in the jaw. Then Powell committed another offensive foul, wiping out a Luka basket. During all these goings-on, the Mavericks managed to tie the game three times, but were never able to reach a lead, and closed the quarter badly. They went into halftime down 54-61.

The Mavericks held their own for a few minutes in the third, but totally crumbled in the second half of the period. With Luka in foul trouble, a variety of bench-heavy units were fielded. The team went down by as much as 17, and had a 72-87 disadvantage going into the fourth. The Mavs were 1-11 from deep and managed only 18 points in the quarter. 

The final frame opened inauspiciously with a Terence Davis three. The Mavs responded with a run that teased us with the hope of better things, cutting the deficit in half at 8:45. The margin was down to five with 4 minutes to go. Down the stretch, the Kings seemed to be begging to give the game away, committing a cluster of fouls and turnovers. The Mavericks, alas, were unable to capitalize, and unravelled at the end, with both Carlisle and Luka getting ejected in the last minute. Yikes. 


STATISTICS

When the Mavs aren’t shooting well from three, that does not tend to bode well, and tonight they recorded a miserable 6 of 35 (17%) from beyond the arc, compared with 11-28 (39%) for the Kings. Sac also dominated the interior, and had a 64-46 advantage in PIP.  It was a foul-ridden contest, and Dallas did enjoy a 31-16 advantage in FTAs. Maverick point differentials for the night were -12 on points from twos, -15 on points from threes, and +15 on made free throws. It was a sloppy match in general, with the two teams combining for 37 turnovers, 17 of which were committed by the Mavs. Seven Mavericks, including starters Maxi, DFS, and Powell, were in double-digit negative territory in the +/- column. Just a goofy, junked-up game, where the Mavs could neither defend nor score. 


PLAYERS

DONCIC. Luka had a 30/6/6 line, along with a couple of steals, in a team-high 36 minutes, but I wouldn’t consider this one of his better games. He was 1-7 from distance, got in foul trouble in the third quarter, had 6 turnovers, took some bad shots, and was called for his 14th and 15th technical fouls of the season. He was arguably responsible for some of the dissolution into chaos, and seemed to be allowing his feelings to get the better of him. Maybe he was just tired and in a bad mood over the officiating and not getting much help after 39 minutes the previous night in a historically great performance. 

As far as the technical fouls go, the first tech was for yelling "hell, no" and shaking his fist after an offensive foul was called. The second was for throwing the ball in a dead-ball situation while Rick was getting ejected. One might argue that the officials maybe should have turned their heads at that, and we can hope that the Ts get rescinded, but the fact remains that Luka knows the rules, and when you’re nearing a suspension, you need to be more careful. Unless one or both of these fouls is rescinded, his next T during the regular season will come with a one-game suspension.

POWELL. Dwight had 13 points on perfect 3-3 shooting, and got to the line for 9 FTAs, hitting 7. He also boasted 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, but had 3 turnovers and a couple of pretty rough offensive fouls. He looked particularly good in the first quarter, where he provided some good energy, had 9 points, and flew in for a dramatic block. Sac appeared to be staying home on the shooters and more or less letting Luka and Powell do their thing during that sequence, but they subsequently adjusted. 

MARJANOVIC. Bobi had 8 points and 7 boards in 12 minutes. Notwithstanding that, I might have a nit to pick in terms of how he was used, as he took only three shots, to go with four free throw attempts.  On the other hand, it ended up working out all right, as the team was +12 while he was playing, so perhaps all's well that ends well. 

The big man was also the victim of some nastiness by the Kings, which sent him tumbling to the floor, going over in a backward somersault, and getting up with a rare scowl. You know it has gotten serious when Boban is giving opponents the snide eye. At any rate, his turnaround jumper over Richaun Holmes in the second quarter was designated the What-A-Burger play of the game. 

STARTERS. DFS was the only Mav besides Luka to play over 30 minutes, and looked out of sorts in his 35 minutes of action. He was 1-7 from the field with 3 total points, grabbed only 5 boards, committed 4 turnovers, and was not able to do much in the way of stopping Sac’s talented offensive players. Maxi also had a very poor night, with 5 points, 2-8 shooting, and only 3 rebounds. Richardson had 11 points. I could be imagining things, but it has seemed to me for a while now that Josh just has no lift left in his legs, as he struggles to complete layups. 

RESERVES. Brunson was the second-highest scoring Mav in his sixth man role, with 17 points, 8-12 shooting, and 3 assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Burke had 7 points in 17 minutes. WCS, Melli, Green, and Redick combined for 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in a total 37 minutes. SMH. 

KINGS. The Kings did not let the absence of D’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes stop them from scoring. Buddy Hield torched the Mavs with 27 points, 6 threes, and 6 rebounds. Marvin Bagley lit them up with 23 points, 9 boards, and 10-16 shooting. Richaun Holmes had 17 points and 7 rebounds, and was 7-10 from the floor. Former Mav Delon Wright recorded 14 points, was 7-9, and had 5 assists off the bench. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton had 11 points and 5 assists before he left the court with an apparent non-contact injury in the third quarter, never to return. Thoughts and prayers for the youngster. 


