Mavs 107, Kings 121

[omahen]

THJ might have more value as a SG, but it won't be on a team with Luka as PG.  

Personally I am not that harsh about THJ, if you keep him in correct role. He provides a spark of the bench. Both energy and scoring. But, he is not consistent. Mavs problem is they basically depend on him to deliver, otherwise they fail. Of course he is not capable to deliver every night. I think this really shows in April where he is slumping and Mavs need his contribution. So, I wouldn't be opposed to keep him, if you can afford to play him only when he is hot. If your success depends on him being hot, than the roster construction is not good.

JRich

I know JRich has bad D ratings, but it is still puzzling to me. I don't think he is a bad defender. I am interested in your comment about his defense stats - how much has the oponent scored against him. I have no idea how this is measured and which shots count, but it surely paint a picture that one could believe JRich is a good defender. This is from April games only, opponent scoring against JRich:
NY: 0-3
Uta: 3-13
Hou: 7-10
Mil: 1-8
SA: 2-7
Phi: 5-10
Mem: 3-10
NY: 3-9
Sac: 0-1

So two games (Hou, Phi) opponent scored against him. Two games (NY, Sac) they basically didn't even try scoring against him and opponents had bad percentage in remaining five games.

[ballsrchr]

[quote pid="75547" dateline="1618887015"]
Mavslur

One of the main chemistry goals of the season is (or should be) to perfect the Luka-KP synergy thing, and the grade is incomplete, at best. 

I am not an adherent of the idea that this is some snit-induced conspiracy on the part of Luka and the other guys to sabotage KP. I almost wish that were all there were to it, because that would be the easiest thing to fix. I think this is a more systemic issue. 

Carlisle has admitted that he likes to use KP as a spacer, to draw off a good defender, and then play four-on-four to attack weaker defenders. That is built into the system, and requires an adjustment to fix. Rick has acknowledged that it is on him to make sure that the offense is balanced, and KP gets a chance to shine. While KP should cooperate with the system, I can't fault him for not wanting to stand in the corner the whole game -- that is surely not maximizing his considerable talents, and is not getting any closer to solidifying a Luka-KP synergistic duo. 

The other part of the system that results in this issue, imo, is the flow offense, especially as managed by a young point guard, talented though he is. This type of offense inherently does not produce a predictable "x shots for A, y shots for B" pattern throughout any particular game. It has a certain catch-as-catch-can element to it, and different players will get more or fewer than their "fair share" of attempts, based on how the game is going. 

A layer of complexity to the offense for the point guard is making sure that everyone stays involved. Luka said after this very game that it is on him to "keep everyone motivated." I might not go that far, but it is part of his job to make sure that everyone is engaged offensively, in addition to looking for the open shooter and getting the best attempt available. That's an enormous job, especially for a 22-year-old, and it isn't that surprising that it doesn't always come off, and you get odd shooting distributions like last night, especially when some players are having cold games. 

Ultimately, it is on the coaching staff to develop a system that results in the two stars being greater than the sum of the parts, or to determine after reasonable effort that their two games are not compatible enough to make that happen. And, of course, it's then on the players to execute on the court. I don't think the team has unlocked that synergy, and the compressed season may not allow time for much experimentation in that direction or any other. 

I think it's going to take more than just telling Luka not to intentionally look KP off. I imagine he has already been given that instruction, or just knows it. But if they can't get it figured out, they'll be forced to trade KP. I don't think they're likely to get equivalent value for him, so I look for them to continue to try to make it work, at least for one more season, unless something breaks for them trade-wise.

The other option would be to get in a new coaching staff, to see if some fresh ideas would produce something more workable. If it is a choice between KP and Rick, I rather think Cuban would choose Rick, but it's certainly not for sure.
[/quote]

Well said, good points, things to think about.

[omahen]

To me, it's not that simple of an evaluation.  What is more important to me is the quality of the shots the different players are getting.  A lot of Luka's shots are 10 on a scale of 10 in difficulty.

Define quality of shots. Player A is shooting 35 % on his (what you say are difficult) shots and player B is shooting same percentage on his, let's say wide open, shots. What criteria makes shot of player A a shot of lesser quality? 

