Game 26: Dallas Mavericks (9-16) vs. Brooklyn Nets (6-17) | 7:30pm CST

[mvossman]

Very few comments in the game chats now that the team tank crowd is silent. An unfortunate reality is that this place has more interactions when the Mavs are bad.

The games threads are generally light on weekend evenings.

[KillerLeft]

The games threads are generally light on weekend evenings.

That's true, and there are phases of overlap of the season and real life for many (SH and I are both super busy with work atm), but Smitty is right, too. There are about 5 contributors who literally only post in the game threads, and only when the team is playing poorly. Unfortunately, they have driven away a lot of the "good" game night contributors we used to have. Many are still here, but few wade into the too often toxic game thread environment. That, combined with the haters' silence when the team actually plays competitively, creates a ghost town situation in those threads.

[Chicagojk]

Did anyone else see they took AD out in the 4th with about 6ish minutes left.  He was not happy.  He was standing on the bench when Cooper checked in.   Dwight went in for him.   The next deadball (within a minute), AD was back in and Dwight went out.   I believe he stayed in for the rest of the game.

[SwisherPrice]

Yeah it's over...bye bye Team Tank! The Mavs are not bad enough + there are way too many truly bad teams in the league. We never really had a chance

[Reunion Mav]

That's true, and there are phases of overlap of the season and real life for many (SH and I are both super busy with work atm), but Smitty is right, too. There are about 5 contributors who literally only post in the game threads, and only when the team is playing poorly. Unfortunately, they have driven away a lot of the "good" game night contributors we used to have. Many are still here, but few wade into the too often toxic game thread environment. That, combined with the haters' silence when the team actually plays competitively, creates a ghost town situation in those threads.

Then there those like me who just like to watch the game closely so I rarely post till after the game if I don’t just go to bed. Such a lightweight.

[Reunion Mav]

Did anyone else see they took AD out in the 4th with about 6ish minutes left.  He was not happy.  He was standing on the bench when Cooper checked in.   Dwight went in for him.   The next deadball (within a minute), AD was back in and Dwight went out.   I believe he stayed in for the rest of the game.

Yes that absolutely happened. I thought Davis was enjoying himself and really wanted to win. They didn’t show his interaction with bench personnel but he must have been convincing.

[DallasMaverick]

Yes that absolutely happened. I thought Davis was enjoying himself and really wanted to win. They didn’t show his interaction with bench personnel but he must have been convincing.

At that point, he’d played most of the quarter already. Kidd pulled him for a brief rest.

[mvossman]

Yeah it's over...bye bye Team Tank! The Mavs are not bad enough + there are way too many truly bad teams in the league. We never really had a chance

True tanking was never a legit option.  Flagg is too good.  The only real "tanking" they could do is trade AD and Klay at the deadline.  That would make it less likely they make the play in, but they would still finish late lottery at the worst.

[meistermatze]

That was another exciting game to watch. I believe we are at 20 clutch games so far. I would feel good about the current situation if our recent success made any sense. But it doesn't, those fun but meaninglgess wins just screw with out chances for a nice pick next year. If the season continues like this, our ceiling is playing Denver in the first round as a 7th seed. Do we really want this?

[DanSchwartzgan]

That was another exciting game to watch. I believe we are at 20 clutch games so far. I would feel good about the current situation if our recent success made any sense. But it doesn't, those fun but meaninglgess wins just screw with out chances for a nice pick next year. If the season continues like this, our ceiling is playing Denver in the first round as a 7th seed. Do we really want this?

Nick at the Locked On Mav's podcast did a really nice job discussing this yesterday.  His heart says the wins are fun and the players deserve a chance to go for it.  His head says basically what you said...we need a premium pick.

There is some thought that Kyrie might get back before the calendar year end.  That would give the team a month to evaluate this group of three stars.  If the offers for AD aren't great, why not wait and see what you have (obviously they why not is because the longer this lasts the worse your pick gets).  But, that was always going to be the conundrum of building back AD's value.  On the other side of the coin, the why-not for letting him play and carrying this to the summer is he starts to accrue more power in looking for an extension.  

BTW, in the same episode, Nick played a very insightful clip from Kidd responding to a question pre-game from Vince Carter.  He talked about NBA games being won in the final 6 minutes...especially the final 3.  The Flagg at PG experiment was about seeing what the kid could do so they could know how he'd respond to pressurized late game situations.  The segment is worth listening to.  Whether through Kidd's approach or not, it appears Flagg has the clutch gene. Kyrie is already famously one of the best fourth quarter players in history.  Combine those two and if NBA games tend to come down to the final few minutes, we stand a chance to win a lot of games we might not expect to win.

[Chicagojk]

Nick at the Locked On Mav's podcast did a really nice job discussing this yesterday.  His heart says the wins are fun and the players deserve a chance to go for it.  His head says basically what you said...we need a premium pick.

There is some thought that Kyrie might get back before the calendar year end.  That would give the team a month to evaluate this group of three stars.  If the offers for AD aren't great, why not wait and see what you have (obviously they why not is because the longer this lasts the worse your pick gets).  But, that was always going to be the conundrum of building back AD's value.  On the other side of the coin, the why-not for letting him play and carrying this to the summer is he starts to accrue more power in looking for an extension.  

BTW, in the same episode, Nick played a very insightful clip from Kidd responding to a question pre-game from Vince Carter.  He talked about NBA games being won in the final 6 minutes...especially the final 3.  The Flagg at PG experiment was about seeing what the kid could do so they could know how he'd respond to pressurized late game situations.  The segment is worth listening to.  Whether through Kidd's approach or not, it appears Flagg has the clutch gene. Kyrie is already famously one of the best fourth quarter players in history.  Combine those two and if NBA games tend to come down to the final few minutes, we stand a chance to win a lot of games we might not expect to win.

It is a tricky spot to be for sure...especially with our future draft inventory.    I would agree that 7th-8th in the west would be the worst spot longterm.   

For the moment I want to enjoy basketball again and hopefully good play.   I don't think the front office needs to believe this is anywhere near a contender...even when healthy.   Maybe that changes with some development but that is a risky proposition.    But don't just close the door and shut down the season.  Maybe in February we can re-evaluate, but still I think Cooper getting rookie of the year is a big deal.  I also think it is a big deal for AD not to be mocked every week if he is sitting out.    I could say the same for other players too.    With that being said AD is questionable tonight...so there is that