GAMETHREAD: OKC @ DAL, Oct 14, 7:30 pm (107-70 win)

[mtrot]

Classic JJB layup!

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Lol, Rick calls a timely time out as this starts looking like a rec center game!

[Hypermav]

Just curious, how do you up vote a post on this board?

 + above the report button on the lower right side of the box.

[mtrot]

Just curious, how do you up vote a post on this board?

 + above the report button on the lower right side of the box.

Thanks, it was confusing because as I hovered over the + symbol, the pointer did not appear, but the cursor indicator did.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1183923599368953856

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https://twitter.com/bobbykaralla/status/...6930256902

[Jym]

So thankful we're not paying Noel $17.5 mil a year.

[SleepingHero]

Very fun game.

Some takeaways for me

Luka is amazing. Dude just surprises me every time he's down on the court. He was our best player tonight by far, which isn't anything new. But still great to see. His FT's definitely look improved. 
KP is definitely rusty. He's not taking bad shots, they're just not falling. He definitely played with hustle and grabbed 13 boards, which is great to see. Also his defense was pretty great. He altered countless shots near the rim and got a fantastic block.
Maxi finally is hitting open jumpers. I hope this carries into the season. His defense was also really strong this game, which was an improvement from the first 3 games.
Loved what I saw from Delon this game. He had some really nifty passes and played some fantastic defense. He really showed how well he can be as a disruptor. I hope he starts to be more consistent from long range because if he ever figures that out, watch out league!
Justin Jackson's touch is incredible. I don't think I've ever seen a guy with that much size have such a soft touch in the last 10 years. He literally can float the ball up from anywhere and it'll bank in. His offensive game is great. I just hope he gets more looks.
Barea just doesn't have the lift anymore. He can still get inside, barely, but I think his acrobatic finishing days are over. What is good is that hopefully he can play a twilight Jason Kidd role, where he makes some great passes and can sometimes penetrate the middle.
THJ played his best game since he's been here for me. He made SO many good passes, hustled on defense more than anybody, and hit some crazy shots. If we can get that THJ coming off the bench, our bench unit will be the best in the league.
Courtney Lee played well imo starting. He still seems like a serviceable role player and I hope he can get more minutes to show that he still has it.

[ThunderMav]

I think these 2 games show how much better Mavs are than OKC

Game 1:  OKC played 2 best players and Mavs rested their 2.  119-104 OKC

Game 2.  Mavs played best 2 players and OKC rested their 2.  107-70 Mavs

Shows how much deeper Mavs roster is plus better coaching

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/ESefko/status/1183937879841611777

[ItsGoTime]

The game where THJ was by far your best player!

[michaeltex]

So I have a question for those with waaay more BB smarts than me...

Eyeball-wise, Luka had a great, very "Luka" game. Passing, rebounding, wicked stepbacks, etc. But my question is about drives to the rim. 

Does he finish well or does he sort of bail out hoping for a foul call? I ask because there were a couple of times it seemed like he made a contested drive and the ball didn't even come close to the rim. I realize I'm picking nits here, but just wanted to hear what the wiser heads here think.

I understand that it takes a lot of guts and energy to make the move to the rim, I'm just wondering if there is enough efficiency right now. He does seem to be getting some veteran calls now that weren't there last season.

[SleepingHero]

So I have a question for those with waaay more BB smarts than me...

Eyeball-wise, Luka had a great, very "Luka" game. Passing, rebounding, wicked stepbacks, etc. But my question is about drives to the rim. 

Does he finish well or does he sort of bail out hoping for a foul call? I ask because there were a couple of times it seemed like he made a contested drive and the ball didn't even come close to the rim. I realize I'm picking nits here, but just wanted to hear what the wiser heads here think.

I understand that it takes a lot of guts and energy to make the move to the rim, I'm just wondering if there is enough efficiency right now. He does seem to be getting some veteran calls now that weren't there last season.

Last year Luka shot 63.7% on shot attempts at the rim  (158/248). On lay-ups specifically he shot 55.5% (146/253). 

Around the NBA, the only guards that qualified and were better than Luka at the rim were Ben Simmons, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, Jrue Holiday, Eric Blesdoe, Jimmy Butler and Demar Derozan. 

