Preseason Game 3: Dallas Mavericks (0-2) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (2-1)

[Chicagojk]

I thought Hardy was solid last night. He did get himself into bad spots a few times but less than usual. He had a turnover on a ally opp and a few others. I can think of only one where he was careless though.

He seemed more comfortable handling the ball and made some nice, simple passes. I also liked how he didn't try to get to the rim on every drive. He used his new strength to pin a defender and made a few shots in the lane. That shot should help him.

He is in a very tricky spot though. For one, I am not sure there will be minutes for him. His role is a scorer. That is what he does. That isn't really what the Mavs need mostly. I feel like when he gets going the game feels like a G-league pick up game. This is where he tends to be too aggressive and forces things. For the most part, last night he didn't got full bucket mode. I would like to see more of this. He will have his chances but knowing when to attack is part of the growth process. There were several instances where he didn't go into breaking down a defender and instead made a simple pass reverse. You can't try to attack on every play.

[Chicagojk]

My concern for Klay this year is it looks like he isn't going to get many easy looks. Hopefully playing with Luka he gets wide open threes but outside of this everything he gets looks like a difficult shot. I am not sure if this is realistic but ideally there would be some nights he gets 7 shots and others he gets 20. I am not sure if he signed up for the 7 shot thing. We will see.

[Mavs2021]

DSJ is still unsigned, if Dinwiddie keeps this up, right?

[mvossman]

My immediate rejoinder to that is that Klay will look better 1) playing with Luka and Kyrie, 2) as the roster overall gets used to the benefits he brings to the floor, and 3) evidently, when he gets over the two-month slump with which he has begun the year over the past two years (reminds me of Bullock - hopefully ends up a better story than that one...). Dinwiddie meanwhile, would look better in China (or on some other roster).

Those two "down" months for Klay that Hero posted were still mid to upper 30s from 3.  That is what Bullock finished with in his one good year with Mavs.  Klay would have to completely fall off a cliff to get to what we saw from Bullock those first two months.

[mvossman]

Man,Klay’s shooting scares me. This is the place that ruined Davis Bertans and Tim Hardaway, Jr. Looks to me like Klay is trying to speed up his release just like the 2 of them. We might be watching the destruction of the best shot in the history of the NBA. Gross overreaction I hope.

This place ruined THJ?  He had his two best years here and shot better with Mavs than rest of his career.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I see Mavs social media is already giving Klay a 2 month grace period to suck.

Lmao

[Scott41theMavs]

I see Mavs social media is already giving Klay a 2 month grace period to suck.

Lmao

What would you prefer?

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

DSJ is still unsigned, if Dinwiddie keeps this up, right?

Gortman is better than both (so far).

[Chicagojk]

Not saying I m disappointed with Lively last night but I thought last night would have been a good opportunity to highlight Lively more. There is talk he may be our third best player this year. Last night he took 4 shots in 24 minutes. He played the same role last night as last year just without the Luka passes. I would line to see him with a game with 15 shots (ideally not all dunks). Preseason would be a good place to experiment some.

I did like his passing and I hope that is part of the normal offense. Also, you can see Klay is not connected with Lively yet. Several tims he is caught between shooting and throwing it up to lively. A slight hesitation makes either choice much more difficult.

[The Jom]

This place ruined THJ?  He had his two best years here and shot better with Mavs than rest of his career.

Are you trying not to understand? Did you not see what happened to his shot last year? Is there something in my post that suggests every year here he sucked?

[DL2RimRocker]

That incredible hustle by both Lively and OMax there.

Amazing pumpfake by OMax to make the layup easy. Great patience.

I'm hoping Prosper can make it into the rotation this season. He seems to have all of the tools to be a decent backup but just needs experience. Unless there is an injury, he'll probably be the odd man out, but hopefully he'll get an opportunity.

[mvossman]

Are you trying not to understand? Did you not see what happened to his shot last year? Is there something in my post that suggests every year here he sucked?

When you make the statement that Dallas ruined THJ, that suggests that he came here and immediately struggled with his shot, especially when its in the context of concern the same thing will happen to Klay.  He had a rough two month stretch.  That happens with shooters.  He had a rough stretch in 21 before getting injured.  It didn't keep him from shooting over 38% the next season.  He shot less than 32% in NY the season before he came over.  He has gone through wild swings his entire career.  There is no evidence that Dallas somehow ruined him.

[michaeltex]

I don't know about DAL ruining THJ, but he became a source of frustration for a lot of fans. While he could get white hot and provide great scoring, defensively he often gave it back. He also had goldfish-type memory, whether he was making shots or not. Frustratingly, it seemed he felt like, if the ball came to him, he HAD to take the shot, regardless of who else was on the floor at the time. Quick transition missed-3s with not rebound chance were a particular gripe of mine.

I will give him respect for being a great teammate. Regardless of starting or coming off the bench, you never heard a complaint to saw any attitude issues that were disruptive to the team. His dad was another thing though.

