AROUND the NBA:

[Kidnova]

Wait, what?

Interesting the way perceptions cause us to "see" what we are biased to expect ...

...unless "trucked" means "Beat them by almost 30."

I assume he's referring to the first half.

[KillerLeft]

I'm old, but I'll take this current trend towards bigs over 3 guard lineups jacking up 40+ 3PAs per game.

They're not going to stop jacking 3's. In fact, the 3's will probably continue to increase. And against these teams playing too big, more of them will go in. I don't blame anyone for not enjoying that, if they miss old-old basketball, but I do want the Mavs to do some winning if I'm going to invest any of my precious time into them.

[mvossman]

Wait, what?

Interesting the way perceptions cause us to "see" what we are biased to expect ...

...unless "trucked" means "Beat them by almost 30."

I'm not sure you should be calling anyone out for "bias".

If you watched the game, the starting unit got ran out of the building to start the game.  Things didn't calm down until Dlo came in.  Through three quarters our starters were losing to Lakers deep bench.  There was very little positive to take out of that game when considering the level competition (which was a theme throughout the preseason).

[F Gump]

I'm not sure you should be calling anyone out for "bias".

If you watched the game, the starting unit got ran out of the building to start the game.  Things didn't calm down until Dlo came in.  Through three quarters our starters were losing to Lakers deep bench.  There was very little positive to take out of that game when considering the level competition (which was a theme throughout the preseason).

I watched the game. I didn't see it at all like you did. And the Mavs won big. Isn't winning going to be the point, rather than style points? Or are we going to keep saying they can't win, while they keep winning ugly?

Yes they played poorly for a half -- and then dominated for a half -- and won by almost 30. The starters played in both halves. Some things worked (or they had a good run) and some didn't, and to me that's the nature of the NBA these days (where big swings are possible) especially in preseason where all sorts of experimentation is happening. 

And I was not impressed by DAR in the preseason. If you liked what you saw, I'll have to agree to disagree on how he looked. I saw a player who takes bad shots rather than work within the flow setup, and whose D was worse than abysmal. (I do think he had his head so far up his azz when he played that Kidd cut his minutes, and yanked him from being a starter, and I believe Kidd doesn't trust him with the job. At all. That was my observation BEFORE Kidd basically said the starting PG job is CF's to start the season.) But I'll wait to see how he plays when it counts and hope for MUCH better before drawing big conclusions.

[mvossman]

I watched the game. I didn't see it at all like you did. And the Mavs won big. Isn't winning going to be the point, rather than style points? Or are we going to keep saying they can't win, while they keep winning ugly?

Yes they played poorly for a half -- and then dominated for a half -- and won by almost 30. The starters played in both halves. Some things worked (or they had a good run) and some didn't, and to me that's the nature of the NBA these days (where big swings are possible) especially in preseason where all sorts of experimentation is happening. 

And I was not impressed by DAR in the preseason. If you liked what you saw, I'll have to agree to disagree on how he looked. I saw a player who takes bad shots rather than work within the flow setup, and whose D was worse than abysmal. (I do think he had his head so far up his azz when he played that Kidd cut his minutes, and yanked him from being a starter, and I believe Kidd doesn't trust him with the job. At all. That was my observation BEFORE Kidd basically said the starting PG job is CF's to start the season.) But I'll wait to see how he plays when it counts and hope for MUCH better before drawing big conclusions.

The starters played starter minutes but had an overall net negative on/off against Lakers bench.  The big run in the fourth quarter came with guys like Hardy, Powell, Kelly and some guy named Jeremiah Robinson-Earl on the floor.  I had honestly stopped watching by then because it didn't matter.  

Its not that I have been super impressed with Dlo in the preseason, its that I was even more underwhelmed by the alternatives.  I think he gives this team the best chance to tread water until Kyrie gets back.  But if he continues to shoot like he did last season (and in preseason) then its going to be a really rough ride.

[Mavs2021]

The starters played starter minutes but had an overall net negative on/off against Lakers bench.  The big run in the fourth quarter came with guys like Hardy, Powell, Kelly and some guy named Jeremiah Robinson-Earl on the floor.  I had honestly stopped watching by then because it didn't matter.  

Its not that I have been super impressed with Dlo in the preseason, its that I was even more underwhelmed by the alternatives.  I think he gives this team the best chance to tread water until Kyrie gets back.  But if he continues to shoot like he did last season (and in preseason) then its going to be a really rough ride.

Absolute bizarre take by FGump on that Lakers game, I saw the result, then decided to watch the highlights. Lakers lead big. Lakers lead big at HT. I´m okay surely now the run comes. By the middle of the 3rd quarter I thought the Lakers must have won by 30 and ESPN got the score the wrong way around. Then the alleged Mavs scrubs blew out the Lakers like 50-10 over the last 15 minutes.

If Gump is getting paid for these weird comments, I´m available to spout positive BS for money too.

[Dahlsim]

The champs staggered their two bigs, one of them can shoot, and those are the only two players in the playoff rotation over 6'6".  I would not use the champs as an example of this move to size.

I will believe playing two non shooting bigs works when I see it.  That Houston lineup looks more like desperation after they lost VanVleet for the season, and if Mavs run out the lineup that just got trucked by Laker G League team in preseason, it will have the same hint of desperation due to Kyrie being out.

Yeah no one is playing double bigs all game long so that's not the point. Most of the time bigs will be staggered but they will also be played together at times where at one time 2 centers would hardly ever be played.  
Its definitely a thing that OKC did which was taken note of across the league and being utilized by other teams too, not just my observation.   OKC combines the bigs with a big 6'6' MVP point guard, so yeah, they have size. 

