GAME 15 DIRKIE: KYRIE!!

[SleepingHero]

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

Guaranteed loss if DP played more minutes than Richaun.
So it's Holmes for me (despite Green's good play).

[SleepingHero]

This game was going so well for me. Right up until Lively goes down hard when he gets undercut by Davis off the oop and limps off the court. I gasped. I felt the energy change from the Mavs.

But they somehow finish up the 3rd quarter just as strong as the other two. I tell myself, it'd be just like the Mavs if they found a way to blow a 21pt lead in 12 minutes... but I quickly brushed that thought off thinking it'd be ludicrous. Fast forward to 3 mins left of the 4th and this is my face:


I kept closing my eyes because a meltdown like this would have me want to take a break from the NBA for weeks. And then.... Kyrie "Chief Hela" Irving forces an 8 second call, hits the clutchest 3 in the world to put the Mavs up by 1, and then ices the game with the FTs. 

The Mavs were 3/19 in the 4th quarter, Kyrie had 2 of those made shots. 

An honorable mention goes to Richaun Holmes for stepping up and playing out of his mind when Lively went down. He made some timely defensive plays and his rebounding was apparent. 

Lively also gets an honorable mention for those same reasons. There was a huge difference in the Mavs paint presence when Holmes and/or Lively was on the court tonight. 

Tl: DR- Kyrie gets the Dirkie.

[Jakeospikez]

Kyrie for managing to still be efficient in a sloppy game and hitting the game winner. Holmes does get a lot of props for filling in quality minutes with some big rebounds and helping break up the last pass to AD. Holmes taking over the backup big role would be huge but at the very least rebuilding trade value would be great.

[dirkfansince1998]

Mavs +15 in his 15 minutes on the floor. Without his defense the Mavs don't win the game. Easy vote. Christian Wood. One of his best games for the Mavs.

[ballsrchr]

That was a sloppy game. 3 people in double figures...versus 5 for the "other" team. The only thing that saved us were the rebounds by 3 people and the huge lead.

Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, and Luka were the only people who scored in double figures. Normally my Dirkie would go to one of those guys...assuming other data and the old eye test were correspondingly good.

I'm actually looking at Lively and Holmes.

I'm going to give my Dirkie to Holmes. Yeah he's on the tail end of his career, but he responded when called on. Better than I expected? You bet...

[DanSchwartzgan]

Kyrie was clearly the MVP of the game, but I still stick to the old “elevated his game” standard and I don’t think he was dramatically better (28 points/6 boards on 50% shooting) than normal Kyrie.

The lineup of Kyrie, THJ, Green and Holmes (and to a smaller degree Exum) was fantastic in building the lead in the late first and early second (and getting a large lead back in the late 3rd).  Green was fantastic during the run that built the lead.  But 15 point Josh isn’t that dramatically better than my expectation for him (better than recent play yes, but the outlier is the recent play).

I think you have to go with Holmes.  He was part of the most effective lineups that built the lead and played dramatically better than usual (a very low standard when you don’t play at all).

This probably belongs in the game thread, but I think some of the shine has faded on GWill.  Hardy missed two shots to start the 4th.  GWill then missed two open 3’s (felt a lot like the early 4th quarter of the Sacramento game) and then Luka took over and played hero ball because no one could score (and he couldn’t score either).  DJJ’s +/- the last five games has been -10, +5, +0, -21 and -10.  Its a good thing we’ve seen a more impactful and efficient version of Green the last two games.

[Hypermav]

Kyrie for the game winner.
Mavs and the 3pt shot have a suicide pact.

[ItsGoTime]

Kyrie was clearly the MVP of the game, but I still stick to the old “elevated his game” standard and I don’t think he was dramatically better (28 points/6 boards on 50% shooting) than normal Kyrie.

The lineup of Kyrie, THJ, Green and Holmes (and to a smaller degree Exum) was fantastic in building the lead in the late first and early second (and getting a large lead back in the late 3rd).  Green was fantastic during the run that built the lead.  But 15 point Josh isn’t that dramatically better than my expectation for him (better than recent play yes, but the outlier is the recent play).

I think you have to go with Holmes.  He was part of the most effective lineups that built the lead and played dramatically better than usual (a very low standard when you don’t play at all).

This probably belongs in the game thread, but I think some of the shine has faded on GWill.  Hardy missed two shots to start the 4th.  GWill then missed two open 3’s (felt a lot like the early 4th quarter of the Sacramento game) and then Luka took over and played hero ball because no one could score (and he couldn’t score either).  DJJ’s +/- the last five games has been -10, +5, +0, -21 and -10.  Its a good thing we’ve seen a more impactful and efficient version of Green the last two games.

