A Few Thoughts on Mavs 120, Hornets 123

[mavsluvr]

Shortstaffed Mavs Fall to Hornets After 32-Point Comeback

Oof! To paraphrase Charles Dickens, it was the worst of times, it was the best of times. Then the worst of times again. Heartbreaking loss for our boys. 


Game Story 

Mavs were missing KP (knee), THJ (hammy), and Broekhoff (fibula).  

Rick's starting lineup was the same as last game -- Barea/Doncic/DFS/Jackson/Powell. They came out with a lack of energy, looking almost like they were taking the game for granted. They hung in for the first half of the first quarter, but fell apart when Luka went out, and didn't recover when he came back in. The home team could neither score nor get stops. The first period ended with Dallas trailing 20-32. The second period was a little better, but still unimpressive. The Mavericks went down a game-high 20 points, before recovering late, to an extent. A Maxi buzzer-beating three reduced the deficit to 44-57 at the half. Not sure when was the last time the Mavs produced a 44-point half. Yikes!

Whatever happened at halftime, Kleber replaced Jackson in the starting lineup in the third, and the Mavericks came out strong, in fact erasing the deficit, putting together a 40-point quarter, and gaining an 84-80 edge at the end of the frame. They started the fourth in similar fashion, and the lead was up to 12 with 9 minutes left in regulation. The advantage was frittered away in a flurry of missed long threes, turnovers, and giving up offensive rebounds. Luka's step-back three for the win rimmed out at the buzzer. To overtime.

The Mavs gave up 20 points in the five-minute overtime period. They also scored 17, but a number of those points were scored when the Hornets gave them two-point shots at several times when the Hornets were up three. The Mavs played the foul game until the bitter end. Seth got the chance to tie the game again with a three at the end, but the Hornets fouled him before he could get a shot off, and he did not try to miss the second free throw with 4 seconds left. The last offensive Mavs play was a desperation heave from 55 feet by Luka. 


Analytics

Statistically, the Mavs looked very good offensively around the basket, shooting 70% on twos and earning 60 points in the paint. They also put up 15 more shots than the Hornets, and 25 more 3PTAs. However, they shot dismally from three (15-50), had an 18-point disadvantage in free-throw attempts, and were out rebounded. At the end of the day, they were +12 on points from threes, -17 on made free throws, and and +2 on points from twos. Period-by-period Mavs scoring was 20, 24, 40, 19, 17. Very uncharacteristic lack of offense by Dallas. Three-point shooting ranged from excellent (Maxi, 6-12) to respectable (DFS, 3-8) to decent (LD, 5-15) to abysmal (rest of team, 1-15). The Charlotte back court flamed the Mavs for 56 points, and got to the basket seemingly at will. 


Players

Luka (43 min) had a monster line (39-12-10), and was entertaining to watch, with his ridiculous passes, crafty finishing, step-back threes, and joyful grins during the Mavs' big run. He broke the franchise's record for triple-doubles in one season, passing Jason Kidd with his tenth such game. Luka denied caring about that, as the big stats came in a loss, and Doncic was, in fact, the only starter in negative +/-, at -5. 

Luka attributed the loss to his own "terrible decisions." While the loss can't be blamed on Luka, as the Mavs would not have been in it without him, one does have to question the game disintegrating into hero ball in the clutch. Several commentators suggested he may have run out of gas after playing long minutes, although he denied it. Cedric noted that Rick was going to Seth at the end, and Luka may have been tired, or else Rick may have figured the Hornets were going to get the ball out of Luka's hands, anyway, so he might as well use the Slovenian as a decoy. It was postulated that Luka may have started settling due to fatigue and/or frustration at not getting calls (6 FTAs all night), although this isn't really a one-game issue. 

Rick remarked before the game that other teams are "beating the s__t out of Luka every game," and that it isn't right. Luka dismissed the concern, saying he just has to keep going (rather than let the officiating get in his head). The Hornets are not an especially physical team, as far as this specific game is concerned, but with KP and THJ out, he was double-teamed to death, and many of his teammates did not step up. 

DFS (38 min) looked pretty good, with 15 points and 8 boards. He crashed the offensive glass for Dallas, earning 6 ORBs, and had a couple of crowd-pleasing put back dunks to go with his three threes. He had his hands full trying to defend the Charlotte guards, but as the Mavericks' best perimeter defender, he gave it his best shot. He said after the game that the team should have come out with more energy, and should have won in regulation, even without two of their best players. 

Powell (38 min). Powell had a respectable offensive night, putting up 11 points on 5-7 shooting. However, he was unable to protect the rim, and was less than intense on the glass. He did execute three steals, but fouled out on an intentional take in overtime. For stretches, DP served as the squad's only big on the court, and it didn't work out great. KP, with his rebounding and rim protection, plays such an important role in freeing up DP for his screen-and-roll game, and the team missed the big Latvian. 

