(11-27-2019, 10:40 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: I feel like you haven't met RC's Det or Indiana teams.

(11-27-2019, 10:40 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: although the game has changed a lot since then

(11-27-2019, 10:40 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: although the game has changed a lot since then

(11-27-2019, 07:16 AM)omahen Wrote:

(11-27-2019, 06:22 AM)mavsluvr Wrote: The Clippers may have put down the blueprint for defending KP by putting a smaller player on him

The rights to these go to Houston already, as Harden was guarding KP for extended period of time. In offense KP has only been dangerous as a spot up shooter so far. He did get at least one offensive rebound over the smaller player though. His post up play is limited to turnaround jumpers which are horribly inefficient at the moment.

I didn't consider Houston as a blueprint, since the plan didn't work for them. KP had his best game as a Mav against Houston. Of course, the difference between the Clippers defenders and James Harden is a gaping canyon. Of course, it doesn't matter who gets the bragging rights, but it does go to show that a team has to have the personnel to execute the defensive strategy. 

Agree that KP didn't have a good night against LA, but I think he is more than just a spot-up shooter. He's pretty good at the rim, he rebounds, and he's a competent passer. Believe we are all in agreement that his post game needs some attention. 

But please, Clippers team is ELITE. They have 2 of the top 10 players in the league. They have 3 former all NBA defense team members. They have the multiple 6th man of the year. They have 4 guys averaging over 15 points per game. 

Mavs have one top 5 guy and one other good player (hopefully he can get to all star level again). None of them has been in the defensive player of the year conversations.  Only one other guy has the average over 10 points per game. It is clear Mavs are realistically not capable of competing with Clippers. Not yet!

Since it is becoming clear that none of the non Luka or KP bunch can reliably step up on a nightly basis, we need an upgrade to become a true contender. But we can afford to wait till summer as we are probably good enough to make playoffs this year.

Agree. Mavs don't have the horses to compete with the Clippers. Yet. 

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(11-27-2019, 07:04 AM)train0038 Wrote: Chucking 3 pt offense is going to kill this team

What else can they do when facing a serious team playing defense? We don't have the quality. Our centers have 0 post up game. Half of every line-up we put on the floor is not really dangerous from three which enables oponents to prevent Powell rim runs. Only Luka and Brunson are capable of creating their own shot or for others. To some extent Seth and THJ. Wright looks affraid to look at the basket half of the time. It is not my intent to be overly critical, let's just be realistic what we have on the roster. It is good and will work greatly against teams letting them, but our limitations will be exposed against strong defenses. Especially ones capable of throwing several big bodies at Luka.

(11-27-2019, 07:55 AM)Hypermav Wrote: One other thing is how old tiny JJB can get what he wants and seems unaffected by the Clippers D.

(11-27-2019, 12:18 PM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: Seems like we all agree that the roster overall is subpar. I'm not sure what the Mavs were thinking this past summer. Why dump Harrison for all of that cap room if they had no intention of adding good players in the event that Kemba didn't want to come here?

(11-27-2019, 11:48 AM)Jommybone Wrote: Jommy's takes:

1. The refs. Luka will get his turn. But it will come slower and lesser than if he were playing for a spotlight franchise. KP has lost the NY luster as well as the best-player-on-the-team calls. So of course he’s struggling. Maxi and Doe-Doe are just starting to achieve some semblance of reffing respect. Dwight is among the most "disrespected" in the league—to the extent that he regularly gets smacked in the head with no call, a la Shawn Bradley. But hey, no surprise. This is pro-wrestling-style officiating. The rules must bend for entertainment value. 

2. KP seems to shoot 2s while twisting, turning and sliding, always with his feet pointed off center. The talk of late that the Mavs staff has helped THJ with his shooting footwork? Time to turn that attention to Kristaps. Earlier in the season my chief complaint was that he (and Powell) failed to close out on 3-point shooters. That seems to be fixed mostly. So I can be patient waiting for the footwork to likewise improve. 

3. Speaking of THJ, I don’t think his "woke" streak has ended. Only 8 FG attempts and zero turnovers in 29 minutes? I'll take it. This is a different Tim. Shooting numbers go up and down for everyone. But these 2 stats say a lot about Hardaway's changed play. I’m converted from hater to fan. For now at least. 

4. Jalen will adjust to whatever it is and overcome. It’s what he does. Like GEICO. 

5. Defense. To become a great team, we need Luka to start mugging people like Kawhi and PG do. He’s got the size and strength and ref respect to pull it off. Has to happen. Or else we'll be mediocre.

(11-27-2019, 01:26 PM)StepBackJay Wrote: Powell is very frustrating right now. He is not doing much well. He doesn't rebound well, especially offensively. He can't block shots. He moves his feet pretty well which gives you hope that he can play better team defense. He can sort of take charges which is fine but you really want your big blocking shots. The one thing he is supposed to be elite as is rolling to the rim and it's just not going well. He has turned the ball over a lot lately and other guys on the team aren't exactly giving him amazing passes either so hard to say whose fault it is. I like our foursome including THJ (for now) but Powell is just not really offering much. I feel like it's a waste to have him out there. If we had Andre Iguodola or Adams or some other big time defender this starting unit would look really salty.

(11-27-2019, 12:52 PM)iolide Wrote: Excuse the ignorance guys, but, I'd honestly like to know how valuable the exception is?

I remember a few months back seeing people say that exceptions are worth much anymore or don't hold the same value. Is that true?

In what way could you use the exception in a trade?

