A Few Thoughts on Mavs 106, Kings 110

[j0Shi]

• Sucks to lose a game that you were supposed to win, but I'm not nearly as mad as... say the loss vs. the Knicks. Reason is, this was what they call a scheduled loss. 5 in 8, 4 in 6. Plus Kings were coming in hot after a tough loss in San Antonio. In these games you have to start out extra aggressive, extra sharp, extra everything. Otherwise you'll be quickly down by 20. Yes it surely was a disappointing effort at times, but I guess we can agree that the Mavs recent play made sure this one doesn't hurt as much.
  
• Plus, you have to give them credit that they fought back and actually had a shot at OT. The last six minutes were just reminiscent of the 2011 Mavs, who were similarly able to just get into another gear defensively late and completely dominate opponents. The sheer fact that both our young superstars stepped up in the clutch and made big plays on both ends is just amazing to watch. Those two are just getting started.
  
• Man, get THJ some help out there! He was dynamite and for the first time I really hoped that Luka would turn to him a little more instead of his usual hero ball. Doncic was 1-for-4 from deep late and only 3-for-12 for the game. Meanwhile THJ didn't attempt a shot in the forth after going 10-for-13 and 9-for-12 from deep. That's an underrated aspect of why the Mavs lost.
  
• Luka and the refs were an annoyance. I agree that he shouldn't talk that much, but then again: The stupid refs should also just call fouls that are obvious. L2M will probably confirm what we all know. And that's that the Mavs got robbed. Sure Luka has to make the freebies and god knows what would have happened on the last Kings shot or OT, but having two possible wins taken away by blatantly wrong calls is horrible.
  
• Another bullet on the refs and Luka that drives me crazy: Some local reporters suggested that Luka will get more calls by shutting up. If that doesn't pinpoint the issue with these bullshit refs, I don't know. That's basically admitting that they're not objective. If somebody talks too much, your move is to T them up and not bitch back at them by not calling fouls. Do your fucking job and don't act like a fucking diva. Luka's comments after the game were A+ btw. Just a mature leader at 20.
  
• JJB vs. Yogi is just fun. Good times. Also kudos to our little Puerto Rican for completely dominating Harrison Barnes defensively. LOL. To be honest though, this game showed why we were a little nervous about the possibility of Barea getting consistent minutes on this team. He and Luka don't fit at all. I'm really glad coach did the right thing and only uses JJB as spark plug.
  
• Talking about Barnes: It amazes me that the Kings were pretty much running their entire offense through him when it mattered. He was 1-for-5 with two turnovers late. Sacramento obviously didn't know what to do under pressure and tried to turn to the vet. But as us MFFL know all too well this can get frustrating at times.
  
• Onto the next ones: Mavs get a little rest before showcasing in Mexico and going against the East top 5.