2021-2022 MAVS NEWS: 4th in West | WCF loss [ARCHIVED]

[Smitty]

You’ve posted a few times now that you’d prefer Utah. Please explain. They seem like the toughest potential matchup to me. Denver and Golden State are hobbled by injuries. Memphis and Minny are young. Utah is experienced, star-studded, physical, and really dangerous from deep. Plus the altitude.

I'm not sure that I've ever posted about wanting Utah, before that post you're referencing. But in the playoffs, particularly round 1, I'd prefer having the best player on the court. Luka is better than any Utah player but may not be better than the Joker. Plus Utah has a terrible track record in the postseason and has been pretty average to bad the last few weeks. Both teams can beat the Mavs, I just prefer Utah...

[Jym]

Yeah I'm more concerned about getting the 3rd seed than what the matchup would be, but Denver is the team I most want to avoid out of those 3
I just feel like our defense is geared more towards stopping guards and wings so I find it a bit worrying that they have the best player in the game who just happens to be a big

[juanc]

I really love the optimism here, everybody thinking about the 2nd round matchups and so on, but let's first get out of the first round. Whoever the Mavs get in the first round, it won't be an easy matchup, heck I would have them as the team that is most likely to lose the HCA...

As fat as the opponents go, I would prefer Utah. We have seen Gobert struggle with smaller lineups in the past postseasons, also the Gobert-Mitchell chemistry is a big factor here IMO. The Mavs would have the best player in the series and as we all have seen in the previous PO, that's a huge factor.

And that is the reason why I am afraid of Denver.I know they are hobbled with injuries, but Jokic is enough to scare me.

[Hypermav]

Mavs could end up with the third best record in the league.  As much as we try to tweek the team for the future (as we should) we need to appreciate what this team is doing now.

[KillerLeft]

Mavs could end up with the third best record in the league.  As much as we try to tweek the team for the future (as we should) we need to appreciate what this team is doing now.

[Hypermav]

https://twitter.com/swish41/status/1509339971462782983?s=20&t=yHrfjSVHF6MqBCg3N4GxDg

[Branduil]

You’ve posted a few times now that you’d prefer Utah. Please explain. They seem like the toughest potential matchup to me. Denver and Golden State are hobbled by injuries. Memphis and Minny are young. Utah is experienced, star-studded, physical, and really dangerous from deep. Plus the altitude.

Things can change of course, but right now the Jazz look like a team that's imploding and ready to be done with each other. Denver obviously has serious injury issues but they've still got Jokic and they don't seem to hate each other.

[KillerLeft]

Things can change of course, but right now the Jazz look like a team that's imploding and ready to be done with each other.

This. The Jazz, as we have known them in recent years, seem done to me. Ainge was brought in to make major changes. 

Plus, they have no one remotely qualified to defend Luka at all. They're not the worst team of the top 8-10, but I think they're the best matchup for the Mavs. 

But it's whatever, at this point. The goal shouldn't be to get a specific matchup in the first round, it should be avoiding PHX in the second.

[Branduil]

This. The Jazz, as we have known them in recent years, seem done to me. Ainge was brought in to make major changes. 

Plus, they have no one remotely qualified to defend Luka at all. They're not the worst team of the top 8-10, but I think they're the best matchup for the Mavs. 

But it's whatever, at this point. The goal shouldn't be to get a specific matchup in the first round, it should be avoiding PHX in the second.

Really, the goal is to get the highest seed they can. Missing the Suns is merely the biggest benefit of that.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...5884997637

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...6117004294

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/swish41/status/1509339971462782983?s=20&t=yHrfjSVHF6MqBCg3N4GxDg

DIRK HAS SPOKEN

[KillerLeft]

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...6117004294

I mean COME ON, how can this not be everyone's favorite?

[Kammrath]

[Kammrath]

[Branduil]

Mavs should be favored heavily in every remaining game except @Milwaukee. 4-1 would clinch the 3rd seed for sure.

[Hogmelon]

Mavs should be favored heavily in every remaining game except @Milwaukee. 4-1 would clinch the 3rd seed for sure.

Not if Golden State goes 5-0 (and Golden State will be favored in ALL FIVE of their remaining games).


https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

[Hogmelon]

1.  At this moment, Denver is ½-game ahead of Utah, BUT ...

Utah and Denver are TIED in the LOSS column, and  Utah swept Denver (4-0) in the regular season, SO ...

If Utah loses the same number of remaining regular season games as Denver (or fewer), then Utah will finish ahead of Denver in the final regular season standings (and playoff seeding).  


2.  Thank goodness, the 48-29 Mavs own the head-to-head tie-breaker versus the 48-29 Warriors.  [3-1]


3.  Predicting the winners of the remaining regular season games is tricky because of the variety of motivations and incentives of the teams.  A few teams (e.g., Detroit, Orlando, and Houston) may be tanking.  Other non-playoff teams may be harder to beat than one might expect because of the "nothing-to-lose" attitude.  Obviously, there are many teams that are fighting for advantageous playoff seeding, but there could always be special strategic considerations that might be somewhat counterintuitive.  And finally, there are the Suns and the Grizzlies, who are already locked-in to their respective playoff positions (#1 and #2 in the Western Conference), and whose primary goal for the next two weeks is to go into the playoffs with their teams as "healthy" as possible.

My point (if I have one) is that the following link to "Remaining Schedule Strength" might be somewhat misleading:


https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

[Branduil]

Not if Golden State goes 5-0 (and Golden State will be favored in ALL FIVE of their remaining games).


https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

Yeah but they're not going to do that.

[Kammrath]

Remaining schedule for DAL and GSW:

[Hypermav]

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1509391713890152448?s=20&t=pLXyWiCiPYVCLs3Pvi_9UA