MAVS NEWS:

[F Gump]

I am expecting PJW to play, even if he is only listed as "questionable." He's in the regular practice which is full speed. They tend to be very conservative when giving those game possibilities, because of the gambling aspects.

I had hoped DP would be ready too, but he's not quite as far along. But it's a good sign he's no longer "out" and has been upgraded to "doubtful," which means he's in the vicinity, perhaps only another game or three away.

To me the Martin status news was a bit discouraging. He's still in the vaguely-described-status area, which typically means he's not close yet and is at least a week or more away.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

All these clips with him isolated against guards on the perimeter really puts the difference between him and Gafford in perspective.

Really hope he gets and stays healthy.

Defensive frontcourt of PJ, AD, and DLive is pretty sick.  They can all switch, even AD at his age can switch on to wings.

[audiosway]

Defensive frontcourt of PJ, AD, and DLive is pretty sick.  They can all switch, even AD at his age can switch on to wings.

I think once we see this in action people are going to be excited. That is a sick front court. Defense and scoring. Gritty, tough and smart. It's going to be hard to beat.

[michaeltex]

I think once we see this in action people are going to be excited. That is a sick front court. Defense and scoring. Gritty, tough and smart. It's going to be hard to beat.

Size-wise, I'm not sure anybody other than OKC or CLE can match up with that starting front line.

[audiosway]

Size-wise, I'm not sure anybody other than OKC or CLE can match up with that starting front line.

And it pretty much will completely negate Shai. If he can't drive the lane that breaks down a lot of what they do. And with that front court I don't see him driving much. Then, you compare Chet and Hartenstein to Lively, Gaff, and AD it will be fun to watch but OKC will be outmatched.

I'm curious about how they match up with Cle. Should be more of the same.

[michaeltex]

In his latest post, Itzok Franko (Diggin Basketball) takes a look at the post-ASG Western Playoff race.

He points out that, compared to other contenders, DAL has the fewest games left (26), fewest B2B (3), and the 4th easiest strength of schedule (SOS). With no games left against OKC, DEN or UTA (because it always sux to play there).

Phoenix has the strongest SOS, but they seem to be fading and LALs have the most games (30) and are tied for 3rd hardest SOS.

If DAL keeps playing with as much heart and energy, they just might be able to hold on until (hopefully) reinforcements arrive.

[michaeltex]

Powell and PJ are shown as GTD for today's injury report.

No game thread to put this in.

[cow]

https://x.com/TheNBACentel/status/1893084553150857623

[F Gump]

Totally Fake.

[cow]

Yet funny considering today's hype video.

[SleepingHero]

Totally Fake.

Yep. Posted by NBACentel, who is the Michael Jordan of hilarious parody posts.

[SleepingHero]

@sixfivelando
Max Christie beat Kyrie Irving to the arena today.

Irving gets to the arena before anyone else… he couldn’t remember the last player to do that outside two-way players. Irving was happy and pissed bc he thought he was the first one, Christie was sitting in the chair reading.

[Scott41theMavs]

Six games until the "evaluation day." At GS, at LAL, three game homestand against Charlotte, Milwaukee, and Sacramento, then at the Bucks. If they can win 5-6 of them, wow - but not likely. 4 would be impressive. 3 would be "good enough" to keep their head above water, 2 would make things challenging, and 0-1 would really create problems for them in the standings.

[Chicagojk]

I noticed the Lively still had the boot on last night.

Also, does anyone know the Mavs injured policy on the bench? Everyone who was injured was on the bench. AD wasn't. Why is that? Is he doing rehab? Isn't there better times to do this? Wouldn't having him on the bench help as he is the new teammate? The same thing happened with LUka where he wasn't on the bench for a full game or half. Is this common for other teams?

Lastly, looking back on the trade. There is really no justification for the trade, but so much of the damage could have been lessoned if they had a crises management team. The Nico press conference was awful. The dumont comments were awful. Everything else I think are rumors and hearsay and probably not coming from Nico. For Nico to do that press conference without a strong defense of the trade was terrible. I mean he can't say the real reason he made the trade, but it came off so bad. Same for the Dumont's comments.

