Game 16: Dallas Mavericks (4-11) vs New York Knicks (8-5) | 8:30pm CST | ESPN

[RBB]

another winnable game...lost.

[BigDirk41]

The tank continues. Mavs almost messed up and won that one.

[cow]

Don't love that call. Could have gone either way so it should have been a no call. If JB was smart, he would have missed his second free throw intentionally.

[Jakeospikez]

Refs in on the tank?

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Williams clearly hooked him around the waist. If the ref sees contact using the off arm to ward off the defender, they will call it. Thing is, he didn't have to. Shamet made body contact. Tough loss. They deserved to win.

[ThisIStheYear]

Man, didn’t like that end of game call at all. Soft. But the Mavs had a pretty friendly whistle all in all tonight, so no complaints. It’s best this way.

[Mavs2021]

Refs in on the tank?

Adam Silver: Listen guys. Cuban back in charge. You know he´ll mess up the tank and I can´t give them another 1.8er without looking suspicious. Do your jobs.

EDIT: Also KAT is such an unlikable guy, I´d rather have AD sit out games in Packers jerseys, then watch KAT play them in a Mavs jersey.

[GermanMav]

Basketball refs just have this main character syndrom. Just the way he makes that call.
This is comparable to a football ref pulling out the griddy whilst throwing a flagg, or a soccer ref hitting the Ronaldo Suuuuii when calling an offside.
Not that we care to much, we want to lose anyways, but i just can't stand it.

[omahen]

I guess it is a make or miss league and the Knicks are missing.  Although, got to be honest Knicks don’t feel too threatening.  They are missing OG and can’t shoot tonight but seem sort of average.

I am kind of fascinated how Knicks are top5 in all power rankings I have seen. They don't really have a very inspiring start to the season and last season also showed some of their deficiencies that I am not sure they really addressed. Definitely a good team, but not sure if they really are so strong

[SleepingHero]

I am kind of fascinated how Knicks are top5 in all power rankings I have seen. They don't really have a very inspiring start to the season and last season also showed some of their deficiencies that I am not sure they really addressed. Definitely a good team, but not sure if they really are so strong

They certainly haven't *clicked* yet. But when they are healthy there are not many other teams with more talent in their starting 5.

Whether or not KAT can be a reliable 2nd star remains to be seen as well. His defense is just not good enough.

[ThisIStheYear]

I’ve been examining PJ’s play for the year. He’s basically been the kind of player who sucks but looks good doing it. True Shooting for the year around 51%. I’d deal him as soon as I could. He was terrible tonight as well.

[ThisIStheYear]

I am kind of fascinated how Knicks are top5 in all power rankings I have seen. They don't really have a very inspiring start to the season and last season also showed some of their deficiencies that I am not sure they really addressed. Definitely a good team, but not sure if they really are so strong

I don’t know, but the coaching is terrible. They definitely downgraded at coach.

[Chicagojk]

DLo made shots last night and really kept the game close in the third. He also had some assists. Still though, I am left unimpressed. So many of his actions are isolation jumpers. Very little flow when he is running things. Maybe my bias is showing.

Williams will get plenty of chances this year to prove he should be here. I am left a little underwhelmed too. He needs to shoot better regardless. Can’t be less than 20 % three point shooter.

Lively is excellent on D and hopefully his minutes go up and he stays healthy. Need to get him to around 12 points per game. If he does, watch out. One of the reasons I hope Nembhard eventually gets minutes is he will at least get our bigs more touches in the paint.

Pj does a lot of good things but the up and down on offense can be frustrating.

Max is proving he should be at least a heavy minute bench player moving forward. He would look even better player with speed and creation.

[mvossman]

I’ve been examining PJ’s play for the year. He’s basically been the kind of player who sucks but looks good doing it. True Shooting for the year around 51%. I’d deal him as soon as I could. He was terrible tonight as well.

Strange take.  Like many of the players on a team built around Luka he is a finisher.  Playing a lot of minutes with no PG or sub par PG play is going to expose him on offense.  The solution is not to get rid of PJ, but to get a competent PG.

Also, TS is a very noisy stat, especially if you shoot threes.  I would not make personnel decisions based on a 15 game sample of TS.

[Dirknows]

Strange take.  Like many of the players on a team built around Luka he is a finisher.  Playing a lot of minutes with no PG or sub par PG play is going to expose him on offense.  The solution is not to get rid of PJ, but to get a competent PG.

Also, TS is a very noisy stat, especially if you shoot threes.  I would not make personnel decisions based on a 15 game sample of TS.

I mean we’re never gonna get a player like Luka again. Kyrie coming back will help for sure, but I doubt he’ll look like himself until next season. Also pretty sure we can’t trade PJ until the off season anyways?

[mvossman]

I mean we’re never gonna get a player like Luka again. Kyrie coming back will help for sure, but I doubt he’ll look like himself until next season. Also pretty sure we can’t trade PJ until the off season anyways?

Right, we can't trade him rest of the season anyways.

[michaeltex]

You can tell the Mavs don't currently have an "A" player. Flagg may become that, but he still hasn't even turned 19 yet. Kyrie can be that in stretches, but who knows what he'll be like whenever he returns. AD can be that in short increments, but I don't know if his heart is still in it.

Without that gravity, it seems to turn every offensive possession into a school yard scramble.

But the way the team has played lately, if they can get some help from Kyrie and AD, it might be better than we think. Although, I'm not sure that's a good thing.