https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status...5168094208

Depleted Mavs Unravel

The Mavericks were hanging in, tied at 71-71 in the third quarter. In the twinkling of any eye, they were down 22. Followill said it was like all the oxygen was sucked out of the arena. Not in a slow leak, but in a loud pop. And it was all over but the shouting. Pretty shocking. 


Game Story

The Grizz had several players on the injured list. In addition, Crowder and Hill were removed from pre-game warmups as potential parts of a possible trade. Luka, Powell, Seth, and Barea were all out of action for the Mavs. Rick went with the same starting lineup as last game -- Brunson/THJ/DFS/KP/Maxi.

The Mavs got off to a modest lead, and then duked it out for the rest of the first quarter, finishing the frame with a 32-31 edge. KP had a 15-point period. In the second, Memphis went on a 19-4 run, but Dallas ground their way back to within three, entering halftime at 56-59. 

The Mavs were tied at 71-all, when the Mavs started coming unglued. The boys were unable to score on one possession, despite getting three offensive rebounds. WCS fouled a three-point shooter, resulting in a 4-point play for Memphis. He then had a traveling turnover, followed by a second shooting foul. KP came back in, but had to exit almost immediately, with Josh Jackson elbowing him in the face and breaking his nose. By the time he came back in a few minutes later, the team was down 21 points, with Memphis having gone on a 29-7 run by the end of the quarter. The fourth was more of the same. Yikes.


Analytics

The Mavs hit 17 threes, and completed 22 of their 24 FTAs. They were done in with a terrible inside game on both ends of the court, ending up +15 on points from threes, +7 on made free throws, and -36 on points from twos. They shot a putrid 33% on 51 shots from inside the arc. The Grizz had a devastating 60-26 advantage in points in the paint. Memphis also accumulated 15 second-chance points and 22 fast-break points. Just a butchering. The final scoreline was favorable to the Mavs, who were behind by as much as 25 points in the fourth quarter. When KP wasn't on the court, the Grizzlies had a veritable parade to the basket. Even when he was on, at times. 


Players

Porzingis (29 min). There were some things to like about this performance, and first among them was Porzee. He had another monster game -- 33 points, 10-20 shooting, five threes, 7-7 from the line, 12 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He was transcendent offensively, hitting shots from everywhere on the court, circus shots, a long trailing three, a bank shot from the side of the basket, just all over the place. He also stood between the rim and Memphis' paint marauders, as much as he could. It was his third consecutive game with 30+ points and 10+ rebounds. The only other NBA players who have had three such games this season are Luka, Giannis, and Kawhi. 

Carlisle agreed that KP was in a good offensive rhythm, but except for his shotmaking, the Mavs didn't have much going in that department. We hope his nose isn't serious, and it is a shame his performance was wasted in a loss. On the other hand, his consistency with Luka out has been impressive. 

Brunson (33 min) also performed well, scoring 20 points and dishing five assists. The FSSW studio crew had a segment on him. They thought he was consistent, aggressive and solid, and did a decent job running the team. However, he can't do what Luka does, in terms of creating shots for his teammates, and with Seth and Barea also out, Brunson might have been in a little over his head. 

The Mavs had pretty pathetic shooting from some of their key players. DFS (2-9), Maxi (4-11), THJ (3-13), Jackson (1-8). Yuck. Dallas lost the battle of the benches 54-26. 


Remarks

Rick was not happy with the performance. He credited Memphis with playing extremely well, and acknowledged that the visitors had a lot to do with the loss. He said that the Mavs weren't playing well in the first half, but managed to hang in with some decent shotmaking. Then, the bottom fell out. The offense sputtered, ball movement was lacking, and they struggled defensively. Said he has to work harder on getting the squad prepared to play. Found it a very disappointing and ugly game, from a Mavs perspective. 

When he was asked if the team was distracted, he said the trade deadline being tomorrow probably didn't help anything. He said it wasn't an excuse, NBA players know that they could be traded. Volunteered that being traded wasn't always a bad thing -- he actually wanted to be traded as a player, but no one wanted him, lol. Anyway, he doesn't think the Mavs will make a move tomorrow, but we won't know for sure until we know. Jet has not heard any locker-room rumors about any Mavs being traded, and doesn't think that should have bothered them at all. 

Jet and Ced faulted the Mavs for their effort in this contest, particularly on the defensive end. Terry thought they looked a little tired and/or foggy. They speculated that it might be due to the number of injuries, ultimately leaving them without energy to stop the Grizzlies' easy baskets in the paint, and being out a few perimeter defenders. 

The first three quarters of the game were actually pretty interesting, at least until it got totally out of control. With KP's fireworks, it felt like they were playing better than they were, a fact which Carlisle commented on in discussing how the team let this get away from them. Big picture, looking beyond the L, KP's development is quite exciting. This team is capable of playing much better than this, but being a young team, they may be inconsistent as they're coming along. Especially with so many guys out. 


Next. The Mavs will face the Wizards on Friday at 6. Hope we can get some of these guys back on the court!

https://twitter.com/ESefko/status/1225284517725949952

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1225284243435245568

Just can’t believe the WCS giveaway was a stand-alone deal. Too one-sided. Mavs were in a tight spot and gave up nothing of value for a very decent solution. Why would the Warriors demand so little in return for plugging our most glaring hole? 

Suspicion 1. I hafta think there’s a gentleman’s agreement for something further, should circumstances allow. What further? Who knows. But likely it involves Minny’s pursuit of DeAngelo, right?

2. Suspicion 2. GS doesn’t really want Wiggins even though he’s the necessary return in a DeAngelo trade and, reportedly, the centerpiece of all GS/Minny discussions to date. Rather, what GS wants has to be players who fit and repeat-tax avoidance, no? Players who fit means, at a minimum, offensive efficiency. Wiggins is not that. But Delon Wright is. And he’s the closest thing in the league to the recently retired Shaun Livingston. And tax avoidance? The Mavs are in better position than any other team right now to deliver them goods. 

3. Suspicion 3. Coach C. wouldn’t mind trying his coaching wiles on one very talented but not so efficient Andrew Wiggins. Because the Warriors have a $17 million trade exception, this swap is easily managed. Send Delon into it and the Mavs open enough additional cap room to swap Lee’s deal for Andrew’s. Assume GS will want it’s 2nd round pick back, and maybe that’s the deal. Well, that plus (a) GS’s enormous repeater-tax savings and (b) Dallas’s handshake promise to forgo other opportunities to ensure GS has this option available clear to the deadline. 

Heck, maybe they even fashioned an alternative swap if Minny refuses to deal. But if you ask me, that 1st rounder secured in the RoCo trade is destined for the Bay Area. And it sure won’t shock me to see Big D making a big move as part of the transaction that sends the pick in that direction.

                  

Who loves Maxi the most 

Write in candidates are most certainly welcome, even encouraged


                

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1224925362896932864

I thought this would be a no brainer, but after looking at everything here, it doesn't seem as cut and dry. Legitimately, who would you rather have, cause I'm not fully decided.

Player A is more than double the current contract size of player B and it runs 1 year less. 
Player A's stats are from last year, Player B's stats are from this year. 
Player A is 24, Player B is 28. 
Player A is 2" shorter and 20 lbs lighter than player B. Both are above average sized players.

Who would you rather have?

Short-Handed Mavs Take Pacers Down

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