03-26-2024, 12:58 AM
This was a tough game.
Mavs came out a bit flat, which is odd given they had 3 days rest. Luka was on his knees basically every dead ball gasping for air. But they never let this one get away. They constantly grinded it out and kept the Jazz within striking distance the whole time. After giving up 41 first quarter points where the Jazz shot 54% from the field, they held the Jazz to 64 points over the next 3 quarters and 38% from the field. You could see the effort turn up as the game went on. The Mavs got their 1st 2nd chance point in the 2nd quarter off of a Kleber rebound which led to a Luka pass to Lively for the dunk. The deficit for 2nd chance points was 2 to 14 in favor of the Jazz at that point. By the end of the game? Mavs 17 2nd chance points, UTA 16.
That is the kind of defense that keeps you within games when your shot isn't falling. And I have to credit the defensive presence of Gafford, PJ, and.... THJ!! All 3 of these guys had several plays defensively that were huge for the Mavs.
Gafford especially. He probably is the rightful dirkie winner tonight. I mean how can you get better than 13/10/5/2/5 with 100% from the field? That's nearly a 5x5! He was tenacious all night with his energy. The Jazz on more than one occasion avoided the paint and took a mid range shot just because Gafford was there. His verticality altered so many Jazz layups and lob attempts. He had this absolutely nasty block which led to a PJ slam in the 3rd that had me out of my seat. He just makes winning plays and is relentless. I never thought he'd be this good despite me advocating for him pre TDL.
Another TDL acquisition that really shone this game was PJ. He started this game off slowly offensively. He missed several easy threes. But he still hustled and went after every loose ball he could have. Seriously I suggest you just watch PJ for an entire quarter and see how often he moves off ball, seals his man downlow, and just in general do the little things that makes life easier on Kyrie and Luka. On the other end, his defense was incredible at times. Lauri was on fire but PJ still contested well and made every shot of his hard. He boxed out and fought for every rebound. Finally he came up big in the 4th quarter where he hit 2 threes to balloon the lead. ChicagoJk said it best, him and Maxi need to start hitting shots or else they're going to be schemed out in the playoffs. But PJ came up big tonight. Lets hope he can build off that.
Luka had another off game. Which, of course is still a career night for 99% of the league. Ended with 29/12/13, which in and of itself is incredible. His 19th triple double of the season and 75th of his career which puts him as the 9th player ever to record that many triple doubles. Did I mention he's only 25? Ok yeah he's only 25. Its obvious to me that Luka is playing through a bad hamstring. His shot hasn't been the same since that injury. He has no legs and just is grimacing every time down. I expect him to sit out some of these games to end the season, but not until they beat the Kings and solidify their place in the standings. Hope you're good Luka!
Lastly my dirkie winner, which you never would've seen coming, it's Timothy Duane Hardaway Jr. And truthfully he's still an enigma. He opened this game on fire. He was 4/5 from the field for 11 points including a buzzer beater at the end of the quarter to keep the Mavs connected. He would then go 1 for 9 to end the game. It's obvious to me how badly this team needs his outside shooting. He's so violently inconsistent, but if he's on there really is nothing you can do to stop this team. Can THJ please find his 40%+ stroke back? It's not even like his mechanics are broken, he's just clanking everything....
But I digress; his offense isn't the reason why I'm picking him for Dirkie. It's literally everything else. Timmy has grown as a player and did things tonight that made me think he's bought fully in. He found Lively for a lob which was a pass he never looked for before. He kicked to the corner not once, but several times this game where he gave up his own shot for an even better one. That is growth! That is an aspect he has literally never had to his game before. Did that stop him from going 1 on 3 on a fast break and clanking when he could've easily gotten an assist not once but twice? No.. but baby steps. Finally speaking of new additions to his game, his defense this game was extraordinary by THJ standards. He was in every passing lane to the tune of 3 steals. He was rotating extremely well and calling out switches. A locked in Timmy on defense is a guy who deserves 20-25 mins a night. He also was actively boxing out and rebounding all night.
For these reasons Timmy gets my dirkie.
Lets hope this team comes out motivated for the 1st real playoff game of the season tomorrow against the Kings!