Maxi (35 min) stepped up offensively, with another career-high scoring night (24 points on 8-13 shooting, including six threes). He was also instrumental defensively, serving as the only Mav big man who was capable of doing so. Carlisle complimented his all-around play, although for all his massive points, he was bottom of the team with respect to +/-, at -12. The Mavs ran some three-point plays for him, which I believe is something new, and reflects his increasing performance beyond the arc. Lot of hard work going on there. 

Barea (33 min) had 11 points, and assisted the Mavs with playmaking, with 9 dimes and only 1 turnover. I don't love the Luka-Barea lineup, as it tends to take Luka out of the play, and is a turnstile defensively. However, there arguably wasn't much in the way of options, as Dallas badly needed a player other than Luka who could create off the dribble. His role should diminish once THJ returns. 

Jackson (29 min) had 6 points and 5 boards, and was 0-6 from long range. He wasn't really up for a starting role, and was overmatched by the Hornets. Rick replaced him with Maxi to start the third quarter. A dubious foul on Justin in the fourth had Carlisle yelling furiously at the ref. Officiating aside, the absences of the stars has a domino effect, and guys like Jackson (necessarily) get asked to fill responsibilities they may not be ready to handle. It is to be noted that Rick continued to play him big minutes, and even ran some plays for him, perhaps hoping it would serve a development purpose. 

Seth (26 min) had 12 points off the bench on 5-8 shooting, but took only two 3-point shots the whole game, missing both. Don't know what was going on there. During halftime, Jet pleaded with Seth to be more aggressive, as the team was unlikely to survive with only Luka and Maxi wiling to step up on the scoring end. 

Brunson (14 min) had two points, and seemed to be neither here nor there. He didn't make any particularly bad mistakes that I can remember, but was mostly invisible. 

Wright played only 7 colorless minutes, presumably because he was still fighting a sore foot. In the Locked on Mavs podcast, they mentioned a report that Carlisle asked him if he could go in the fourth quarter, and he demurred. Too bad, because this was a game in which his talents would have been useful. 

Boban had a disastrous 3 minutes, during which the Mavs went down 8 points. Not really Bobi's fault, he just isn't able to guard the pick and roll very well, due to his lack of mobility. His only stat was 1 foul.


Remarks

Carlisle said the game was lost in the first quarter. (Luka disagreed, opining that the match was lost in overtime). He thought the team got way behind, expended a great deal of energy digging out of that hole, got a lead, and then couldn't make plays when they needed to. Squandering the lead was on the whole team, in Rick's opinion, and he declined to discuss individual mistakes, as he said that every lapse gets magnified in a situation like this, and there were enough to go around without pointing fingers at a particular player. He said you have to give credit to the Hornets for playing so well and never giving up. 

There are a number of things that went wrong in this contest, which the Mavs had been heavily favored to win. The biggest issue was the absence of KP and THJ, both of whom were sorely missed. At least, that problem should be solved before too long, although further injuries are, unfortunately, likely through the rest of a long season. 

The slow home start is puzzling, though not shocking, as this has been a characteristic of the Mavs. One commentator thought this was a trap game, to which I would say that I am not sure the Mavericks are good enough to have trap games. The Hornets have a pretty tepid roster, but they are, for the most part, young guys that play hard, and it is dangerous to underestimate a squad like that. The starting lineup left much to be desired, but Carlisle had limited choices, and I don't think we will see this one again unless injuries require it.

The poor performance in the clutch is very Mavs-like. They have lost 11 of their last 12 overtime games, lost all of them this season, and are 28th in the league in offensive rating in clutch minutes, scoring 90 ppp. Yuck. Rick seemed unfamiliar with that stat, but said he would take a look at it and see if he could come up with an answer. If they don't find an answer to closing out games, especially when they have a substantial lead in the fourth quarter, they aren't going to make much noise this season. The failure to rebound or get stops killed the team down the stretch, along with too much settling for very long threes and turning the ball over in pressure situations. The frustrating part is that these games usually don't play out as a superior team dominating Dallas in the last eight minutes -- rather the collapse of the Mavs into a lot of unforced errors and poor decision-making. Same song, umpteenth verse. I have to think some of these issue recede once the team is fully healthy. 

Defense continues to be so-so, and was not helped by the small lineups and lack of rim protection. 

The good news is that the potential answers to a lot of the Mavs' problems were sitting on the bench in suits. Also, that even without the two stars, Dallas was able to come back from a 20-point deficit and gain a double-digit lead in the fourth. Most teams that rely heavily on three-point shooting are inevitably going to be a little on the streaky side, especially with two of the better shooters out of action. 


Next. The Bulls, on Monday. Chicago has the 5th best defensive rating in the league, so we'll see if the Mavericks' vaunted offense can get the better of them. 

