Mavs 107, Kings 121

[Mavs2021]

In addition to a few excellent observations made already in this thread such as the bell weather of Maxi's performance, I also have noted that the head of the snake himself looks like he's worn down, maybe a even a little beat up physically, even emotionally. 

Luka looks like he's looking for answers on the floor, score more, pass more, defend more?  He's clearly not accepting losing so he might be going thru some Kubler-Ross of his own.  If Luka's not leading the way with other-worldly games, this team hasn't been even playoff quality. 

Luka without great front play and protection from the center position concerns me.  He looks like he's often trying to provide the inside offense at the rim, the outside marksman ship from the 3 the passing game AND the defensive stopper role when that's not being handled enough, which is way too much for even a super young body in the NBA to do game after game for high minutes. 

Luka looks at times like an OLD 22 year old half-limping almost, out there carrying 2 much load for too many minutes.  

Then there's KP, who shows sign of rounding back into his Unicorn abilities offensively but defensively, maybe its too much for him to also be the high block rim protector and rebounder too.  Can his wiry frame and legs hold up inside for so long as a 5 while still lighting it up on the other end for big points?  

There also seems to be some sense that while he's playing his role and position, he might not really be bought in to his role? 

Signs of physical and maybe corresponding energy depletion from the key drivers.

Spot on. Luka is drained physically and mentally from carrying this shitshow every night. He tried the pass first approach in recent games, because it is less physically stressful and the result was he had 12 assists and the team was down 20. The guy has to work his butt off every night to create open looks, cause nobody else can dribble twice and pass without falling over their own feet or throwing the ball away. 

I can´t believe people are starting to blame him for all of this, when Carlisle, Donnie and Cuban have produced an endless pile of shit for the last decade. 

Here is a shocking stat:

Total minutes played amongst 2021 rookies:

38. Josh Green
66. Tyrell Terry
70. Nate Hinton
72. Tyler Bey

You want this translated into more sadness: If you combined the minutes of all our four rookies, they´d rank 32nd in total minutes!! That´s with 85-100% health availability (depending on whether Terry really has a physical problem/family emergency or just wants the f*** out).