It's a rotation changeup that results in the being big or even super big for matchup advantage minutes just as teams can and do go small for extended stretches.  
https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/okc-...jt8mpgszp8 

What has changed, though, is Oklahoma City's size and how it has been able to utilize it. Picking up Isaiah Hartenstein to accompany Chet Holmgren has been yet another masterful move from Thunder general manager Sam Presti. Presti set out his vision, and made certain that he would grab Hartenstein in free agency. 
... 
It was a severe weak point for that Oklahoma City team. Now, the tables have turned in Hartenstein's presence.

He and Holmgren average around a combined 16 rebounds per game thus far in the playoffs, helping Oklahoma City manage 46.3 rebounds in four games against the Memphis Grizzlies, which has been the very best at this point in the postseason. It played a massive role in that series sweep for OKC, and has allowed them to get off the most shot attempts among all teams in the playoffs so far, also sitting second in field goals made.

It's no mistake, rebounding is a vital indicator of team success and ultimate wins and losses. The pairing of Hartenstein and Holmgren has now altered and addressed the weak point of this team from a year ago—from now on, they just need to go execute.

[mvossman]

Yeah no one is playing double bigs all game long so that's not the point. Most of the time bigs will be staggered but they will also be played together at times where at one time 2 centers would hardly ever be played.  
Its definitely a thing that OKC did which was taken note of across the league and being utilized by other teams too, not just my observation.   OKC combines the bigs with a big 6'6' MVP point guard, so yeah, they have size. 

It's a rotation changeup that results in the being big or even super big for matchup advantage minutes just as teams can and do go small for extended stretches.  
https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/okc-...jt8mpgszp8 

In the playoffs Chet and Hartenstein played barely 10 minutes per game on the court together.  That means most of the time the two biggest players on the court for them were a center (with Chet being undersized) and a 6'6" point guard, so no, they did not play with size.  The reality is that they were wildly undersized before getting Hartenstein.  They didn't start the trend of two bigs with one being a shooter.  They were simply following the model that has worked for years (Boston with Horford and KP, GS with Green and Looney, Bucks with Gianis and Lopez).  

I don't really see what Houston and Dallas are doing is following in those footsteps.  They are trying something totally different by putting multiple non shooting bigs on the floor together.  I think its an experiment that is going to fail, but we shall see.

[Chicagojk]

I assume it is not Ryan, but lets just pretend it is

https://x.com/BillSimmons/status/1980658851272880336

[Chicagojk]

I don't feel ready that the season starts tonight.  Then I see that Exum and Maxi will both miss their games with injury and suddenly I feel right back at home.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I don't feel ready that the season starts tonight.  Then I see that Exum and Maxi will both miss their games with injury and suddenly I feel right back at home.

https://www.mavsboard.com/showthread.php?tid=2172&pid=256284#pid256284

edit: apparently linking posts doesn't work

[DallasMaverick]

I don't feel ready that the season starts tonight.  Then I see that Exum and Maxi will both miss their games with injury and suddenly I feel right back at home.

Poor Maxi. He just can’t catch a break.

At this point in his career, is it safe to say that he’s “injury-prone”?

[Winter]

Anyone know the logic of having a major network pre-empting prime time television for NBA games? Where is the money coming from?

How exactly did a major network suddenly decide that an NBA game was a money-maker? I never saw this as a topic of discussion anywhere. It just happened (or I missed it).

What does NBC know now that networks didn't know for the last several decades? Basketball was relegated to Sundays in years past. Now, tonight, they pre-empted local newscasts with a trip down memory lane with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. It's like I'm watching Sunday Night Football on Tuesday... and it's basketball.

[KillerLeft]

I am watching the Rockets run their late game offense through Durant and Sengun, both playing above the break and handling the ball like guards. Very interesting.

[Jym]

Just glad I don't have to pretend to like the Lakers
Don't think I could have made it 2 weeks rooting for Ayton and Smart

[DallasMaverick]

Wow!

What a game by Luka!

But they lost.

[Winter]

I watched the entire Youtube highlight reel and completely forgot Ayton was even on the team. Looking at the stats, he played an OK game I guess, but I noticed Horford and don't recall anything about Ayton.

Luka was certainly lighter, but I'm not sure that translated into anything I could see defensively. He still yapped at the refs, and that was just the highlights.

[Chicagojk]

the OKC vs Houston game was awesome.  Does it mean anything?  probably not.   Long season.   Few key players fouled out.   OKC was without their second best player.   First game.

Senguin (was Reggie saying his name wrong?) was awesome.  Him being able to bring the ball up with Caruso on him wasn't on my bingo card.  Is that the type of player he is now, plus with a three point shot?   On the negative side, tough game for Sheppard.   Tough to go up against OKC in the first game, but it looked like he had trouble running the offense and the only thing he had was trying to shoot the ball.   It just looked weird against OKC pressure.  It is OKC though.   He looked to be targeted on defense and he was going for these weird steals instead of trying to stay in front of his man.  

I think Houston is deep, but seeing Eason (good player but didn't play well), Capella (I am not sure that is going to work) and Sheppard off the bench is a little concerning.  Those guys need to play better or at least hold the fort until DFS can fill in some more bench minutes.   

Great game though.  I thought Houston's defense gave OKC trouble.   Shai was awesome late and Holgrem looked good out there.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Have to admit Luka looked pretty great. He got to the paint at will against Kuminga. Almost looked like the Warriors said we will let you get your points as long as you don't get others involved. He didn't have any help until Reaves got some points late.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Rockets Thunder game was weird.

On 1/3 of possessions, the Rockets looked out of sorts and looked like a team that needs a PG to direct traffic. Yet they led for most of the game and probably should have won it. Maybe that's how the Mavs will look.