[mvossman]

I don't know about DAL ruining THJ, but he became a source of frustration for a lot of fans. While he could get white hot and provide great scoring, defensively he often gave it back. He also had goldfish-type memory, whether he was making shots or not. Frustratingly, it seemed he felt like, if the ball came to him, he HAD to take the shot, regardless of who else was on the floor at the time. Quick transition missed-3s with not rebound chance were a particular gripe of mine.

I will give him respect for being a great teammate. Regardless of starting or coming off the bench, you never heard a complaint to saw any attitude issues that were disruptive to the team. His dad was another thing though.

I think the goldfish memory comes with the role.  He was a shooter.  Has to think like that.  No doubt he took some ill advised shots, but thats common with shooters.  I think he provided more offensive value than some folks give him credit for as his high volume shooting provided a lot of spacing even when he wasn't making them.  The real problem was he was a poor defender and more suited to 15 - 20 minutes off the bench as a scorer, but he was paid like a starter and played starter minutes.  It does not help that the same offseason they decided to give him that contract they also decided not to offer Brunson an extension.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Man,Klay’s shooting scares me. This is the place that ruined Davis Bertans and Tim Hardaway, Jr. Looks to me like Klay is trying to speed up his release just like the 2 of them. We might be watching the destruction of the best shot in the history of the NBA. Gross overreaction I hope.

I disagree with every word of this.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

The THJ role is the easiest to fill in the NBA. IMO, Hardy is the ideal replacement. Like I've said, looks like he'll get all the opportunities this year. Sink or swim.

[The Jom]

When you make the statement that Dallas ruined THJ, that suggests that he came here and immediately struggled with his shot, especially when its in the context of concern the same thing will happen to Klay.  He had a rough two month stretch.  That happens with shooters.  He had a rough stretch in 21 before getting injured.  It didn't keep him from shooting over 38% the next season.  He shot less than 32% in NY the season before he came over.  He has gone through wild swings his entire career.  There is no evidence that Dallas somehow ruined him.

I enjoy your contributions to this site. I don’t mean to whine at you. But it sure doesn’t seem like you’re even making an effort to understand me here. My fault probably. Whatever. I’m over it.

[mvossman]

I enjoy your contributions to this site. I don’t mean to whine at you. But it sure doesn’t seem like you’re even making an effort to understand me here. My fault probably. Whatever. I’m over it.

I'm trying to.  I think maybe Timmy got a little crossways with Dallas at some point last year.  I think he was either upset that he didn't get traded or upset that they tried so hard to trade him and it maybe affected his game the rest of the season.  Maybe that is what you are talking about?  I'm just not sure how that would apply to Klay?  Most folks generally improve their three point shooting when they come to Dallas (including Timmy) due to the Luka effect.  If I have any concerns regarding Klay, its that he falls off a cliff due to age.

[The Jom]

I'm trying to.  I think maybe Timmy got a little crossways with Dallas at some point last year.  I think he was either upset that he didn't get traded or upset that they tried so hard to trade him and it maybe affected his game the rest of the season.  Maybe that is what you are talking about?  I'm just not sure how that would apply to Klay?  Most folks generally improve their three point shooting when they come to Dallas (including Timmy) due to the Luka effect.  If I have any concerns regarding Klay, its that he falls off a cliff due to age.

Thanks for trying. Not what I was aiming at, no. 

It seems to me that 2 very good shooters (Bertans, Hardaway) started working on a super-quick release towards the end of their time here. The speedier releases seemed to coincide with drastic, sudden declines in their shooting percentages. In a tiny, tiny sample size, I thought I saw something frighteningly similar in the speedy release on Klay’s many clanks the other night. I hope this ultra-fast release isn’t something they’re coaching. Because that—not age—is something I think could possibly cause Klay’s game to fall off a cliff.

[mvossman]

Thanks for trying. Not what I was aiming at, no. 

It seems to me that 2 very good shooters (Bertans, Hardaway) started working on a super-quick release towards the end of their time here. The speedier releases seemed to coincide with drastic, sudden declines in their shooting percentages. In a tiny, tiny sample size, I thought I saw something frighteningly similar in the speedy release on Klay’s many clanks the other night. I hope this ultra-fast release isn’t something they’re coaching. Because that—not age—is something I think could possibly cause Klay’s game to fall off a cliff.

Bertans was shooting less than 32% from three in Washington when he got traded to Dallas.  He shot 36% the rest of the season and then shot 39% (roughly his career average) the following year before we traded him.  Did he tail off at the end?  He didn't really play enough consistent minutes to notice.  

I find it unlikely that in the middle of Timmy's 6th season (when he was top candidate for 6th man of year) the Mavericks decided to start messing with his shot.  I'm not arguing something didn't go wrong (I'm no scout) but it doesn't make sense for Mavs to be the reason.

I find it even more unlikely that the Mavericks are trying to mess with the shot of one of the greatest shooters of all time.  My guess would be that quick release is part of Klay's game.  Its hard to get off 9+ threes a game without a speedy release.