Get well, injured Mavs!

[Scott41theMavs]

Mavsluvr, thanks for the recap as always. Sorry no one else has acknowledged it yet - too many butthurt from last night's loss.

Several points:

1) We can't win without two of our starters, even if one of them is somewhat questionable in that role (though increasingly solid pre-injury). I'll preach it over and over and over and over again - that's on the offseason.
2) No playmaker aside from Luka - that's on the offseason as well.
3) While I love the fact that we tanked for Luka, and he wouldn't be here without it, perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to tank last year when we didn't have our pick. Luka et al. seem to have some holdover from last year in not taking games seriously. Luka in Euroleague and the World Cup was one of the most clutch players in basketball history, and now he's not clutch?
4) On one hand, I am sick and tired of people bashing Wright. He's hands-down our third-best player all-around (DFS is fourth, Maxi fifth, and Seth sixth). Rick didn't put him in because he was injured. On the other hand, the comments in the game thread about Wright, Brunson, and Jackson struggling in their roles were appropos. Be ready is great. But Marion and others have questioned the rag-doll tactics. It's got to stop. If it doesn't, Luka will have a new coach in a year or two. 
5) I'm really concerned about KP's knee. It has to be in really bad shape to justify his absence, and that's a pretty terrible thing for the Mavs. JOn notwithstanding, we can't win like we were without him. 
6) No big-man rotation with KP out. Guess why that is. That's right. 
7) Rozier was the man on the court last night. Think about that. A player on the #$%@ing Charlotte Hornets having more testicular fortitude than the entire healthy Mavs roster. Go get someone with some dog in him!!! 

It's not just that this team has a long way to go. It's that this roster has a long way to go. Guess why that is. I'll give you a hint. It's not what bartlettbear (and Kammrath, in last night's game thread) thinks it is.

[hakeemfan]

Scott...I'll agree and disagree with you.

Yes. The roster is an issue. We all know it. Missing 2 important pieces of a weak roster to begin with certainly plays into the final outcome. Also, losses happen. Even the Nuggets and Clips (without PG) lost to bottom dwellers yesterday.

However, where I disagree with you is the philosophy. That is on RC. It is sad to watch a coach who has a ring and watched Dirk/JeT get a ton of close to the basket shots (along with long distance shots) now acting as if D'Antoni (who hasn't won a thing in his life) wrote the book on modern basketball. This team struggles to hold leads late because we are not a great defensive team to begin with and in the half court (which is what most close games and playoff games come down to) we seem to have no clue what to run. That is clearly on RC.

Luka...I can't begin to say how lucky we are we have him. However he has certain bad habits. The main thing is itching to look for his shot. Yes the roster is not great, but the team won in Philly without him and nearly beat Boston. The roster is not dog meat either. He takes too many bad shots for no reason at all. That is on RC to correct and has to be corrected now before it is too late. If he or the organization are scared of ruffling the feathers of modern day studs who are quick to demand trades, then that is not good either.

The biggest issue I have with both RC and Cuban blathering about how the game has changed (even though in reality in the playoffs defense and tough baskets via half court sets are still and will always be needed), is that it affects the type of players we try to get too. Smaller, finesse players are suited for an outside in game. More tough minded and stronger players are needed for a half court based offense. So you can't treat the roster and coaching in vaccuum. If you're trying to blame Cuban or Donnie for the roster, then RC is to blame too.

For an immediate fix, there is nothing. Iggy might be too expensive. The closest we have in terms of that size and length is Roby. I know he is a rook and struggled in the pre season. But we are still ahead in terms of our calender to return back to being a legit contender. I'd like the Mavs to throw him into the fire and see what we have there. More than a bruiser we need a strong, physical 6'8" guy who can be a running mate for Luka. It will bring down Luka's numbers but will help immensely in the long run.

[omahen]

7) Rozier was the man on the court last night. Think about that. A player on the #$%@ing Charlotte Hornets having more testicular fortitude than the entire healthy Mavs roster. Go get someone with some dog in him!!! 

It is very different to be "a dog" if you are tanking and winning some here and there is just a plus or when you are expected to win on a nightly basis. Last year Mavs were clutch because they were not nervous. This is not an excuse for poor decision making in the clutch, though.

Luka was great in Slovenian squad and Real. However, he wasn't a leader. In Slovenian team Dragic was best player and leader. In Real he had a number of extremely experienced Spanish nationals (Reyes, Fernandes, Llull) - their stats were a bit lower compared to Luka's, but they brought the veteran stability. I am not sure who was the true leader in Real, perhaps Reyes. Their roles were much bigger than Barea role is, who is the only comparable veteran in Dallas. Luka is still learning to be the one and only leader.  

Let me say this - if we had CP3, we would have at least 6 more wins today.  I am thinking, we should get a very experienced veteran who can still contribute at a starter level. Crawford and similar players are not it. Iggy also is not. Perhaps Morris. Perhaps Reddick, but I am affraid New Orleans and the league started to dream to bring them to play-offs. 

