Game 43: Dallas Mavericks (23-19) vs. Charlotte Hornets (10-28) | 11:00 am CST

[Chicagojk]

tough to tell with all the injuries but it is frustrating watching how constantly one pass can lead to a wide open three. Hasn't Dallas been good at this last year. Or at least let the non shooter get these looks. Over the last month, it appears really easy to get an open look. A lot of issues tied this and I am sure players not being familar with each other is a thing. Still though, when your win chances are small due to injuries, those type of plays are killer.

[mvossman]

Klay gets one shot at this in the play-offs, then we ship him out with Kleber for Simons. We need another play-maker/scorer. Klay is just Robin Hood on steroids. This team is better now, but the 1 on 1 scoring ability/play-making is still so low. Dinwiddie is another crutch that needs removing.

Din is perfect as a vet min Luka backup, but he is getting overexposed with Luka out.  That's also what is hurting Klay.  He had 5 shots in 30 minutes.

[mvossman]

Gotta trade maxi.  Grimes. Hardy etc.  get a young piece that will be here 2-3 years.  Go for it next year. This team isn’t doing anything this year.  Next year you think about trading Kyrie if not looking good.

Why are we trading Grimes?  Why can't he be a good piece that will be here many years?

[Deebo]

Why are we trading Grimes?  Why can't he be a good piece that will be here many years?

Cause Kidd ain’t using him enough.

[Smitty]

@NickVanExit

On top of everything else. Terrible time for the worst Magnets Game of the season for the Mavs

DAL 6/32 3P (18.8%)
CHA 17/39 3P (43.6%)

Biggest Net 3P% Differntial
1. at CHA, 1/20 -24.8%
2. vs LAC, 12/19 -19.1%
3. at DEN, 1/14 -18.0%
4. at DEN, 11/22 -14.7%

[Chicagojk]

@NickVanExit

On top of everything else. Terrible time for the worst Magnets Game of the season for the Mavs

DAL 6/32 3P (18.8%)
CHA 17/39 3P (43.6%)

Biggest Net 3P% Differntial
1. at CHA, 1/20 -24.8%
2. vs LAC, 12/19 -19.1%
3. at DEN, 1/14 -18.0%
4. at DEN, 11/22 -14.7%

Ouch that hurts.

tough to ruin a game where our centers combined to score 31 points and grab 15 rebounds.  That is an elite level pairing.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Maxi is sparing us to death. Gafford is showing he can start at an elite level. I would be SO reluctant to trade him. As many have pointed out, Din is totally exposed, but WTF with Luka, Hardy, Grimes, and Exum out.

[Mavs2021]

One game ahead of the 11th pick. Imho you don´t trade this for a Herb Jones. If this goes really wrong healthwise with Luka we get almost a 10% chance at a top 4 pick in a 6-7 player draft.

[KillerLeft]

6 for 32 from 3 at 18 percent  from one team.  17-39 from 3 from the other team at 43 percent.  Sometimes that is the difference in the game.  Especially if you don't have a one sided TO or rebounding advantage.

I'd go so far as to say that's OFTEN the difference in the game. The NBA is about who generates more quality 3's and who makes more. Period. I don't hate it as much as some seem to, because this reality seems to reward teams who move the ball and can rotate, defensively, which are the interesting parts of the game for me.

[KillerLeft]

One game ahead of the 11th pick. Imho you don´t trade this for a Herb Jones. If this goes really wrong healthwise with Luka we get almost a 10% chance at a top 4 pick in a 6-7 player draft.

If the pick was guaranteed to be the correct one, or if Jones were old, I'd agree. But, the pick could be a big swing and miss and Herb Jones is likely to be the best wing defender in the league for YEARS to come. I get where you're coming from, and I have long argued against treating 1sts like tic tacs, but...I'd do it, personally.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Gaffords line of 31pts, 15rbs, 7blks is the first time that has happened in Dallas Mavericks history.

[LukaMVP]

One game ahead of the 11th pick. Imho you don´t trade this for a Herb Jones. If this goes really wrong healthwise with Luka we get almost a 10% chance at a top 4 pick in a 6-7 player draft.

agree. even if we trade the pick and gafford right now there would still be no guarantee for us to make the playoffs with luka out until all-star break at least and other solid players out occasionally one after another. injury issues give the mavs an excuse for not going all out this season for a championship run, which we have no shot at anyway given our current levels of roster and coach. a lottery pick this year will bring us a very solid role player at the very least, considering how stacked the 25' class is supposed to be. otherwise if we indeed trade our pick and somehow miss the playoffs, we would have to watch some other team (Pelicans for example) selecting a quality young player with our pick on the draft night, in which case we would be absolutely f**ked.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Gaffords line of 31pts, 15rbs, 7blks is the first time that has happened in Dallas Mavericks history.

He was dominant..Too bad it was wasted in a L.
.

[Chicagojk]

Klay has been an up and down roller coaster. I hope it evens out when Luka returns. One thing that has bothered me all year is games where he (or others) don't get looks. Kidd was one of the best players ever finding the hot hand, getting players good looks, or geting an easy look to a player who is struggling. That is as a player. It is one of my frustrations with our guards on the roster as well. Luka is all world and will make the right play 9/10 times. I would like to see him do what Kidd so well as a player, as Luka has the ball so much. Kyrie (and Dinwiddie) do not do well at this either.

