A Few Thoughts on Mavs 106, Nuggets 107

[mavsluvr]

Mavs Let Another One Slip Away

Aargh. What a gut punch. Mavs lead the West's #2 team for most of the game, but surrender the match with another poor performance in the clutch. 


Game Story

Porzingis and Broekhoff remained out. The Mavs seemingly got a break, with Denver missing Milsap and Will Barton. 

Carlisle had intended to start Maxi in KP's place, but when he learned that Milsap was not going to be available, he put Wright out there instead, fielding a very small unit to contend with Denver's beefy big men. The Mavericks got out to a decent start, and even built a short-lived double-digit lead in the first quarter. That quickly dwindled to five at the end of the period, and the two teams traded baskets and mini-runs for the next two quarters, with the Mavs maintaining a small lead for much of the game. The first half featured insipid play from both sides, which was followed by an offensive explosion in the third quarter, with Luka and Jokic both putting on a show. 

When the fourth came along, the Mavs eventually fell into their pattern of dissolving into chaos on the offensive end. The Nuggets aggressively double-teamed Luka, and the team missed 7 of their last 9  shots, gave up offensive boards, and turned the ball over. Denver did not look much better. For the entire period, the Mavs were 2-10 on 3PTAs, and 4-9 from inside, scoring only 17 points in the frame. 

The last two plays pretty much encapsulated the struggle. The Mavs were up 1 with 23 seconds left. Denver had the ball. Powell and DFS switched early, and through either miscommunication or Powell being unable to get through a screen, they failed to re-switch, and DFS was mismatched against Jokic. Jokic backed DFS down for several seconds, and no one came to help, with the other Mavs sticking to their men. Eventually, Jokic put the ball in over the way overmatched Finney-Smith, and Denver was up one with 7 seconds left. 

On the Mavs' last possession, THJ inbounded to Maxi, who gave the ball right back to him. THJ passed to Luka, and then attempted to set a screen for Doncic, rather than getting out of his way. The double-team arrived, and Luka heaved a cross-court skip pass to DFS in the corner. Instead of taking the three, DFS tried to drive, but a Nugget quickly closed out. DFS heaved a desperate pass to THJ at the three-point line, but way overthrew him and turned the ball over, leaving Luka pounding the floor in frustration. Sad. 


Analytics

The Mavericks lost the possession game by 7 shot attempts, although they put up 11 more 3PTAs than the Nugs.  The home team ended up +9 on points from threes and -10 on points from twos. The Mavs had a 4-attempt edge at the line, but missed 8 of their 24 freebies (smh). Dallas evened things up by earning 19 points off the visitors' turnovers. The Nuggets, who play more of an old-school game than most teams, had a 56-46 advantage in PIP, while the Mavs earned a 15-5 edge in fast-break points. It came down to mediocre execution by both teams during the match, and a collapse at the end, along with a subpar performance from the foul line. 


Players

Luka (37 min) had 27 points on 11-24 shots, and went 1-7 from long range. He narrowly missed another triple-double with 10 assists and 9 boards, but also had 6 turnovers, some of them constituting the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard level kind. He took only three shots in the fourth, as the Nuggets persistently forced the ball out of his hands. He still entertained with a variety of creative drives to the basket, and a lively third quarter, but was essentially shut down at the end of the game, failing to score in the final frame. 

DFS (32 min) had his usual complement of contributions, but had only 7 points and 4 boards, along with 4 turnovers, including stepping out-of-bounds a couple of times and the last disastrous play. 

Wright (31 min) led the team with 3 steals and had 6 boards, but receded into the background for stretches in the game. THJ (30 min) came up with his 15 points, and tried to serve as a second option. 

Powell (27 min) was a bright spot on the offensive end, being the second-leading scorer with 16 points and rebounder with 8 boards. He actually did respectable defensive work, drawing much of the duty against Jokic. He made Jokic work for his points, but in the end, was just too undersized to slow down the Denver big man's explosion in the second half. Part of the clutch-time debacle involved his suddenly freezing and looking around in the middle of a play, as if he had heard a whistle, and then having to continue after the defense had collected itself. 

