08-01-2020, 10:51 PM
Youssuf Saad did a pretty deep dive on this game for the Athletic.
Since the article is behind a paywall, I probably shouldn't copy the whole thing, but here are a few points I thought were interesting --
Carlisle wants to improve the defense to to top-10
"Carlisle [said] that improving the defense was the primary focus throughout training camp. He said the goal was to elevate from middle-of-the-pack to a top-10 unit. News alert: Giving up 153 points is not going to do that."
But at least Carlisle has told us what the goal is.
Mavs cannot allow role players like House and McLemore to go off.
This drove me crazy during the game.
Saad includes a picture before House's first three-pointer (out of six). All five Mavs are clustered around Harden and Westbrook on the strong side of the court. House is just relaxing all alone in the weak-side corner, and hits a wide-open three when he gets the pass. This sort of thing happened over and over. Dang it.
Trying to Manage the Clock When They Don't Know How
Porzingis' comments on that --
“I think we should have stayed probably more offensive-minded, the way we were the whole game. At the end, we tried to slow it down and the pressure was up obviously. We tried to slow it down and kind of just cruise and win the game. Or maybe not to lose the game. That was maybe our mindset a little bit. We just have to go out there and keep playing aggressively (and) attack.”
Saad advises that the team badly needs to learn how to manage the clock while still managing to get off a good shot. Until they figure that out, maybe they should just keep playing.
What Were the Odds?
"This stat courtesy of ESPN Stats and Info on Twitter was jarring: Entering Friday, teams were 2-711 when trailing by seven or more points with less than a minute to go in regulation. The Rockets were down by seven points with 45 seconds left."
Yikes! Not sure whether we should conclude that bad luck played a role in a perfect storm of things going wrong, or whether we should deem the Mavs astronomically bad at the end. Maybe somewhere in the middle?
https://theathletic.com/1967093/2020/08/...eeklyemail
Since the article is behind a paywall, I probably shouldn't copy the whole thing, but here are a few points I thought were interesting --
Carlisle wants to improve the defense to to top-10
"Carlisle [said] that improving the defense was the primary focus throughout training camp. He said the goal was to elevate from middle-of-the-pack to a top-10 unit. News alert: Giving up 153 points is not going to do that."
But at least Carlisle has told us what the goal is.
Mavs cannot allow role players like House and McLemore to go off.
This drove me crazy during the game.
Saad includes a picture before House's first three-pointer (out of six). All five Mavs are clustered around Harden and Westbrook on the strong side of the court. House is just relaxing all alone in the weak-side corner, and hits a wide-open three when he gets the pass. This sort of thing happened over and over. Dang it.
Trying to Manage the Clock When They Don't Know How
Porzingis' comments on that --
“I think we should have stayed probably more offensive-minded, the way we were the whole game. At the end, we tried to slow it down and the pressure was up obviously. We tried to slow it down and kind of just cruise and win the game. Or maybe not to lose the game. That was maybe our mindset a little bit. We just have to go out there and keep playing aggressively (and) attack.”
Saad advises that the team badly needs to learn how to manage the clock while still managing to get off a good shot. Until they figure that out, maybe they should just keep playing.
What Were the Odds?
"This stat courtesy of ESPN Stats and Info on Twitter was jarring: Entering Friday, teams were 2-711 when trailing by seven or more points with less than a minute to go in regulation. The Rockets were down by seven points with 45 seconds left."
Yikes! Not sure whether we should conclude that bad luck played a role in a perfect storm of things going wrong, or whether we should deem the Mavs astronomically bad at the end. Maybe somewhere in the middle?
https://theathletic.com/1967093/2020/08/...eeklyemail