Game 61: Philadelphia 76ers (34-25) vs. Dallas Mavericks (34-26)

[BolsDamols]

what the hell happened to Gafford? he is playing worse than Powell’s worst games

seems like THJ is the hill where Kidd will die on. Well..Good riddance to both (hopefully)

no confidence at all that this team can beat one or two of Sac, GSW or LA in the play in, but it looks like its where the Mavs are headed..and i find it funny that people wants to stay at 7 or 8 and target OKC or Minny in the playoffs as they are more favorable matchups..lol

[donzingis38]

i'm speechless. one thing i know for sure is that i'm a very frustrated mavs fan right now. can't believe missing the playoffs once again is a real possibility.

[donzingis38]

what the hell happened to Gafford? he is playing worse than Powell’s worst games

seems like THJ is the hill where Kidd will die on. Well..Good riddance to both (hopefully)

no confidence at all that this team can beat one or two of Sac, GSW or LA in the play in, but it looks like its where the Mavs are headed..and i find it funny that people wants to stay at 7 or 8 and target OKC or Minny in the playoffs as they are more favorable matchups..lol

but they are. unless you'd rather face jokic/kawhi in the first round. don't get me wrong, i'd love to avoid the play-in. lakers/warriors/kings won't be easy.

[Jason Terry]

Glass half full: Nico, Luka, Kyrie, Kidd, Cuban all like each other. They have that incentive and hopefully sense of urgency. The pitchforks will be out for Kidd if we are in the play in. I don’t think Luka has patience for it past this summer.

The real question is: how will the superstar dynamic change with Kidd being gone(who was previously known and vouched for by Luka/Kyrie)? And Who can we get that can fit?

[SleepingHero]

@sixfivelando
Kyrie Irving: “We’re going to be okay, that’s for everybody that’s watching at home. We’re going to be okay. We gotta trust that we’ll be able to put the work in necessary to get us these wins… No more excuses. We got 20 something games left. We know the positioning we’re in...”

[BolsDamols]

but they are. unless you'd rather face jokic/kawhi in the first round. don't get me wrong, i'd love to avoid the play-in. lakers/warriors/kings won't be easy.

I don't disagree, but I feel its a fool's errand to target #1 or #2 when Mavs can get eliminated in the play in by the California teams (you can bet that the refs won't be on our side if push comes to shove). I'd rather get that guaranteed play off spot to be honest whoever is the opponent. Its probably a moot point now as play in seems like an inevitable eventuality.

[SleepingHero]

If Fox goes down with a 20+ game injury the Mavs may have a chance at the 6th seed

[Branduil]

Seems like the Mavs had a temporary boost from the trades and getting healthy before they remembered they were coached by Jason Kidd

[Chicagojk]

This is coaching imo.  With a healthy and deep roster, they need to find a group who can play well for the 12 minutes Luka is not in the game.  It is a small thing that could have huge implications.  I just feel like this team doesn't do a lot of the little things well.  They do protect the ball (but didn't yesterday), but other things seem to get away from them.  When you have one of the best players in the league, it shouldn't be this hard.  If you do the small things well, you really make it tough for other teams.  This team did it during their WCF run, but haven't done it the past two years.  Why?

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...6969725987

For my Luka bashing, i am just done with his constant glaring at the refs.   He has gotten better getting back on defense (not ideal still) and not talking quite as much, but there is still a lot of room of improvement left.    The death stare at the refs just need to go.   He does this even when I think the ref made the correct call/no call too.   His emotions with his teammates is not ideal either.   That is a real delicate line though, but he can be better there.  On the other hand, it would be nice to have a coach who took that responsibility though and then demanded better on court emotions from his star.

[meistermatze]

Can't believe that we lost again, against a team like that. On a positive note: They could defend in the end, when they acutally tried and had the right personnel on the court. I think these are my key takeaways:

- Lively is in another stratosphere than Gafford, especially defensively. I am happy we have Gafford as Lively-insurance but he is just that. In the playoffs, we can only run with Lively (big lineups) or Maxi (small lineups)
- DJJ is the best defenser on this team outside of PJ, Maxi and Exum. Green is overrated (and was by me). It is still going to be tough to play DJJ because his shot is nowhere near as reliable as Greens but whoever is hot offensively has to play out of Green, DJJ and Exum in closing minutes.
- PJ is the future. His 3-point-shot is awful so far but I think he will come around and be a 18 point scorer as our third option. This combined with excellent defense gives me alot of hope. Him and Maxi together looks great!
- Luka and Kyrie keep you in any game. They both had a subpar game, Luka with 7 TOs and Kyrie missing a lot of layups he usually makes.

