03-21-2023, 02:27 AM
(03-21-2023, 02:04 AM)omahen Wrote: After first half I thought to myself - Mavs have a lead but it is not looking good. Defense is crap and they can't secure the rebound. Hot Mavs shooting and bad Memphis shooting is what is keeping them in front.
Third period was great and I thought to myself - Mavs are really playing well now. But then the 4th quarter meltdown happened. All in all, just another confirmation how terribly limited this team is. Powell, Kleber and Bullock offer basically nothing on offense unless wide open looks are generated for them and they are not great defenders also.
It's eerie how similar my thought progression was to yours throughout the game. This team hits the most incredible cold stretches I've seen. Bullock is either an 80% 3pt shooter or 20%. Powell and Kleber are just not full time centers.
I was listening to a Bill Simmons podcast, and on it he was talking about how the NBA has had a quiet big man revolution. Almost all the good teams are big, and are filled with skilled centers.
In fact they went through and pinpointed at least 20 teams with good centers. And by good they didn't mean everyone had to be All-NBA, but skilled and elite at their position. MIL for example, they have Giannis (who is a big man that is a freak), and then Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. 2 really solid above average skilled guys.
CLE has Allen and Mobley.
Mavs I think are dead last in the NBA in terms of big man talent. I think only the Rockets and maybe the Spurs are worse but even then they got guys like Collins, or Sengun. It's such a glaring hole and it hurts to watch this team get destroyed on the boards night after night.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.