In any case, looks like this season is dedicated to building a foundation ad learning. I don't expect big moves. They will see what they have and go from there in the summer. I just hope they will try to improve the asset base by moving Lee and using TE.

[hakeemfan]

Omahen...I don't think Luka will play with a veteran who is also used to dominating the ball. Luka even in his first year would always hang around the defensive rebound looking for the ball. Remember that lead to Wes and DAJ and some other veterans not giving him the ball, because they felt he was always demanding the ball. But that is in his makeup. He wants the ball in his hands.

A CP3 while theoretically it makes a lot of sense would need Luka to play off the ball quite a bit, and I can see Luka quickly getting frustrated with that. You say Iggy is not the type of guy he needs. He is precisely the type of guy Luka needs. A 6'6"+ strong guard who is a swiss army knife. Delon would have been that if he were 40 lbs heavier. However, the Mavs don't have many picks and Iggy would be difficult to get since other teams have interest too and better players, which is why I was suggesting Roby and seeing what we have there.

What we also need is a strong defensive PG ( I love Brunson but we need an upgrade there). Remember the Bulls with BJ Armstrong and others. The PG was there primarly to defend and hit the open shot, but not hog the ball. Upgrade at the PG position in terms of length and strength and a 6'6"+ strong bodied running mate around Luka is what we need. That along with the coach and owner understanding that defense and half court tough baskets are still needed and the game will always be ancient in that regard. That acceptance also helps in getting players to play that style. If you see the 2011 team (and even the 2006) team, we had a lot of length and defense.

[omahen]

I don't think Luka will play with a veteran who is also used to dominating the ball.

I just wrote you above that this was exactly the situation he had both in Slovenian squad and Real. He was sharing the ball a lot. I guess it frustrates him if he has to share ball with guys who are totally inefficient with it like Matthews or Barnes last season. You can see Luka has no problem sharing the ball with Barea. Luka wants to win!

He is precisely the type of guy Luka needs.  A 6'6"+ strong guard who is a swiss army knife.

Iggy improves defense, but adds nothing on offense besides some spot up shooting. I don't believe he will make us a contender, therefor I wouldn't waste assets on half a year rental to make us marginally better. We also don't know how much is he still able to play. 

What we also  need is a strong defensive PG  ( I love Brunson but we need an upgrade there).

We have Wright. But I totally agree, we should improve on the defensive side.

---

No one can win the title by doing everything by himself. LeBron always shared the ball with other excellent players. Jordan had secondary facilitators. I think Luka is well aware of that and would have nothing against having a capable secondary facilitator. Once again - Luka wants to win!

[mavsluvr]

Mavsluvr, thanks for the recap as always. Sorry no one else has acknowledged it yet - too many butthurt from last night's loss.

Thanks, Scott. I like the way you have presented your points. 

Several points:

1) We can't win without two of our starters, even if one of them is somewhat questionable in that role (though increasingly solid pre-injury). I'll preach it over and over and over and over again - that's on the offseason.

I wouldn't say that we "can't" win without KP and THJ -- after all, we just did, against Brooklyn. In fact, part of the frustrating thing for me (and probably for them, too) is that they were in position to win, had a number of chances, and just didn't pull it out. It would actually be easier to understand if they had just gotten blown out by a clearly better team. But acknowledge that being without those two guys is a struggle. 

2) No playmaker aside from Luka - that's on the offseason as well.

Barea, Seth, Wright (if healthy), and Brunson should have been able to absorb some of this responsibility. And, in fairness, Barea did, although somewhat at Luka's expense. Agree that there seems to be too much weight on Luka in this respect. 

3) While I love the fact that we tanked for Luka, and he wouldn't be here without it, perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to tank last year when we didn't have our pick. Luka et al. seem to have some holdover from last year in not taking games seriously. Luka in Euroleague and the World Cup was one of the most clutch players in basketball history, and now he's not clutch?

I realize this is a debatable point, but I wouldn't say that Luka and some of his cohorts don't take games seriously. I would more say that they don't seem to value possessions as much they maybe should. In this regard, I think playoff experience would be good for them. Although it is also hard to explain away the Mavs' tendency, especially at home, to ease into games rather than coming out with force. 

I don't know how to explain Luka's clutch performance (defining clutch as any period in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter and all overtimes in which the scores are within 5 points). Iirc, Luka seemed pretty clutch last season, although I have not checked stats to verify. Various reasons have been put forth by a lot of smart people. I tend to think it's not that he doesn't care. I would say more that it's a combination of wearing down and trying to do too much. He sometimes reminds me of Kobe -- just bombing away, regardless.

