A Few Thoughts on Mavs 103, Celtics 109

[mavsluvr]

I saw Brunson fall apart at the end and get benched. Same as everybody else saw. But I sure don’t share what appears to be the majority consensus opinion.

1. Delon appears to be on a minutes restriction still.

2. JJB was a no go for whatever reason.

3. That leaves Seth and Jalen as the creators of offense. And Seth, while en fuego himself, was not distributing and was turning it over.

4. Meanwhile, Jalen had 10 assists to just 1 turnover by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Sure, he turned it over twice more and had some sad-finish drives to nowhere as the game got physical during the 4th. And there's no doubt he played his way to a seat on the bench. But there were more than flashes of top-shelf play for much of the game. And that 10/7/11 stat line, even with 3 turnovers, is nothing to complain about.

Seriously now, on a night when 3 of 5 starters basically no showed, we're complaining about the sub for our injured star? When that sub is our 2nd leading rebounder and posts an 11:3 assist to turnover ratio?

Is there a majority consensus on Brunson? Are people complaining about him?

Apart from the late-game meltdown, I thought there was a lot to like about JB's performance. I hate to cite those ESPN announcers for anything, but they talked quite a bit about how well he was doing. I thought he might have called his own number a little too often (4-13), but that is sort of a nitpick on a one-night basis. For most of the time he was on the court, he managed the game well, especially considering the circumstances. 

JB has been open about wanting to become a starting PG in the NBA. If that is his ambition, he is going to have to learn how to close, but he's a young guy, and I agree that it doesn't happen overnight.