OBSERVATIONS

Coach Carlisle observed that his team did not play well on either end of the court. Although they created some decent looks and showed good energy and effort in parts of the game, they weren’t consistent enough, and too many shots didn’t go down. Additionally, they struggled defensively and on the boards, and had no answer for Marvin Bagley. He lamented another poor start and admitted that there were no excuses for showing out with a game of this lack of quality. 

Rick thought he was at fault for setting a bad example in getting two technical fouls, and apologized to the team for the error in judgment. He said that he received the second tech because he was angry that an obvious travel had not been called. I wondered whether this confession was also an oblique criticism of Luka getting two technicals. The second techs seemed particularly unwise, since the game was already out of reach, and there was nothing to be gained in the contest by getting thrown out. Devin Harris thinks the team is just going through some maturity issues (although one might question this analysis wrt Carlisle). The officiating was ragged, to say the least, and we will probably never know whether the Mavs' overt expressions of frustration will result in anything changing in the broader picture. 

It is puzzling that Sacramento has proved to be such a tough nut for the Mavs to crack. They actually are a good offensive team, so maybe one can understand their running up the score a little. But they are generally a very poor defensive team, giving up 119 PPG, and it is head scratching that the Mavericks have found it so difficult to score against them. For this game, the Bally Sports crew blamed poor shot selection, too much settling, and getting sucked into playing the Kings’ preferred rough-and-tumble style game. Along with the terrible defense, of course. Maybe Sac just has our number. It can't have helped that two of the Mavericks' most potent offensive weapons were in street clothes on the bench, although that was the tradeoff the team chose to make. 

Anyway, your boys have eight games left in the run up to the playoffs, or the play-in, as the case may be. Due to the Portland win and Laker loss tonight, all three teams are tied at 36-28, and the Mavs would currently have the three-way tie breaker as division winner. Hopefully, they can get themselves healthy and develop a little consistency in this last stretch.  

Miami on Tuesday, Mavs fans.  

KP-LESS MAVS SALVAGE THRILLER AGAINST WIZARDS

After squandering an 18-point lead, the Mavs came back from eight points down to start the fourth quarter. With a DFS game-winning three, your boys stole a heart-stopper in the clutch. 


GAME STORY

Porzingis (knee) and Redick (heel) were on the injured list for the Mavs. The Wizards were at full strength, except for a couple of guys on season-ending injuries. Carlisle chose a starting lineup of Doncic-Richardson-DFS-Maxi-Powell. 

Slow starts? What slow starts? The Mavs came out of the gates flying, shooting 61%, and completing 6-10 threes in the first quarter. The ball was zipping around the court like greased lightning. Dallas was out to a double-digit lead within 5 minutes, and ended the quarter at 38-26. Luka led the squad with13 points, scoring or assisting on every one of the team’s first 13 baskets.  Whoo-ee!

The Mavs achieved an 18-point cushion a couple of times in the second, but the Wiz closed on a 16-5 run in the last 3:38, leaving Dallas with a 70-65 edge going into the locker room. Russell Westbrook imposed his will with 18 points in the period, and Bradley Beal wasn’t far behind with 11. The half was an offensive fireworks display, with both teams shooting 50% or more overall and from distance. 

The Wizards continued chipping away in the third, achieving a lead at 3:22 and going on a 13-3 run to close the period. The Mavs were trailing 89-97 after three. Dallas went cold from the field, hitting 1-10 from three and managing a measly 19 points in the frame. 

Carlisle went with a six-man rotation in the fourth, starting with Luka-Burke-THJ-DFS-WCS, and bringing in Powell for Willie in the last five minutes. 

The Mavs fought back to a 2-point lead at 6:49. The game evolved into a dogfight at that point, with the score seesawing back and forth and never getting further apart than a two-point difference until a Burke triple put Dallas ahead by 3 at 3:17. 

A Beal layup and Hachimura three put the Wiz back up two at 2:27.  A Luka pull up tied the game at 2:02. 

Hardaway drew an offensive foul on Bradley Beal, but then DFS stepped out of bounds for a turnover at 1:35. 

Beal and DFS exchanged layups to tie the game again at 1:10.  

Beal hit two free throws, and Luka countered with a 20’ pull up with 35 seconds left. 

Beal completed another two free throws, and Luka passed to DFS for a go-ahead corner three with 9 seconds left. 

The Wiz got an open shot on their last play, but Beal missed the three, Luka rebounded, and the buzzer sounded. Woo-hoo!