4) On one hand, I am sick and tired of people bashing Wright. He's hands-down our third-best player all-around (DFS is fourth, Maxi fifth, and Seth sixth). Rick didn't put him in because he was injured. On the other hand, the comments in the game thread about Wright, Brunson, and Jackson struggling in their roles were appropos. Be ready is great. But Marion and others have questioned the rag-doll tactics. It's got to stop. If it doesn't, Luka will have a new coach in a year or two. 

I don't see any reason for anyone to bash Wright over this game. If he was hurt, he was hurt. I don't know what the comments about Brunson and Jackson in the game thread were, but from your comment, I infer that it had something to do with their not getting consistent roles and minutes. If that is it, I am wondering how the coach is supposed to adjust with two starters and another bench guy out. Carlisle alluded to playing Maxi and Powell as much as they could go, and having to use other players to fill in to give them a break. They both played long minutes. Maybe I am not understanding your point. Are you suggesting that Luka will try to force Carlisle out if Brunson, Wright, and Jackson aren't given defined roles in a set rotation? Tbh, I could see any or all of those guys not even being on the team next season, let alone claiming set minutes/responsibilities. 


5) I'm really concerned about KP's knee. It has to be in really bad shape to justify his absence, and that's a pretty terrible thing for the Mavs. JOn notwithstanding, we can't win like we were without him. 

Yes, leg injuries to Porzee are always concerning. The story on him in NY was a history of playing lights out for a couple of months and then being plagued by injuries the rest of the season. Having said that, someone semi-official mentioned that the Mavs were keeping him out in a desire to exercise an excess of caution. KP himself said he hopes to be back Wednesday. But Carlisle says he doesn't know when KP will be back, so there's that. 

6) No big-man rotation with KP out. Guess why that is. That's right. 

I wonder if the Mavs thought that Boban's playability would be less matchup-specific than it has been when they acquired him. 

7) Rozier was the man on the court last night. Think about that. A player on the #$%@ing Charlotte Hornets having more testicular fortitude than the entire healthy Mavs roster. Go get someone with some dog in him!!! 

Rozier did well, although perhaps Graham's going off was the bigger surprise. But we shouldn't pretend that Rozier and his team were some kind of juggernauts. They did surrender a 20-point lead and required overtime to wrench out a one-possession win. However, take your point that they were dogged and never hung their heads. 

It's not just that this team has a long way to go. It's that this roster has a long way to go. Guess why that is. I'll give you a hint. It's not what bartlettbear (and Kammrath, in last night's game thread) thinks it is.

Not sure what BB and Kamm think it is, but believe that your view of the reason is that the Mavs squandered the offseason. The roster is better than I thought it would be at the beginning of the season, but agree that they are not a squad that looks capable of contending for a title this season, and don't think the Mavs are under any impression that it is. Also think the Mavs will try to upgrade in the next couple of seasons to get to a realistic contending position. I realize that there will be lessons to be learned from the offseason, and that will be worth attending to, but at this specific point in the season, it has a feel of crying over spilt milk. For the moment, the roster is what it is, and agree that the team could consider it an extremely successful season with this group if they managed to win a playoff series.

Thanks for the thoughts.

[dirkfansince1998]

I am getting a little bit tired of Lukas post game interviews. It´s good to see that he acknowledges his bad habits and hero ball tendencies. But it is just frustrating to watch him make the same mistakes over and over again.

[hakeemfan]

I don't think Luka will play with a veteran who is also used to dominating the ball.

I just wrote you above that this was exactly the situation he had both in Slovenian squad and Real. He was sharing the ball a lot. I guess it frustrates him if he has to share ball with guys who are totally inefficient with it like Matthews or Barnes last season. You can see Luka has no problem sharing the ball with Barea. Luka wants to win!

He is precisely the type of guy Luka needs.  A 6'6"+ strong guard who is a swiss army knife.

Iggy improves defense, but adds nothing on offense besides some spot up shooting. I don't believe he will make us a contender, therefor I wouldn't waste assets on half a year rental to make us marginally better. We also don't know how much is he still able to play. 

What we also  need is a strong defensive PG  ( I love Brunson but we need an upgrade there).

We have Wright. But I totally agree, we should improve on the defensive side.

---

No one can win the title by doing everything by himself. LeBron always shared the ball with other excellent players. Jordan had secondary facilitators. I think Luka is well aware of that and would have nothing against having a capable secondary facilitator. Once again - Luka wants to win!

Lebron played with one ball dominant guard. That was Kyrie.  The relationship between them soon soured.  In Mia other than that first year, LeBron took charge of the ball. 

Also, when Luka played in Europe he was still a kid.  He is an adult now and clearly wants the ball in his hands more often than not.