ILLUSTRATE A POINT, not put up a comprehensive detailed 5 hour documentary on each second of the game

It took me some time to get through all the insults you use, but let me try for the last time. The problem I have with your argument is exactly what is written in your quote above. You take a couple of pictures which should be a proof that Luka is a problem of this team. Your claim to which I responded. First by trying to paint the whole picture and then to provide the analysis of whole situations in that specific plays, clearly pointing that Luka made a correct basketball decision in most of that specific cases. The most obvious one was the photo from Memphis game. Every time I added more context to a specific photo you claimed you don't have time to analyze everything. It is not my problem you rather take a photo out of context than watch the whole situation

More important is the bigger picture. It is clear that Luka is a positive for the team, that he is an efficient scorer and that KP is getting a lot of shots. Second most on the team, top 50 in NBA. These are all facts that directly contradict the point you are trying to prove. This is the real whole picture of Mavs situation. This doesn't mean Luka is only making correct decisions. Of course not, no one is claiming that. It also doesn't mean Luka always passes to open teammate. But it also surely doesn't mean that KP is CONSTANTLY neglected while Luka is playing hero ball and passing to other teammates, like you are trying to claim by posting a couple of pictures.

[omahen]

Carlisle has admitted that he likes to use KP as a spacer, to draw off a good defender, and then play four-on-four to attack weaker defenders. That is built into the system, and requires an adjustment to fix. Rick has acknowledged that it is on him to make sure that the offense is balanced, and KP gets a chance to shine. While KP should cooperate with the system, I can't fault him for not wanting to stand in the corner the whole game -- that is surely not maximizing his considerable talents, and is not getting any closer to solidifying a Luka-KP synergistic duo.

You made a great post and I mostly agree. But still I think there are other elements to it. KP has unfortunately constantly shown inability to punish smaller defenders and it has become a constant tactic for the opponent. They just park their big in the paint, leaving DSF or Maxi wide open, while KP is being guarded by a random wing. Neither of them is really able to exploit the mismatch. DFS and Maxi by bricking open threes and KP not exploiting his height advantage.

What would be the go-to move you would have for KP?
- He is not faster than those wings guarding him to drive against them. 
- He is not very efficient posting up against them with 50 % of his shots made. This is better than some elite centers like Vucevic, Towns or Sabonis. On a first glance this looks good, but it doesn't take into account the mismatches he is mostly getting on post ups. I don't know if anyone can find how many times KP is posting up against smaller players and his success in those situations compared to other centers. If you put someone like DFS on Vucevic it will be basket at least 75 % of time, imho. KP is not really punishing teams for puting smaller defenders on him.
- for a reason unknown to me he is not rolling to the rim from PnR this season (he did it last season). It is always PnP.

This leads me to conclude that it is not much more you can do with KP than Mavs are actually doing. He is basically a spot up shooter with limitations he is showing. As I stated in discussion a while ago - I don't mind that. His gravity is huge for the team. But as you and others have stated - it might be he has a problem with that. We certainly know some fans have a problem with that.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I know JRich has bad D ratings, but it is still puzzling to me. I don't think he is a bad defender. I am interested in your comment about his defense stats - how much has the oponent scored against him. I have no idea how this is measured and which shots count, but it surely paint a picture that one could believe JRich is a good defender. This is from April games only, opponent scoring against JRich:
NY: 0-3
Uta: 3-13
Hou: 7-10
Mil: 1-8
SA: 2-7
Phi: 5-10
Mem: 3-10
NY: 3-9
Sac: 0-1

So two games (Hou, Phi) opponent scored against him. Two games (NY, Sac) they basically didn't even try scoring against him and opponents had bad percentage in remaining five games.

What is the source for that?  

82Games, the founder of which the Mav's used to employ, has a Net PER number which compares a players PER contribution to that of his direct opponent on the other team.  Josh gets 42% of our minutes at SG and is -1.9 Net PER.  That doesn't speak exactly to your question.  You can have a bad number because of your O or your D.  Where we lose production at Josh's position is he gives away 2.7 points per 48.  1.3 of that comes from taking fewer shot attempts and the rest from giving up .538 in EFG% compared to the .490 he posts himself.  He also gives up two boards per 48 to his direct opponent.  That doesn't speak to his D necessarily.  .538% isn't bad, but the .490% is.  For comparison, Brunson gives up .506 to PG's and .624% to SG's (they consider him a SG when in with Burke).  THJ gives up .527 EFG% at SF.  Both are MUCH better offensively and post Net Positives compared to their positional opponent.  Disclaimer...I have no idea what their source for the data is.  Do they just use the guy on the other team that plays the same spot?  Or, do they track switches and who is the closest player when a shot goes up (which is why I asked the source of your numbers).

