Mavs Fall to Lakers in Lackluster Showing

A game that had been heavily hyped turned out to be a bit of a yawner. Mavs just didn't have it. 


Game Story and Analytics

The venue was Staples Center. The Lakers were missing DeMarcus Cousins on a long-term rehab. Mavs entered the game at full strength. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back. 

The Lakers took the lead toward the end of the first quarter and never surrendered it. In fact, they took a double-digit lead in the second and never surrendered that. The Mavericks lost Tim Hardaway, Jr. to a hamstring injury in the first quarter. Luka fell awkwardly in connection with a Howard foul in the third. He got up, and eventually returned to the game, but didn't look fully himself.  KP was called for his fifth foul in the third quarter. With 4:39 left in the game, and the Mavs down 13, Rick put the starters back in. They missed six shots and fell further behind. Just a night where too many things went wrong. 

Statistically, Dallas lost the game with extremely poor shooting, combined with failure to guard the rim, and 25 points lost on 18 turnovers. The Mavericks actually got up 11 more shots than the Lakers, and took 20 more three-point shots, but couldn't capitalize. The Lakers had a massive 54 points in the paint -- fully half of their total points. The opponent got to the basket pretty much at will, and the Mavs were battling LA's size advantages all night. The Lakers defense had a lot to do with the Mavericks' failure to score, but the Mavs also missed good looks. The Mavs never even produced a run on either end of the court, and kept turning the ball over in barfworthy fashion. 


Remarks

I don't think it's productive to go through a player-by-player analysis of this match. Luka had a poor game by his lofty standards, scoring only 19 points on 5-14 shooting, and recording a 7:6 assist/turnover ratio. KP was invisible in stretches, and struggled with foul trouble. The bench, for the most part, were ineffectual. There was a Barea sighting, and the little Puerto Rican scored 12 points in 13 minutes, but even the emergency secret sauce was unable to make a dent in the Lakers' dominance. The team missed THJ.  It was painful watching the Mavericks try to guard Anthony Davis. 

The refs were letting the Lakers play very rough, and I thought for a while that the Lakers were able to throw the Mavs off with physical (illegal?) moves. I'm sure that was a factor, but on further consideration, the Mavericks looked off from the jump. They appeared lethargic and lacking in intensity the whole game. Maybe the back-to-back caught up to them, although the starters didn't play the full game against GSW. 

I fear that this game might be a preview of what the young Mavs might look like in the playoffs, when they face teams with size and physicality, the refs let them play, and the opponents focus on locking down Luka. The squad doesn't always respond well to pressure., and we saw a number of mental mistakes in this game. I have a certain degree of optimism over a series, largely because of Carlisle's superior adjustment skills. Also, this is a team that learns fast, and even if they lost a playoff series, I believe that they would benefit greatly from the experience. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. This was one game, and this level of clusterfaff is rare for the Mavs. It is galling to lose this way to the hated Lakers, but it's one game, and even great teams have an occasional off night. 

For now, I'm saying this match was an outlier, and it should serve as a teaching moment. The most concerning aspect of the game were the injuries to Tim and Luka. 


Next. Chris Paul and the Thunder on Tuesday in OKC. 

Keep the faith!

Mavs Blow Warriors Out in San Francisco

If you like watching offense, this was the game for you. A real shootout, with the teams combining for 42 made threes. Fun!


Game Story and Analytics

The Warriors were missing Steph, Klay, and Kevon Looney. The Mavericks were at full strength. 

The Dubs got off to a hot start, with D'Angelo Russell scoring 12 points in under two minutes. The Mavs responded, and the first quarter ended with a Dirk-minded 41-41 scoreline. The shot-fest continued in the second period, and Dallas entered the locker room with a 72-74 deficit. The Mavericks went on an incredible 28-4 run in the middle of the third, and remained in control for the rest of the game. They eventually surrendered a net 10 points from their game-high lead of 30 in the fourth, but still won comfortably. Neither Luka nor Tim played in the final frame, and the other starters had minimal time. 

The game was a bit chippy, with five players T'd up -- Porzingis, Green, Russell, Chriss, and Lee. Luka and Chriss got into it a little when Chriss shoved Luka into a cameraman and Luka gave him the evil eye, but both players calmed down, and the only damage was a technical on Chriss. 