I'm not saying he can't share the ball.  MJ needed Pip.  Everyone needs help which is why I am also asking for a swiss army type longer, stronger running mate.  What I'm saying is in the clutch there has to be a clear pecking order. If you get someone like CP3 or even Dragic who are used to having the ball in their hands, that won't work.  Even the Mavs had to send Nash and Fin away to make sure the ball went predominantly through Dirk. Dirk by himself was too subservient to ever demand that. 

So yes, a running mate is needed. But not a ball dominant running mate. Especially not in the clutch.

[dirkfansince1998]

On a side note: We have seen agressive on ball pressure and full court press against the Mavs in the last few weeks. It is obviously working. Why can´t the Mavs do the same in desperate moments. They are really bad at it. Wrong personal? Wrong scheme?

[ItsGoTime]

However, where I disagree with you is the philosophy.  That is on RC.  It is sad to watch a coach who has a ring and watched Dirk/JeT get a ton of close to the basket shots (along with long distance shots) now acting as if D'Antoni (who hasn't won a thing in his life) wrote the book on modern basketball.  This team struggles to hold leads late because we are not a great defensive team to begin with and in the half court (which is what most close games and playoff games come down to) we seem to have no clue what to run.  That is clearly on RC.

The biggest issue I have with both RC and Cuban blathering about how the game has changed (even though in reality in the playoffs defense and tough baskets via half court sets are still and will always be needed), is that it affects the type of players we try to get too.  Smaller, finesse players are suited for an outside in game.  More tough minded and stronger players are needed for a half court based offense.  So you can't treat the roster and coaching in vaccuum.  If you're trying to blame Cuban or Donnie for the roster, then RC is to blame too.

I think RC is a part of the FO decision making, so yes, RC is to blame too. Once we get the players to put on a balanced attack, we will start winning titles. Balanced in offense and defense, balanced in defensive responsibilities, balanced in offensive responsibilities. Stop getting one-way players to bandaid the issues and get more MK and KP and DWs (and this year so far, DFSs). Specialists like Kerr and JJ Reddick and Curry are fine to have once you have the defense to cover for them. We've shown we can score with the best of them (and actually beyond). It's time to allow ourselves to let go of some of that offense (if it's necessary) to shore up the defense with balance and as you have been preaching Hakeem, to change up the offense enough to be multifaceted (balance).

People talk about 5 out. Well, Powell is one of the 5 right now because he sets a good screen beyond the arc. That brings his man up because he might have to cover the ball handler who is the threat from 3, not Powell. Powell is insignificant in that aspect of the play. He makes himself significant when he rolls hard to the basket, which he hasn't been as proficient in doing to this point in the season (against starters of the league). The 5 out like we're doing is just fine as a primary offense (obviously), but we need the offense to be balanced with more than just that primary style of play. If it's analytics that is saying what we're doing is what we need to do, I think the balance of relying on analytics has gone too far to that side.

[hakeemfan]

On a side note: We have seen agressive on ball pressure and full court press against the Mavs in the last few weeks. It is obviously working. Why can´t the Mavs do the same in desperate moments. They are really bad at it. Wrong personal? Wrong scheme?

Answer is obvious. Other than Luka we have either undersized ball handlers or weak ones (Wright).  So pressure works against us and we can't pressure the same way in return due to our lack of size/strength and overall athleticism.

I like Wright. I like Brunson.  I think Wright is a keeper off the bench.  Brunson probably not. We need an upgrade at PG.  Defensive minded and can handle pressure, but will be comfortable playing off the ball too.

[dirkfansince1998]

On a side note: We have seen agressive on ball pressure and full court press against the Mavs in the last few weeks. It is obviously working. Why can´t the Mavs do the same in desperate moments. They are really bad at it. Wrong personal? Wrong scheme?

Answer is obvious. Other than Luka we have either undersized ball handlers or weak ones (Wright).  So pressure works against us and we can't pressure the same way in return due to our lack of size/strength and overall athleticism.

I like Wright. I like Brunson.  I think Wright is a keeper off the bench.  Brunson probably not. We need an upgrade at PG.  Defensive minded and can handle pressure, but will be comfortable playing off the ball too.

Wright is athletic but not the kind of player that can pressure a PG full court. Feels like he makes most of his defensive impact off the ball. Jumping passing lanes or getting a suprising steal from the weak side. A good onball defender against wings not so much against small guards.

[ItsGoTime]

In any case, looks like this season is dedicated to building a foundation ad learning. I don't expect big moves. They will see what they have and go from there in the summer. I just hope they will try to improve the asset base by moving Lee and using TE.

It doesn't seem to me like they will pull the trigger this year, I agree, however, the validity of that thought is shaky IMO. If there are guys that can help long term and don't require too much to get, there is no reason to not pull the trigger right now during the season. Once they've identified the problems in our group (if they view what we're seeing as problems, which if they don't, I can only think it's because they think the problems we see will be fixed with more experience), they should be working to address those problems.