I agree with all of this. As far as luster wearing off. Need to be on the lookout for Exum. His defender was giving him the Simmons treatment all night. Either take and make those wide open shots or it’ll keep happening.

[Chicagojk]

Give me Kyrie. Very reminiscent of the Brunson final year where this team really plays well in the non Luka minutes. Can be huge.

This team was sinking and Kyrie bailed him out on the three and then hit two clutch free throws. Great to have someone like that at the end of games

[KillerLeft]

This probably belongs in the game thread, but I think some of the shine has faded on GWill.  Hardy missed two shots to start the 4th.  GWill then missed two open 3’s (felt a lot like the early 4th quarter of the Sacramento game) and then Luka took over and played hero ball because no one could score (and he couldn’t score either). 

Williams did not shoot well in the 4th, and he had some great looks, I agree. 

But the shine is shinier than ever for me. For one thing, he’s the vocal leader of the team and to my mind a big reason for 7-1 in clutch games. Specifically in this one, he was directly responsible for the steal to seal the victory (didn’t get the ball, but CAUSED it) which I feel was at least a tie for the most clutch moment.

I LOVE Williams.

[SleepingHero]

This probably belongs in the game thread, but I think some of the shine has faded on GWill.  Hardy missed two shots to start the 4th.  GWill then missed two open 3’s (felt a lot like the early 4th quarter of the Sacramento game) and then Luka took over and played hero ball because no one could score (and he couldn’t score either).  DJJ’s +/- the last five games has been -10, +5, +0, -21 and -10.  Its a good thing we’ve seen a more impactful and efficient version of Green the last two games.

I think the reason some of that shine on Grant is fading is because of how hot he started the season. He was shooting 52% from 3 before this last 4 game stretch. During which he's crashed down to earth at 30%.

He's not going to sustain 50+% and he's certainly not a 30% shooter. He'll settle somewhere around the middle at 40% and thats all this team needs.

In the meantime Grant defended AD on multiple possessions and it didn't feel like a mismatch. I'm loving him on the team.

[omahen]

In the meantime Grant defended AD on multiple possessions and it didn't feel like a mismatch. I'm loving him on the team.

I agree he was awesome against AD. But, I am surprised he looks even less able to defend quicker guards/wings than Luka as they just blow by him. He is also too small imho to be able to really disrupt elite bigs like Joker or Giannis. I think AD prefers mid range shooting offensively and this is where GW can excel at defending. It seems to me AD is a guy that doesn't really enjoy the contact.

[DallasMaverick]

I agree he was awesome against AD. But, I am surprised he looks even less able to defend quicker guards/wings than Luka as they just blow by him. He is also too small imho to be able to really disrupt elite bigs like Joker or Giannis. I think AD prefers mid range shooting offensively and this is where GW can excel at defending. It seems to me AD is a guy that doesn't really enjoy the contact.

It’s good to have some versatility up and down the roster. That way, you can counter whatever your opponent’s strengths are.

So, it seems like GW is an effective antidote to AD. Yay.

[MrGoat]

Kyrie is a guy who has hit a game winning shot in the Game 7 of a Finals before although he really saved our cookies.

I'm giving the vote to Holmes. The fact that he was even allowed to play out of garbage time shattered expectations

[DallasMaverick]

Kyrie is a guy who has hit a game winning shot in the Game 7 of a Finals before although he really saved our cookies.

Calvin Booth also hit a big shot to win a playoff game.

foxsports.com/watch/1755313219921

[The Jom]

I swear I posted in this thread. Maybe in my sleep? You all covered everything well except for Luka’s zero-turnover game. 30/12/8 and zero. That’s notable.

[SleepingHero]

I swear I posted in this thread. Maybe in my sleep? You all covered everything well except for Luka’s zero-turnover game. 30/12/8 and zero. That’s notable.

Oh wow I did NOT notice that at all. Given the types of passes he was throwing around that's very noticeable. 

If he didn't go super ice cold in the 4th I might've given him the Dirkie instead hmm....

[BolsDamols]

Apologies to Kyrie (who was clutch as usual), but I would have to give this one to Holmes.
After watching the video below, I now understand why Luka said he owes him dinner

[mvossman]

Apologies to Kyrie (who was clutch as usual), but I would have to give this one to Holmes.
After watching the video below, I now understand why Luka said he owes him dinner

My question is why have we not seen more of Holmes before this game, especially after Maxi went down.  He seems more suited than Powell as a single big with heavy guard lineup, which is generally what our second unit has been.