The Mavs defeated the Dubs with a more efficient shot attempt distribution, and better performance at the free-throw line. Both teams got 92 shots off, but 51 of the Dallas attempts were from beyond the arc, while the GSW tried only 39. Both teams were sizzling from long range, with the Mavericks shooting 47% and the Dubs 46%. The Mavs were a perfect 21-21 from the foul line, and the Warriors went 13-17. Dallas was +18 on points from threes, +8 on made free throws, and -6 on points from twos. The Mavericks set a franchise record for made threes in a game, putting 24 on the board. 


Players

Luka (30 min) was back to normal on his second game back from injury. He recorded his ninth triple-double of the season, with an impressive 31-12-15 line. He put on a blistering shooting performance, going 5-8 from three and hitting all 10 of his FTAs. He also had a couple of steals and only 3 turnovers, and had some good defensive plays. His performance was as exciting as it sounds -- the Slovenian knows how to put on a show. Rick deemed his game "amazing" and "phenomenal," and complimented him for setting the table for his teammates. Great to see the young star back to full speed again! With another game looming tomorrow, it was also good to see him get the fourth quarter off.

Porzingis (26 min) had an efficient 18 points and a game-high 4 blocks. His shot was looking good, as he hit 4 of 9 3PTAS, and was 2-3 on 2PTAs. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come! KP made an effort to gratify those who have been wanting him to post up, attempting to back down Draymond Green, but, alas, the play ended in a turnover. Greg Buckner allowed that Chris Webber "doesn't know what he is talking about," and Rick said he did not consider calling more post-ups for KP.

On the constructive criticism side, KP was bitten by the turnover bug, giving the ball away a team-high 5 times. Two of them were cross-court passes out of bounds, and a couple involved losing the ball off the dribble. Fortunately, no harm done in terms of the final score. On the other hand, Porzee's shotmaking and defense were both highly impressive. 

Seth (25 min) put on a show for Steph, going 4-7 from three-point land in the first three quarters, registering two steals, and playing some decent defense. He and Delon Wright headlined the fourth quarter, both playing all twelve minutes. Some of his threes were breathtaking, especially one over a crowd in the second quarter. Steph and Seth are first and second in the league on three-point percentages, at a scorching 43%. Steph was in a suit on the GSW bench, and must have been proud of li'l bro.

Hardaway (23 min) had another brilliant game, being the team's second-leading scorer with 25 points, hitting 6 of 8 3PTAs, and going 9-13 from the field, including a four-point play. He showed off his and Luka's spectacular chemistry, and defended well. Carlisle praised his shotmaking, defense, leadership, and experience. He noted that Tim had kept the team together in the midst of all the mayhem, and called attention to his veteran presence as an important factor in the team's performance all season long.  

Bench. Wright (22 min) had a fine performance off the bench, with 6-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, and a team-high 3 steals. He and Seth worked well together. Maxi and Justin Jackson both looked good in 21 minutes each. Rick complimented the group for finishing the game "the right way." The entire team finished in positive territory, aside from Brunson, Broekhoff, and Boban, who were all on low minutes.

Russell. D'Angelo Russell torched the Mavericks with 35 unbelievable points, including 9 threes, and was unstoppable from everywhere on the floor. Rick said that the team "threw the kitchen sink" at him, trying man defense, zone, switching, trapping, hybrid defenses, with nothing seeming to slow him down. However, they had a halftime talk on the subject, and ultimately, the Mavs' basic defense got them some traction. Unfortunately, Russell went down in the third quarter after a collision with Luka. He was back in the game in the fourth, but by then, the Mavs had built a substantial cushion. With both Steph and Russell on the floor, GSW will not be lacking for floor spacing. 


Remarks

Rick said his squad had to "find a way" to win this game, and congratulated them for their poise and togetherness in the face of all the "antics" going on. He was proud of his team for defending hard, rebounding, and taking care of the ball, despite a high degree of defensive aggression from Golden State. He opined that good paint attacks led to good threes, and he felt that his team "needed a game like this." I am reading this as an indication that Coach sees progress in terms of the team not falling apart against intense defense.

