Game 4 DIRKIE: G-Will!!

[SleepingHero]

[SleepingHero]

Dereck Lively is the chairman of the boards:

[LukaMVP]

Tyson really did a good job coaching up lively it seems like. only difference now between them is some beard.

[Jym]

Voted Grant but I kinda hope it ends up tied between him and Lively.
Hard to believe Lively is 19

[The Jom]

Love me sum Lively. But this is Dirk’s award. Gots to give it to the guy with 25 points on 10 field goal attempts.

[BolsDamols]

It turns out having Grant Williams out there instead of Reggie Bullock makes a bit of a difference

[MFFL]

I wanted to vote Lively but we needed every possible point so I voted G Williams

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Man, that was tough call. Had to go Lively because he impacted the game in so many ways. It’s going to be so much fun watching him for the next decade +.

[ballsrchr]

I chose Lively, but Grant Williams certainly deserves some consideration.

[The Jom]

I chose Lively, but Grant Williams certainly deserves some consideration.

Dude, I know it’s late. But this is maybe your shortest Dirkie explanation ever!

[ThisIStheYear]

I didn’t realize it, but Grant Williams is just a good dude in general and a great leader. He has my vote tonight. What a nice signing.

Between DLive, Grant, and Exum, it looks like the Mavs FO had a GM of the year caliber offseason.

[LukaMVP]

lively and grant can share it right? dudes both made impressive contributions. it's turned out that grant and lively are by far our most successful signings in offseason. grant is a solid role player for us while lively has a higher ceiling.

[Scott41theMavs]

lively and grant can share it right? dudes both made impressive contributions. it's turned out that grant and lively are by far our most successful signings in offseason. grant is a solid role player for us while lively has a higher ceiling.

"By far?" I kinda like getting DJJ on a vet min. 

I only watched the highlights, but those Lively dimes... wow. He gets my Dirkie.

[LukaMVP]

DJJ will get his fair paycheck if he continues playing so good hopefully. getting him on vet min was a true bargain but in terms of importance to this team I would rank lively and grant (and THJ as well who has also been surprisingly good this season) over other role players.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I went with Hardy.  He elevated his game (which used to be a criteria for this).  He played a critical role in keeping the offense going late and he made good decisions (vs. what we saw the game before).  I went back and rewatched his 4th quarter stint (which was six of the last seven minutes of the game).  Here is what he did:

Drive and dish which led to a hockey assist on a GWill three.

Hesitation move on a drive that led to an easy layup.

Drew (kind of) a blocking foul on Caruso

Dribbled into a double team and lost the ball (Green saved the TO, but possession was blown)

Allowed Caruso to score on him way too easily

Caruso leaves him in the dust on another move, but then throws it away into the net on a cross court pass.

Missed three (GWill clotheslined after we got the offensive board).

Missed baseline runner

Made three to put Dallas up six 106-100 (if that shot is missed, this is a different game)

D Rebound

Missed layup into traffic

Like I said immediately after the game, he wasn’t perfect by any means.  But, he made important shots.  Kidd would have been crushed if it didn’t work and Hardy might have been in the doghouse if he’d have missed one more shot.

When you focus strictly on Hardy, you see that he’s engaged but ineffective on D.  He doesn’t anticipate what’s coming very well.  He had two times where he probably shouldn’t have driven into traffic, but, he also made a couple of nice passes dribbling into traffic (the hockey assist mentioned here and a pass to Powell earlier in the game).  

I think THJ and Green are firmly entrenched in the 2/3 rotation.  Hardy’s competition is the few minutes being divided between him, Exum and Curry.  Those minutes expand when either Luka or Kyrie are missing.  Those will be the games where he has to show something.  Tonight he did.

[JamesConway912]

Great performances from Lively and Grant but I voted for the latter. His shotmaking has been a huge part of our success early on. 

Hardaway and Hardy also played well. Props to Kidd for sticking with the young closing lineups. 

We’re playing a stellar season so far. Great results while finding tons of development opportunities for the young guys. Kidd even stayed more with Green than he probably deserves so far. 

Lively already close to 100 Nba minutes. That’s incredibly positive for his development.

[JamesConway912]

It turns out having Grant Williams out there instead of Reggie Bullock makes a bit of a difference

That’s a legitimate point lol. 

Williams will regress to the mean but the early returns point to career highs for him in a bunch of statistical categories. If he ends up with 12-14ppg on 40+% from three while playing his usual defense you’re looking at a massively impactful building block.

[MrGoat]

This is a tough one. Point Lively was fun and he's been as good as we could have dreamed. DJJ's recent offense really shows how much easier it is to play with Luka. Jaden Hardy was ready for crunch time and hit the shot where we finally broke it open late. THJ as 6MOY doesn't look ridiculous. I gotta go with Grant, though. What a great addition he's been. He tied his career high (regular season career high, his playoff career high is 27 and he did that in a game 7 to boot).