Game 19: DAL (5-13) @ MIA (11-6) | 6:30 PM CT

[KillerLeft]

[Chicagojk]

The offense is so bad. A good point guard isn’t fixing everything. Everything is a slog. They have better players than they have shown but there is nothing on offense.

[Chicagojk]

Just awful offense. No flow. One guy gets the ball and tries to create for himself. Then someone else gets the ball and tries to create. No action. No movement. Just missed shot after missed shot.

[Scott41theMavs]

Just awful offense.  No flow.  One guy gets the ball and tries to create for himself.  Then someone else gets the ball and tries to create.  No action.  No movement.  Just missed shot after missed shot.

Kidd doing the stealth tank thing.

[Chicagojk]

That is a point guard, how cannot you see the difference. The open shots, the ball movement, the pace. That is what has been desperately missing. Sure he has limitations but he needs to play.

[Jym]

Kidd doing the stealth tank thing.

Itd be nice if it was some intentional thing but I think he's just incapable of installing a coherent offense

[Chicagojk]

Nembhard changed the game despite making one shot. Just a great run. Play him more please.

[KillerLeft]

Bad decision from Thompson to fake it to the corner there. He should’ve just made the right pass right away. Gotta trust PJW to knock it down when it’s actually open, OR to pass it right back if the guy rotates aggressively.

I appreciate that he’s proud and wants to prove he’s not done, and I hope he does prove it, but he’s pressing and that isn’t helping anyone.

[KillerLeft]

Alternatively, Flagg needed to be a ball hog and take the last shot there.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Cooper Flagg will probably be really good but he's not electric enough to watch this (bad) team.  They need some guards (multiple) to play real basketball.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I think my new strategy is to just watch the 4th quarter (or maybe just start at the 5:00 minute mark since every game is a clutch game).

Really good D tonight...especially in clutch time.  Christie had a nice block and Flagg had a well timed help that led to a travel.  But, a couple of really bad TO's after taking care of the ball well most of the night.

I started writing this with :41 left and was wondering what to root for...win or tank.  But, nice to see competitive endings even if the O isn't fun to watch.  I now know the ending.  Close losses with great effort is the perfect tank outcome IMHO.  Would have loved Flagg to get a shot those last two possessions, but he gave it up both time.

[ThisIStheYear]

PJ is the best tank commander of all time!  I thought it was Klay, but PJ is so good at single handedly losing a game while leaving just enough doubt about if he did it on purpose.

The Mavs need to trade him though for sure. He’s not right for Cooper.

[Chicagojk]

Bad PJ turnover and two missed shots. Fun second half. Good loss.

I can enjoy games like that how Nembhard played. I would much rather see his ups and downs than DLO.

I see Ware and Clingan and other centers work to expand their game and then see Livleymwhen he plays get 2 shots. I need to see demand the ball more.

[RBB]

Tough loss....again. At least the games (most of them) are close.

[Chicagojk]

That alley oop from Nembhard to Coop may have been the play of the year so far if coop finished it. I would try to pair Nembhard’s to coop. You see how many touches coop got. Even quick handoffs. Much better than him waiting in the corner.

[SwisherPrice]

PJ Washington may not have that clutch gene! He can look unstoppable through 46 minutes and then once we hit crunchtime, he falls apart

[omahen]

The offense is so bad. A good point guard isn’t fixing everything.  Everything is a slog.  They have better players than they have shown but there is nothing on offense.

I think watching Miami and Mavs gives a good view on what a good (elite) coach is compared to Kidd. Spoelstra is constantly adjusting his team play based on the kind of personel they have. They were playing very much different basketball with Butler. Without him, they recognized that they need to go super fast to have a chance and they are still competing. Miami's starting PG is Davion Mitchel, a "reject" from Sacramento. Their only guy who can really get his shot is Herro, who played his first game this season. 

Kidd is just playing one system and looking for ideal players to fit his system. It worked with elite creators, it looks horribly without them. When you look at Miami and Mavs rosters, even with all the guys injured on the Mavs, would you really expect Miami to be 12:6 and Mavs 5:14?

[F Gump]

Kidd is just playing one system and looking for ideal players to fit his system. 

This is such nonsense and the exact opposite of what has happened in the wake of Luka being traded. Good grief.

I'm not sure I really like the Mavs offense all that much (which is the baby of Triano, a highly-respected longtime NBA coach, rather than Kidd), but what we have seen this year is definitely NOT the same as before at all. It's kinda the opposite, in fact. It's odd you praise Spoelstra in the same breath, since this offense is essentially the very same approach that Spoelstra is using (and which the Heat are getting kudos for in many quarters). 

So then why is MIA's record much better than DAL? One real issue is the talent ON THE FLOOR, in which MIA indisputably has had way better players playing than DAL. But I also think that that lack of talent (including the total absence of an NBA starting-caliber PG to run the offense) has motivated the Mavs to chase Ls rather than W's, so games are being managed to enhance the losing (with "we almost won again" being the ideal), for purposes of a much-needed high draft pick to use as a foundation next to CF.

[vfromlmf]

Let’s also not forget ALL teams look bad when their star players sit. For example , the Mavs had an all-time record of 71-81 in games where Dirk Nowitzki did not play. (This record includes all games he sat out, whether due to injury, illness, rest, or other reasons.)

[ballsrchr]

Nembhard changed the game despite making one shot.  Just a great run.  Play him more please.

It was nice to see someone actually directing traffic and setting up plays.  Short?...sure.  But he plays with anticipation and vision.  Nembhard IS a point guard.