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

[KillerLeft]

I don't want it to seem like I'm turning on Lively. I think he's a good young player. I thought he was very good his rookie year. I thought he played Wemby incredibly well that season. Since then, Wemby has gotten better and Lively has not, which is my overall point. Just because I think he's regressed, probably due to injuries and missed time, doesn't mean I think he's bad.

Well, for what it's worth, I thought he started last night's game very well, affecting shots on defense, presenting himself as a cutter on offense, etc.  My read on how the entire front court played was that a cascade of foul trouble ruined the game plan they came in with and rather than adapt and overcome, they crumbled, with each front court player contributing to said crumble. And to be fair to your point, Wembenyama smelled blood in the water once the foul trouble started and contributed to the crumble quite a bit, too.