Negative takeaways:
- our Coach is the worst in the business. His lineups and decisions just baffle me! I am not sure what happened late in the fourth, when they doubled somebody late in the clock and leaving Batum open in the corner. Either it is by design or due to lack of understading by the players - both is on coaching.
- Hardaway is horrible. His confidence is gone and so is his shot end consequently all of his value on the court. It is not even him not scoring, he is just doing stupid stuff out there, ballwatching, turning it over, being out of position... I want ZERO minutes from Timmy and all of them going to, like I said, who is on fire offensively out of Exum, Green, DJJ and probably even Hardy.
- Gafford is an awful defender, him going for blocks is really annoying because it always opens up something else. Still happy to have him as a backup, because he is a great rebounder and lob-threat

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I don’t understand how Gafford can be such a great offensive rebounder and such a bad defensive rebounder at the same time.

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Luka’s defense has been particularly bad today, so far.

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I wonder if he’s actually hurting. The reaction movement on defense does not seem to be there in some very basic ways.

It is because he is ALWAYS going for the block and opening up space for the attackers and offensive rebounders. Should change his mentatliy but I guess he understands his role as being a highlight shotblocker and overestimates the value of a block like the casual fan does.

[meistermatze]

For all of you that are searching for a scapegoat right now. Luka and Kyrie are shooting the Mavs out of the game. Luka and Kyrie are playing some of the laziest defense I have seen in a while. Not on THJ, Green or whoever else Mavs fans like to blame.

At least regarding Kyrie this is totally not true. Luka for some of this game, yes. But overall, his defense has been at least solid all year, same for Kyrie. Stop this nonsense, pls. Our coaching is mostly the problem on D.

[MFFL]

it would be nice to have a coach who took that responsibility though and then demanded better on court emotions from his star.

Do you WANT to run off Luka? Because that is a sure fire way to run off Luka.

[omahen]

Do you WANT to run off Luka? Because that is a sure fire way to run off Luka.

Why would you think that? Luka is responding to things he needs to improve. Some are easier to improve than others. I don't think he would respond badly to a request from coaching when given something like this: 

"Luka, I know you are not always treated fairly. But please control your emotions and let me be the one pushing the refs when needed."

I agree with the ones saying Kidd should step up against refs sometimes. Not always and not giving more reason to Luka to complain ("even the coach sees the inustice, so I have to complain even more"), but stepping in sometimes would be nice. At least once, even...

[Chicagojk]

Do you WANT to run off Luka? Because that is a sure fire way to run off Luka.

Sure there is some risk there.   Phil Jackson demanded things for Jordan, Shaq and Kobe.   Pat Riley always did this.   In football, it happens all the time.    I am not saying you embarrass the player.  You have to be careful.   It is not meant to bury a player, but you are looking to help that player get 1% better.

let me add, I don't want to put all this blame on Luka. I am just frustrated. When you have a top 5 player in the league, it shouldn't look like this. It seems like we need an A Luka game to win most times. IMO, a A or A+ game from Luka should mean it is over for most teams. I have been thinking about this a lot. I have some thoughts, but I just don't know they are right. It shouldn't be like this though.

[omahen]

Sure there is some risk there.   Phil Jackson demanded things for Jordan, Shaq and Kobe.   Pat Riley always did this.   In football, it happens all the time.    I am not saying you embarrass the player.  You have to be careful.   It is not meant to bury a player, but you are looking to help that player get 1% better.

let me add, I don't want to put all this blame on Luka.  I am just frustrated.  When you have a top 5 player in the league, it shouldn't look like this.  It seems like we need an A Luka game to win most times.    IMO, a A or A+ game from Luka should mean it is over for most teams.  I have been thinking about this a lot.  I have some thoughts, but I just don't know they are right.  It shouldn't be like this though.

I am basically where you are. Both stars were efficient on offense in this 5 game stretch where Mavs recorded 4 losses. They regularly contribute 60+ points on good efficiency.  Yet it is not enough even against average teams. Is the solution really for them to take less shots (once again, they are very efficient) to get others more involved? One thing I would like to see more is to diversify offense at least a little bit. So far they have stars ISO, PnR or chucking a contested three. Put some sets for PJ, especially when guarded by a smaller player. Just a couple per game, to involve him more. Make him the real third guy and put some diversity to offense.

Stars are also not terrible on defense. Defense that looked great for a couple of games looks bad again with teams relatively easily getting good looks. 

Some of the offense issues can be correlated with the offensive slump THJ is in. That may be the cause for bad team numbers in his minutes. Mavs are juggling between defense only DJJ or offense only THJ. DJJ on average is a huge liability on offense, so it is not just easy to say he should be the one playing. My prefference would be Exum.

[SleepingHero]

Do you WANT to run off Luka? Because that is a sure fire way to run off Luka.

Luka has dealt with WAY worse.

He's been coddled his entire time in the NBA.





I mean I wish we had some of this sometimes. I think Luka responds well to hardline leadership. Pop would be the best coach for him by far

[dirkfansince1998]

At least regarding Kyrie this is totally not true. Luka for some of this game, yes. But overall, his defense has been at least solid all year, same for Kyrie. Stop this nonsense, pls. Our coaching is mostly the problem on D.

Observation during a  stretch of a game where Kyrie missed three consecutive shots and gave up two corner 3s because he overplayed help defense. Luka missed two shots in the paint. Glared at the refs and didn't get back on defense.
There is a lot going on and the star players are a part of it. Both played sloppy. Turnovers. Missed shots. Kyrie was 7/17 with 2:15 left in the game. Garbage time contribution isn't helping the Mavs.