(11-27-2019, 11:31 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: Two things. Well actually three.

Interior defense and rebounding
Without KP in the game the Mavs give up layups. I have seen a lot of Powell as a single big this season and do not like it. The Clippers bullied both on the glass. The lack of boxouts is driving me crazy and it has been a problem all year long.
I won´t blame it solely on KP and Powell though. Rebounding is a team effort and if your bigs are struggling they need help. Luka is probably the best rebounder on the team and actually does a better job against guys like Harrell, Harkless or Tucker (last game) than Powell but it is probably not the best solution to waste his energy that way

I came across an article recently (maybe by Rob Mahoney?) analyzing the effect that Luka's superior rebounding has on the Mavs' flexibility regarding lineups. I believe one of the takeaways was, since Luka rebounds like a big man, it gives the team flexibility not to have two big guys on the court for rebounding purposes. 

DFS and Delon are solid as well.
We have to talk about THJ (29 min 1 reb), Curry (19 min 2reb) and Brunson (13 min 1reb). They combine for 61 minutes of playing time and 4 rebounds. If we include Barea (16 min 2reb) who probably won´t play in most games that makes 6 rebs in 77 minutes.
It´s not like the Clippers beat us with a single guy. They had 7 players with 5+ rebounds.

Well, when you put it that way. . . . Of course, it doesn't matter if they actually get the rebound if they are boxing out. I am guessing I know what your reply is going to be. 

Perimeter defense
Notice a pattern. Offense isn´t the Mavs problem on most nights. Defense is a big one. Who is the best perimeter defender on the roster.
Delon? Probably slightly above average onball. Makes most of his impact as a team defender. Jumping passing lanes and playing help defense.
DFS? By default? Only semi athletic wing but in my opinion he is more of a hustle guy. Good rebounder (especially on offense) probably average on defense. Asking him to defend the best opposing player without any help is not going to work.
Luka? Honestly think that when he is giving 100% effort he might be the best against players like George or Kawhi but he is obviously trying to save some energy.

I think the lockdown perimeter defender doesn't exist on this roster. Some are better than others, but none is super good on a consistent basis. 

Offensive scheme
When the 5-out motion offense is working the Mavs are the best offense in the league. Pick and roll plays with Luka as the ballhandler are unguardable because the defense cannot take away all options. Floater, lob/inside pass, kick out pass or pass to a cutter. One option will be available and the Mavs will get a high percentage look nearly all the time. Problem is that the entire concept is based on the Mavs ability to hit 3s. The Clippers gave up the 3 but the Mavs could not punish them.
Which offers the question...what can they do on a cold shooting night. Does it make sense to change the scheme? What are the Mavs options?

Agree that the offense depends substantially on the players' hitting threes at a respectable clip. It is designed to get them the best looks from three, but when they rush their shots, they don't take advantage of the system. I guess it's possible they are being instructed to shoot quickly, but I imagine it is more that they don't trust the system to deliver them better shots. Not that they don't buy into the system -- I think they do. But they have not yet become proficient at executing it, which makes sense, so early in the season. Agree that a system depending on good three-point shooting calls out for good three-point shooters, and I would guess that they plan to grow or buy them. I don't think they're going to change the scheme without giving it more of a chance, unless they make roster moves that compel a revision. 

(11-27-2019, 03:07 PM)BigDirk41 Wrote: My view of the Mavs didn't change after last night. I was expecting a close game since we were at home so the whipping caught me off guard, but last night made it obvious that we don't match up well with the Clippers and we are no where near their level. The flip side of that is I think we match up pretty well with the other top teams. We had the Lakers beat and we've already beat Denver and Houston.

I think last night made it pretty clear that we aren't getting past the Clips this year. They are extremely talented on both ends of the court, they are long and they have experience along with a really good coach. They don't have any holes.

We can make a trade or two this season and depending on seeding have a real chance at going deep into the playoffs. I don't see any roster upgrade this season that makes us better than the Clips. From that perspective I'm just going to enjoy the season and see how much we can progress.

Last summer was definitely a bust. Powell doesn't deserve more than 10-15 minutes a night with his current output. Maxi should play 30 minutes a night. I think the best hope we can have is to stay hot as a team and build up the value of some of our players so we can cash in on a trade or two this season. I don't know who we should target, but we need tougher players for sure.

(11-27-2019, 01:47 PM)ItsGoTime Wrote:

(11-27-2019, 12:52 PM)iolide Wrote: Excuse the ignorance guys, but, I'd honestly like to know how valuable the exception is?

I remember a few months back seeing people say that exceptions are worth much anymore or don't hold the same value. Is that true?

In what way could you use the exception in a trade?

We used some of it in the offseason, can't remember who it was partially used for. The amount left is $11.8M. We can only use it in a trade with 1 single player coming back and we cannot combine it with any of our players outgoing. The amount cannot go over the value of the TE. I looked yesterday for guys that might be at that level, but the thing is, they're all mostly what we have already and mostly in the $9-10M range. 

As I was looking, the best I could come up with as a target was Jerami Grant. I see him as on par with what we got currently, although I'm really low on Powell, and I was already low on him before. Biggest problem with him is the FO seemingly giving his play a pass. I think he'd be just fine on the bench with a lower contract. Not sure why he got a bigger one than Maxi as the two of them are basically on par with eachother, I just like defense more so I lean toward Maxi.

If you want to follow the exercise I did yesterday, I just brought up all the teams on the espn trade checker and looked for guys in the $8.5-11.5M range on each roster.