Game 6 Dirkie thread: Luka+Gafford

[ballsrchr]

After a short bout with some sort of creeping mange I'm finally able to help Sleeping Hero, KillerLeft, and others sort of in reducing their work load.  So--without further ado:

I was thinking about the reason for this thread--besides the win.  Originally it was "who played above expectations?"  I tried "who most contributed to the win?"  Kind of a conundrum.  In your posts...maybe some of you guys could give your ideas free reign.  I say guys--I'm sure we have some gals here as well.  All ideas have equal weight.

I like to see our bench get some good minutes. I almost said quality play, but that could be argued. Anyway this bench play can only help in the long run. It also usually means that the rotation played pretty good. I'm happy.

Overall the Mavs seemed--like the Mavs--finally. Luka was playing with abandon...an smiling a little bit. I would almost like to say that Klay Thompson is the third best player on the team....buuuut...we have two towers of power as well. Gafford and Lively play well individually and together. So...we will see.

On that note, since my brain is still a little burnt out, I'm going to choose Gafford for the Dirkie.

[WildArkieBoy]

After a short bout with some sort of creeping mange I'm finally able to help Sleeping Hero, KillerLeft, and others sort of in reducing their work load.  So--without further ado:

I was thinking about the reason for this thread--besides the win.  Originally it was "who played above expectations?"  I tried "who most contributed to the win?"  Kind of a conundrum.  In your posts...maybe some of you guys could give your ideas have free reign.  I say guys--I'm sure we have some gals here as well.  All ideas have equal weight.

I like to see our bench get some good minutes.  I almost said quality play, but that could be argued.  Anyway this bench play can only help in the long run.  It also usually means that the rotation played pretty good.  I'm happy.

Overall the Mavs seemed--like the Mavs--finally.  Luka was playing with abandon...an smiling a little bit.  I would almost like to say that Klay Thompson is the third best player on the team....buuuut...we have two towers of power as well.  Gafford and Lively play well individually and together.  So...we will see.

On that note, since my brain is still a little burnt out, I'm going to choose Gafford for the Dirkie.

Gafford-Lively share the Dirkie!

[SleepingHero]

Mavs finally have a great offensive performance!

This was a pretty fun watch from quarters 2-3. Again the Mavs opened cold, scoring only 14 points in the first 6 and a half minutes of play time. In the final 5 minutes of the 1st they put up 16 points on better efficiency and they never looked back. In fact, once the Mavs got the lead with 1 minute remaining in the 1st quarter, they never relinquished it! After that slow start the Mavs had a 52-16 run against Orlando. Dominating win.

Luka finally had a "Luka" game. He opened the 1st quarter with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists on 5-9 from the field. That is the Luka we're used to seeing! He just kept pouring it on in the 2nd, where it felt like the Magic could literally do nothing to stop him while he hit 3 after 3, after finger roll lay-ups, after turnaround post ups. The whole Luka repertoire was on full display and 25 first half points felt like 50. Some gripes (and these are nitpicks truly), I have regarding some of Luka's play had to be some of his shot choices later in the game. There were a few that felt like he forced them up instead of finding an open man. In the past, usually any Luka shot was better than literally anyone else shooting it. I mean Luka had at one point Trey Burke, DFS, THJ, and WCS on the court. I don't blame him for forcing a few up. But now? I mean Klay freaking Thompson is wide open in the corner Luka! Pass it! Anyways, it definitely feels like Luka is still getting used to and learning playing with versatile, elite teammates. I fully believe in due time he will shore up some of these choices.

Speaking of, my final gripe had to be his run-ins yet again with the refs. Luka now has 3 techs in 6 games. He's on pace for 41 techs! The Rasheed Wallace record could be broken this year if Luka really locks in (*editors note, I know it's technically impossible for that record to be broken but the jokes write themselves). Time and again we say he needs to stop it. Time and again it never happens. Unfortunate. Whatever.

Kyrie had a quiet but effective game. It felt like he was playing at half speed and taking it easy tonight. Not like the Mavs needed it really. He had some great D and a crazy classic Kyrie move where he faked Mo Wagner out of his shoes for an easy lay in. Solid game Kyrie!