Mavs came out a bit flat, which is odd given they had 3 days rest. Luka was on his knees basically every dead ball gasping for air. But they never let this one get away. They constantly grinded it out and kept the Jazz within striking distance the whole time. After giving up 41 first quarter points where the Jazz shot 54% from the field, they held the Jazz to 64 points over the next 3 quarters and 38% from the field. You could see the effort turn up as the game went on. The Mavs got their 1st 2nd chance point in the 2nd quarter off of a Kleber rebound which led to a Luka pass to Lively for the dunk. The deficit for 2nd chance points was 2 to 14 in favor of the Jazz at that point. By the end of the game? Mavs 17 2nd chance points, UTA 16.
That is the kind of defense that keeps you within games when your shot isn't falling. And I have to credit the defensive presence of Gafford, PJ, and.... THJ!! All 3 of these guys had several plays defensively that were huge for the Mavs.
Gafford especially. He probably is the rightful dirkie winner tonight. I mean how can you get better than 13/10/5/2/5 with 100% from the field? That's nearly a 5x5! He was tenacious all night with his energy. The Jazz on more than one occasion avoided the paint and took a mid range shot just because Gafford was there. His verticality altered so many Jazz layups and lob attempts. He had this absolutely nasty block which led to a PJ slam in the 3rd that had me out of my seat. He just makes winning plays and is relentless. I never thought he'd be this good despite me advocating for him pre TDL.
Another TDL acquisition that really shone this game was PJ. He started this game off slowly offensively. He missed several easy threes. But he still hustled and went after every loose ball he could have. Seriously I suggest you just watch PJ for an entire quarter and see how often he moves off ball, seals his man downlow, and just in general do the little things that makes life easier on Kyrie and Luka. On the other end, his defense was incredible at times. Lauri was on fire but PJ still contested well and made every shot of his hard. He boxed out and fought for every rebound. Finally he came up big in the 4th quarter where he hit 2 threes to balloon the lead. ChicagoJk said it best, him and Maxi need to start hitting shots or else they're going to be schemed out in the playoffs. But PJ came up big tonight. Lets hope he can build off that.
Luka had another off game. Which, of course is still a career night for 99% of the league. Ended with 29/12/13, which in and of itself is incredible. His 19th triple double of the season and 75th of his career which puts him as the 9th player ever to record that many triple doubles. Did I mention he's only 25? Ok yeah he's only 25. Its obvious to me that Luka is playing through a bad hamstring. His shot hasn't been the same since that injury. He has no legs and just is grimacing every time down. I expect him to sit out some of these games to end the season, but not until they beat the Kings and solidify their place in the standings. Hope you're good Luka!
Lastly my dirkie winner, which you never would've seen coming, it's Timothy Duane Hardaway Jr. And truthfully he's still an enigma. He opened this game on fire. He was 4/5 from the field for 11 points including a buzzer beater at the end of the quarter to keep the Mavs connected. He would then go 1 for 9 to end the game. It's obvious to me how badly this team needs his outside shooting. He's so violently inconsistent, but if he's on there really is nothing you can do to stop this team. Can THJ please find his 40%+ stroke back? It's not even like his mechanics are broken, he's just clanking everything....
But I digress; his offense isn't the reason why I'm picking him for Dirkie. It's literally everything else. Timmy has grown as a player and did things tonight that made me think he's bought fully in. He found Lively for a lob which was a pass he never looked for before. He kicked to the corner not once, but several times this game where he gave up his own shot for an even better one. That is growth! That is an aspect he has literally never had to his game before. Did that stop him from going 1 on 3 on a fast break and clanking when he could've easily gotten an assist not once but twice? No.. but baby steps. Finally speaking of new additions to his game, his defense this game was extraordinary by THJ standards. He was in every passing lane to the tune of 3 steals. He was rotating extremely well and calling out switches. A locked in Timmy on defense is a guy who deserves 20-25 mins a night. He also was actively boxing out and rebounding all night.
For these reasons Timmy gets my dirkie.
Lets hope this team comes out motivated for the 1st real playoff game of the season tomorrow against the Kings!
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.
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