I thought this was a highly entertaining match. If the Dubs are, in fact, tanking, you couldn't tell it from this performance. The Warriors went very hard, and if Russell had not gotten hurt (shoulder contusion), the game would undoubtedly have been closer. I admire the Mavs for putting the game away early on a FIGABABA and taking care of business on the opponent's very rowdy home court. The focus of the win will inevitably and rightfully be the blistering 3-point shooting, but a lot of other things went right too, and despite the ten-point deficit in garbage time, at no time did the Mavericks come unglued. Good signs. 


Next. The Mavs face LeBron and the Lakers at their house on Sunday. Should be a cracker!

Go Mavs!

Who was the "player of the game" who elevated their game above normal to help the team get the win?

Hello MFFLs!

This is a couple days late, but All Star voting season is upon us. This is a notable time for us as Mavs fans, as we have one definite, and arguably a second, All Star contender on our roster. 

After being robbed of not just a roster spot, but a starting spot as well last season, will this be the year that Luka joins the All Star ranks, and if so, could it be as a starter, or if we dream big a team captain? After being selected to his 1st ASG in 2018 but being unable to play due to injury, has The Unicorn done enough on defense as his offense has been working back into shape to join the ranks again? Will there be any Mavs participating in other parts of the weekend? 

We will see these questions and more answered over the next month. I thought this thread might serve as a nice discussion regarding thoughts on the ASG leading up to the game, and also could serve as a source of information on how to vote so we can do our part as a growing Mavs community to get Luka (and other Mavs) fan vote as high as possible. Let’s get started.

1. How are All Star starters chosen?
Again this season, voting from fans, players, and media pool together to choose 5 starters from each conference. The % of each voting base is unchanged from last season: Fans 50%, Players 25%, Media 25%.

5 players from each conference are chosen as starters, and this is grouped somewhat by position with 2 guards and 3 forwards/centers making up the starting 5.

2. How can I vote?
There are 4 methods to vote detailed below. These can be manipulated to various degrees, and I have ordered them from easiest to hardest.

A. NBA.com
There is a link on the NBA website to vote, and you can pick up to 2 guards and 3 F/C from both East and West on each ballot. Voting requires a 1st name, email address, zip code, and to pass one of those reCAPTCHA deals.

Note: Cookies on the website prevent you from voting more than once per day, but this is easily subverted by opening a private browser window where you can then use multiple emails, or even the same email over and over.

B. NBA App
The NBA has a mobile device app, if you watch League Pass on mobile devices you’ll already have it, otherwise I’m not sure that you would and you’ll have to download it. Voting is pretty easy through the app and requires the same information provided on NBA.com to vote. The downside is that the app keeps track and will only let you vote every 24 hours, but the upsides are that you can vote across multiple devices this way and if you delete and reinstall the app you can vote multiple times a day on the same device (this is just time consuming).

C. Google.com
Google is a host of ASG voting again this year. If you type in “NBA All Star Voting” into Google, the screen will have a section where you can search for players to vote for. This method is a bit different in that you get 10 plain votes and doesn’t worry about positions or conferences, you can spread them out however you want. You also have to have a google account and be signed in. This method is manipulatable in the sense that anyone can make a bunch of google accounts, but the effort is pretty high for this.

D. Google Assistant
I’ve never tried this so have no firsthand experience, but apparently with Google Assistant you can say, “Hey Google, vote for the NBA All Star Game” and somehow vote. For people that have a device with this, it sounds easy enough but I’m not sure.

3. Important Dates
Voting: 12/25/2019 through 1/20/2020 11:59 PM ET.

2-For-1 Dates: 1/2, 1/3, 1/10, 1/16, 1/20
*Dates are considered to run from 12:00 AM ET to 11:59 PM ET
**Every vote on these dates counts as 2 votes

Voting Updates: Fan vote updates will be given on 1/2, 1/9, and 1/16

Starter Announce Date: 1/23 during TNT NBA Tip-off

Reserve Announce Date: 1/30 during TNT NBA Tip-off

4. Voting Tips/Strategy
- Luka counts as a backcourt player this year rather than a frontcourt as he was last year. That means his primary voting competition will be Curry (will probably still get lots of votes even though hurt), Harden, and Lillard. If you want to be objective and pick a team, I guess I can’t blame you, but if your goal is to get Luka in as a starter, ideally you wouldn’t vote for any other high profile competing Western Conference guard. Same applies for Kristaps or anyone else you are targeting to be a starter. Either way, Luka beat all these guys last year in fan votes.