STATISTICS

Dallas tends to live and die by the three, and tonight was no exception. They put up 19 (!) more 3PTAs then the opponent, and hit 45% from range. The Wiz enjoyed a 31-22 advantage in FTAs, and the Mavericks also missed 8 freebies, resulting in a 24-14 advantage for Washington at the line. The Wiz dominated the interior, with a 60-42 margin in PIP. Your boys were out-rebounded 36-46, but had 31 assists on 47 made baskets. Our team lost 16 points on 11 turnovers to a Wizards team that has been forcing 18 per game. 

The home team Mavs entered the clutch period tied at 111-all, and were 14-13 during that time. The clutch unit was Luka-Burke-THJ-DFS-Powell — what Carlisle termed the team’s “best offensive unit for the night.”


PLAYERS

DONCIC. Luka was stellar even by his own amazing standards, notching another triple-double with 31 points, 12 rebounds, a remarkable career-high 20 assists, and only one turnover. The Wiz were double-teaming him all night, and he responded in exactly the right way. In the stretch where the team was struggling to catch up, he came in with a spate of omg-he-really-did-that shots to confound the opposition and rescue his squad. At one point, Harp accused him of clowning the opponent with his many circus shots. Rick complimented his clutch management, admiring his poise and terming his performance “spectacular.” The Mavericks always have a chance with this phenom on the court.

DFS. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but Doe-Doe really seems to be making a leap in his offensive game. He had 22 points on 8-12 shooting, and was 6-9 from distance, including the game winner and his 100th three of the season. It seems to me that he is playing with a lot of confidence on the offensive end, and is scoring much more on cuts and drives, rather than just being a one-trick spot-up shooter. If he has turned into a genuine two-way threat, that’s huge for the Mavs. I liked it that Luka showed the confidence in him to give him the opportunity at the end of the game, even after his unforced out-of-bounds turnover. You go, Dorian!

WCS. Willie served as the game’s primary big, playing 27 minutes off the bench, recording 6 points and 12 boards, and also boasting 2 blocks and 2 steals. He was impactful defensively, until Rick went with Powell in the clutch for an offensive boost. Good one-two punch with these two variously talented big men!

STARTERS. Maxi had a great offensive game, hitting 5 threes and racking up 17 points, as well as providing his usual defense. He was upgraded from "probable" to open the contest, and did not play in the fourth period. Not the best night for Richardson, who had 8 points, 3-11 shooting, and 4 turnovers. There was a particularly bad sequence in the third, when his errant pass led to a broken play, and then he fumbled an inbounds pass back out of bounds on an unforced turnover. He was limited to 23 minutes on the night, as Carlisle went with Burke in the fourth quarter. Powell had 11 points in 19 minutes, got to the line for 5-6 FTAs, and was counted on by Rick to start and finish the game. 

RESERVES. Hardaway was limited by foul trouble in the first half, but came back to score 9 of his 16 points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. He had an 18’ pull-up, his blow-by of his defender for a layup triggered a Wiz timeout, he followed that with a three, his floater at 7:08 tied the game, and he drew an offensive foul on Beal with 1:47 left. He was 7-12 from the field (4-5 in the fourth), and also had 4 assists. Burke played all but 9 seconds of the fourth quarter, and had 7 timely points. Carlisle congratulated him for “coming up big” after sitting out during the first thirty-six minutes. Brunson filled in with 4 points in 15 minutes as backup point guard, and Melli put in 10 minutes of action. 

WIZARDS. Russell Westbrook always puts on a show, and tonight was no exception, as he posted 42 points, 10 boards, and 9 dimes, and very nearly saved his team’s bacon. He did the Mavs a solid in the fourth with a spectacular tip-in of a DFS miss for a Maverick bucket. Bradley Beal torched the Mavs with 29 points. Rui Hachimura chipped in 18 points on 7-11 shooting.


OBSERVATIONS

The Wizards are a much better team than their record would suggest, and they came in on a roll. They had the Mavs’ attention from the outset, and Dallas was in some respects lucky to come away with the win. Rick gave credit to the Wiz for throwing a “hellacious” game at us, and noted that his team needs to do a better job bearing down once they have built a lead. However, he felt that this was a “phenomenal” and important victory, and took pride in his squad’s tenacity. 

After witnessing a lukewarm performance by the Mavs in Detroit, I was somewhat apprehensive coming in to the game, and did not feel any better when the Wiz managed a 26-point swing, going from down 18 to up 8. Kudos to Rick for shaking up the rotation in the fourth and then sticking with what was working. Also to the players for their perseverance, and to Luka and Doe-Doe for their outstanding nights. 

Our boys face Sacramento tomorrow night — a team which has had their number this season. KP will not be available, so the other bigs will need to step up and find a way to protect the paint on the second night of a back-to-back. Fortunately, only two Mavs exceeded 30 minutes tonight — DFS with 40 minutes and Luka with 39. It is yet to be determined whether any other Mavs will be rested against the Kings. 

With this victory, the Mavs tied the Lakers at 36-27, and are a tiebreaker ahead with the fifth seed in the West!!! They control their own destiny now, so let’s hope they can hang on!

Who was the player of the game who elevated his game to help the team win?