GAME 4: SAS (1-4) @ DAL (3-1) | 104-99 win

[Mavs2021]

Mavs defense is SOOOOOOO improved this year. Fun to watch!

Imagine how good they´d be, if they didn´t play Powell all the time.

[Chicagojk]

what an awful sequence from Luka.

[SwisherPrice]

Horrible offensive sets in the last 2 minutes. Too concerned with running down the clock than running good offense

[Chicagojk]

Jalen was great, but my game ball goes to Maxi.  Just a fantastic performance.    

Not sure how much longer they can go with Dwight as a starter.  In an ideal world, the Mavs have another higher tier big man to start next to KP.  Then Maxi is your first big off the bench and Dwight is your energy guy as your fourth big.    But we will need to patch things together even with a healthy KP.  If Maxi plays anywhere close how he played tonight, he will and should get closing minutes.

[Kammrath]

Horrible offensive sets in the last 2 minutes. Too concerned with running down the clock than running good offense

Great news though is that the Mavs now look to have the defensive chops to be able to hang in clutch time even if the O isn't working.

[SleepingHero]

This was one of the weirdest games I've ever watched.

Mavs only scoring 1 point in the first 6 minutes of the quarter. Going down 20 in the first. Mounting a 37-12 comeback from the 2nd quarter and then just fighting back to win. 

What a good win. Ugly. But good.

Maxi is the truth. That was prime German shepherd there with 6 blocks. Brunson turned the tide and got the team in a groove so I have to give props.

Luka looked so awful in the first half. Felt everything he did didn't work or went awry. Pretty sure he went 5/5 to start the 2nd half and ended 8/11. I would've bet my entire house he had a sub 20 point game but alas he ended with 25. Incredible. 

Lets hope they bring it tomorrow.

[Mavs2021]

I like that Kidd seems to play the moments a lot more than Carlisle. Carlisle basically decided line-ups and minutes before the game and stuck with it, no matter what, probably playing the odds that in the long-run this yields the best results. Kidd on the other hand seems to take every game individually. If some role-player/line-up has a hot hand/stretch, then you ride it, till it goes cold. Kidd found that comeback line-up in the 2nd quarter and he threw them out there at the start of the 4th again.

[ItsGoTime]

Meanwhile Brunson is pissed that all of you kept saying all summer how we needed a playmaker.

Even if he keeps playing like the player we need, we need another one at least.

[ItsGoTime]

JB starting also requires THJ to come off the bench, otherwise, I don't think it works well.

[SleepingHero]

I like that Kidd seems to play the moments a lot more than Carlisle. Carlisle basically decided line-ups and minutes before the game and stuck with it, no matter what, probably playing the odds that in the long-run this yields the best results. Kidd on the other hand seems to take every game individually. If some role-player/line-up has a hot hand/stretch, then you ride it, till it goes cold. Kidd found that comeback line-up in the 2nd quarter and he threw them out there at the start of the 4th again.

I too prefer this method. It probably is painted as inefficient according to some analytics, but I love that Kidd plays the moments.

Followill mentioned today on the broadcast that Kidd said of his first challenge that he used against the Rockets with that obvious miscall out of bounds in the 3rd, that he used it because he wanted the team to learn how it felt to have the momentum of the lead and to recognize it.  The Mavs were up maybe 4 points if I remember correct, but they had all the momentum, and from then built a 10 point lead quickly. I love that from Kidd. Lots to critique still, but that's something I really enjoy from Kidd.

[RedFlag41]

The game was tied when the challenge was made. The Mavs scored on a Powell dunk after the time out and got the lead from then on.

[ballsrchr]

Well...we won a game when Luka is not playing well.  Now that is encouraging.  What is it with these supposedly bottom feeding teams playing so well against the Mavs?

[KillerLeft]

So much for space being the savior to our early game offensive woes.  Space for days results in 18-1.

So you thought the spacing was good in the first quarter last night? I came away from that quarter thinking spacing was absolutely one of the main problems.

---

I like that Kidd seems to play the moments a lot more than Carlisle. Carlisle basically decided line-ups and minutes before the game and stuck with it, no matter what, probably playing the odds that in the long-run this yields the best results. Kidd on the other hand seems to take every game individually. If some role-player/line-up has a hot hand/stretch, then you ride it, till it goes cold. Kidd found that comeback line-up in the 2nd quarter and he threw them out there at the start of the 4th again.

Interesting. I see what you’re saying, and I kind of agree with it from a certain angle, but on the other hand, I do not believe Carlisle would have stubbornly kept going head to head against Poetle (sp?) with Powell. About halfway through the first quarter I feel like he would have abandoned that match up.

[Arioch]

Well...we won a game when Luka is not playing well.  Now that is encouraging.  What is it with these supposedly bottom feeding teams playing so well against the Mavs?

It's hard at this point to actually say who the 'bottom-feeding teams' are. Toronto's 2 and 3, but the 3 losses are against teams two teams with the second best record in the league (Chicago and Washington) and Dallas. Houston's 1 and 4, but those losses include the Jazz (only undefeated team to date), Minnesota and Dallas which have both opened 3 and 1, and the Celtics who were supposed to be a playoff team (though they are looking kind of like an actual bottom feeder). San Antonio's likewise 1 and 4 but those losses are all against teams that were expected to be high play-off teams--Bucks, Denver, Dallas and Lakers (though, again, Lakers are looking like they might be an actual bottom feeder as well).

And while I do expect that at the end of the day all 3 teams will end up out of the playoffs, I'm not surprised they are playing well--all 3 have good young talent they are building around and good coaches (Pop, obviously, Nurse has a ring, and Silas).

Mavs are obviously still figuring stuff out under their new coach, but I like the fact that they are showing the ability to win ugly in the meantime.