- The leading Western Conference vote getter last year was LeBron who beat Luka by a little less than 400K. Kawhi is the biggest vote getting competitor to move West, and Luka beat him by about 700K. If you want the possibility of Luka being a captain, you would probably avoid any high profile players like these guys on your ballots.

- If you are willing to cheese the system and vote multiple times a day, a private internet browser is by far the easiest way. It may not be within the spirit of the competition, but I don’t think the NBA really cares because they want to be able to point out high voting totals. My strategy is to vote through the NBA app on both my devices each day, once on Google with my regular account and will bother to log into my junk account as well on the 2-for-1 days, and at least 5 more times a day through NBA.com (and likely as much as I think about it on the 2-for-1 days)

Alright, what are you doing? Go vote for the Mavs!

The rotation has shaken out.  It’s good, and the Mavs are legitimate contenders.  One notable roster flaw remains: a pure wing defender who can also keep defenses honest and be happy playing a modest number of minutes.  The job was Jackson’s, but he has failed.  Iggy was excellent in this exact role last season.  He’s available.  He’s won titles.  Unless the Mav’s have a health or attitude related concern, it’s time to make a move.

On the national television broadcast from TNT they commented in some detail on the way the Mavs use Kristaps Porzingis offensively, particularly the relatively lack of inside play or 'Post up play'.  The remarks were replied to directly by Rick Carlisle Carlisle responds about the post up  after a reporter referenced the criticism that aired on the National Broadcast.   

While acknowledging respect for Coach Carlisle, a coach with an NBA championship on his resume and respected as a top coach in the NBA around the league, the remarks got pretty, pretty sharp at points from Barkley, Shaq and even Kenny respectfully criticized the general way Porzingis offense is being used saying the ratio of inside shots, close to the basket should be more like 7 to 3 inside vs 3 pointers rather than the reverse it seems to often be now. 

https://youtu.be/L1UzpWZgu_Q?t=767 - Inside The NBA | Charles & Shaq "strong reacts": Mavericks 102-98 Spurs, Jazz  

Its all part of the bigger trends in NBA offense, guard dominated vs center dominated, 3-point revolution etc.  
My general thought is Rick is right overall about the trends of the league and the facts bear that out especially when we talk about post up play and its massive decline across the league. 

On the other hand I do agree somewhat that there is a problem evident sometimes in the way some coaches, Rick Carlisle included, skew perimeter offense even at times where inside play from big men would make much more sense.   
The massive case in point came just the other day when the Mavericks rotations and offense blew a massive late game 30 point lead to go into the history books as one of the worst blown leads of all time in the league. 

Quote:It ended up being the biggest comeback in franchise history for the Raptors, who trailed by 30 points late in the third quarter. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it was the first 30-point comeback by an NBA team in a regular-season game in a decade

Quote:the post-up is much deader now than five years ago. Since the 2014-15 season, the leaguewide post-up rate has been cut nearly in half, down to just 4.7 percent of possessions thus far in 2019-20.

Mavs Edge Spurs, End Home Losing Streak in Luka Return

It wasn't the prettiest of games, but Luka was back, the Mavericks got the W, and all was right with the world. 


Game Story 

There wasn't much of a story arc to this game. The Mavs mostly maintained a small advantage, and occasionally lost it or had it reduced with a few Spurs runs. They reached a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter, but surrendered it with an 8-0 San Antonio burst to end the period. In the fourth, Dallas accumulated a game-high 17-point margin with 4:07 left, but failed to score again, and ended the game with six missed shots, two missed free throws, two turnovers, and a goaltending violation, on the way to giving up 13 consecutive points to the Spurs. After the Toronto meltdown in the previous game, I was a bit dismayed to see the Mavericks lose their composure against a full-court press again, but after all, they did win, so I don't want to get too down on them. Let's just say they might need to grab a little practice time breaking presses. 


