Game 5: Houston Rockets (2-2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (3-1) | 7:30pm CST

[ThisIStheYear]

I don’t disagree with what you are seeing, but I’d like to suggest that it might not be on the coaches. I think the stuff they have installed and have run a little bit is more sophisticated than what they have been running in recent seasons, but It takes cooperation from the guys who control the ball.

The elephant in the room is that Luka has flatly been not great to start this season, and the team is designed for him to be great. Can’t work around that with coaching at this level, really. I think that, in a way, it speaks volumes about the coaches and the roster that they have a winning record.

Luka wasn’t horrible tonight but is sort of transitioning from a perennial 1st team all NBA generational point guard to a 3rd team all NBA all star power forward.   Still nice but not going to win a championship. Hopefully he can get his body right before it’s too late.

[omahen]

Nothing went Mavs way for three quarters but they fought and made it a game in the fourth. Kyrie was an outstanding leader hustling when team was falling apart and brought them back in. Luka had rough first three quarters but picked up with a huge fourth quarter, hustling on defense and playing great defense despite having five fouls and being attacked whole quarter by much faster Green.

Really frustrating officiating with totally uneven criteria through the game. Sometimes they called the tiniest of touches, but then immediately with no whistle under a lot of contact. I wouldn't say it was going against the Mavs, but it was certainly frustrating for the players.

Too bad, on to the next one. Two dangerous East teams (Orlando and Indiana) coming to Dallas now.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Nothing went Mavs way for three quarters but they fought and made it a game in the fourth. Kyrie was an outstanding leader hustling when team was falling apart and brought them back in. Luka had rough first three quarters but picked up with a huge fourth quarter, hustling on defense and playing great defense despite having five fouls and being attacked whole quarter by much faster Green.

Really frustrating officiating with totally uneven criteria through the game. Sometimes they called the tiniest of touches, but then immediately with no whistle under a lot of contact. I wouldn't say it was going against the Mavs, but it was certainly frustrating for the players.

Too bad, on to the next one. Two dangerous East teams (Orlando and Indiana) coming to Dallas now.

Unfortunately, they'll face Orlando without their best player, Banchero. He's out with a torn oblique.

[omahen]

It’s because he can’t beat anyone off the dribble. Either because he’s out of shape, slightly injured, or both. He has started the last three or four seasons this way.

Have to call you out, because you are just wrong on this one. It is correct he didn't start this season great, but he had two monster starts last two seasons.

Season 2022-23: October 37 ppg (6 games), November 32 ppg, December 35 ppg, then his production started falling as it was just too much on him.
Season 2023-24: October 39 ppg (3 games), "bad" November with 30 ppg and then monster December and January with 37 ppg

This season he is shooting worse and especially his assist numbers are far lower. But I think the latter has a lot to do with changed offense as ball is less in his hands than prior two seasons. Mavs as a team have 24.4 apg this season, which is 2 more than in 2022/23 and 1 less than in 2023/24. Mavs problem so far is bad shooting overall, as they are shooting just 44 % overall (48 % overall in 2023/24). 

Also: Luka was bad against Phoenix?

[omahen]

In addition to previous post some advanced stats for Luka:

Season 2022/23, October: true shooting 60 %, Usage 39 %, true shooting stayed same in November, usage was 36 %
Season 2023/24, October: TS almost 70 %, usage 36 %, TS in "bad" November was 60 % with the usage of 34 %
Season 2024/25, October: TS 49 % and usage 33 %

So as anyone can see, he doesn't have a good start of the season, which was not the case in previous two seasons. As I said the other day, I am ok with that, as long as he will have those kind of stats from start of seasons 22/23 and 23/24 when it matters most. We need him to be the best last three months of the season, not first three months.

[Scott41theMavs]

In addition to previous post some advanced stats for Luka:

Season 2022/23, October: true shooting 60 %, Usage 39 %, true shooting stayed same in November, usage was 36 %
Season 2023/24, October: TS almost 70 %, usage 36 %, TS in "bad" November was 60 % with the usage of 34 %
Season 2024/25, October: TS 49 % and usage 33 %

So as anyone can see, he doesn't have a good start of the season, which was not the case in previous two seasons. As I said the other day, I am ok with that, as long as he will have those kind of stats from start of seasons 22/23 and 23/24 when it matters most. We need him to be the best last three months of the season, not first three months.

...but all six months would be nice for homecourt seeding.

[omahen]

...but all six months would be nice for homecourt seeding.

That is true. But it is possible you can't be that good for whole season, especially with that kind of usage. Not because you are out of shape, but because it is impossible to be in top form for 9 months. I don't think there is any player able to be in top form whole season, every player has his ups and downs. My hope is, this is Luka on his down and he will be at his best when needed.

We might also be underestimating the effect of offensive changes on Luka. Before it was all him, slowly working to create a position for himself or others. Now he has ball less but still shoots same amount of shots, meaning he is finishing quicker. I trust he will adjust. Either improve his shooting or start shooting less, taking better shots when he does. If not and this will be a pattern for whole season, than that will be a bad sign.

