ROSTER TALK: Mavs favs for Vogel if no HC job exists. Kyrie handshake deal?

[KillerLeft]

Ball movement in the half court has maybe skewed our perception of “faster pace”. The Mavs are still near the bottom of the league in pace the last 4 games.

...and I have no problem with that. 

I want them to try to push the ball in transition. Not recklessly, but try. In the half court, I want Luka or whoever brings it up to give it up early in the shot clock so that the first action of the possession isn't starting with 11 seconds on the shot clock. Those two things will ensure that everyone gets to touch the ball more often, which will not only lead to an increased amount of "easy" buckets, but also to a superior engagement level and effort (on both ends) from all involved. 

It's not about shooting earlier, it's about starting the ball movement earlier. 

And, what's often misunderstood about the "easy shots" part...people say "they're already getting the most efficient offensive results from a ppp standpoint" or some variation on that point. But, cumulatively, the heliocentric style is a dead end. It's not that people think they need easy buckets because it will result in better shots (they already get good shots), they need them so Luka doesn't have to work sooooo damn hard on offense ALL OF THE TIME. Also, the ball movement and easy attempts are a great way to keep the shooters/spacers in rhythm so that they're ready to knock down the shots Luka creates. 

As we saw last night, there will be plenty of opportunity for Kyrie and Luka both to go iso in the half court. It's not like that's going away. The team just needs to diversify its approach somewhat.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/MavsFilmRoom/status/...5801018375

[Chicagojk]

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...1198778368

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...8721226752

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...4639522816

[vfromlmf]

I wonder if the LaMarcus Aldridge workout has anything to do with finding a big who can protect Wood on defense. They clearly need a big who can defend and spread the floor a little. I don't think a Wood-Powell or Wood-McGee has any hope. 

Obviously C Wood is an awesome offensive talent but it's fools gold. Trading buckets. Teams go right back at him and score at will. 

I'll admit, Wood isn't the only culprit on defense. 

Is it me or does Luka look out of shape again? 

One thing that's fun to see: Kyrie is tough as nails and competes on defense, especially at crunch time.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/mavspr/status/162554...57261?s=46&t=ZKzJZagzEiWHfvtzoeZmRw

[mtrot]

Because of extreme frustration, I feel compelled to give my opinion, and that is that Powell just has to go, or get less minutes, because he is absolutely killing us on offense.  Yes, he sets some good picks and catches some lobs for dunks, but that is not enough for me.  He's a great hustle guy, but that's not enough for me, either. 

He is almost useless at the rim when big defenders are around him and seems glued to the floor.  Also, instead of grabbing the rebound, he tips it out and, way too often, to the other team.  But the most damaging problem is that he frequently ends up being wide open for mid range shots around the top of the key because no defender bothers him because he won't shoot a mid range shot.  This allows the defense to ignore him and concentrate on the other four guys, and also we waste the shot clock while he tries to find somebody to pass to.  It is just so insanely frustrating to see a Mav with a wide open 20 foot shot who won't take it. 

If Aldridge can set pics and get wide open shots, he can help us because he'll take those shots and is almost a dead aim on those.  I just hope he's in decent enough condition to play.

[IamDougieFresh]

Because of extreme frustration, I feel compelled to give my opinion, and that is that Powell just has to go, or get less minutes, because he is absolutely killing us on offense.  Yes, he sets some good picks and catches some lobs for dunks, but that is not enough for me.  He's a great hustle guy, but that's not enough for me, either. 

He is almost useless at the rim when big defenders are around him and seems glued to the floor.  Also, instead of grabbing the rebound, he tips it out and, way too often, to the other team.  But the most damaging problem is that he frequently ends up being wide open for mid range shots around the top of the key because no defender bothers him because he won't shoot a mid range shot.  This allows the defense to ignore him and concentrate on the other four guys, and also we waste the shot clock while he tries to find somebody to pass to.  It is just so insanely frustrating to see a Mav with a wide open 20 foot shot who won't take it. 

If Aldridge can set pics and get wide open shots, he can help us because he'll take those shots and is almost a dead aim on those.  I just hope he's in decent enough condition to play.

Apparently I have a burner account lmfaooooooo

In all seriousness, I don’t really want anyone taking long twos, but when big daddy Wood catches it at that same spot, his passing is really fucking good (gets no credit) and he can drive straight at his defender off the catch. He also can shoot that FT line jumper so the defender can’t sag nearly as much like you mentioned. It’s also very easy for him to step back to the 3 point line.

[sefant]

Next game in the looker room:

[MaxiThreeba]

Kidd has to define these roles and then use deploy them in the most efficient way.  Let's say they sign Holiday and Aldridge.

Ballhandler: Luka, Kyrie
3/D Wing: Bullock, Green
Wing Defender Depth: Holiday
Pick/Pop Bigs: Wood, Aldridge
Pick/Roll Bigs: Powell, McGee
Secondary Scorers/Shooters: THJ, Hardy, Bertans

Maxi is the wildcard.  He can fill a variety of roles, but also needs to be deployed perfectly to handle his minutes/health correctly.

