Game 75: Dallas Mavericks (45-29) vs. Golden State Warriors (40-34)

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

PJ and Jones killed us that game.  Exum not playing in the fourth was ridiculous.  Maxi should have started

PJ was fine. DJJ not really playoff playable at this point. Green and Exum should get his minutes

[Branduil]

This is a game where not having Green and Lively kills you. Gafford and Jones were overexposed and Powell is nothing but a mascot now.

[KillerLeft]

He shot 3-10 from 3.  He'll miss more than he makes. He's solid otherwise.

Yeah, it’s just that I’ve seen him go like 8 for 10 from three before, including pull-ups off the dribble. I’m not saying that game is a norm for him, don’t get me wrong.

I’m telling you, he is just not in rhythm here yet on offense. At some point, probably next season, you will be happy to have him as a third best offensive player. Let’s revisit in a year.

[KillerLeft]

Look, I know that game sucked compared to all the winning they have been doing lately, and that it would have been nice to steal a game on the Clippers tonight, but I actually thought there was some encouragement to be found in this loss.

Normally, when the Mavericks look that bad on offense, they stop playing defense at some point. Tonight, I thought they fought until the end.

[myconsumerclub]

We hopefully will see Lively back in the lineup soon along with Green. You add in their firepower and defensive effort and this is a win for certain.

This loss can get us motivated on the rematch but we need to start getting healthy for the play offs and find a way to go deeper so we rest guys more and right now I would be figuring out ways to play Hardy a lot more so that he gets to help someone rest and help the teams health ramp up more.

[BigDirk41]

They should give Morris some minutes at the 5 when we play GS again and let him rough up Draymond some.

[KillerLeft]

They should give Morris some minutes at the 5 when we play GS again and let him rough up Draymond some.

Green sure was effective tonight. I wish they would’ve done SOMETHING about that. 

I think the reality is that every once in a while, the Warriors can still be the Warriors, and the Mavericks just ran into one of those nights tonight. Even Wiggins and Thomson were good tonight, and they have both been just awful this year. Hell, they had Chris Paul out there draining threes. Literally all three of those dudes played one of their best games of the season tonight. 

I have been low-key following the Warriors, and I promise you that has not been what they have looked like since the All-Star break. And, I don’t believe it was the result of bad Dallas defense, I think the old farts just decided they really wanted this one, for whatever reason.

[myconsumerclub]

Cannot believe that Maxi had 3 blocks and a steal

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Not to pick on him but DJJ team low -15 in only 18 minutes confirms the eye test. May see Green back in the starting lineup soon after he is back.

[BigDirk41]

Green sure was effective tonight. I wish they would’ve done SOMETHING about that. 

I think the reality is that every once in a while, the Warriors can still be the Warriors, and the Mavericks just ran into one of those nights tonight. Even Wiggins and Thomson were good tonight, and they have both been just awful this year. Hell, they had Chris Paul out there draining threes. Literally all three of those dudes played one of their best games of the season tonight. 

I have been low-key following the Warriors, and I promise you that has not been what they have looked like since the All-Star break. And, I don’t believe it was the result of bad Dallas defense, I think the old farts just decided they really wanted this one, for whatever reason.

I think they roughed Luka up some. Green got him early with a cheap shot to the face that wasn't called. They were getting away with being physical with him and he seemed to not drive like usual. Our 5s sucked and got destroyed. The bench didn't do their job. All that being said, we could have won so I'll take it. This game wouldn't have been close if we had Lively and Green or even just Lively. They need to get into Gafford before the rematch and challenge him to do his damn job. All in all, we can play with anyone now and we can't win every game.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Yeah, it’s just that I’ve seen him go like 8 for 10 from three before, including pull-ups off the dribble. I’m not saying that game is a norm for him, don’t get me wrong.

I’m telling you, he is just not in rhythm here yet on offense. At some point, probably next season, you will be happy to have him as a third best offensive player. Let’s revisit in a year.

Hope you’re right. This is his 4th straight year with a decline in 3pt percentage.

.386
.365
.348
.312 (.289 with the Mavs)


And he’s shooting under 70% from the free throw line. 

His mechanics look inconsistent. He has some ugly attempts where you knowmitll be way off when he shoots it. Hopefully coaching fixes it this offseason.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Can be expected. Veteran team with what, 4 HOFers? Some nights you'll get their best; the next night you think they're ready for retirement.

[BigDirk41]

When the Mavs want to defend, they can lock teams down. They need to want to defend more often.

[ThisIStheYear]

The Warriors were cheeks. The Mavs just played an awful game. Luka had more ole plays than I’ve seen in any game this year. No one on the bench nor DJJ offered anything. Kyrie was a little off. A ton of turnovers. Only PJ lived up to expectations. The loss of DLive is huge but otherwise the Mavs are probably the 5th or 6th seed just like before the game. A few developments are clarifying though. Hardy can’t play. He’s just not an NBA player. THJ is too unreliable. Why we spent any time arguing for either over the other was the biggest waste of fan time this season. It would be awesome to see the Mavs dump both in the offseason for a real 6th man. In the playoffs, hopefully Green is in form and can take all of those minutes. He’ll at least give some disruptive, scrambling defense.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Hope you’re right. This is his 4th straight year with a decline in 3pt percentage.

.386
.365
.348
.312 (.289 with the Mavs)


And he’s shooting under 70% from the free throw line. 

His mechanics look inconsistent. He has some ugly attempts where you knowmitll be way off when he shoots it. Hopefully coaching fixes it this offseason.

I wasn't a fan of PJ for these reasons.  I also thought he was overrated on defense.  There's certainly a lot of talent to build on.  Ya, he's going backwards as a stretch 4.  I think it'd help to team him with a PF/SF who can knock them down.

[The Jom]

Green sure was effective tonight. I wish they would’ve done SOMETHING about that. 

He started the game by hitting Luka in the face, hard, and getting away with it. When the Mavs choose not to respond to that, it sets the tone for the game.

[omahen]

Every win streak ends at some point. Defense was good, but GSW small ball gave Mavs problems on offense. It is becoming quite obvious teams will play wings on our centers and switch the PnR in all meaningful games. Majority of good teams have enough wings to do that.

Next three game homestand will be crucial. Atlanta, GSW and Houston will all be difficult games as all of them are fighting for something. Houston might be out of play-in by then though (their chances are basically theoretical at this point). 4th place is probably out of reach for Mavs at this point, but the fight for 5-8 will stressful until the end. Only one game between four teams and everything is still possible.

[Scott41theMavs]

I think we're about to see how important he was to this winning streak, unfortunately.

Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.

[SleepingHero]

@townbrad
Briefly chatted with Patrick Dumont, who is visiting individually with several Mavericks players after attending his first road game as team governor.

"It was great to see," he said of tonight's game. "We were right there, with a chance to win. It's very exciting."

[RGP1981]

He started the game by hitting Luka in the face, hard, and getting away with it. When the Mavs choose not to respond to that, it sets the tone for the game.

The Mavs need to have someone from the bench hit Steph Curry in the face, harder, in response. The Warriors take too many liberties against the best player on the opposing team through Draymond Green... trying to injure them, get them ejected, etc... while they count on Curry's "likability" and the sportsmanship of the other team to not do the same to Curry. Tim Duncan's Spurs used to do the same thing too through Bruce Bowen. When the Warriors do this, then other teams need to ignore Draymond and should immediately do everything possible to take Curry out of the game. Tit for tat is the only way to deal with teams who consistently do sneaky unsporting stuff like this. You wanna mess with our best player, then we'll take out your best player too. Or, you can play the game sportingly, and we'll do the same too.