Don't get me wrong. I perfectly see he is not playing well. Taking a lot of tough shots and not making that many of them. But I tend to be more patient with judgments than just say "he is out of shape and not taking care of his body". Not with all the reports about personal chefs, personal conditioning trainers he even takes with him on vacation and so on.

[SleepingHero]

This was a dreg of a game man.

The comeback falling flat is all too perfect of an encapsulation of the first 3 quarters of basketball the Mavs played. Mavs basically took 3 quarters off and it took Kyrie+PJ+Naji playing 150% to make up for everyone else.

Luka has something going on. I can understand that he's ice cold offensively (even though his final stats tonight weren't bad at all), but the decision making he had tonight was G-league tier. He missed so many wide open looks to Kyrie, Klay, and PJ because he was chasing the call. His battle against the refs took precedence tonight.

Now was his crusade justified? Sure. This was a poorly officiated game. Waffled between the refs allowing the guys to play football and then you at other times you can't breathe on another player. Got Luka totally off of his rhythm and cadence.

Kyrie was incredible. He basically played a perfect game up until his final shot attempt in the 4th where he got blocked. He had the wide open pass to PJ down low. Seriously no complaints. It hurts to lose this one solely because he spurred the comeback.

Same with PJ. His small ball defense at the 5 totally flummoxed Houston. Then his effort on the boards allowed the Mavs to actually mount a comeback. He was the ONLY player that actually cared to fight Houston on the boards. Gafford and Lively did not really show up.

Naji Marshall is a defensive fiend. I want to see more of the Kyrie/Luka/Klay/Naji/PJ lineup.

[SleepingHero]

Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2)
Jason Kidd: "We need four PJ Washingtons to guard. He's done everything we asked...We can't rely on PJ to turn off everyone's water."

[DL2RimRocker]

Welp, I guess I’m grateful they made it a game late.

Kyrie and PJ played hard tonight.

Luka was insufferable, to the point where I don’t even really give him credit for the late big shots. Who cares, if he’s that bad for the rest of the game?

A rare stinker from Lively and Gafford, reinforcing how important winning the center matchup is for this team.

I thought a couple of Thompson’s shots were forced, but I don’t blame him.

Marshall made some nice plays in the 4th on defense, but I’m ready for him/them to figure out where he fits consistently.

The team needs to understand that they’re a little less athletic than last year and need to give more consistent effort.

They’ll figure this out.

I'm beginning to think letting DJJ get away was a mistake. We added much needed skill but compromised some athleticism in the process.
We might struggle a little with teams that have athletic wings.

I still have high Hope's for Marshall though.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/noahweber00/status/1...7400050745

@noahweber00
Mavs coach Jason Kidd on tonight’s officiating:

“I thought the referees were great. It’s us. We got to be better. We’re out here hacking em. There’s smart fouls and there’s bad fouls, and we got a ton of bad fouls…It’s not the referees, it’s us.”

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/noahweber00/status/1...8931644566

@noahweber00
Kyrie Irving on the Mavs’ slow starts:

“We’re just not playing well in the first quarters as of yet and a lot of it can be attributed to the foul calls too…Just got to eliminate a lot of the easy baskets that start off in the first quarter and play with that physicality…It’s on the starting five. We gotta be better.”

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/noahweber00/status/1...0758670689

@noahweber00
Luka Doncic on what has led to his slow start:

“If I knew I probably wouldn’t have started this slow. I didn’t have preseason, so I’m just trying to get back into my rhythm.”

Says he “felt a little bit like myself” in the fourth quarter, and he is “just trying to play my game.”

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/noahweber00/status/1...4962819191

@noahweber00
Mavs guard Luka Doncic immediately took the blame for tonight’s slow start against the Rockets.

“That’s me. I’m just starting pretty tough, pretty bad. So I’ll take the blame because I got to do way better than that.”

[SleepingHero]

I'm beginning to think letting DJJ get away was a mistake. We added much needed skill but compromised some athleticism in the process.
We might struggle a little with teams that have athletic wings.

I still have high Hope's for Marshall though.

I don't think DJJ would've made a lick of difference in this game, as the reasons why we lost were mainly an ice cold Luka and zero interior presence. Naji+Grimes+Klay+PJ all held their own against the Rockets perimeter. Rockets shot overall 40% from the field and 21% from 3.

The easiest thing I can point to as the main reason why we lost was the 18(!!!!) offensive rebounds that led to 20 2nd chance points that spelled the difference in a 6 point loss. 

But even moreso, the team overall was outrebounded by 13. Outscored in the paint by 14. And out hustled in fast break points by 5. Finally the officiating was bad this game. Real bad. But like Kidd said, the Mavs kept playing into the officiating instead of rising above it. Not only Luka, but Gafford+Lively, heck even Kyrie at times, all had bad fouls for no reason. 


AND EVEN STILL! I can just chalk this loss up to yet another case of cold shooting by everyone. 10-30 from 3, on largely wide open shots, is not a recipe for success. The team is rusty.

I can't come away from this loss and think "If the Mavs had DJJ this game, they would have won."

