Game 5: Denver Nuggets (5-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (4-1) | 114-125 loss

[Reunion Mav]

I hope the Mav players watch this tape 100 times. There is so much for them to learn. They will also see lots of things the Mavs did well. I hope they are getting Omax ready. We need him to counter all of the movement that leads to offensive rebounds for Denver.

[KillerLeft]

it ain't the first game we got outplayed in the first quarter. actually we started poorly in almost every game we have played this season. in the past games our opponents ain't that good so we could get away with wins but nuggets are a champion team deservedly. it would have been another close game if we had done better in the first quarter.

Absolutely. I agree with those who say that fans get too worked up about who starts in general, but on THIS team THIS year, first quarters are the problem, so far.

[Jym]

Too many dumb turnovers and offensive rebounds but that effort wins against most teams
Just gotta keep chipping away and win the games where we're favored

A top 2 or 3 seed is there for the taking

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Another positive was Josh Green looked confident, engaged and back to his usual hustle. Not that he hasn’t been hustling. He just had a little extra zip tonight, especially defensively.

[JamesConway912]

Luka‘s horrendous turnovers in the first half and getting outrebounded that drastically lost us the game. It’s a miracle that they kept this game somewhat close and didn’t loose by 40. 

Really would have loved to see Luka get benched for the last five minutes of the first half. He single-handedly killed our offense there. Infuriating stuff.

Promising: Kyrie, Green and Hardy playing well.

It appears to me that they’ve decided to give Hardy an extended look at the backup guard minutes over Curry/Exum. I think it would be the right choice to prioritize his development, he has looked good the last two games.

[JamesConway912]

Another thing: we REALLY missed a legitimate shooting threat from the center position tonight. Couldn’t force Jokic out on the perimeter at all which helped him save energy and stay inside. Spacing was rough. Lively/Powell can’t play anything else than the roll threat/dunker spot. 

Could not play five out for a single possession.

[omahen]

Denver is a much better team. Mavs didn't really have any response defensively and even shooting 40 % from three didn't bring them closer than to an 11 point loss. Luka didn't have a good game with sloppy turnovers and bad defense. Especially transition defense was horrible.

[omahen]

Another thing - switching Kyrie on guys like Joker is automatic basket for the opposing team every time. Mavs will have to create schemes to protect him from such situations. Either he fights through screens or they pre-rotate.

[Knutsen]

Another thing: we REALLY missed a legitimate shooting threat from the center position tonight. Couldn’t force Jokic out on the perimeter at all which helped him save energy and stay inside. Spacing was rough. Lively/Powell can’t play anything else than the roll threat/dunker spot. 

Could not play five out for a single possession.

I completely agree. That‘s why I don‘t want Capela as a second big to Lively. A guy like Myles Turner would be perfect who could even play together with Lively against teams like the Nuggets or Timberwolves, that would really elevate our ceiling.

[SleepingHero]

Kyrie Irving felt rusty in his return from a two-game injury absence, but he sees a lot of positives from how the Mavericks played after a poor first half:

"I felt rusty to begin the game. We are in Denver, a mile above sea level, so I knew it would be interesting tonight, going against a well-oiled machine. They're the champions of the league. They showed they're great in their intensity and a lot of effort plays tonight. I think we can take this kind of butt-whooping that we took in the first half and really learn some things.

"We had a good second half or last three quarters. We can take some of the positives, but a lot of it was just effort plays and position plays that we can improve on, and I think it's good that we fixed it earlier in the season so it can help us later on down the line, it was a good experience."

[MrGoat]

Couldn't watch it last night and just finished the recording. The good news about this one is from what I saw we can beat this team if the refs don't give Denver so much home cooking like they did in this one. Losing by only 11 with the refs so heavily slanted against us is a good sign

Shouldn't have put ourselves in an initial hole with that starting lineup. It's time to free Green