GAME 53 DIRKIE: Winner JG (53%) | Runner-up Luka (41%)

[Kammrath]

Who was the player of the game who elevated his game to help the team win?

[SleepingHero]

Lets get this out of the way, that was one of the most horribly reffed games I've ever seen in my life. Leon Woods should retire. He just made up rules. He was horrific. Everyone on that ref crew has no business of being a ref. I am legit angry that these guys will get paid for that performance. NBA needs to stop recruiting guys from the school of the blind. They probably accounted for 15 undeserved points for the Pelicans just by how they were calling it. 


Now onto the Mavs. This was a fun game until Luka got hurt. This team was rolling. Luka was a maestro. He should've/would've gotten the Dirkie had he not gotten hurt because he was on cruise control to a 45+ point night with a 30 point blow out. 

But we don't live in that reality. The Mavs were up 26 points with 7 mins left in the third when Luka had to sub out. From that moment on, THJ and Dinwiddie did everything in their power to lose this fucking game. Its like they were trying to lose. They played some of the most selfish, disgusting, HORRIBLE basketball I've ever seen in my life. How Kidd let them remain in the game is beyond me. I mean 3-18 shooting? What the fuck? Taking a quick trigger 3 when all you need to do is burn clock while the Pels have all the momentum when you're 3-17? Tim Hardaway Jr. deserves to be paraded in the streets of Dallas with everyone shouting shame at him ala GOT for what he put together tonight. He deserves to be sent down to the G-League if all he wants to do is shoot a fucking basketball. He has no business being on a winning team, and tonight was irredeemable. I will countdown the days he's off the Mavs. He's on my forever shit list. 

Dinwiddie is no better tonight (ok maybe a little bit since he made his FTs). He decided that since Timmy is doing all the shooting, he needs to do all the dribbling. Literally play after play, no movement, only isos, dribbling at the top of the key as if the defender is going to fall asleep watching him pound the air out of the ball, only to run into 4 other guys and hoist a wild ass shot looking for a call. When that stopped working he decided he HAD to shoot some step back threes cause he might physically fall ill should anyone else touch the ball. He is an embarrassment of a point guard. He deserves no more than a 20 min role where he comes off the bench to shoot. At least he had the ability to realize they need to run clock at the end and he hit his FTs. 

Josh Green was the lone savior of tonight. He righted the ship and made hustle play after hustle play. He clamped Ingram on the final shot where he missed. He rebounded countless offensive boards after Timmy tried breaking the rim with his bricks. So he gets the Dirkie.  Luka is runner up. DFS honorable mention because he defended so well and hustled like crazy.

*I forgot to write about Bullock because he's a ghost on the court. 

I am shocked that these dudes blew a 26 point lead in the fashion that they did, as 2 guys almost singlehandedly ruined the offense for 19 minutes. I've never seen that from a team that's "trying" to contend.

[ballsrchr]

I've always believed the key to basketball success is to win all the games you're suppose to...and some of those you're not suppose to.  The Mavs have had a little trouble with the first part.  And the NO game shows just how important Luka is.  Aside from that...aren't the coaches suppose to be prepared for when their star player goes down?

DFS seems to be playing a little better the last few games.  Must have been some kind of problem we weren't aware of.

T. Hardaway (Fools Gold) Jr. shot 17% from the floor, and 17% from the 3pt line.  Luckily he saved the day by shooting 100% from the FT line.  Yeah...1-1.  Is this the man you want starting and playing 40 minutes a game?

DP did the DP stuff--which means he's just old Mr. Dependable...in a journeyman sort of way.  Who else have we got?  JaVale McGee?  To be fair to JM--he has done some good things for other teams, but he just looks lost when he's out there.  The good ship J. McGee has sailed.

SD shot 21% from the floor, 33% from the 3pt line...and almost 92% from the FT line.  But the worst part is he turned the 4th quarter into a perimeter dribbling exhibition.  

Well...at least the Mavs had big enough cushion that came out ahead...but it was way too close.

As for my Dirkie...Josh Green has not yet arrived, but he's looking in the door...and I'm liking it.  JG has earned my Dirkie.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Amazing summation SleepingHero. Dinwiddie and THJ were twin abominations out there tonight.

[MrGoat]

Luka. That was absolutely pitiful after he went down. Green is the only other borderline option even

[SleepingHero]

Amazing summation SleepingHero. Dinwiddie and THJ were twin abominations out there tonight.

Twin abominations is a great nickname for the two. I might be using that in the future.

What I am confused about is that you see THJ launching shot after shot, letting guys go right by him on drives, and otherwise doing everything in his power to lose a game, and Kidd is resigned to let this continue?????????????????

How? In what world does that make sense? If Kidds argument is that he respects THJs shot creation, it's invalid cause whats a shot creator that can't score? I'd rather have had Hardy get the minutes or even Franky "I can't play basketball" Smokes. 

If Kidd is trying to showcase THJ, then isn't letting him put up a 3-18 night and almost losing the game only tanking that stock faster than Enron? 

Is it me? Am I the crazy one? What is going on?

[omahen]

What I am confused about is that you see THJ launching shot after shot, letting guys go right by him on drives, and otherwise doing everything in his power to lose a game, and Kidd is resigned to let this continue?

Well, he is trying his best. Just like FO is trying their best to build around Luka. Can't blame him, it is not easy to score, you know

[omahen]

And Chuck is right on the clock finding reasons why this kind of thing is perfectly normal. If others are doing it, it doesn't make it right...

Chuck Cooperstein on Twitter: "I know we all get just this side of insane when the Mavs offense goes stagnant like it did tonight. But as the Clippers just demonstrated, the Mavs are not the only ones this happens to. They just missed their last 8 shots (not many were good looks either) to lose by 1" / Twitter

[SleepingHero]

Well, he is trying his best. Just like FO is trying their best to build around Luka. Can't blame him, it is not easy to score, you know

Honestly you're right. I'm being too hard on the guy whose paid to play a game! He's only making *checks sheet* $239,052 and 11 cents a game!

What a rascal.

(It pains me to see he's making that much a game and can't make a fucking layup).

[ballsrchr]

And Chuck is right on the clock finding reasons why this kind of thing is perfectly normal. If others are doing it, it doesn't make it right...

Chuck Cooperstein on Twitter: "I know we all get just this side of insane when the Mavs offense goes stagnant like it did tonight. But as the Clippers just demonstrated, the Mavs are not the only ones this happens to. They just missed their last 8 shots (not many were good looks either) to lose by 1" / Twitter

I don't care about the Clippers.  I care about what the Mavs do...

[ThisIStheYear]

A win is a win, unless we have an injury.  Oh, wait.

If Luka misses a couple of weeks, this win will turn into 4 or so losses real quick.  

As for the Dirkie, JG is now clearly the teams second best player. Good for him. Well done. Bob was right. He’s a formidable #4 on a championship team. Unfortunately, the Mavs search for a 2nd and 3rd best player continues. It’s still ridiculous that Green hasn’t been starting. The Mavs brass suffers from basically every cognitive bias there is.

[MFFL]

Dinwiddie and THJ were twin abominations out there tonight.

One of them (at least) HAS TO GO