The theory at 82Games is to combine this metric (how you and your opponent compare) and On/Off (your impact on various lineups) to get an overall evaluation.  Josh comes up negative on both counts.  The other "compilation" stats don't paint a great picture of his D either.  LEBRON-D is in the 34th percentile.  D-RPM is in the 60th percentile.  Defensive Raptor is in the 46th percentile.  Luck Adjusted D-RAPM is in the 28th percentile and Defensive BPM is in the 36th percentile.  This would seem to point to what others have said...activity doesn't equate to effectiveness.  There are issues with all of these, especially on the defensive end.  But, when they all tell the same story from different angles, it is probably worth paying attention to. 

What about the rest of the team?  Doncic, Brunson THJ and KP are the only players who beat their direct opponent in Net PER.  DFS does when playing SF, but doesn't at PF.  Maxi, JRich, Powell and WCS don't come close.  Doncic, Brunson, DFS, Maxi, Powell and WCS show up positively in On/Off.  Literally only Doncic, Brunson and DFS (at SF only) show up well at both.  Note that KP was slightly positive in On/Off through 4/5, but the last two weeks have taken his entire season to -1.9.

Maxi is an interesting case.  His counterpart kills us, but it comes from taking 8.6 more shots and 4 more FT's per 48, not because Maxi is giving up a high percentage...he's not.  But then Maxi is one of the On/Off darlings of the team.  So, there is either something about his fit that really works in the lineup data, or there is something about who subs in for him that doesn't work.  It is the latter.  DFS, Johnson and Melli have gotten killed by opposing PF's which makes Maxi's On and his Off look better by comparison.  To understand this better think of the ratings of the PF's we had while Dirk was here.  They were almost always worse than horrible.  But, some of those guys were good players.  The issue is if they were playing PF, Dirk wasn't and Dirk was one of the best On/Off guys in the league.  When we hear PF rumors, my belief is we want to move Maxi to the bench and get fewer DFS at PF minutes.  That and that mystical SG unicorn that is perfect next to Luka (think Holliday, Ball, Brogdon) are the biggest holes.  It is why almost every rumor we hear is about these two positions.

[omahen]

What is the source for that? 

nba.com. In the boxscore you have sheet defense. Or you can even look at matchups.

https://www.nba.com/game/sac-vs-dal-0022...#box-score

[omahen]

Or this below. It shows opponents guarded by JRich were shooting way worse than as a team against us. But as I said, I am not sure who gets the stat when opposing player scores. For example PnR - PG comes over the screen for open mid range jumper, which happens a lot with Mavs - is that on defensive guard or defensive center?

https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1626196...on=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&Month=7

[Scott41theMavs]

Problem with JRich is that he's had such a bad season that he's likely to opt into his contract. If we don't want him on the team next year, we'll probably have to trade him. That will likely annoy Duffy. Moreover, he won't have great trade value.

[Kammrath]

I am not sure who gets the stat when opposing player scores.

My issue with these tracking methodologies is that they cannot take into account the fluid interconnections of team defense. A player is better off with these tracking methods to get blown by and let the big or another player take the fall, than actually sticking with the opponent and doing your best to contest. 

I think JR looks good in these kind of stats because I see him get blown by a LOT (he flails and gives effort but then in his flailing gets out of position and gets blown by which then screws all four other Mav defenders who are left covering for him) and then someone like KP is left with someone "scoring on him" when in reality it all started with JR's failure at the point of attack.

[Jason Terry]

What is the source for that?  

82Games, the founder of which the Mav's used to employ, has a Net PER number which compares a players PER contribution to that of his direct opponent on the other team.  Josh gets 42% of our minutes at SG and is -1.9 Net PER.  That doesn't speak exactly to your question.  You can have a bad number because of your O or your D.  Where we lose production at Josh's position is he gives away 2.7 points per 48.  1.3 of that comes from taking fewer shot attempts and the rest from giving up .538 in EFG% compared to the .490 he posts himself.  He also gives up two boards per 48 to his direct opponent.  That doesn't speak to his D necessarily.  .538% isn't bad, but the .490% is.  For comparison, Brunson gives up .506 to PG's and .624% to SG's (they consider him a SG when in with Burke).  THJ gives up .527 EFG% at SF.  Both are MUCH better offensively and post Net Positives compared to their positional opponent.  Disclaimer...I have no idea what their source for the data is.  Do they just use the guy on the other team that plays the same spot?  Or, do they track switches and who is the closest player when a shot goes up (which is why I asked the source of your numbers).