[mvossman]

Lastly, looking back on the trade.  There is really no justification for the trade, but so much of the damage could have been lessoned if they had a crises management team.    The Nico press conference was awful.  The dumont comments were awful.  Everything else I think are rumors and hearsay and probably not coming from Nico.  For Nico to do that press conference without a strong defense of the trade was terrible.  I mean he can't say the real reason he made the trade, but it came off so bad.  Same for the Dumont's comments.

The Dumont comments were so bad.  Some fat ass who married into his job is lecturing about work ethic like Shaq without even mentioning Dirk.  It was an unbelievable display of lack of class, basketball knowledge and basic PR skills.  If this is the level of competency we are dealing with from the ownership group, I have major concerns about the future, even in a post Nico world.

[Winter]

I've never asked this, and I don't want it come across as support for Nico, but I have to ask this question.

If fans demand to know why Doncic was traded, what's the answer? If you say his "conditioning" then you're trashing the guy according to most people. If you say "culture", it sounds silly without a deeper explanation.

He can't possibly explain the trade to the media and fans. He's really screwed, and it's not likely to change.

[DallasMaverick]

I've never asked this, and I don't want it come across as support for Nico, but I have to ask this question.

If fans demand to know why Doncic was traded, what's the answer? If you say his "conditioning" then you're trashing the guy according to most people. If you say "culture", it sounds silly without a deeper explanation.

He can't possibly explain the trade to the media and fans. He's really screwed, and it's not likely to change.

It’s part of true leadership. 

You make the hard decision that you believe is best for the organization, knowing that it will make you look bad, and that you can’t publicly defend it.

If your goal as a leader is to constantly have public approval, you will make bad decisions.

[Winter]

It’s part of true leadership. 

You make the hard decision that you believe is best for the organization, knowing that it will make you look bad, and that you can’t publicly defend it.

If your goal as a leader is to constantly have public approval, you will make bad decisions.

Completely agree. 

I think though, he thought there was such a thing as "a time when it dies down". I'm really not sure there is. I think Nico will suffer years of vitriol if he lasts that long. At some point, he will need to face the media again and all this gets replayed.

[Reunion Mav]

Six games until the "evaluation day." At GS, at LAL, three game homestand against Charlotte, Milwaukee, and Sacramento, then at the Bucks. If they can win 5-6 of them, wow - but not likely. 4 would be impressive. 3 would be "good enough" to keep their head above water, 2 would make things challenging, and 0-1 would really create problems for them in the standings.

I so totally agree. Every game I worry about our injuries based weakness yet our guys just keep holding down the fort. This will be interesting and a bit scary to watch. But our guys have already proven they are pretty darn good.

[audiosway]

Completely agree. 

I think though, he thought there was such a thing as "a time when it dies down". I'm really not sure there is. I think Nico will suffer years of vitriol if he lasts that long. At some point, he will need to face the media again and all this gets replayed.

I think that we'll hear from him again in the offseason. He will likely have time to talk with PR people and hopefully put more thought into it when he talks with the media.

Once we see the team fully healthy hit the floor I think he will be justified. Just watching the games after the trade says a lot. They have fully committed to a high energy defense first style. That's truly what it takes to win.

Luka is like watching the Globetrotters. He is flashy and incredibly fun to watch. But, he would often come out flat early in games causing the team to get down and have to come back to win. I heard it mentioned that Luka needed defenders around him because he expended so much energy on offense he couldn't play defense. That's just not true. His conditioning made it so that he didn't have enough energy to play defense. When the leader of the team is like that it makes the coaches job hard.

The team since the trade has reminded me of watching old Celtics games with Larry Bird. Those teams played hard for 48 minutes. I am honestly starting to feel like Nico will be justified over the next 2-3 years. Mainly due to seeing how hard this team plays now combined with how rough Luka looks right now. Luka will get into basketball shape. But, I don't think he's going to all of a sudden change his conditioning and diet. If he hasn't by now why would he?