Curry (24 min) provided a scoring punch off the bench with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Maxi (23 min) had 13 points and 7 rebounds, but was 1-6 from beyond the arc. He shared some of the defensive duties on Jokic with Powell. 

Nuggets. Jokic torched the Mavs with 33 points on 12-20 shooting, including 4 threes, and 26 points in the second half. Dallas didn't have much of an answer for him, other than trying to counter with spectacular offense from Luka. Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee combined for 25 points. The boys in blue struggled trying to keep Denver's burly bigs out of the paint. Could have used Porzee. 


Remarks

Carlisle acknowledged that this was a tough, disappointing loss. He observed that neither team had played very well, and the final result came down to a couple of plays at the end. He admitted that the last two plays were poorly handled, and took responsibility for the cluster. On the last offensive play, the plan was to drive and kick, but Luka had to get rid of the ball very quickly, and the rest of the squad didn't respond well. Rick didn't think the loss was solely attributable to the miscues at the end, though. He called attention to numerous "lapses on details" during the game, declining to specify, but citing poor clock management at the ends of quarters as an example. Said they need to come out with more of an edge at home, and reminded the press that the team is still learning. 

Hardaway noted that they let Denver get "too comfortable," and the opposition knocked down some contested threes. He said that somebody besides Luka and Wright needs to be willing to get into the paint, including himself, instead of settling. He encouraged the squad to stay in more of an attack-first mode. 

The Locked on Mavericks guys had some interesting analysis. They pointed out the irony of the game being won on a post-up after the recent controversy about post-ups no longer being good plays. They ventured that Rick may have meant, but been unable to say, that post-ups are not a good play for the Mavs, although they may be for teams with the size, strength and skill to make them work. I don't take a position on that based on this game, but do note that, except for Luka, posting up is not a skill that the Mavs excel at, and they are somewhat undersized when it comes to defending such plays. 

Nick and Isaac observed that one of the Mavs' weaknesses is being able to defend the league's prime big men, such as AD, Embiid, and Jokic. They don't have anyone who can take these guys on one-on-one, especially without KP on the floor. They viewed this as a hole in the Mavericks' defensive system, and were not sure whether it can be solved schematically, through internal improvement, or must be resolved by beefing up the squad. 

Finally, the podcasters did some analysis of the Mavs' clutch performance this season, deeming it "officially a problem." In the clutch, the Mavs' average offensive rating drops from 115 to 92, while their defensive rating remains about the same. Essentially, the offense just completely falls apart (acknowledging that defense and offense are related and better defense might translate to better offense). It is a much worse problem when the team does not have Luka, or especially KP, on the floor, but is an issue even with both of them out there. Clutch performance was much better last season. In their view, this was because the squad had some veterans on the floor who knew what to do in such situations. This season's team gets exposed for what it is -- a very young team, where only a few guys have any NBA playoff experience at all, and Barea is the only one with any kind of experience with deep playoff runs. In playoff-like circumstances in the game, they often fall into a disorganized state. Harris attributed the loss to a combination of young-team growing pains and being shorthanded, with KP out. 

My impressions. It is no shame to come within a couple of points of beating the Nuggets, who are one of the West's best teams. Under the circumstances, neither is it a particular point of pride. Although this team has shown itself capable of winning without Luka, they are less able to do that without KP, and our best short-term hope may be that Zinger comes back soon and maintains his health. I think it also might be helpful if the squad had any sort of offense to go to in the clutch other than the Luka/Dwight PNR. That combo is developing very well, but when they run it over and over again, they are too predictable. They did vary it occasionally with a Luka/THJ PNR, but it would be good if they had some kind of secondary offense to depend on when the occasion warrants. 