[Halfnir]

Luka has something going on. I can understand that he's ice cold offensively (even though his final stats tonight weren't bad at all), but the decision making he had tonight was G-league tier. He missed so many wide open looks to Kyrie, Klay, and PJ because he was chasing the call. His battle against the refs took precedence tonight.

Very well said. Luka intentionally creates contact way too much. Got a clean layup, doesn't take it to find a body he can bump into. Misses, does not get the call, complains, get furious. Creates evern more contact on the next call, falls down hurting himself. This is just stupid, someone has to talk to him. Kidd should have benched him the second half against Houston. Play point guard, share the ball, take you open shots, stop fighting a battle with the refs every game, you can't win it. Really turns into Harden 2.0.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

Reasons for the L:

Refs -- the crowd was right. It's the most biased officiating against the Mavs since the series against OKC where SGA got every call. There were 2 questionable calls on Lively early on.

Luka's not facilitating -- I get it, scorers need to shoot, that's what's needed to break out of a slump. But with Luka it isn't just a shooting slump, he just isn't ready yet for the usual Luka scoring runs, so he needs to facilitate more, or at least, don't kill ball movement with ISOs. It's funny how we can see the difficult passes and think how'd he do that? But I've seen Luka miss the open man too many times this game (and even this season). It's so un-Luka like.

Luka's complaining less -- but still complaining. I mean, I hate Lebron's flops, most people do. Luka's whining is almost at that level. People are starting to hate it.

Rebounds -- Sure the ball bounces funny some times, but it shouldn't be all the time. There was a considerable lack of effort in securing the boards.

NOTES: I don't like Kidd, but this wasn't his fault. At least, not a big chunk of it. I applaud him for sitting Luka at times when Luka is trying to singlehandedly lose the game with sloppy plays. I also like that Kidd trusts Naji. It may not look like Naji is productive when you look at the box scores, but I'm loving what I'm seeing from Naji.

[Chicagojk]

Reasons for the L:

Refs -- the crowd was right. It's the most biased officiating against the Mavs since the series against OKC where SGA got every call. There were 2 questionable calls on Lively early on.

Luka's not facilitating -- I get it, scorers need to shoot, that's what's needed to break out of a slump. But with Luka it isn't just a shooting slump, he just isn't ready yet for the usual Luka scoring runs, so he needs to facilitate more, or at least, don't kill ball movement with ISOs. It's funny how we can see the difficult passes and think how'd he do that? But I've seen Luka miss the open man too many times this game (and even this season). It's so un-Luka like.

Luka's complaining less -- but still complaining. I mean, I hate Lebron's flops, most people do. Luka's whining is almost at that level. People are starting to hate it.

Rebounds -- Sure the ball bounces funny some times, but it shouldn't be all the time. There was a considerable lack of effort in securing the boards.

NOTES: I don't like Kidd, but this wasn't his fault. At least, not a big chunk of it. I applaud him for sitting Luka at times when Luka is trying to singlehandedly lose the game with sloppy plays. I also like that Kidd trusts Naji. It may not look like Naji is productive when you look at the box scores, but I'm loving what I'm seeing from Naji.

I think reboundng was the biggest issue of the above.   Mavs got their but kicked last night on the boards.  At one point in the third quarter they said the Mavs had 11 defensive boards and the Rockets had 11 offensive boards.  That can't happen.   If the Mavs eliminated most of those second (third) opportunities, they wouldn't have needed a crazy comeback to have a chance.   

For a team who relies on their centers to do certain things and be ultra productive, we have seen in both losses they have been vastly outplayed.    Senguin is really good.  Nurkic not so much.   

There are things clearly that need to be improved as the season moves forward.    Getting Luka right is by far the most important as we don't have a chance if he isn't.   I almost forgot what a healthy Luka looks like.  It has been a while.    He is doing it with mainly grit right now...but that is not sustainable.

[BigDirk41]

I actually don't mind letting DJJ walk. I see what the team sees in Naji. He's a much more complete player than DJJ and can do everything, but like I mentioned last night, he's not great at any one thing. He's a very versatile and useful player. He absolutely has to find some offense though. He needs to be around 10 PPG and 37% or better from 3. I don't think anyone will miss DJJ 20-30 games into this season. I wanted DJJ to stay but he didn't it's time to support the current guys. Naji and Grimes can more than fill in for DJJ imo.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/MikeACurtis2/status/1852203499301277719

Kidd on tonight's officiating: “I thought the referees were great. It’s us. We gotta be better. We’re out here hacking. There’s smart fouls & there’s bad fouls and we have a ton of bad fouls. It’s all coachable. It’s all fixable.. The referees did their part tonight. We did not."

********************88
I think this is the correct message from Kidd. There are times where this team needs to buckle down and just play. I feel way too many times under the Cuban ownership that it was placed in their minds (mostly by Cuban) that we were getting screwed by the officials. Once you think you are being slighted it is too late. That leads to all sort of things...complaining, loss of focus, frustration, etc.

Mavs need to continue to mature here and not look for a scape goat that they were getting abused on the glass imo.