The theory at 82Games is to combine this metric (how you and your opponent compare) and On/Off (your impact on various lineups) to get an overall evaluation.  Josh comes up negative on both counts.  The other "compilation" stats don't paint a great picture of his D either.  LEBRON-D is in the 34th percentile.  D-RPM is in the 60th percentile.  Defensive Raptor is in the 46th percentile.  Luck Adjusted D-RAPM is in the 28th percentile and Defensive BPM is in the 36th percentile.  This would seem to point to what others have said...activity doesn't equate to effectiveness.  There are issues with all of these, especially on the defensive end.  But, when they all tell the same story from different angles, it is probably worth paying attention to. 

What about the rest of the team?  Doncic, Brunson THJ and KP are the only players who beat their direct opponent in Net PER.  DFS does when playing SF, but doesn't at PF.  Maxi, JRich, Powell and WCS don't come close.  Doncic, Brunson, DFS, Maxi, Powell and WCS show up positively in On/Off.  Literally only Doncic, Brunson and DFS (at SF only) show up well at both.  Note that KP was slightly positive in On/Off through 4/5, but the last two weeks have taken his entire season to -1.9.

Maxi is an interesting case.  His counterpart kills us, but it comes from taking 8.6 more shots and 4 more FT's per 48, not because Maxi is giving up a high percentage...he's not.  But then Maxi is one of the On/Off darlings of the team.  So, there is either something about his fit that really works in the lineup data, or there is something about who subs in for him that doesn't work.  It is the latter.  DFS, Johnson and Melli have gotten killed by opposing PF's which makes Maxi's On and his Off look better by comparison.  To understand this better think of the ratings of the PF's we had while Dirk was here.  They were almost always worse than horrible.  But, some of those guys were good players.  The issue is if they were playing PF, Dirk wasn't and Dirk was one of the best On/Off guys in the league.  When we hear PF rumors, my belief is we want to move Maxi to the bench and get fewer DFS at PF minutes.  That and that mystical SG unicorn that is perfect next to Luka (think Holliday, Ball, Brogdon) are the biggest holes.  It is why almost every rumor we hear is about these two positions.

This post and your other one on Hardaway are excellent analysis on the state of the situation. If the board had advanced stats you would be the leader(Kam is up there too). Tremendous on/off. We are all Dan Schwartzfans 

Hardaway 2 vs 3. DFS 3 vs 4. Puzzling numbers for Maxi and JRich. The unicorns needed for the SG and PF positions. To me it’s all the same problem. Luka and KP together create a laundry list of team needs to be filled by the 3 other guys on the court. Especially by the SG and PF. Especially defensively. It’s a chain reaction that ultimately will be too much to overcome.

Maxi/replacement must: guard the opponents best 4/5, rebound, switch to smaller players on the perimeter, protect the rim, set all the screens offensively, be the roll man, shoot 3’s and more 

JRich/replacement must: guard the opponents PG, cover two players when using drop coverage on PnR, help defense, handle the ball, create for others, distribute to others, shoot volume 3’s at a high rate and more

These players we need aren’t available in trade/FA this offseason. It only works with Jrue/Covington level players that aren’t easy to find. It makes more sense to move one of the stars and balance the duties evenly. Luka has the higher ceiling and better excuse for not playing defense (his elite production driving/distributing uses a great amount of energy)

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Personally I am not that harsh about THJ, if you keep him in correct role. He provides a spark of the bench. Both energy and scoring. But, he is not consistent. Mavs problem is they basically depend on him to deliver, otherwise they fail. Of course he is not capable to deliver every night. I think this really shows in April where he is slumping and Mavs need his contribution. So, I wouldn't be opposed to keep him, if you can afford to play him only when he is hot. If your success depends on him being hot, than the roster construction is not good.




I know JRich has bad D ratings, but it is still puzzling to me. I don't think he is a bad defender. I am interested in your comment about his defense stats - how much has the oponent scored against him. I have no idea how this is measured and which shots count, but it surely paint a picture that one could believe JRich is a good defender. This is from April games only, opponent scoring against JRich:
NY: 0-3
Uta: 3-13
Hou: 7-10
Mil: 1-8
SA: 2-7
Phi: 5-10
Mem: 3-10
NY: 3-9
Sac: 0-1

So two games (Hou, Phi) opponent scored against him. Two games (NY, Sac) they basically didn't even try scoring against him and opponents had bad percentage in remaining five games.