Before the game, I thought Denver was going to be a very tough out for the Mavs, with their complement of powerful bigs and KP being out. Although the Mavericks were not crisp during the game, they competed better than I feared they would. I suppose the sunny side is that they managed to punch above their weight for the majority of the game. As far as finding an answer to the league's behemoths, I fear that may not be an issue that gets completely resolved this season. Likewise, the issues in the clutch may take some time and experience to come together. I know no one wants to hear that, and I hope I am wrong, but there is something about these problems that doesn't scream "quick fix." I think we can still enjoy this exciting young group's growth and progress as the season goes along, as they are still achieving at a high level, compared to almost anyone's pre-season expectations. 


Next.  Lakers, at the AAC on Friday night. Should be a fun match. 

[mtrot]

Mavs Let Another One Slip Away

Aargh. What a gut punch. Mavs lead the West's #2 team for most of the game, but surrender the match with another poor performance in the clutch. 


Game Story

Porzingis and Broekhoff remained out. The Mavs seemingly got a break, with Denver missing Milsap and Will Barton. 

Carlisle had intended to start Maxi in KP's place, but when he learned that Milsap was not going to be available, he put Wright out there instead, fielding a very small unit to contend with Denver's beefy big men. The Mavericks got out to a decent start, and even built a short-lived double-digit lead in the first quarter. That quickly dwindled to five at the end of the period, and the two teams traded baskets and mini-runs for the next two quarters, with the Mavs maintaining a small lead for much of the game. The first half featured insipid play from both sides, which was followed by an offensive explosion in the third quarter, with Luka and Jokic both putting on a show. 

When the fourth came along, the Mavs eventually fell into their pattern of dissolving into chaos on the offensive end. The Nuggets aggressively double-teamed Luka, and the team missed 7 of their last 9  shots, gave up offensive boards, and turned the ball over. Denver did not look much better. For the entire period, the Mavs were 2-10 on 3PTAs, and 4-9 from inside, scoring only 17 points in the frame. 

The last two plays pretty much encapsulated the struggle. The Mavs were up 1 with 23 seconds left. Denver had the ball. Powell and DFS switched early, and through either miscommunication or Powell being unable to get through a screen, they failed to re-switch, and DFS was mismatched against Jokic. Jokic backed DFS down for several seconds, and no one came to help, with the other Mavs sticking to their men. Eventually, Jokic put the ball in over the way overmatched Finney-Smith, and Denver was up one with 7 seconds left. 

On the Mavs' last possession, THJ inbounded to Maxi, who gave the ball right back to him. THJ passed to Luka, and then attempted to set a screen for Doncic, rather than getting out of his way. The double-team arrived, and Luka heaved a cross-court skip pass to DFS in the corner. Instead of taking the three, DFS tried to drive, but a Nugget quickly closed out. DFS heaved a desperate pass to THJ at the three-point line, but way overthrew him and turned the ball over, leaving Luka pounding the floor in frustration. Sad. 


Analytics

The Mavericks lost the possession game by 7 shot attempts, although they put up 11 more 3PTAs than the Nugs.  The home team ended up +9 on points from threes and -10 on points from twos. The Mavs had a 4-attempt edge at the line, but missed 8 of their 24 freebies (smh). Dallas evened things up by earning 19 points off the visitors' turnovers. The Nuggets, who play more of an old-school game than most teams, had a 56-46 advantage in PIP, while the Mavs earned a 15-5 edge in fast-break points. It came down to mediocre execution by both teams during the match, and a collapse at the end, along with a subpar performance from the foul line. 


Players

Luka (37 min) had 27 points on 11-24 shots, and went 1-7 from long range. He narrowly missed another triple-double with 10 assists and 9 boards, but also had 6 turnovers, some of them constituting the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard level kind. He took only three shots in the fourth, as the Nuggets persistently forced the ball out of his hands. He still entertained with a variety of creative drives to the basket, and a lively third quarter, but was essentially shut down at the end of the game, failing to score in the final frame. 

DFS (32 min) had his usual complement of contributions, but had only 7 points and 4 boards, along with 4 turnovers, including stepping out-of-bounds a couple of times and the last disastrous play. 

Wright (31 min) led the team with 3 steals and had 6 boards, but receded into the background for stretches in the game. THJ (30 min) came up with his 15 points, and tried to serve as a second option. 

