GAME 11: DAL (6-5) @ WAS (6-6) | 105-113 loss

[SwisherPrice]

Offense is comical. I don't blame any free agents who don't want to come here and play in the slowest-paced offense in the league where it is majority 1 on 5 basketball

[KillerLeft]

Extra slow and extra sloppy, something isn't right.

Yeah, they’re playing on a back to back against players who A) didn’t play last night and B) are excited tonight because Beal and Porzingis are out and they’re getting more shots.

Guys, most teams don’t look great on back to backs. Not everything warrants a conspiracy theory.

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Offense is comical. I don't blame any free agents who don't want to come here and play in the slowest-paced offense in the league where it is majority 1 on 5 basketball

This I agree with. Not sure if it’s Luka or Kidd or both, but this is tough to watch. 

To be fair it started this way last season and then the ball started moving a lot better after the trade deadline.

[Kammrath]

Guys, most teams don’t look great on back to backs. Not everything warrants a conspiracy theory.

How do they usually look on the first night of a back to back?

[dynamicalVoid]

Offense is comical. I don't blame any free agents who don't want to come here and play in the slowest-paced offense in the league where it is majority 1 on 5 basketball

But...its a modern offense.

[KillerLeft]

How do they usually look on the first night of a back to back?

Yeah, that sucked, no argument. But it doesn’t change the fact that they played a close game last night. I’m just saying that if we didn’t expect them to look tired and slow tonight, we don’t really get how basketball works. I totally agree that it would’ve been nice to get a better game out of them last night, specifically because they knew they had to play again today.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

Luka's dribble is too loose, he's just like woozy out there.

I'm not going to count a back to back reason for this.
Dude is just 23 and supposed to be gunning for the MVP.

[BolsDamols]

Luka is playing with zero joy out there
I will probably be pissed too if I am playing for a team as bereft with talent as the Mavs.

No way Mavs win games if Bullock and DFS continue to hit triple singles.

[KillerLeft]

Luka is playing with zero joy out there
I will probably be pissed too if I am playing for a team as bereft with talent as the Mavs.

He might just be pissed off that he played two abysmally terrible games in two days.

[Kammrath]

I’m just saying that we didn’t expect him to look tired and slow tonight, we don’t really get how basketball works.

Lebron and Dirk NEVER looked "tired and slow" on the second night of back to backs (especially in their early 20s!). Sure their performances tailed off some, but not where you look at them move on the court and go "what's wrong?"

[BolsDamols]

He might just be pissed off that he played two abysmally terrible games in two days.

I definitely hope you are right

[KillerLeft]

Lebron and Dirk NEVER looked "tired and slow" on the second night of back to backs. Sure their performances tailed off some, but not where you look at them move on the court and go "what's wrong?"

I’ll give you LeBron, but he is an absolute freak. If that’s what you are expecting Luka to be, physically, you’re literally never going to be happy with him, I don’t think. 

Dirk, I think, is a horrible comparison because he wasn’t having to control the ball remotely this much. Night and day different, AND frankly, I disagree. I remember it being extremely noticeable that he was on a back to back. 

Sounds like I’m defending Luka’s effort these past two games, but I’m not. I just think the team looking flat TONIGHT (not last night) was almost a certainty, especially given the slow start to the season in a general emotional sense.

[cow]

Team is trash.  Luka's looked terrible two games in a row.  Maybe his insane usage is catching up to him already.

[KillerLeft]

Team is trash.  Luka's looked terrible two games in a row.  Maybe his insane usage is catching up to him already.

For me, the takeaway is starting to be that Kidd might be trash.

[SwisherPrice]

Maybe a long losing streak is needed with Wood out to finally force Kidd to realize that he needs to play him big minutes when he returns. No matter how bad his defense allegedly is.

[Kammrath]

Kidd might be trash

Welcome aboard!

BUT I also think this roster is turning toward trash. Lots of feel-good stories that I think are over. 

Bleak situation all around.

[cow]

For me, the takeaway is starting to be that Kidd might be trash.

Kidd was a massive gamble by Cuban in the first place.  The biggest issue with Kidd is that he wants his type of guys and this team has difficulty getting any type of guys.  Combine that with the fact that to build a team around Luka, you need to thread the needle for his Robin and supporting cast and you can't increase the degree of difficulty by having a coach that is "my way or the highway".  While I don't agree with a lot of people here who want to treat Wood as if he is Jordan, I also don't agree with how Kidd is handling the situation.  Like him or not Jason, the team needs him if the goal is to be as successful as last year.  I'm also pretty annoyed that Kidd will not develop more of an offense than "give the ball to Luka".   That's a long way of saying that Carlisle to Kidd isn't the Johnson to Carlisle or Jackson to Kerr remedy that this team needed.  The last two games I've found myself wondering if Luka's national team could outperform the cast we have assembled.  I've been on the fence about this team since they blew the massive lead in the opener and I think I'm finally off.  Luka is super talented and can drag just about- any collection to "good" status, but he doesn't really have a margin of error with this group.

[Kammrath]

I've found myself wondering if Luka's national team could outperform the cast we have assembled.

Possibly.

[cow]

Possibly.

Lees physically gifted but better ball handling, ball movement, shooting and trust in one another.

[Kammrath]

Lees physically gifted but better ball handling, ball movement, shooting and trust in one another.

The guys that Kidd plays with Luka are NOT physically gifted, most of them were not drafted because they are actually really poor athletes from an NBA perspective.

[cow]

The guys that Kidd plays with Luka are NOT physically gifted, most of them were not drafted because they are actually really poor athletes from an NBA perspective.

Compared to his national team, I disagree.