GAME 1: San Antonio Spurs (0-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (1-0)| 119-126 WIN!

[SwisherPrice]

Lively and Green are great together. Two young, athletic players with ideal size and high motors

[SleepingHero]

Me to Killer after I trashed talk the hell out of Lively the whole night on draft day.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Glad to see Kidd recognized the best 5 available. Frustrated it was obvious to everyone but him until he watched them play.

[dirkfansince1998]

Way too early rotation analysis:

Lively 30/Kleber 23 (even sharing the floor for a couple of minutes)
Williams 35
Luka 34
Green 29 / THJ 28
Irving 36

As the main group.

DJJ 12 (started)
Exum 8 (1st quarter of the bench)
Curry 4 (cameo in the 3rd quarter)

Competing for the remaining minutes.

[SleepingHero]

Dereck Lively was a +20 this game!!

[BolsDamols]

Luka not playing whole first and third quarters really made a difference in his energy level to close out the game.
Not sure if this is a temporary thing due to his leg injury but I hope this minutes distribution continues.

[SwisherPrice]

If Kidd is going to do the token starter thing, I'd rather it be Exum over DJJ.

Not that DJJ did anything too bad tonight but it's just not a good fit. He should be with the 2nd unit going against the opposing 2nd unit where they play more uptempo and he can use his athleticism to run the floor after stops. With Luka/Kyrie, it's going to be a half court game and that's not really his strength

[Jym]

Was so nice to see Kidd end the game with the correct 5. I thought there was no way he would if they didn't start.
Fingers crossed that by 5 to 10 games in, they're consistently starting and ending with those 5. Should beat the majority of teams if healthy

Also need to give those DJJ minutes to Exum

[SleepingHero]

Luka not playing whole first and third quarters really made a difference in his energy level to close out the game.
Not sure if this is a temporary thing due to his leg injury but I hope this minutes distribution continues.

Very true.

This new sub pattern made a huge difference.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Me to Killer after I trashed talk the hell out of Lively the whole night on draft day.

I took a break from sports for a month after arguing with him how Lively being our starting center means we’re a lottery team.

[ItsGoTime]

Clint who? The Mavs found their center.

Imagine Cap AND Lively playing all the C minutes. You see the difference when Lively went in, now imagine that difference is just the norm, all game. Good C play has been missing for so long.

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Luka not playing whole first and third quarters really made a difference in his energy level to close out the game.
Not sure if this is a temporary thing due to his leg injury but I hope this minutes distribution continues.

I think this is an underrated development.

[KillerLeft]

I took a break from sports for a month after arguing with him how Lively being our starting center means we’re a lottery team.

Dude, I thought you might’ve been right at the time. Just didn’t care. Ready to get younger, I guess.

BUT, the Mavs seem to have known something none of us did. Is anyone feeling upset they didn’t trade the farm for Capela right now???

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

They said he took a big leap from summer league to when he showed up for training camp. Pretty crazy.

Seems like a high character dude with the physical tools. Glad to be wrong. He really was underwhelming at Duke.

[dirkfansince1998]

They said he took a big leap from summer league to when he showed up for training camp. Pretty crazy.

Seems like a high character dude with the physical tools. Glad to be wrong. He really was underwhelming at Duke.

Agreed. If I remember it correctly most of us thought that OMax would be the NBA ready prospect. Looked better than Lively in summer league. Lack of capable ballhandlers that can run the pick and roll made it hard to evaluate Lively.

[ThisIStheYear]

Don’t want to overreact. The Spurs are not a good team. But I see notable progress. Ideally, the Mavs will find a way to get through the non Lively center minutes and trade for a high quality big small forward. Then the team is complete. I like Green off the bench playing 28 minutes, mostly with only one of Luka or Kyrie in the game. Grant isn’t great, but as the game went on, you could see he’s a pro’s pro and a perfect fifth starter. Lively is the third best player on the team. THJ is fool’s gold. Hopefully the Mavs can package him with Hardy and a pick to bring back a quality, two way small forward.

[Reunion Mav]

Loved seeing Luka and Kyrie win the 4th and Lively just made our day. The pain of the tank year suddenly seems more worth it.

I also liked how Grant Williams played. I agree on the best 5.

[SleepingHero]

[Mavs2021]

Imagine Cap AND Lively playing all the C minutes. You see the difference when Lively went in, now imagine that difference is just the norm, all game. Good C play has been missing for so long.

Capela was a team-worst -19, while Mark Williams had the best +/- on the other team. Even if Young was the reason for Capela´s bad plus/minus, you better not give up anything to get him. They have no leverage. They´lll have to start Okungwu eventually, although his cheap contract gives them a little breathing room.

They should have made a play for Reed. He´d have been perfect. Morey likely matches, but try wouldn´t have hurt. Just like with PJ Washington, who had a nice game last night,too. Maybe he´s pissed about his contract.

[Mavs2021]

Luka making adjustments. Don't try to find Lively with bounce passes or below the chest. Just throw it up and take advantage of Lively's catch radius.

That´s an elaborate way to say height. Amazing to think Luka would benefit from a center that is not 6´X with T-Rex arms. That´s why I always said Mavs should have pitched FA centers on "Luka is your ticket to get paid" and that´s why a Hartenstein or Smith would have signed here.

[ItsGoTime]

Capela was a team-worst -19, while Mark Williams had the best +/- on the other team. Even if Young was the reason for Capela´s bad plus/minus, you better not give up anything to get him. They have no leverage. They´lll have to start Okungwu eventually, although his cheap contract gives them a little breathing room.

Single game +/- always tells the full story, I forgot. Would’ve been nice to have 6 orebs and 13 total and a good defensive anchor while Lively was not on the floor. I’d like to have Cap at a lower cost, but having him here for a full training camp would have been great too. A win is a win and I’m very glad we did against a team that’ll probably prove to be a bottom dweller when all is said and done.