The last 2 spots come down to Frank, Theo and Kief.  Frank and Theo give you more wing defender Depth and Kief gives you another pick/pop big...or a break glass in case of emergency version of Maxi (I don't think he can move well enough anymore to actually do this).

Luka, Kyrie, Bullock and Green are in line for HEAVY playoff minutes, and will need to play heavy minutes just to get you there.

THJ and Maxi (Hamstring Twins) would clearly be next in Kidd's pecking order.  

Those 6 are probably around 200 of your 240 minutes in a playoff series.  Where Kidd gets those other 40 minutes is a complete mystery to me.  And this is all assuming health for those top 6 (with two on the shelf right now).

[SleepingHero]

https://theathletic.com/4192320/2023/02/...mavericks/


Some good nuggets in this for anyone who has an Athletic subscription. Got mine at a $1 a month for a year.

Here's my favorite tidbit:

The Good:
Irving, Dončić are already sensational together

In the duo’s first 58 minutes playing together, the Mavericks have scored 131.2 points per 100 possessions. That’s more than spectacular, better than ridiculous, far hotter than the Fahrenheit scale is meant to measure. Dončić alone had the team averaging 120.8 points per 100 possessions in all of his minutes on the court, a better mark than the league’s best offense. Add Irving, and the unsolvable dilemma he poses becomes something more akin to the math equation posed for a passing grade at the beginning of a graduate-level astronomical physics class — and Matt Damon doesn’t play in the NBA.

Rest assured, there will be more to say about how good these two are when on the court together. For now, trust me; it’s been brilliant.

[SleepingHero]

Seems like Bobby still likes watching the Mavs


https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/162...il8ZAtAAAA


He also dropped this little nugget too...

https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/162...LI8ZAtAAAA

[Nowitzki Way]

Seems like Bobby still likes watching the Mavs


https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/162...il8ZAtAAAA


He also dropped this little nugget too...

https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/162...LI8ZAtAAAA

He's right on both points. And it seems to be contagious on this Mavs team.

[Chicagojk]

updated ringer player ratings:  Luka # 3, Kyrie # 24 and Wood # 84.   I wish I could feel confident with Kyrie at 24.   talent wise he belongs higher, but there is a lot there.   Wood at 84 is interesting.   Not bad for a third center.    Not sure I agree with him at 84.

But it does start looking more like a ranking you would like to see with a contender (top 10 player, another in the top 40, and 1-3 others in the top 100.   We are not there yet, but looks more promising than a few weeks ago.

On the negative part, Jalen is at 40 (he was in the 50's), KP is 58, and Spencer is 83.  

https://nbarankings.theringer.com/

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https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...0344517632

[ItsGoTime]

updated ringer player ratings:  Luka # 3, Kyrie # 24 and Wood # 84.   I wish I could feel confident with Kyrie at 24.   talent wise he belongs higher, but there is a lot there.   Wood at 84 is interesting.   Not bad for a third center.    Not sure I agree with him at 84.

But it does start looking more like a ranking you would like to see with a contender (top 10 player, another in the top 40, and 1-3 others in the top 100.   We are not there yet, but looks more promising than a few weeks ago.

On the negative part, Jalen is at 40 (he was in the 50's), KP is 58, and Spencer is 83.  

https://nbarankings.theringer.com/

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https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...0344517632

Unless there is a change in Kidd, these sets with these players have only a few minutes in game to make this happen. Not sure why that is exciting.

[DanSchwartzgan]

 

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https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...0344517632

It is ironic that Wood is in both of those highlights.  In a super small sample size (2 games and 12 minutes), the three man lineups with Wood, Luka, Kyrie, are -22.3 with a D-Rating of 134.8.  There is no telling what other players are polluting those 12 minutes (as we can see from the video, at least some of those minutes included Green/Hardy and Green/Bullock).  Theoretically, those lineups should be strong.  For comparison sake, Powell, Kyrie and Luka have played triple the minutes together and are a +3.6 with a D-Rating of 114.7.

All the Wood discussion here has essentially ruined the board for me.  I could go to some political site (or Mav's Reddit) if this was the experience I wanted.  I'm done with Wood commentary going forward, assuming I continue to post at all.  Just wanted to give this one 'insight' that I think will determine where Wood goes from here.  I think we'll know if there is any hope for Wood to have a significant role here about two weeks after Maxi's return.  

Right or wrong, we have a pretty good idea what the team prioritizes as currently constituted.  The only hope that changes significantly is finding Maxi/Wood minutes alongside Luka/Kyrie.  Wood's minutes since Kyrie's first game have been 17, 12, 17, 22 and 22 (the uptick coming with Hardaway's injury).  That's not even Maxi's restricted average.  Wood has been a negative on-court in only one of those games (encouraging), but Kidd works meticulously to keep Wood away from the other team's best big.  That isn't going to change in the Wood solo-big minutes, which limits Wood's time on the court.  

