Game 21 Dirkie Thread: Quentin Grimes!...by a hair...

[ballsrchr]

I can't believe it. I wrote up a whole page about this game...and somehow lost it. I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

It was down to Dinwiddie (in left field), Quentin Grimes, and Luka for me.

I choose Luka.

[Scott41theMavs]

33 assists as a team is pretty sweet. That 10 of them came from our center and our power forward is even sweeter.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

I actually went with Luka for this one. Fit in fairly seamlessly, 13 assists and some of them were “clutch.” He handled the double team with aplomb all night. And matched Simons scoring flurry to stifle Portland momentum.

[Halfnir]

Luka had a nice Dirkie-worthy comeback, but i went with Quentin as his scoring and defense was just as pivotal for the win (and he somehow did not get a dirkie in any of his excellent late games)

[Chicagojk]

Tough one. Luka is an easy answer. First game back and he showed why he is one of the best in the league. Did a nice job pushing the pace and had a few big steals. But he is graded on an higher curve.

Dinwiddie was really big making big shots. He still takes some hard shots but he is on a groove right now. I knock him slightly because of some of the defensive plays late, so he gets a great job but no Dirkie.

I am going to say Grimes. He has been so good lately. He is really seeing the basket well right. Is and has consistently hit open threes. Nothing against Josh Green, who is playing better in Charlotte, but Grimes is a higher attempt 3 shooter who makes the same percentage.

An interesting thing we are seeing. Let’s leave Dinwiddie out for now but the Mavs have 8 guys who legit have a right to finish games. It is going to a tricky navigation. I think only 3 are locks: Luka, Kyrie and PJ. Maybe some will disagree with PJ and some may want to include Lively. It is a good thing but it can also be a tricky bad thing. I think it is a good thing but needs to be handled with a delicate touch. How Grimes and Marshall are playing they definitely taken advantage of the opporturnity..

[KillerLeft]

Dinwiddie's 4th quarter was too much for me. I'm sure there were better choices for the Dirkie, but I admit I was just overwhelmed to see him completely take over the game when it was in doubt. He gets my vote.

[mvossman]

Tough one.  Luka is an easy answer.  First game back and he showed why he is one of the best in the league.  Did a nice job pushing the pace and had a few big steals.  But he is graded on an higher curve.

Dinwiddie was really big making big shots.  He still takes some hard shots but he is on a groove right now.  I knock him slightly because of some of the defensive plays late, so he gets a great job but no Dirkie.

I am going to say Grimes.  He has been so good lately.  He is really seeing the basket well right. Is and has consistently hit open threes.  Nothing against Josh Green, who is playing better in Charlotte, but Grimes is a higher attempt 3 shooter who makes the same percentage. 

An interesting thing we are seeing.  Let’s leave Dinwiddie out for now but the Mavs have 8 guys who legit have a right to finish games.  It is going to a tricky navigation.  I think only 3 are locks: Luka, Kyrie and PJ.  Maybe some will disagree with PJ and some may want to include Lively.  It is a good thing but it can also be a tricky bad thing.  I think it is a good thing but needs to be handled with a delicate touch.  How Grimes and Marshall are playing they definitely taken advantage of the opporturnity..

I think you have to add Lively as a lock to finish.  The defense is too important.  The leaves one spot for Klay/Naji/Grimes.  Tough call.

Its starting to look like we should have offered Grimes more in the offseason.  I didn't think his market would go above MLE, but if keeps scoring 20+ a night it probably will.

[ThisIStheYear]

5 steals for Grimes was the clincher for me (and Luka gets graded on a curve). Luka looks like his old (last year regular season) self the last couple of games he’s played. Hopefully, his fitness continues to come into form and he doesn’t tweak the knee. He only shot 4 free throws so maybe he’s allowing some of the other guys to take on more of the physical work.

[Reunion Mav]

5 steals for Grimes was the clincher for me (and Luka gets graded on a curve).  Luka looks like his old (last year regular season) self the last couple of games he’s played. Hopefully, his fitness continues to come into form and he doesn’t tweak the knee.  He only shot 4 free throws so maybe he’s allowing some of the other guys to take on more of the physical work.

I voted for Grimes over a couple of Dirkie worthy offensive players because of his perimeter defense plus surprisingly good offense. Go ahead Mr Grimes. Cost us some money. I loved watching the whole team match Portland and it was great to see Luka contribute massively to this win but Grimes is easily the most above expectations. Someone needs to give him the winning votes.