Good stats. However, while he's doing a good job vs the opponent, he has to hold his own on the offensive end, and that's not happening. He's too inconsistent. His best seasons were with Miami. He's been trending downward ever since.

[omahen]

Maxi/replacement must: guard the opponents best 4/5, rebound, switch to smaller players on the perimeter, protect the rim, set all the screens offensively, be the roll man, shoot 3’s and more 

JRich/replacement must: guard the opponents PG, cover two players when using drop coverage on PnR, help defense, handle the ball, create for others, distribute to others, shoot volume 3’s at a high rate and more

You made a very good point here. If we would look to fulfill this very criteria, only superstar players would be able to all of that. Is this perhaps the reason why JRich looks bad on our team? Or Wright last season. They can both do a bit of everything but are not elite at anything. I guess pure 3-D would be a must have from any player hoping to fill that position. Everything else (create for others) would be a bonus, imho. JRich is a bad 3pt shooter and that's why he looks worse than DFS or Maxi. That's also why Curry wasn't a long term solution. 

For PF I guess ability to switch over more positions on defense and PnR (since KP doesn't do it despite demanding to be more involved last season) would be required as a must. 3pt shooting and rim protecting is a bonus.

[StepBackJay]

PatBev might be available. Mavs have had interest in him before. His big thing is that he gets injured but I would live with that.

Avery Bradley is very available. He is an actual elite defender imo and no worse than J Rich on offense. I think you could bring him in as a rotation player with an opportunity to start. The issue with him is that his 3 ball is never going to be great so its hard to live with him and DFS not being career shooters. I would probably try to bring him in as a rotation piece. Bradley also gets injured a lot.

[LukTheShadow]

The NBA League wants to justify its controversial decision regarding 7-10 elimination fights for the playoffs and delegates as even and dramatic games as possible from potential 12th-5th ranked candidates. The referees and the teams concerned obey.


Just one more conspiracy theory why mavs game stinks lately, among many ...

But I agree with the words of a wise man who wrote somewhere: All hope is gone ... KP is trash and injury prone ... Powell is overpaid and washed up ... Carlisle has lost the team ... Donnie is the worst GM currently ...

[TXBamanut]

A couple of things from the Locked on Mavs podcast (Omahen, I'm not even reading your stuff anymore...I'm moving on..do whatever you want)

1)  For post players that get 4 or more postups a game, KP will either assist or score himself almost 70% of the time.  That's a higher efficiency than Jokic, Embiid, AD -- blew my mind.  He's 3rd in the league in that stat category.

2)  Luka in the post is one of the most productive sets for the Mavs.  3rd in the league with folks who have had at least 90 possessions in the post.  1.14 ppp in the post.

3)  KP for catch and shoot 3s is 3rd from last in the NBA for players with 5 or more attempts (I think it was 5) at 36.5%.  Here is Carlisle's drag a defender out to the 3 point line strategy.

4)  The Mavs as a whole are 25th in unguarded 3s at 37%.  League average is 40% and for reference, Clipps are shooting 49% on unguarded shots.  Kirk from MMB has been harping on how the Mavs can't shoot, and honestly, that tends to back that up.

Of course, the defense (for all the trades to fix the defense) is same or WORSE than last year.
They are 29th in guarding the pick and roll.
They are 29th in forcing turnovers.

Food for thought.

[dynamicalVoid]

The NBA League wants to justify its controversial decision regarding 7-10 elimination fights for the playoffs and delegates as even and dramatic games as possible from potential 12th-5th ranked candidates. The referees and the teams concerned obey.


Just one more conspiracy theory why mavs game stinks lately, among many ...

But I agree with the words of a wise man who wrote somewhere: All hope is gone ... KP is trash and injury prone ... Powell is overpaid and washed up ... Carlisle has lost the team ... Donnie is the worst GM currently ...

Nah...Mavs just dont want to have to play KP in Playoffs.  If he is exposed...they cant break even

[omahen]

1)  For post players that get 4 or more postups a game, KP will either assist or score himself almost 70% of the time.  That's a higher efficiency than Jokic, Embiid, AD -- blew my mind.  He's 3rd in the league in that stat category.