Maybe that changes starting next week (hopefully) as we add a new option.  Maxi is going to either play with Powell, with Wood or without another big.  If one wants to root for a bigger role for Wood (maybe even starting), it will need to be alongside Maxi.  The two of them were +5.3 with a D-Rating of 106.2 before Maxi got hurt (as I pointed out at the time, this came mostly against subs).  If we see that pairing prioritized starting next week, then there is some chance it moves toward a finishing lineup or even maybe a starting lineup.  But, it isn't a given.  The key isn't just minutes for Wood.  It is minutes for the Wood/Maxi combo and who they come against.  Maxi could just be used to shore up the D during some of the time Wood is playing against subs.  If it is to expand beyond that (assuming the other bigs are healthy), Kidd will need to loosen that restriction some and try Wood/Maxi minutes against the opponents best bigs.  Time will tell.

[SleepingHero]

All the Wood discussion here has essentially ruined the board for me.  I could go to some political site (or Mav's Reddit) if this was the experience I wanted.

I felt like that with Brunson in the summer.

A solid week break with some FA signings helped me find pockets where I could avoid the topic. Anywho, I'm more interested in finding some plays that can theoretically get both Kyrie and Luka a shot at the same time.

They say flattery is the highest form of respect, and honestly I think the Warriors have had some of the best offensive sets for years now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YpGSez3UA

One of the very first plays in the vid has a perfect slip screen. I think using Luka as Igoudala and have Kyrie come around that screen will be so hard for defenses to stop. Kyrie is a 45% 3pt shooter on wide open threes so defenses are going to be really keen on stopping that. 

Honestly the more I watch the Warriors sets, the more I think how perfect Draymond Green would be on this team. He simultaneously fills the need for a low usage defensive 5, the ability to go small, AND fills a wing spot if needed.

[MaxiThreeba]

I felt like that with Brunson in the summer.

A solid week break with some FA signings helped me find pockets where I could avoid the topic. Anywho, I'm more interested in finding some plays that can theoretically get both Kyrie and Luka a shot at the same time.

They say flattery is the highest form of respect, and honestly I think the Warriors have had some of the best offensive sets for years now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YpGSez3UA

One of the very first plays in the vid has a perfect slip screen. I think using Luka as Igoudala and have Kyrie come around that screen will be so hard for defenses to stop. Kyrie is a 45% 3pt shooter on wide open threes so defenses are going to be really keen on stopping that. 

Honestly the more I watch the Warriors sets, the more I think how perfect Draymond Green would be on this team. He simultaneously fills the need for a low usage defensive 5, the ability to go small, AND fills a wing spot if needed.

Draymond is what someone should convince Ben Simmons to try and become.  If only he had Draymond's mental side of the game, he could be a more athletic version of him.

I'm insane, but I'm still okay if the Mavs strike out on whatever hair brain plan they have that they bring Simmons in and tell him he's a 5 now.  You should be able to squeeze assets out of BRK if you do that and have even an ounce of negotiating skills.

That's where they Mavs have driven me...to an offseason of re-signing Kyrie and trading for Ben Simmons.  They have broken me.

[Mavs2021]

It is ironic that Wood is in both of those highlights.  In a super small sample size (2 games and 12 minutes), the three man lineups with Wood, Luka, Kyrie, are -22.3 with a D-Rating of 134.8.  There is no telling what other players are polluting those 12 minutes (as we can see from the video, at least some of those minutes included Green/Hardy and Green/Bullock).  Theoretically, those lineups should be strong.  For comparison sake, Powell, Kyrie and Luka have played triple the minutes together and are a +3.6 with a D-Rating of 114.7.

All the Wood discussion here has essentially ruined the board for me.  I could go to some political site (or Mav's Reddit) if this was the experience I wanted.

That´s just seven months, could be seven years of somebody trying to convince you that Dwight Powell is really better than multiple All-Star PF/Cs, because he has such great advanced stats.

[LukaMVP]

ben simmons ain't making the same influence on court as dray before he develops solid shooting skills. dray can hit threes while simmons can't hit shit from downtown. dude got no shooting range tbh.

[SleepingHero]

That's where they Mavs have driven me...to an offseason of re-signing Kyrie and trading for Ben Simmons.  They have broken me.

Jeeeeeeeeez imagine saying that a year ago. What a difference a year makes.

Ben definitely has that Draymond mold, lacking all the chemistry and leadership though. That's really what attracts me to Draymond. A dude like that with his experience can help Luka really dial in winning.

Warriors definitely aren't bringing him back with their tax bill, extending Poole (and the whole punch fiasco), so he's up for anyone willing to pay. A SnT of Wood+assets could feasibly work. 

Trouble is I can see a bunch of other teams going after him as well.