[hakeemfan]

In any case, looks like this season is dedicated to building a foundation ad learning. I don't expect big moves. They will see what they have and go from there in the summer. I just hope they will try to improve the asset base by moving Lee and using TE.

It doesn't seem to me like they will pull the trigger this year, I agree, however, the validity of that thought is shaky IMO. If there are guys that can help long term and don't require too much to get, there is no reason to not pull the trigger right now during the season. Once they've identified the problems in our group (if they view what we're seeing as problems, which if they don't, I can only think it's because they think the problems we see will be fixed with more experience), they should be working to address those problems.

Are you sure they have identified the problem when:

a) Luka continues to jack up wild shots game after game with seemingly no repercussions?
b) The coach and owner are acting as the smartest men in the room and talking about modern basketball while the team seems to have no clue or the personnel needed to play half court sets (offensively and defensively) in the clutch?

[ItsGoTime]

I don't think Luka will play with a veteran who is also used to dominating the ball.

Agree, but the guy we bring in needs to be able to spell Luka as well since he is already wearing out due to the physicality and pressure that he feels he needs to have the ball as close to 100% as possible, which is on him, in his confidence in his teammates. Last night I saw (minus JJB) every ball handler feeling the need to know where Luka is at all times and if he was working to get open, they better work to get him the ball. That is the perfect time to play 4 on 4 ball with the defense's best perimeter player fully out of the mix.

What we also  need is a strong defensive PG  ( I love Brunson but we need an upgrade there). Remember the Bulls with BJ Armstrong and others.  The PG was there primarly to defend and hit the open shot, but not hog the ball.  Upgrade at the PG position in terms of length and strength and a 6'6"+ strong bodied running mate around Luka is what we need.

Frank Ntilika? He knows how to run an offense, just can't be the primary guy to do it. In spurts I'm sure he could do it. He could also be a DFS type of sneaky, capitalize when the defense isn't paying attention, type guy. That is until (hopefully) he becomes a 3 point threat.

[hakeemfan]

Agree we need a 2nd ball handler, which is why I'm asking for a swiss army type like Iggy (ideally Roby who has a similar build and game can be the answer but he seemed lost in the preseason).

All I'm saying is that certain folks need the ball to stick to their hands. CP3 is one of them. He and Harden would have made a great pair too if CP3 realized that he had to take a subservient role. Yet as per all accounts he was creating a lot of issues off the court. So the ask is a capable ball handler who can spell Luka, can play defense, but will also willingly play off the ball when Luka is in the game.

BTW I love JJB for what he has meant for this franchise, and yes he can still run an offense. His name will alwasy be there on the championship roster banner. But the Mavs should not have brought him back. He's a total liability on defense and you can't run a team like Jerry...too loyal towards your vets.

[ItsGoTime]

I am getting a little bit tired of Lukas post game interviews. It´s good to see that he acknowledges his bad habits and hero ball tendencies. But it is just frustrating to watch him make the same mistakes over and over again.

I liked this cause I agree that can be frustrating, up until the point when I think to myself that he is only 20 years old.

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Mavsluvr, thanks for the recap as always. Sorry no one else has acknowledged it yet - too many butthurt from last night's loss.

Thanks, Scott. I like the way you have presented your points. 

Several points:

1) We can't win without two of our starters, even if one of them is somewhat questionable in that role (though increasingly solid pre-injury). I'll preach it over and over and over and over again - that's on the offseason.

I wouldn't say that we "can't" win without KP and THJ -- after all, we just did, against Brooklyn. In fact, part of the frustrating thing for me (and probably for them, too) is that they were in position to win, had a number of chances, and just didn't pull it out. It would actually be easier to understand if they had just gotten blown out by a clearly better team. But acknowledge that being without those two guys is a struggle. 

2) No playmaker aside from Luka - that's on the offseason as well.

Barea, Seth, Wright (if healthy), and Brunson should have been able to absorb some of this responsibility. And, in fairness, Barea did, although somewhat at Luka's expense. Agree that there seems to be too much weight on Luka in this respect. 

3) While I love the fact that we tanked for Luka, and he wouldn't be here without it, perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to tank last year when we didn't have our pick. Luka et al. seem to have some holdover from last year in not taking games seriously. Luka in Euroleague and the World Cup was one of the most clutch players in basketball history, and now he's not clutch?

I realize this is a debatable point, but I wouldn't say that Luka and some of his cohorts don't take games seriously. I would more say that they don't seem to value possessions as much they maybe should. In this regard, I think playoff experience would be good for them. Although it is also hard to explain away the Mavs' tendency, especially at home, to ease into games rather than coming out with force. 

I don't know how to explain Luka's clutch performance (defining clutch as any period in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter and all overtimes in which the scores are within 5 points). Iirc, Luka seemed pretty clutch last season, although I have not checked stats to verify. Various reasons have been put forth by a lot of smart people. I tend to think it's not that he doesn't care. I would say more that it's a combination of wearing down and trying to do too much. He sometimes reminds me of Kobe -- just bombing away, regardless.

