GAME 52: DET (13-39) @ DAL (27-25) | 111-105 win

[BoredAssistant]

That's some Larry Bird touch on that shot.

[SwisherPrice]

Bojan is fed up...but he definitely auditioned for the Mavs tonight. Will the Mavs give the Pistons whatever they want to get him??

[Jym]

Bojan is fed up...but he definitely auditioned for the Mavs tonight. Will the Mavs give the Pistons whatever they want to get him??

Hopefully not

[Chicagojk]

Mavs vs pistons will be a killer finals this year.

[ThisIStheYear]

Great Luka game.  The Mavs should close every game with DFS, Josh, Reggie, Luka, and one other player. DFS, Josh, and Reggie is an intriguing lineup.

[Chicagojk]

If Green is not starting and playing all the important minutes after the trade deadline, something is wrong.

[Chicagojk]

I wish I could enjoy games like this but something feels off with this team.  Also I am not fan of the isolation only offense.

Nice to see Reggie hitting shots again.  Him and Green may jump Hardaway for minutes if all are here after the deadline.  Hardaway really struggling.

[Chicagojk]

Bogi was so good tonight.  Just a pro scorer.  I remember when he signed with Utah?  We had cap room.  Who did we sign?

Has he gotten better or is he flourishing being the man?

[The Jom]

I wish I could enjoy games like this but something feels off with this team.  Also I am not fan of the isolation only offense.

Nice to see Reggie hitting shots again.  Him and Green may jump Hardaway for minutes if all are here after the deadline.  Hardaway really struggling.

I dunno man. This board is sooooo negative. Plainly Tim is no longer on a burner. Needs pops to visit. But his season has been very Tim-like. 

Season: 13.7 points, 35.4% from 3

Career: 13.9 points, 35.7% from 3

I just don’t see that as struggling.

[Reunion Mav]

They look like they’ve quit on each other. Kidds job should be in jeopardy

I didn’t mean to like this. This sounds to me like Jason Terry quit on his team.

[SleepingHero]

Stolen from Reddit.



Aaaaand this is why this roster needs a serious overhaul. I'd be fine if this is a bad off night, but I'd go so far and say more than 75% of our games have box scores that look a lot like this.

[F Gump]

Stolen from Reddit.

Aaaaand this is why this roster needs a serious overhaul. I'd be fine if this is a bad off night, but I'd go so far and say more than 75% of our games have box scores that look a lot like this.

I agree, and suspect most of the rest of us do too.

But the problem is that you have the same architect for an overhaul (Cuban) that got us this crappy roster in the first place. It's a team with iffy talent (and not very much of it), a massively bloated payroll (and who wants overpaid players), no pick assets to speak of, and no skill in roster-building or in evaluating or in doing the little things to create assets.

The solution is for Cuban to hire an EXPERT who can draft, evaluate, negotiate, build a roster, etc at an elite level. He thinks he's the guy, however, and until he thinks otherwise AND HIRES/DEFERS TO THE EXPERT WHO CAN FIX IT, there's no hope. For the time being, we have an operations manager to keep things organized (Nico) who has no GM skills, some retired NBA stars who have no skins on the wall, and Cuban running the show. Not good.

I'm afraid we will be stuck with Luka and some randos as our fare as fans, with Luka putting up monster numbers (because, why not) amidst a boring all-iso style of basketball, until Luka decides he's on a train bound for nowhere and has had enough, and reality forces Cuban's hand.

I'd love to see what Luka could do on a team with real talent to play off of. Saw some videos recently of Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. If only Luka was on a team with the sort of skill to push him to play a team-oriented game like they did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xYWA9uMSuA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn4wy0n8zUM&t=397s

[The Jom]

. . . there's no hope. For the time being, we have an operations manager to keep things organized (Nico) who has no GM skills, some retired NBA stars who have no skins on the wall, and Cuban running the show. Not good.

I'm afraid we will be stuck with Luka and some randos as our fare as fans, with Luka putting up monster numbers (because, why not) amidst a boring all-iso style of basketball, until Luka decides he's on a train bound for nowhere . . . [emphasis added].

What??? Good grief, man! It isn’t THAT bleak. Even Samwise and Frodo at the gates of Mordor had SOME hope. 

I really like the fit of Green, Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, Kleber, and Bullock on the court with Luka. That’s a plan coming together. 

Brunson and Porzingis were epic fails, yes. But I like the “randos.” The “boring” style looks a heckuva lot like how everybody does it in the playoffs. And I see Wood as having potential to bring us another impact player into the rotation, either via trade or improvement on the defensive end. 