Here is the list of (Mavs only) plays that are more efficient in points per possesion than KP post up. In no particular order:
JRich ISO, 
Luka ISO, 
Burke ISO, 
Brunson PnR handler, 
DFS PnR handler, 
Luka PnR handler, 
DFS PnR, 
THJ PnR, 
Brunson PnR, 
WCS PnR, 
KP PnR, 
Powell PnR, 
Kleber PnR, 
Luka post up, 
Burke spot up, 
Kleber spot up, 
THJ spot up, 
Luka spot up, 
KP spot up, 
Brunson spot up, 
DFS spot up, 
THJ hand-off, 
JRich hand-off, 
Maxi cut, 
DFS cut, 
THJ cut, 
Luka cut, 
KP cut, 
WCS cut, 
Powell cut, 
THJ offscreen, 
Luka offscreen, 
Brunson offscreen,

[DanSchwartzgan]

Luka and KP together create a laundry list of team needs to be filled by the 3 other guys on the court. Especially by the SG and PF. Especially defensively. It’s a chain reaction that ultimately will be too much to overcome.

Maxi/replacement must:  

JRich/replacement must:

These players we need aren’t available in trade/FA this offseason. It only works with Jrue/Covington level players that aren’t easy to find.

Thanks for the compliment.  I like the way you put the conundrum in the first paragraph.  It is true if both stars continue to play ineffective D on a consistent basis.  I’m going to set aside the ‘trade KP’ part of this and comment on the ‘what we need’ part.  Eliminating bad play is improvement.  It may not be glamorous, but if you can replace a player who is hurting you with one that isn’t, it helps a lot.  Replace a bad player with one who can actually help you and you’ve done a ton (but those guys are expensive).  

If we stick to the Roland Beech theories (some of which we know are embedded in the Mav’s analytics), I can come up with some guys who might help by not hurting.  I don’t think the player has to check every box.  As an example, I don’t recall too many people posting “Let’s get Batum” threads before the season.  But he has been a big help to LAC.  Their D is better when Batum is in.  Their O is better too.  He hits his shots efficiently and contributes positive Net PER at two positions.  What else could you ask for.  Batum was HIGHLY overpaid in recent years, but was generally a positive in VORP and WS and On/Off throughout his career...much of which was spent with sub-par teammates.  The job of pro scouting is to know who might fit your system well and LA did really well with this one.

So, who is our Batum?  He doesn’t need to be a minimum wage guy.  With $34mm in potential room, you can spend well on one slot and still have room for a higher dollar guy at $20mm-$25mm.  I like something I’ve heard Cato say.  We need a 3rd best player and a 5th best player.  I assume that slots Brunson at 4th?  Do that, and the Maxi’s, Finney’s and Powell’s of the world (and eventually the Green’s and Bey’s) fall into more appropriate slots in the pecking order than the ones they occupy now. I don’t think the 5th best guy has to check every box.  I do think the 3rd best guy needs to come pretty close.

[mavsluvr]

Followill and Dameris took a deep look into what's wrong with the Mavs on their podcast, Take Dat Wit You.

Some of their takeaways --

1. The team is in serious need of some veteran leadership. Preferably, the kind that is exercised on the court, as there is a limited amount a guy can do from the locker room. They need a Luka whisperer. As it is, even if a teammate sees something that Luka or KP could be doing differently, they're not necessarily in a position to impose their opinions. Mark and Brian think this is important enough that it should be addressed in the offseason. 

2. Something has gone badly wrong in the process of their preparation and approach to games. They have not handled this stretch of games in a mature manner. It is dangerous to look at a stretch of lower record opponents and think you can take it easy for a while. Each game has to be played on its own with appropriate effort and respect for the other team. They need to do something to adopt a more mature approach. 

3. Fatigue is not an excuse. Yes, they are tired and probably carrying a few knocks. But so is every other team. Their process needs to allow them not to play exhausted. One thing that may help is getting 85% of the team and staff vaccinated, as that would allow players to sleep in, rather than having to be tested for COVID at 8 AM every day. 

4. The coaching staff is aware of these issues. Carlisle adverted to them when he talked about respect for the process. 

5. Now that some of the COVID restrictions are lifting, they should consider doing some team bonding activities, to encourage team spirit and ease some of the tensions. These are more important than many fans think. 

6. It is not only the players and coaches that need to take a look in the mirror. The front office has whiffed terribly in both of the past two offseasons, and they will have to do better if the Mavs want to remain in the hunt. 

https://www.patreon.com/m/5874991/posts

Are they right?

[mavsluvr]

And the Trigg-Galatzan Step Back Mavs podcast had a segment on how the fact that teams are not guarding J Rich is hurting the team. 

https://twitter.com/StepBackMavs/status/...57057?s=20