4) On one hand, I am sick and tired of people bashing Wright. He's hands-down our third-best player all-around (DFS is fourth, Maxi fifth, and Seth sixth). Rick didn't put him in because he was injured. On the other hand, the comments in the game thread about Wright, Brunson, and Jackson struggling in their roles were appropos. Be ready is great. But Marion and others have questioned the rag-doll tactics. It's got to stop. If it doesn't, Luka will have a new coach in a year or two. 

I don't see any reason for anyone to bash Wright over this game. If he was hurt, he was hurt. I don't know what the comments about Brunson and Jackson in the game thread were, but from your comment, I infer that it had something to do with their not getting consistent roles and minutes. If that is it, I am wondering how the coach is supposed to adjust with two starters and another bench guy out. Carlisle alluded to playing Maxi and Powell as much as they could go, and having to use other players to fill in to give them a break. They both played long minutes. Maybe I am not understanding your point. Are you suggesting that Luka will try to force Carlisle out if Brunson, Wright, and Jackson aren't given defined roles in a set rotation? Tbh, I could see any or all of those guys not even being on the team next season, let alone claiming set minutes/responsibilities. 


5) I'm really concerned about KP's knee. It has to be in really bad shape to justify his absence, and that's a pretty terrible thing for the Mavs. JOn notwithstanding, we can't win like we were without him. 

Yes, leg injuries to Porzee are always concerning. The story on him in NY was a history of playing lights out for a couple of months and then being plagued by injuries the rest of the season. Having said that, someone semi-official mentioned that the Mavs were keeping him out in a desire to exercise an excess of caution. KP himself said he hopes to be back Wednesday. But Carlisle says he doesn't know when KP will be back, so there's that. 

6) No big-man rotation with KP out. Guess why that is. That's right. 

I wonder if the Mavs thought that Boban's playability would be less matchup-specific than it has been when they acquired him. 

7) Rozier was the man on the court last night. Think about that. A player on the #$%@ing Charlotte Hornets having more testicular fortitude than the entire healthy Mavs roster. Go get someone with some dog in him!!! 

Rozier did well, although perhaps Graham's going off was the bigger surprise. But we shouldn't pretend that Rozier and his team were some kind of juggernauts. They did surrender a 20-point lead and required overtime to wrench out a one-possession win. However, take your point that they were dogged and never hung their heads. 

It's not just that this team has a long way to go. It's that this roster has a long way to go. Guess why that is. I'll give you a hint. It's not what bartlettbear (and Kammrath, in last night's game thread) thinks it is.

Not sure what BB and Kamm think it is, but believe that your view of the reason is that the Mavs squandered the offseason. The roster is better than I thought it would be at the beginning of the season, but agree that they are not a squad that looks capable of contending for a title this season, and don't think the Mavs are under any impression that it is. Also think the Mavs will try to upgrade in the next couple of seasons to get to a realistic contending position. I realize that there will be lessons to be learned from the offseason, and that will be worth attending to, but at this specific point in the season, it has a feel of crying over spilt milk. For the moment, the roster is what it is, and agree that the team could consider it an extremely successful season with this group if they managed to win a playoff series.

Thanks for the thoughts.

I just want to say, thank you for this response (and really just your whole presence on the board). It is so perfect. I don't care if I ever disagree with you, I will always try to respect you for being so well mannered (and generally balanced) in your responses and takes.

[omahen]

Defensive minded and can handle pressure, but will be comfortable playing off the ball too.

You literally wrote the description of CP3

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Last night I saw (minus JJB) every ball handler feeling the need to know where Luka is at all times and if he was working to get open, they better work to get him the ball. That is the perfect time to play 4 on 4 ball with the defense's best perimeter player fully out of the mix.

It is beyond understanding to me, how this team can play perfectly ok basketball with Luka out, but when he plays, all other guards not named Barea hide and just look for Luka all the time.

[ItsGoTime]

Are you sure they have identified the problem when:

a) Luka continues to jack up wild shots game after game with seemingly no repercussions?
b) The coach and owner are acting as the smartest men in the room and talking about modern basketball while the team seems to have no clue or the personnel needed to play half court sets (offensively and defensively) in the clutch?

Not. At. All. 

a) The Luka thing might be a bit of the LeBron problem in Cle. Only time will tell on that, but he for sure has adjustments to make and homework to do. If the coaching staff isn't helping him out with the "what" that is a sad state. I can only hope that the reason Luka is identifying himself as the problem in post-game interviews has at least a little to do with the coaching staff telling him some of that and he just needs more time to do his homework and adjust.

b) No one hates that smartest guy in the room attitude more than me, I'm sure you're at the same level of hate as I am.