If I am Kyrie and Dinwiddie (&Kidd) and see Klay had so few shots at halftime and the end of the game, I put that as a failure on me. If I am a point guard I also grade myself the same way when our centers are not involved in the game on offense.

[Chicagojk]

He was dominant..Too bad it was wasted in a L.
.

He really did have a great statline.   I know there are some teams he has struggled with (I am not totally there that he can't play against these teams), but having him as a two man rotation is really nice.    I love how both of our center can go hard for 4-5 minutes and then get a pit stop.   Hopefully in time Lively can be healthy and extend this 4-5 minute stretches.    When everything is clicking with the team, having two centers who can go all out and hard for short stretches is tough for other teams to match.   

If Gafford is a bench center, I am in favor of feeding him heavy when he is in the game.   Especially when he is scoring on dunks.  It seems to ref up the whole team.

[Chicagojk]

I always viewed Kyrie as a point guard prior to his time with the Mavs. Seeing him the past two years (espcially without Luka), you see he really is a scoring guard.


Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko
·
30m
About that last line in the screenshot; there is a lot of pressure on Kyrie to score with Luka out, but he is averaging 3.0 assists and 3.3 turnovers in 7 games since Christmas.
Imo the Mavs need him in facilitator, advantage creator role than finisher more.

[KillerLeft]

I always viewed Kyrie as a point guard prior to his time with the Mavs.  Seeing him the past two years (espcially without Luka), you see he really is a scoring guard.


Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko
·
30m
About that last line in the screenshot; there is a lot of pressure on Kyrie to score with Luka out, but he is averaging 3.0 assists and 3.3 turnovers in 7 games since Christmas.
Imo the Mavs need him in facilitator, advantage creator role than finisher more.

I could be a bit off on this, and I definitely agree with you about Kyrie to an extent, but to me, this issue has seemed more about Kidd's offense than about whether or not Kyrie has PG skills. 

At the very least, he's not a pick-and-roll PG - that's clear. The problem is that the other guys on the roster were assembled to be a pick-and-roll team, with Luka's skills in mind.

EDIT: Hate to tear the bandage off of this old wound, but situations like this where they're missing Luka are exactly why letting Brunson get away was a terrible blunder. Regardless of whether we think he's better or worse than Kyrie, his STYLE of play is much more suitable to fill in for Luka. You could make a solid argument that Kyrie's is more suited to COMPLEMENT Luka, but with Luka out for an extended stretch, that's not very helpful right now.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

I could be a bit off on this, and I definitely agree with you about Kyrie to an extent, but to me, this issue has seemed more about Kidd's offense than about whether or not Kyrie has PG skills. 

At the very least, he's not a pick-and-roll PG - that's clear. The problem is that the other guys on the roster were assemble to be a pick-and-roll team, with Luka's skills in mind.

EDIT: Hate to tear the bandage off of this old wound, but situations like this where they're missing Luka are exactly why letting Brunson get away was a terrible blunder. Regardless of whether we think he's better or worse than Kyrie, his STYLE of play is much more suitable to fill in for Luka. You could make a solid argument that Kyrie's is more suited to COMPLEMENT Luka, but with Luka out for an extended stretch, that's not very helpful right now.

Astute.  I haven't seen him play from the point this entire year.  It does seem like Kidd wants to play him exclusively off the ball, even with Luka out.  IMO, it's a mistake.  You build your lineup for the players you have playing, not for what happens when folks come back from injury.  He's probably the best ball handler in history, yet Kidd takes the ball out of his hands.  We clearly need a facilitator, fostering easy buckets for the entire team.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Astute.  I haven't seen him play from the point this entire year.  It does seem like Kidd wants to play him exclusively off the ball, even with Luka out.  IMO, it's a mistake.  You build your lineup for the players you have playing, not for what happens when folks come back from injury.  He's probably the best ball handler in history, yet Kidd takes the ball out of his hands.  We clearly need a facilitator, fostering easy buckets for the entire team.

Ironically, Avery did the same thing to Kidd.  Took the ball out of his hands and made him 3&D shooting guard.  Also ironic, they're both championship point guards.  Not sure how to make that compute.

[mvossman]

I could be a bit off on this, and I definitely agree with you about Kyrie to an extent, but to me, this issue has seemed more about Kidd's offense than about whether or not Kyrie has PG skills. 

At the very least, he's not a pick-and-roll PG - that's clear. The problem is that the other guys on the roster were assembled to be a pick-and-roll team, with Luka's skills in mind.

EDIT: Hate to tear the bandage off of this old wound, but situations like this where they're missing Luka are exactly why letting Brunson get away was a terrible blunder. Regardless of whether we think he's better or worse than Kyrie, his STYLE of play is much more suitable to fill in for Luka. You could make a solid argument that Kyrie's is more suited to COMPLEMENT Luka, but with Luka out for an extended stretch, that's not very helpful right now.

I agree with both Brunson being a better replacement and Kyrie being a better complement.  Given that Luka generally plays 80% of his games and 40 minutes a game in the playoffs you probably want a compliment more than a replacement.  I don't really think Brunson made sense here long term because it was somewhat a waste of his talent.  I'm not sure he would have been happy playing second fiddle to Luka most of his career.  The killer was that Brunson on a max extension contract would have been extremely valuable asset.