Mavs 105, Clippers 100

[mavsluvr]

I will point out that Luka actually wasn't great in the 4th quarter.  

As spectacular as Luka's overall game was, that was a team win. At winning time, in the end Dallas does not win that game without the rest of those Mavs making some key plays including DFS and the much maligned Kristaps Porzingis on a clutch 3 pointer.
 
Even Rick Carlisle saw the light enough to play the Boban card which I admit I found shocking too but I definitely didn't shudder.    

Why would Rick Carlisle or anyone else continue to do the same thing and expect a different result?  It was desperation they forced Coach C. to make the right move, finally.  

I actually thought Luka was pretty terrible in the fourth quarter, by his amazing standards. Believe that was the adjective he himself used to describe his play in that segment. I attribute that to his running on fumes at that point. 

That is one thing that got me concerned about this drastic drop-off with these bench units. I don't love the solution of playing Tim and Luka almost the whole 48. We see what abysmal performance it leads to in the fourth quarter when those guys are exhausted. 

Did not mean to slight Boban when I used the term "shudder," lol. It was not so much that I thought it wasn't a good idea in the abstract, as that they had rarely used that strategy in-season, and it struck me as a desperation move, as you pointed out. I guess there's a reason Carlisle gets paid the big bucks, and I applaud his moxie. 

Also no intention to slight the rest of the team, although I think few of them played their best. Doe-Doe was awesome defensively, and KP did hit that timely three. However, I'm sorry, but the reserve units were horrible, as usual. Maybe there's just nothing to be done, but I wish there were. I know, if wishes were horses,. . . .

The good side of some of the team not playing well is that there is plenty of room for improvement tonight!