Powell (27 min) was a bright spot on the offensive end, being the second-leading scorer with 16 points and rebounder with 8 boards. He actually did respectable defensive work, drawing much of the duty against Jokic. He made Jokic work for his points, but in the end, was just too undersized to slow down the Denver big man's explosion in the second half. Part of the clutch-time debacle involved his suddenly freezing and looking around in the middle of a play, as if he had heard a whistle, and then having to continue after the defense had collected itself. 

Curry (24 min) provided a scoring punch off the bench with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Maxi (23 min) had 13 points and 7 rebounds, but was 1-6 from beyond the arc. He shared some of the defensive duties on Jokic with Powell. 

Nuggets. Jokic torched the Mavs with 33 points on 12-20 shooting, including 4 threes, and 26 points in the second half. Dallas didn't have much of an answer for him, other than trying to counter with spectacular offense from Luka. Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee combined for 25 points. The boys in blue struggled trying to keep Denver's burly bigs out of the paint. Could have used Porzee. 


Remarks

Carlisle acknowledged that this was a tough, disappointing loss. He observed that neither team had played very well, and the final result came down to a couple of plays at the end. He admitted that the last two plays were poorly handled, and took responsibility for the cluster. On the last offensive play, the plan was to drive and kick, but Luka had to get rid of the ball very quickly, and the rest of the squad didn't respond well. Rick didn't think the loss was solely attributable to the miscues at the end, though. He called attention to numerous "lapses on details" during the game, declining to specify, but citing poor clock management at the ends of quarters as an example. Said they need to come out with more of an edge at home, and reminded the press that the team is still learning. 

Hardaway noted that they let Denver get "too comfortable," and the opposition knocked down some contested threes. He said that somebody besides Luka and Wright needs to be willing to get into the paint, including himself, instead of settling. He encouraged the squad to stay in more of an attack-first mode. 

The Locked on Mavericks guys had some interesting analysis. They pointed out the irony of the game being won on a post-up after the recent controversy about post-ups no longer being good plays. They ventured that Rick may have meant, but been unable to say, that post-ups are not a good play for the Mavs, although they may be for teams with the size, strength and skill to make them work. I don't take a position on that based on this game, but do note that, except for Luka, posting up is not a skill that the Mavs excel at, and they are somewhat undersized when it comes to defending such plays. 

Nick and Isaac observed that one of the Mavs' weaknesses is being able to defend the league's prime big men, such as AD, Embiid, and Jokic. They don't have anyone who can take these guys on one-on-one, especially without KP on the floor. They viewed this as a hole in the Mavericks' defensive system, and were not sure whether it can be solved schematically, through internal improvement, or must be resolved by beefing up the squad. 

Finally, the podcasters did some analysis of the Mavs' clutch performance this season, deeming it "officially a problem." In the clutch, the Mavs' average offensive rating drops from 115 to 92, while their defensive rating remains about the same. Essentially, the offense just completely falls apart (acknowledging that defense and offense are related and better defense might translate to better offense). It is a much worse problem when the team does not have Luka, or especially KP, on the floor, but is an issue even with both of them out there. Clutch performance was much better last season. In their view, this was because the squad had some veterans on the floor who knew what to do in such situations. This season's team gets exposed for what it is -- a very young team, where only a few guys have any NBA playoff experience at all, and Barea is the only one with any kind of experience with deep playoff runs. In playoff-like circumstances in the game, they often fall into a disorganized state. Harris attributed the loss to a combination of young-team growing pains and being shorthanded, with KP out. 

My impressions. It is no shame to come within a couple of points of beating the Nuggets, who are one of the West's best teams. Under the circumstances, neither is it a particular point of pride. Although this team has shown itself capable of winning without Luka, they are less able to do that without KP, and our best short-term hope may be that Zinger comes back soon and maintains his health. I think it also might be helpful if the squad had any sort of offense to go to in the clutch other than the Luka/Dwight PNR. That combo is developing very well, but when they run it over and over again, they are too predictable. They did vary it occasionally with a Luka/THJ PNR, but it would be good if they had some kind of secondary offense to depend on when the occasion warrants. 