Analytics

The Mavs got 7 more shots up than the Spurs, and had a much more efficient shot attempt distribution. Dallas ended the game +24 in points from threes, and -20 in points from twos. In addition to shooting 40% from long range for 16 made threes, the Mavericks won the possession game with a 13-5 advantage in offensive rebounding (4 from Maxi, 3 each from DFS and Luka) and a 12-4 difference in second-chance points. They were also able to capitalize on turnovers, earning 24 points from San Antonio giveaways, while giving up only 16 as a result of their own. The Spurs, on the other hand, had a 22-8 edge in fast-break points, taking advantage of the Mavs' turnovers. 


Players

Porzingis (35 min). KP had a pretty bad first half, and just couldn't seem to establish a rhythm. He came out stronger in the second half. Although he was still missing shots (4-15), he is starting to give us a sense of what the team might be when he ultimately gets it together. He had back-to-back threes at one point, and executed a rare big-to-big alley oop with Powell that Carlisle termed "pretty f'ing cool." 

The TNT crew kept harping on KP's failure to post up, as if the game were played in their eras. Rick gave a postgame rant,  asserting that they don't want KP or anyone else posting up, as a general matter, as the post-up is a low percentage play. Rick said Luka can post up if he has a small guy on him, and Rick is okay with KP posting up once in a while, but posting up is not part of their game plan. They want guys on the perimeter, or getting to the basket instead. FWIW, Chuck Cooperstein disagreed in theory, opining that big men who can post up are "devastating," but agreed that KP does not have the skills to make it work. So, there we have it. 

DFS (33 min). Dorian quietly played an outstanding game. He didn't stuff the stat sheet (13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block), but had a very positive impact on the game with excellent fundamentals, and he did grab a little limelight with three beautiful threes. The kick-out pass to DFS in the corner is becoming one of the staples of the offense. 

Luka (33 min). Luka looked a little rusty, as was to be expected, and didn't shoot well (9-23), but still ended up with a 23-10-8 line. He seemed a little winded at the end of the game, and admitted in the postgame sideline interview that he was "so tired," but looked remarkably good for a guy who hadn't played in a couple of weeks and was on his first game back from injury. What a thrill to have the Slovenian back in the saddle!

Maxi (31 min). Kleber played starter minutes, had a couple of exciting threes, and was active on the boards with 12 rebounds, 4 of them offensive. Powell (30 min). Dwight exhibited his excellent screening and rolling games to great advantage, and, as often occurs, had the team's highest +/- (+15). He was a little undersized to be guarding Aldridge, but did his best to make up for it on the offensive end. Hardaway (28 min) was outstanding, and was the team's second leading scorer with 17 points. He also contributed in other ways, and showed off his growing chemistry with Luka. He did head-scratchingly dribble the ball all the way down the court and out of bounds during the stretch sequence, but I guess we needn't dwell on that. Seth (16 min) didn't score, but had a candidate for play of the game, with a behind-the-back pass to Luka that had Doncic laughing even while he dunked. Not to be outdone, Luka returned the favor to Seth later in the game, behind-the-back and all. 

Spurs. San Antonio still has a number of good players (Aldridge, DeRozan, Carroll, Belinelli, Gay, Mills, for a few examples), but they looked like a team at the end of their cycle. There was a surprising lack of intensity for a Pop team, and the Mavs looked the better side on the night. Mavs-Spurs was one of the league's great rivalries, and hopefully both teams will be good at the same time again sometime, for a revival of a titanic sports feud. 


Remarks

The Mavs displayed a certain lack of energy that has been characteristic of their home play, and was a little surprising after the Toronto experience. However, it was wonderful to welcome Luka back, and it was also reassuring to see the Mavericks pull out a win, despite not playing that well. The squad brought a 3-home-game losing streak to an end, and hopefully this will be a harbinger of an uptick in performance at the AAC. 


Next. Golden State on Saturday in San Francisco, followed by the Lakers in LA the next day. 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!  Go Mavs!

Who was the "player of the game" who elevated their game to help the team get the win?