Just a fool of a Took, I guess. But I can’t help but see some sunshine.

[loki]

What??? Good grief, man! It isn’t THAT bleak. Even Samwise and Frodo at the gates of Mordor had SOME hope.

Agreed. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

I fully believe that one day Cuban will trip and fall, then look up to a few giant nuts right in his face. We just have to hope that day comes soon.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

I dunno man. This board is sooooo negative. Plainly Tim is no longer on a burner. Needs pops to visit. But his season has been very Tim-like. 

Season: 13.7 points, 35.4% from 3

Career: 13.9 points, 35.7% from 3

I just don’t see that as struggling.

Based on his career numbers I agree but I think that Hardaway supporters here like to look at his Carlisle days where he was shooting 39% from deep and 45% from the field scoring 16 a game.

The guy is shooting less than 40% from the field on 12 shots a game since Carlisle left.  If that isn't struggling I don't know what is.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Hardaway is really starting to annoy me. And I’ve been one of the hold out supporters of his around here.

He seems to be pressing to me. Maybe his place on the team with trade rumors is an issue. Luka seems annoyed with him a lot. I think he had two ill advised 1 on 3 fast break forays to the rim that resulted in him flinging the ball at the rim, with no bucket and no foul last night alone. And that’s an almost nightly occurrence. On one of them he had Josh Green open filling the lane. He’s just so myopic sometimes it’s maddening. And I know that’s part of his job description — to get buckets. Just wish he’d let the game come to him.

[HAguiar95]

The start of the second half with Spencer-Hardy-Bullock-Bertans-Powell was one of the most disgusting things I've seen in a while. Bad basketball all around.

[Chicagojk]

He might be the better player and the more accomplished player at this point, but I wouldn't trade Green for Bey.  Quite a jump for Josh.  I mentioned last year that I thought Green could eventually be the better player but he would never reach the level of Maxey or Bane.   I didn't expect the timeline to be so fast.    

Bey is perfectly fine and I would be interested to see him on a good team as the 4th or 5th option.  Some teams would certainly prefer Bey between the two, but I would guess there are quite of few teams who would prefer Green.

[Chicagojk]

The start of the second half with Spencer-Hardy-Bullock-Bertans-Powell was one of the most disgusting things I've seen in a while. Bad basketball all around.

Yeah Hardy was a little rough.   Surprisingly, I didn't think he had any negatives on defense.   I have been wanting to see him with Green and DFS.    I would prefer another guard than Dinwiddie who doesn't monopolize the ball, but we don't have another option on our team.    I think Hardy and Green could work well together.

I think for a player like Hardy, you need to get him touches.    Instead of having him stand in the corner and then when he gets it finally expecting him to create.   I like him playing on the weakside and attacking when the defense rotates.

Either way ,he will continue to have rough stretches, but I hope he keeps getting minutes on a consistent basis.    Last night, he had some bad offensive plays but it is not like they cost you the game.    You can keep on giving him those minutes.

[hakeemfaan]

This game thread is sad to read. Our guy just dropped 50+ on 17-24 shooting. Regardless of the opposition that is always an amazing feat. Yet either he is getting ripped for not involving others or some are just shrugging it off and saying how this team can’t win a title this way. 

The dude just dropped 50 plus on 17-24 shooting. If Steph or MJ or Kobe did that people wouldn’t be asking why they didn’t pass more.  Instead the headline would be about their greatness. 

Luka is not Magic and will never be. By the same token Magic was not as gifted a scorer like Luka. Luka is a MJ type scorer. Unstoppable. Even Harden could be stopped in the playoffs. There is nothing wrong if Luka patents himself as a score first player despite having great court vision.  

The key is to just keep defenses honest once in a while when Luka is on the floor and have someone carry the offense when he is off the floor. No need for any complex schemes because Luka is never going to be a great mover off the ball. What we had last year with 3 guys who could get their own ahot with Din as the number 3 is the best offense with Luka.  We have lost Brunson.  Hardy should be getting a lot more minutes. He is the 2nd best creator on this team. Din should be back to the third bird in the pecking order. 

Get that 3 man offense going even if it is just those 3 doing their own thing at different points in the game. Surround them with a couple of athletic defenders/ rebounders. Not asking for scoring studs. 

This team is not that far off. The day Luka leaves here we will be far off even if we get some terrific young players and a ton of picks. A highly efficient 50 point performance taken as something not that awe inspiring shows how great this guy truly is. Once he is gone, you will long for these times.  Again none of this is saying Luka is without his faults. However other than LeBron in his first stint with the Cavs, no other transcendent star has played alongside teammates who are good but with not even one other halfway special player next to him.