Poll: Who will win the game?
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4 57.14%
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GAME 46: PHX (35-9) @ DAL (26-20) | 109-101 loss
#81
Dallas is making strides, but they're not ready to challenge the big boys. They have to learn how to close a team out. They had a 10 pt lead with less than 3 minutes left then Chris Paul took over the game in the end
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#82
Uncharacteristic  of Jalen to be careless with the ball.  Not great.  

Luka shot 2-9 for three but was making his free throws....until he missed the last 3.   He looked really tired late.  Gave up a drive to Bridges and then let Bridges get a rebound that lead to 4 late points.  I know I am beating a dead horse....I think we all accept because of Luka's talent he is going to take some bad shots...and makes them sometimes.  But I hate the no pass possession three pointers.    

Maxi got great looks from three...but just didn't go down.  

Hardaway was pretty good on offense until he missed two big threes.  Teams look to be going after him on defense all the time though.

From my eye, it looks like Bullock got the short end trying to guard today too.  

This the exact role I want Powell in.   15-20 minutes of energy.  He made some big plays in the third.  

KP was solid, although he appeared to short arm a pretty easy shot during the run where he had Paul on him.    It wasn't even close.
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#83
(01-20-2022, 10:04 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: This the exact role I want Powell in.   15-20 minutes of energy.  He made some big plays in the third. 


For sure. Some players’ games just don’t translate well to a bench role. I think Powell‘s game works well off the bench.
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#84
Luka was injured/banged up, should have left him on the bench even?

There were multiple poss where he wanted no part of the ball, hiding in the corner, and his defense looked suspect with the neck.
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#85
KP needs to get stronger and learn how to post up. He had trouble backing up smaller defenders and taking advantage of size mismatch on the post. I think he needs Dirk to teach him how to post up.
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#86
(01-20-2022, 10:15 PM)RedFlag41 Wrote: KP needs to get stronger and learn how to post up. He had trouble backing up smaller defenders and taking advantage of size mismatch on the post. I think he needs Dirk to teach him how to post up.

I recall two occasions on Booker and one on CP3 where he didn't even attempt to make a move or gain ground.  I think one of those possessions led to a THJ three via a hockey assist, but he really negates his own size by not abusing those matchups.  His next offseason needs to be nothing else but figuring out a series of moves to take advantage of this.  

There were plenty of miscues tonight with Luka and JB being turnover machines, DFS and Maxi struggling from deep and THJ being THJ.  Still hard to complain.  They were in the game at the end against one of the best teams in the NBA on a back-to-back.
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#87
(01-20-2022, 10:19 PM)cow Wrote: I recall two occasions on Booker and one on CP3 where he didn't even attempt to make a move or gain ground.  I think one of those possessions led to a THJ three via a hockey assist, but he really negates his own size by not abusing those matchups.  His next offseason needs to be nothing else but figuring out a series of moves to take advantage of this.  

There were plenty of miscues tonight with Luka and JB being turnover machines, DFS and Maxi struggling from deep and THJ being THJ.  Still hard to complain.  They were in the game at the end against one of the best teams in the NBA on a back-to-back.

He does this all the time. Why he chose differently there, i don't know.
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#88
Tried to start a Dirkie thread with a poll for DFS or Josh Green as the options....couldn't figure it out.  I'm on mobile though.
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#89
KP really needs to develop his post up game. The advantage will almost always be there every game.

I mentally chalked this game as an scheduled loss but I still feel frustrated because they were there.

Anyway, I hope KP improves his post up game because if he does, the Mavs can really use it during close games. Especially when opposing teams denies Luka the ball. If KP improves his post up game, it an almost automatic bucket or a foul which he can fully take advantage of because he has a pretty good FT percentage.
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#90
KP will be 27 in August and guys that old just don't reinvent themselves. KP is a better than average player with a limited offensive game. He has no counters and often just does what he thinks can get him a bucket, no flow or consistency in his game. 

As I said, I am not buying KP as a number 2 and likely will for this inability to score in the post. For the Mavs to be serious KP will need to be the number 3 option behind Luka and and a legit 1b or number 2 quality starter. .
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#91
(01-20-2022, 10:32 PM)RedFlag41 Wrote: KP really needs to develop his post up game. The advantage will almost always be there every game.

I mentally chalked this game as an scheduled loss but I still feel frustrated because they were there.

Anyway, I hope KP improves his post up game because if he does, the Mavs can really use it during close games. Especially when opposing teams denies Luka the ball. If KP improves his post up game, it an almost automatic bucket or a foul which he can fully take advantage of because he has a pretty good FT percentage.

This is a great point. The only only only way KP is going to be dominant player, and the number 2 next to Luka, is with a great post up game. Because he doesnt have the fluidity and ball security and dribbling with the ball to be able to penetrate with the ball. At the moment he needs others to open space up for him, or through designed plays, to get a good look.

If he develops the post up game, he could flat out dominate. No need then for others to open space up for him, or design plays. Post up and automatic bucket. It would put pressure on defenses to play a big.

At the moment when not posting up well, he is not that number 2. He does well on defense however. But need more from him on offense besides shooting 3s.
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#92
(01-20-2022, 10:14 PM)sefant Wrote: Luka was injured/banged up, should have left him on the bench even?

There were multiple poss where he wanted no part of the ball, hiding in the corner, and his defense looked suspect with the neck.

Luka was hurt and tried to play through it but wasn't himself.  That was the ball game.
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#93
Too many games in too few days. That’s just a scheduled loss. It doesn’t mean anything.
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#94
Definitely a scheduled loss but still stings.