Luka was tied/a smidge better with Kyrie Irving, DeAaron Fox, and Devin Booker. So while Luka lacks the vertical leaping ability to dunk it on people, he is a very effective player around the rim. His ability to draw fouls just enhances that skill.

[michaeltex]

So I have a question for those with waaay more BB smarts than me...

Eyeball-wise, Luka had a great, very "Luka" game. Passing, rebounding, wicked stepbacks, etc. But my question is about drives to the rim. 

Does he finish well or does he sort of bail out hoping for a foul call? I ask because there were a couple of times it seemed like he made a contested drive and the ball didn't even come close to the rim. I realize I'm picking nits here, but just wanted to hear what the wiser heads here think.

I understand that it takes a lot of guts and energy to make the move to the rim, I'm just wondering if there is enough efficiency right now. He does seem to be getting some veteran calls now that weren't there last season.

Last year Luka shot 63.7% on shot attempts at the rim  (158/248). On lay-ups specifically he shot 55.5% (146/253). 

Around the NBA, the only guards that qualified and were better than Luka at the rim were Ben Simmons, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, Jrue Holiday, Eric Blesdoe, Jimmy Butler and Demar Derozan. 

Luka was tied/a smidge better with Kyrie Irving, DeAaron Fox, and Devin Booker. So while Luka lacks the vertical leaping ability to dunk it on people, he is a very effective player around the rim. His ability to draw fouls just enhances that skill.

I knew I came to the right place to get an answer! Best team board I've seen!

Well, it looks like the work on FTs is paying off. At least in the last few games. He looks like he's having fun, too.

[Fuerza1]

So I have a question for those with waaay more BB smarts than me...

Eyeball-wise, Luka had a great, very "Luka" game. Passing, rebounding, wicked stepbacks, etc. But my question is about drives to the rim. 

Does he finish well or does he sort of bail out hoping for a foul call? I ask because there were a couple of times it seemed like he made a contested drive and the ball didn't even come close to the rim. I realize I'm picking nits here, but just wanted to hear what the wiser heads here think.

I understand that it takes a lot of guts and energy to make the move to the rim, I'm just wondering if there is enough efficiency right now. He does seem to be getting some veteran calls now that weren't there last season.

Trust your eyes! Luka was not that great with driving, contested shots near the rim. The statistics Sleepinghero posted are a little misleading because those numbers include WIDE OPEN layups. You can look at several average players with similar or even better numbers. 

NBA dot com has tracking numbers on specific play sets like drives, catch and shoot, etc. you can check out and play around with: https://stats.nba.com/players/drives/?Season=2018-19&sort=DRIVES&dir=1&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*luka

Last season, Luka's FG% off drives was 48.7%; star players with similar size like LeBron, Durant, Kawhi, Harden, etc. were at 53% or better; Ben Simmons was at 51%. The best players with a similar percentage I can find were Jimmy Butler (46%) and Paul George (47.5%). 

Luka is better or close to some smaller players like Fox, Mitchell, Lillard, Kemba, etc. but smaller players typically struggle more often due to their size.

In a nutshell, Luka is a good enough driver and is efficient enough, if that answers your question. He can definitely get better in this department but it is not a requirement as with the Paul George example; George compensates with his elite 3PT% and strong FT%, an area Luka needs to make strides in.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I think these 2 games show how much better Mavs are than OKC

Game 1:  OKC played 2 best players and Mavs rested their 2.  119-104 OKC

Game 2.  Mavs played best 2 players and OKC rested their 2.  107-70 Mavs

Shows how much deeper Mavs roster is plus better coaching

Mavs have better depth and overall team,  but 2 preseason games, doesn't  determine anything. Most teams are trying to see what players make the cut.

[StepBackJay]

Ya I agree I wouldn't try to draw too much from preseason, especially in terms of team performance.

[MrGoat]

Losing to OKC without Paul and Adams would have been the reddest of red flags. Clearly it's not time to panic yet. I figured we'd be hungry for a win and we looked like it, that's good after what had been a pretty depressing preseason so far

There are still clear issues with this team but there are also still reasons to be excited about this season

I want the regular season already but I want to see the scrubs in our next and last preseason game get a chance for some minutes too