02-29-2024, 01:22 AM
Decided to go with PJ tonight. His offensive explosion was sorely needed and it was great to see him be confident and shoot!
When he started 3/3 from 3 I figured he was going to go for 40. But then I remembered not everyone is Luka...
The positives is that PJ can DEFEND! He locked up Barnes, Barrett, and even Quickley at times. He makes great rotations and when his shot is falling he's the type of dude you want out there for 48 minutes a night. Great game from PJ!
Luka had a relatively off night for the first 2 1/2 quarters. He seemed a step slow and shots he normally hits were short. 2nd night of a back to back definitely affected him. Then the 3rd quarter happened and Luka showed everyone once again why he's literal magic. The stuff he does on the court at times breaks my brain. It should not be that easy to sleep walk your way to a 30 point, 11 rebound, 16 assist night. Luka you're an animal. Go enjoy your birthday.
Kyrie is similar in the way he just absolutely blows my mind. He might be the most entertaining basketball player I've seen. Just from a pure aesthetic aspect. His moves are incredible. His 2nd half is better than most players career games with 21 points on 9/16 shooting. His effort on defense and willingness to make the best play every time down is still a breath of fresh air. I never really watched Kyrie too closely when he was with the Cavs, Boston, and the Nets. He is an incredible basketball player and I'm glad he's happy here. I hope he continues to be happy here.
Dereck Lively showed flashes of why he's a future DPOY. Sure the 5 blocked shots and 2 steals are nice on paper, but he really tried and contested every thing at the rim. Sometimes the Raptors hit a good shot. Sometimes the Raptors found him a little bit out of position. That's okay. Most of the time he was exactly where he needed to be and his patience defending is his greatest asset. I also thought that Lively kept up well enough on the perimeter. Only once did I think he failed to close out properly on a Kelly Olynyk 3.
Gafford had a great game too. He hustled like crazy all night on the boards and finished spectacularly at the rim. His one finish from a Luka lob got me out of my seat the way he levitated up there. Speaking of close outs, I thought Gafford closed out on the corner 3 pretty admirably this game. Its hard to hit a shot when you have a 6'10 monster with a near 36 inch vertical to get the ball over.
I thought Green had a pretty forgettable game overall. He hit some ok shots but was overall sloppy with the ball and made some questionable passes. One thing to point out to close out February, Green averaged 56/47/93 shooting percentages over the last month. He had 10 shot attempts a game which would be by far a career high if he did that over a season. Just incredible stuff from Green.
Overall the Mavs bounced back as well as they could have given the circumstances and the fact it's the 2nd night of a back to back. The 3rd and 4th quarter really inspired hope from me!
When he started 3/3 from 3 I figured he was going to go for 40. But then I remembered not everyone is Luka...
The positives is that PJ can DEFEND! He locked up Barnes, Barrett, and even Quickley at times. He makes great rotations and when his shot is falling he's the type of dude you want out there for 48 minutes a night. Great game from PJ!
Luka had a relatively off night for the first 2 1/2 quarters. He seemed a step slow and shots he normally hits were short. 2nd night of a back to back definitely affected him. Then the 3rd quarter happened and Luka showed everyone once again why he's literal magic. The stuff he does on the court at times breaks my brain. It should not be that easy to sleep walk your way to a 30 point, 11 rebound, 16 assist night. Luka you're an animal. Go enjoy your birthday.
Kyrie is similar in the way he just absolutely blows my mind. He might be the most entertaining basketball player I've seen. Just from a pure aesthetic aspect. His moves are incredible. His 2nd half is better than most players career games with 21 points on 9/16 shooting. His effort on defense and willingness to make the best play every time down is still a breath of fresh air. I never really watched Kyrie too closely when he was with the Cavs, Boston, and the Nets. He is an incredible basketball player and I'm glad he's happy here. I hope he continues to be happy here.
Dereck Lively showed flashes of why he's a future DPOY. Sure the 5 blocked shots and 2 steals are nice on paper, but he really tried and contested every thing at the rim. Sometimes the Raptors hit a good shot. Sometimes the Raptors found him a little bit out of position. That's okay. Most of the time he was exactly where he needed to be and his patience defending is his greatest asset. I also thought that Lively kept up well enough on the perimeter. Only once did I think he failed to close out properly on a Kelly Olynyk 3.
Gafford had a great game too. He hustled like crazy all night on the boards and finished spectacularly at the rim. His one finish from a Luka lob got me out of my seat the way he levitated up there. Speaking of close outs, I thought Gafford closed out on the corner 3 pretty admirably this game. Its hard to hit a shot when you have a 6'10 monster with a near 36 inch vertical to get the ball over.
I thought Green had a pretty forgettable game overall. He hit some ok shots but was overall sloppy with the ball and made some questionable passes. One thing to point out to close out February, Green averaged 56/47/93 shooting percentages over the last month. He had 10 shot attempts a game which would be by far a career high if he did that over a season. Just incredible stuff from Green.
Overall the Mavs bounced back as well as they could have given the circumstances and the fact it's the 2nd night of a back to back. The 3rd and 4th quarter really inspired hope from me!
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.
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