Fans are always searching for a scapegoat. Kidd is a bad coach. He isn't the reason why Irving and Luka missed some shots they usually make. The scheme is bad but with the same scheme the Mavs beat the Thunder and many where ready to crown them. We know that the Mavs aren't competitive when Luka and Kyrie have off games. The margin of error is small. 11 combined turnovers. Mediocre shooting if we ignore the last few minutes.


A few examples: First two are clearly on Kyrie.

Overplayed help defense in the paint.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=350&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Harris%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(17%20PTS)%20(Hield%203%20AST)

Doubled for no reason. From the wrong side.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=481&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Batum%2024%27%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(3%20PTS)%20(Oubre%20Jr.%202%20AST)

Pick between Luka getting burned in the pick and roll and Kyrie making the rotation when Lively is the low man.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=527&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Oubre%20Jr.%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(16%20PTS)%20(Batum%203%20AST)

[omahen]

Observation during a  stretch of a game where Kyrie missed three consecutive shots and gave up two corner 3s because he overplayed help defense. Luka missed two shots in the paint. Glared at the refs and didn't get back on defense.
There is a lot going on and the star players are a part of it. Both played sloppy. Turnovers. Missed shots. Kyrie was 7/17 with 2:15 left in the game. Garbage time contribution isn't helping the Mavs.

Fans are always searching for a scapegoat. Kidd is a bad coach. He isn't the reason why Irving and Luka missed some shots they usually make. The scheme is bad but with the same scheme the Mavs beat the Thunder and many where ready to crown them. We know that the Mavs aren't competitive when Luka and Kyrie have off games. The margin of error is small. 11 combined turnovers. Mediocre shooting if we ignore the last few minutes.


A few examples: First two are clearly on Kyrie.

Overplayed help defense in the paint.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=527&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Oubre%20Jr.%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(16%20PTS)%20(Batum%203%20AST)

Doubled for no reason. From the wrong side.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=481&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Batum%2024%27%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(3%20PTS)%20(Oubre%20Jr.%202%20AST)

Pick between Luka getting burned in the pick and roll and Kyrie making the rotation when Lively is the low man.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=527&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Oubre%20Jr.%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(16%20PTS)%20(Batum%203%20AST)

Last one. Just so many basic things I really don't know what they are doing or want to do. Is it just misscommunication or a wider problem.

Luka is always switching when defense sets a screen. Always. Not sure if he should do it or not (what scheme coach wants to play), but he always switches (and expects a switch when a screen is set on him). 

So Batum (guarded by Luka) sets a screen on Green for Maxey (it could be easily argued also that Batum made an offensive foul with that screen). Luka switches on Maxey. Green tries to fight over the screen and is basically out of the play getting behind Maxey. Kyrie sort of hinted to help on the Batum drive but didn't really do it. Than Lively needed to step up (was already way late as Batum had plenty of choices). Not sure it should be Kyrie or Lively helping on that drive, but a man would be open in any case.

If Luka and Green would communicate a simple switch, defense would not fall apart as it did. Green would go below Batum screen and would still be able to double Maxey if needed.

[omahen]

Green has a huge problem with screen navigation. The one below is just one of many examples of that. Reed didn't even set a screen yet Green gets completely thrown out of the play, leaving Lively guarding two guys.

https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=534&GameID=0022300871&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Oubre%20Jr.%206%27%20Driving%20Floating%20Jump%20Shot%20(18%20PTS)%20(Reed%203%20AST)

[dirkfansince1998]

Last one. Just so many basic things I really don't know what they are doing or want to do. Is it just misscommunication or a wider problem.

Luka is always switching when defense sets a screen. Always. Not sure if he should do it or not (what scheme coach wants to play), but he always switches (and expects a switch when a screen is set on him). 

So Batum (guarded by Luka) sets a screen on Green for Maxey (it could be easily argued also that Batum made an offensive foul with that screen). Luka switches on Maxey. Green tries to fight over the screen and is basically out of the play getting behind Maxey. Kyrie sort of hinted to help on the Batum drive but didn't really do it. Than Lively needed to step up (was already way late as Batum had plenty of choices). Not sure it should be Kyrie or Lively helping on that drive, but a man would be open in any case.

If Luka and Green would communicate a simple switch, defense would not fall apart as it did. Green would go below Batum screen and would still be able to double Maxey if needed.

Pick and roll defense is the biggest issue. When they are close to the sideline they usually try to ice it.  Big drops. On ball defenders forces the ballhandler towards the sideline. Straight from the 2020 Lakers scheme. Mavs doubled down on it when they traded for Gafford. Now they have two bigs that cannot really defend in space (I have hope that with more experience Lively is going to improve in this area. He has the necessary lateral quickness). 
Pick and roll defense against high pick and roll is all over the place. They usually switch when it doesn't involve Lively or Gafford. But as you pointed out the communication is terrible.