On November 14th the Mavs lost to the Knicks to cap off a rough stretch of 4 games where they looked discombobulated and lost 3 of 4, two of which were to the tanking Knicks.
Since that night the Mavs have won 5 in a row, two against contending teams. The average score in the 5 wins is 130-104 and the Mavs have looked outstanding. They have not looked like a team that's 16 games in to a season that features a largely reshaped roster made up of Luke, a second star who is coming back from having not played in forever, and (reportedly) no other starters. Instead they've looked like a team that's had time gel, has a deep and talented roster, and is ready to make a run at home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The rotation appears stable and It it seems like Rick's information gathering, lineup experimentation has lessened, or ended. And amazingly, fan favorite (not!) Tim Hardaway Jr. is playing a 3rd star!
An hour or so after the second loss to the Knicks, the Mavs' last loss, Brad Townsend tweeted "Mavs locker room still closed and no Carlisle yet. Much longer wait than usual."
So here's the deal...
What changed? Did something happen in the locker room that night? Did an embarrassing couple of losses to the Knicks cause something to click? Is the improvement just based on the natural progression of a talented team that needed time to figure things out, or did some event catalyze the Mavs?
Since that night the Mavs have won 5 in a row, two against contending teams. The average score in the 5 wins is 130-104 and the Mavs have looked outstanding. They have not looked like a team that's 16 games in to a season that features a largely reshaped roster made up of Luke, a second star who is coming back from having not played in forever, and (reportedly) no other starters. Instead they've looked like a team that's had time gel, has a deep and talented roster, and is ready to make a run at home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The rotation appears stable and It it seems like Rick's information gathering, lineup experimentation has lessened, or ended. And amazingly, fan favorite (not!) Tim Hardaway Jr. is playing a 3rd star!
An hour or so after the second loss to the Knicks, the Mavs' last loss, Brad Townsend tweeted "Mavs locker room still closed and no Carlisle yet. Much longer wait than usual."
So here's the deal...
What changed? Did something happen in the locker room that night? Did an embarrassing couple of losses to the Knicks cause something to click? Is the improvement just based on the natural progression of a talented team that needed time to figure things out, or did some event catalyze the Mavs?