All the KP hunting they did in the pick and roll in the 4th quarter is the reason I don't think I'll ever get comfortable with the idea of us contending with him on the roster.
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#95
(01-21-2022, 11:41 AM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: Definitely a scheduled loss but still stings.

All the KP hunting they did in the pick and roll in the 4th quarter is the reason I don't think I'll ever get comfortable with the idea of us contending with him on the roster.

So...

You're saying that the presence of KP on the team is such a negative, that, even if he's sitting on the bench, and gets zero minutes, the team is destined to lose??

Can't go with ya, pal.
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#96
(01-21-2022, 12:50 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: So...

You're saying that the presence of KP on the team is such a negative, that, even if he's sitting on the bench, and gets zero minutes, the team is destined to lose??

Can't go with ya, pal.

That's not what I got out of what he said at all. Seems like he's worried about KP getting targeted in the pick and roll, which only happens when he's in the game. But, if he's on the roster it's reasonable to assume he'll be on the court to end most games due to his level of compensation and place within the hierarchy of the team. 

I share that concern, although I have seen him handle that situation (getting pick and rolled to death) way worse than he did last night. I was actually somewhat encouraged about it last night (thought I agree with @"StrandedOnBeauboisHill" that it's still a concern worth keeping in mind). 

I don't think the 4th quarter defense last night was pretty, don't get me wrong, but once again, I thought the offense is what lost the game, partly due to the new offense still being a work in progress and partly due to tired, back-to-back legs.
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#97
(01-21-2022, 01:08 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: That's not what I got out of what he said at all. Seems like he's worried about KP getting targeted in the pick and roll, which only happens when he's in the game. But, if he's on the roster it's reasonable to assume he'll be on the court to end most games due to his level of compensation and place within the hierarchy of the team. 

I share that concern, although I have seen him handle that situation (getting pick and rolled to death) way worse than he did last night. I was actually somewhat encouraged about it last night (thought I agree with @"StrandedOnBeauboisHill" that it's still a concern worth keeping in mind). 

I don't think the 4th quarter defense last night was pretty, don't get me wrong, but once again, I thought the offense is what lost the game, partly due to the new offense still being a work in progress and partly due to tired, back-to-back legs.

Ya, this is what I was trying to say...KP did close the game and wasn't on the bench so genuinely don't understand the other comment there.

And I agree that he actually looked better than he normally does when he was getting picked on and was still giving up buckets.  A lot of that is because Chris Paul is simply incredible in the 4th but at the same time, if we're implementing a switching scheme with this defense than having one defender who can get exposed in those situations can ruin everything.  I thought all and all he played a good game, I just think that last night was a preview of how teams will attack our defense come post season when everything feels like half court sets.

Would love to eat crow and think he's been much better this season than I expected.  I just know for this team to win a championship, it requires getting past teams like Phoenix who understand how to exploit weaknesses.

I think if we didn't have tired legs we still probably would have won that game but I still think this team would be better off going in a different direction which is pretty difficult to do so I'm hoping I'm just flat out wrong.
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#98
(01-21-2022, 01:34 PM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: Ya, this is what I was trying to say...KP did close the game and wasn't on the bench so genuinely don't understand the other comment there.

And I agree that he actually looked better than he normally does when he was getting picked on and was still giving up buckets.  A lot of that is because Chris Paul is simply incredible in the 4th but at the same time, if we're implementing a switching scheme with this defense than having one defender who can get exposed in those situations can ruin everything.  I thought all and all he played a good game, I just think that last night was a preview of how teams will attack our defense come post season when everything feels like half court sets.

Would love to eat crow and think he's been much better this season than I expected.  I just know for this team to win a championship, it requires getting past teams like Phoenix who understand how to exploit weaknesses.

I think if we didn't have tired legs we still probably would have won that game but I still think this team would be better off going in a different direction which is pretty difficult to do so I'm hoping I'm just flat out wrong.
I think it was your words about "on the roster" that triggered me.
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#99
(01-21-2022, 01:38 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: I think it was your words about "on the roster" that triggered me.


Gotcha. 

I think that in the NBA, dudes who get paid like Porzingis get played when games are decided. I feel like it's safe to build that into our thinking. 

There's an issue relevant to this going on in LA with Westbrook right now. They're much better off not playing him, but they kind of have to...because he's Westbrook. There's a political element to it, both in the locker room and from outside lookers on.
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(01-21-2022, 01:43 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: Gotcha. 

I think that in the NBA, dudes who get paid like Porzingis get played when games are decided. I feel like it's safe to build that into our thinking. 

There's an issue relevant to this going on in LA with Westbrook right now. They're much better off not playing him, but they kind of have to...because he's Westbrook. There's a political element to it, both in the locker room and from outside lookers on.

You can´t say the Lakers are a better team without Westbrook. Westbrook has played every game, so you´d have to get a sample without him first. They are simply a team with no depth.

They lost players, that average the following right now:

Kuzma 16/9/3
Harrell 15/7/2
KCP 11/4/2
Schroeder 16/4/5

They replaced that depth with a 33 year old Westbrook. Then Anthony Davis does what he always does: Get injured.

LeBron and Melo are 37, Howard is 36, Ariza is 35, Ellington is 34, Westbrook is 33, DAJ is 33 (and grossly out of shape). This team is simply not equipped to deal with the loss of their youngest star.

Maybe they would have missed the play-in, if Nuggets, Clippers and Blazers were 100% healthy, but as it stands, they´ll limp into the play-offs "easily" and can still be dangerous.

I´d say that Westbrook trade improved their best case ceiling, but lowered their floor significantly, too. LeBron doesn´t care about the floor. He only cares about the ceiling.
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