[michaeltex]

I vote Luka 1a and Grimes 1b.

Really excited to see Grimes hit his comfort zone and start looking like his NYK highlights, but I feel like his success in this game was aided by Luka's gravity. Once POR decided that switch & drop wasn't working, they went with doubling Luka and that opened everything up for the others to play 4 on 3.

[SleepingHero]

@MFollowill
PJ Washington Jr got a little overshadowed in all of last night's hubbub about Luka getting back, winning again w/ a lot of guys out, and Portland and specifically Simons being on a crazy heater.

He hit essentially the game winner on a corner 3 to break a tie w/ 54.5 left.

5 game dbl-dbl streak ended but 14 pts, 3 rebs & 6 assts (1 shy of career high) was still big.

He's made 6 of last 8 corner 3s (after starting 1 of 19) and 11/19 on 3s overall in the last 5.

[Chicagojk]

@MFollowill
PJ Washington Jr got a little overshadowed in all of last night's hubbub about Luka getting back, winning again w/ a lot of guys out, and Portland and specifically Simons being on a crazy heater.

He hit essentially the game winner on a corner 3 to break a tie w/ 54.5 left.

5 game dbl-dbl streak ended but 14 pts, 3 rebs & 6 assts (1 shy of career high) was still big.

He's made 6 of last 8 corner 3s (after starting 1 of 19) and 11/19 on 3s overall in the last 5.

Yeah, he didn't have the stats last night but made the huge shot.    I felt like his game was better than his stats.   Him being a reliable open three point shooter is just huge.   Although, I feel he will always be a little streaky.   If he can be a reliable open three point shooter, he is one of the better non star players in the league imo.

[SleepingHero]

Yeah, he didn't have the stats last night but made the huge shot.    I felt like his game was better than his stats.   Him being a reliable open three point shooter is just huge.   Although, I feel he will always be a little streaky.   If he can be a reliable open three point shooter, he is one of the better non star players in the league imo.

Agreed. He also had that incredible block on Grant to put the game out of reach in the waning seconds. His defensive ability is so underrated in the national scene. 


Im also not so pressed about his shooting ability or lack thereof. I’d rather PJ take a 1 dribble floater to the rim, aka Shawn Marion than to keep forcing these 3s that aren’t coming naturally to him.

[The Jom]

PJ is in the middle of a shift towards borderline all-stardom. Love it.

[KillerLeft]

PJ is in the middle of a shift towards borderline all-stardom. Love it.

For sure. And, the national sense of his defense will improve quickly if he keeps being the glue for a good team like this. I think last night was huge for him, because there was so much smoke around the idea that Nico Harrison looked hard at Jerami Grant (who would undoubtedly have taken Washington's spot in the lineup) this past summer that I believe it, personally. Not sure how in the know PJ was with that, and he didn't outplay Grant, exactly, but he held his own and made Grant's life pretty difficult when defending him. If I'm Nico, I'm content with where things are at that position for the time being. Washington fits and is showing signs of reaching another level, as you say.

[Smitty]

For sure. And, the national sense of his defense will improve quickly if he keeps being the glue for a good team like this. I think last night was huge for him, because there was so much smoke around the idea that Nico Harrison looked hard at Jerami Grant (who would undoubtedly have taken Washington's spot in the lineup) this past summer that I believe it, personally. Not sure how in the know PJ was with that, and he didn't outplay Grant, exactly, but he held his own and made Grant's life pretty difficult when defending him. If I'm Nico, I'm content with where things are at that position for the time being. Washington fits and is showing signs of reaching another level, as you say.

I think all of us PJW fans said last year that he’d be even better in the offense this season with a full offseason under his belt. We knew he was a 3 level scorer and capable of putting up consistent numbers. What we didn’t know is that he’d be a lockdown defender. I called him a Maxi-lite a couple years ago based mostly on his defensive potential and flashes but he’s far surpassed even my own opinions of his game on that side of the ball. 

P.S. Every game day I’m just so overjoyed that I don’t have to watch Kyle Kuzma play for my favorite team.

[KillerLeft]

Every game day I’m just so overjoyed that I don’t have to watch Kyle Kuzma play for my favorite team.

You said it, my dude.