Game 71 DIRKIE: The Landlord by a mile!

[SleepingHero]

[soog]

Oh! The guy I voted for is winning with 66% of the vote!!

Oh… there are only 3 votes so far…

[ballsrchr]

It is a breath of fresh air to have a team that can grind out the wins...in the paint!...rather than hope for divine intervention from the 3 point line. This makes the Mavs a formidable team. With the team players we have now it "seems" more like win by committee. Still there are individuals who excel on any given night--besides Luka and Kyrie. I continue to point out that several players, notably DJJ, Maxi, Exum, and on this night, Lively contribute to the wins without scoring big. THJ had a lukewarm hand enough to make him a bit of a threat--which meant he had to be accounted for.

Who gets my Dirkie? Luka?...who performed like Luka. Kyrie?...who performed like Kyrie. Gafford?...who is a beast. Or PJ Washington?...who is getting more comfortable in his role with the team.

I think I'll go with PJ Washington.

[SleepingHero]

This was a tough game.

Mavs came out a bit flat, which is odd given they had 3 days rest. Luka was on his knees basically every dead ball gasping for air. But they never let this one get away. They constantly grinded it out and kept the Jazz within striking distance the whole time. After giving up 41 first quarter points where the Jazz shot 54% from the field, they held the Jazz to 64 points over the next 3 quarters and 38% from the field. You could see the effort turn up as the game went on. The Mavs got their 1st 2nd chance point in the 2nd quarter off of a Kleber rebound which led to a Luka pass to Lively for the dunk. The deficit for 2nd chance points was 2 to 14 in favor of the Jazz at that point. By the end of the game? Mavs 17 2nd chance points, UTA 16.

That is the kind of defense that keeps you within games when your shot isn't falling. And I have to credit the defensive presence of Gafford, PJ, and.... THJ!! All 3 of these guys had several plays defensively that were huge for the Mavs.

Gafford especially. He probably is the rightful dirkie winner tonight. I mean how can you get better than 13/10/5/2/5 with 100% from the field? That's nearly a 5x5! He was tenacious all night with his energy. The Jazz on more than one occasion avoided the paint and took a mid range shot just because Gafford was there. His verticality altered so many Jazz layups and lob attempts. He had this absolutely nasty block which led to a PJ slam in the 3rd that had me out of my seat. He just makes winning plays and is relentless. I never thought he'd be this good despite me advocating for him pre TDL.

Another TDL acquisition that really shone this game was PJ. He started this game off slowly offensively. He missed several easy threes. But he still hustled and went after every loose ball he could have. Seriously I suggest you just watch PJ for an entire quarter and see how often he moves off ball, seals his man downlow, and just in general do the little things that makes life easier on Kyrie and Luka. On the other end, his defense was incredible at times. Lauri was on fire but PJ still contested well and made every shot of his hard. He boxed out and fought for every rebound. Finally he came up big in the 4th quarter where he hit 2 threes to balloon the lead. ChicagoJk said it best, him and Maxi need to start hitting shots or else they're going to be schemed out in the playoffs. But PJ came up big tonight. Lets hope he can build off that.

Luka had another off game. Which, of course is still a career night for 99% of the league. Ended with 29/12/13, which in and of itself is incredible. His 19th triple double of the season and 75th of his career which puts him as the 9th player ever to record that many triple doubles. Did I mention he's only 25? Ok yeah he's only 25. Its obvious to me that Luka is playing through a bad hamstring. His shot hasn't been the same since that injury. He has no legs and just is grimacing every time down. I expect him to sit out some of these games to end the season, but not until they beat the Kings and solidify their place in the standings. Hope you're good Luka!

Lastly my dirkie winner, which you never would've seen coming, it's Timothy Duane Hardaway Jr. And truthfully he's still an enigma. He opened this game on fire. He was 4/5 from the field for 11 points including a buzzer beater at the end of the quarter to keep the Mavs connected. He would then go 1 for 9 to end the game. It's obvious to me how badly this team needs his outside shooting. He's so violently inconsistent, but if he's on there really is nothing you can do to stop this team. Can THJ please find his 40%+ stroke back? It's not even like his mechanics are broken, he's just clanking everything....

But I digress; his offense isn't the reason why I'm picking him for Dirkie. It's literally everything else. Timmy has grown as a player and did things tonight that made me think he's bought fully in. He found Lively for a lob which was a pass he never looked for before. He kicked to the corner not once, but several times this game where he gave up his own shot for an even better one. That is growth! That is an aspect he has literally never had to his game before. Did that stop him from going 1 on 3 on a fast break and clanking when he could've easily gotten an assist not once but twice? No.. but baby steps. Finally speaking of new additions to his game, his defense this game was extraordinary by THJ standards. He was in every passing lane to the tune of 3 steals. He was rotating extremely well and calling out switches. A locked in Timmy on defense is a guy who deserves 20-25 mins a night. He also was actively boxing out and rebounding all night.

For these reasons Timmy gets my dirkie.

Lets hope this team comes out motivated for the 1st real playoff game of the season tomorrow against the Kings!

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/miss77ela/status/177...8278591605

^ Cool moment between Luka and Kyrie

https://twitter.com/MavsHighlights/statu...6693918945

Example of PJ just doing all the little things.

https://twitter.com/Mavs_FFL/status/1772440381507940431

Highlight of Gafford block to PJ slam.

[The Jom]

I second the Tim nomination. My stats of note:

5/6 shooting first 13 minutes of the game before going 0/8 rest of the way. But only 14 shots in 29 minutes? Hey, this is new-leaf Tim. Tim Hardaway Judicious. I’m in on this Tim.

The deciding portion of the game came right after PJ’s first corner 3 with about 8:40 left in the 4th. ‘Twas Tim that assisted said shot. And Tim who played the largest role in the ensuing 8 defensive possessions for the Mavs. 8 possessions. Roughly 4 and a half minutes. Zero points given up. 7 stops (3 by Tim) and then a lucky 8th possession when Luka set a screen on Tim (seriously, yes) but then Sexton missed the bunny anyway.

3 more stops (6 total) in the 4th for Tim, including 3 steals.

2 assists of his 4 assists also in the 4th, and zero turnovers for the evening.

Gafford was great again. But this was Tim’s win, from my seat.

By the way, the Jazz’s fast start and slow finish? Refs had more to do with that than the Mavs’ effort. 7 fouls whistled on the good guys (compare 1 in the 4th). 11 FTs for the Jazz in the opening quarter and 22 on the night (but 0 in the 4th). Imagine Karl Malone’s team getting just 1 foul called in the closing quarter at home.

[ThisIStheYear]

Gafford continues an amazing streak. Glad to see PJ with some efficient offensive play but the defense wasn’t quite as good as usual — tough matchup.

[MrGoat]

3 steals away from a 5 x 5 for Gafford. Easy choice

Shoutout to PJ Washington for shooting 33% from deep tonight and timing the makes well

Timmy might have had a chance if Kidd didn't ice him

[KillerLeft]

Hardaway and Washington showed signs of ending their shooting slumps, which would be huge.

But, though I am still against Gafford taking Lively's spot, he played very well again. His motor and physicality is a big reason for hope these days. He gets my vote.