Klay also had a relatively quiet game. However defensively he was lock down tonight. So many stripped balls and fantastic contests. Offensively it felt like the ball wasn't finding him. The Mavs flat out just have to make it a priority to get him involved. There was 1 moment in the 3rd quarter where the Mavs ran a double screen for Klay across the key where Luka passed it to him at the corner of the FT line. The Magic effectively ran him off the 3 and their job seemed done. Until Klay continued running and found Lively for a dump off pass for a lay up. Stuff like that is why Klay needs to stay in the loop. He should be touching the ball almost every possession. If not it's just a wasted opportunity. Again, in due time I think the team will figure it out.

Grimes finally had an extended run and I thought he put on a helluva show. His defense all night was intense and hounding. In garbage time he actively made it a priority to get other guys a shot. Just an all around great game from him.

Gafford and Lively both had huge games tonight. Gafford felt like he was trying to tear down the rim every time he caught the ball. His energy was 10x better tonight than against the Rockets. Lively showed off several touch shots and also was tearing down the rim any chance he got. His defense was suffocating. Can't praise him enough.

And finally my dirkie winner (and someone who wasn't on the poll originally to my dismay!), Naji Marshall. His disruption on the defensive end to me is what kept the Mavs in the driver seat all night. He was making crazy half court passes for lobs, running PnR's and finding shooters, and was just a menace defensively. This was the first game I saw the true ceiling for Marshall on this team. If he can play like THIS?? Consistently?? Scary stuff. And this is without him being able to buy a shot at all for the season.

Overall great Mavs win that hopefully sets the tone for this week. Which by the way is going to be a grueling week. Tomorrow they face the Pacers for a 2nd night of a back to back. Then Chicago on Wednesday and finally Phoenix Friday. That would make it 4 games in 5 nights, after coming off of a stretch of games last week that was 4 games in 6 nights! Schedulers really are trying to test the Mavs.

Hopefully they got their legs in tonight and are fresh tomorrow!

[SleepingHero]

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/1853276649527124069
@noahweber00
Luka Doncic on talking trash to some of the Orlando Magic players in German:

“I heard them talking in German, so I said some things in German…”

Says he learned German for five years in school, and when asked about what words he was saying, he said to “ask Maxi.”

[SleepingHero]

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/1853286867879248086
@noahweber00
Daniel Gafford on him and Dereck Lively II being better going into tonight’s game:

“We did a lot of work with Tyson and a couple of the other coaches on the team when it comes to screen setting and ways to just impact the game without having the ball in our hands…The more of a team effort it takes offensively, we are a scary team.”

[SleepingHero]

@noahweber00
Daniel Gafford on Naji Marshall:

“Nothing really surprised me. I knew Naji was a baller the first time I played against him…He’s real composed when it comes to the shots he takes, feel like he can get pretty much anywhere on the floor, get any shot he wants, and he just facilitates for us the majority of the time whenever he’s on the floor. He takes a lot of the pressure off some of the main guys.”

[SleepingHero]

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/1853284357189812379
@noahweber00
Jason Kidd on Luka Doncic:

“I thought his energy was great…As our leader he set the tone right off the bat and I thought the guys followed…Luka came out and has done what, he’s normally dominated the first here in the past. I thought tonight was the first time he dominated on both ends (this season)…”

[SleepingHero]

@noahweber00
I asked Jason Kidd about Klay Thompson’s impact outside of scoring:

“I thought he played a great game. I know we look at him for scoring and shooting threes, but I thought his playmaking, his energy was high. He was moving on both ends at a very high level. I thought his defense was really good tonight for us."

[SleepingHero]

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/1853276092162830380

@noahweber00
Luka Doncic on Naji Marshall:

“Love his game…I think he’s a very complete player. He can guard, he can bring the ball up, he can shoot…He’s just gonna keep getting better and better.”


@noahweber00
Luka Doncic on Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II:

“First play we went to Gaff. That’s what we want to do, get him going early. Cause we know he’s a monster there, both of them are and when they play like this, it helps everybody else on the team. We need to keep them going.”

[ThisIStheYear]

Luka was good but the story of the game were the centers. Gaff has my vote for setting the tone.