GAME 1: San Antonio Spurs (0-0) vs. Dallas Mavericks (0-0) | 8:30pm CST ESPN!

[michaeltex]

I guess the last takeaway I had from this game (cautious, because only one game) is that while I'm interested in this new defensive identity to an extent, I suuuuuuuure hope the Mavs hopes aren't dependent on the refs letting them play physically every night. You'll get away with more some nights, sure, but it's pretty ridiculous that Davis, Lively AND Washington all got into such deep foul trouble so early. That can't happen - they need to be able to adjust to the officiating much earlier in the game. I realize that some of that was due to Wembenyama bing a freak, but some of the fouls were pretty dumb, too.

Excellent point. Lively only played 10 minutes last night. With Gaff out, that pretty much scraps the twin towers concept. Once that happened, there was no guarding Wemby.