Before the game, I thought Denver was going to be a very tough out for the Mavs, with their complement of powerful bigs and KP being out. Although the Mavericks were not crisp during the game, they competed better than I feared they would. I suppose the sunny side is that they managed to punch above their weight for the majority of the game. As far as finding an answer to the league's behemoths, I fear that may not be an issue that gets completely resolved this season. Likewise, the issues in the clutch may take some time and experience to come together. I know no one wants to hear that, and I hope I am wrong, but there is something about these problems that doesn't scream "quick fix." I think we can still enjoy this exciting young group's growth and progress as the season goes along, as they are still achieving at a high level, compared to almost anyone's pre-season expectations. 


Next.  Lakers, at the AAC on Friday night. Should be a fun match. 

Well, there's your problem right there, RC outsmarting himself again.  Just start Maxi. 

As to the play with Jokic backing down DFS, I did see Powell make a half hearted dig at the ball for a split second, but he never really got close enough to Jokic to have a chance at the ball, and it was totally ineffective.  IMO, when you have a big tearing you up like Jokic was, you have to make somebody else beat you.  Somebody has to double him hard and make him give up the ball, since he had shown all night that he was going to score if you don't.

[BolsDamols]

Those 8 missed free throws (out of 24) are really big and will be an under discussed aspect of this loss..

[duboh7]

".... Aargh. What a gut punch. Mavs lead the West's #2 team for most of the game, but surrender the match with another poor performance in the clutch...."

Ugh! The past couple of loses have been particularly tough (but I may have also said that after some of the early-season loses). In fact, i have continually warned that it will take quite a while for the team to jell -- it's just hard for a win-starved fan to wait.

This "big man dominance " we are now facing is what I have feared, even last Summer (reason I was so "on" Vuc as a FA). Sure hope Zinger makes it back soon. The injuries, no doubt, are impeding the development of the team chemistry.

[hakeemfan]

The real worry is that this might be an ongoing issue with KP. Not a strong base. ACL surgery on one knee and now other knee acting up.

[fifteenth]

The real worry is that this might be an ongoing issue with KP. Not a strong base. ACL surgery on one knee and now other knee acting up.

Yeah, that's a big worry. I imagine they're trying to do this right and prioritize getting and keeping his knees right through PT, rest, strength training, etc.

---

The late game performances are a bummer. When the missed shots and turn overs began last night midway through the 4th I thought "not again!!" I hope they can get it sorted out this season! Although, if they do, they'll then face even more pressure and intensity in the playoffs than what they're currently failing to handle.

[ItsGoTime]

Yeah, that's a big worry. I imagine they're trying to do this right and prioritize getting and keeping his knees right through PT, rest, strength training, etc.

KP for KAT looks better and better per game missed by KP.

---

Still not worried as their record is still better than I expected to this point.

---

Well, there's your problem right there, RC outsmarting himself again.  Just start Maxi. 

I would have liked Maxi (23 Mins?...really?) getting the start as well, he could have defended Grant with a bit more physicality and possibly stymied his offensive outburst to start the game. 

I'm wondering if THJ's JHo-like big bursts of points in the first quarter is a trend that will stay or will he figure out how to be (point) productive throughout the game. I like the thought of giving Wright time with the starters as well seeing his desire to be a starter as opposed to coming off the bench (also seems that was the offseason plan with THJ coming off the bench) in the recent Athletic interview. 

If RC isn't set with his rotations, I'd like to see another shot at DW over THJ in the starting lineup now that they've both had some time to get familiar with their teammates. THJ's microwave scoring might come better at a later time in the game as opposed to in the first quarter. DW would be a secondary ball handler and creator to help Luka if he can get more decisive than he's shown so far (hopefully that is just a matter of time).

As to the play with Jokic backing down DFS, I did see Powell make a half hearted dig at the ball for a split second, but he never really got close enough to Jokic to have a chance at the ball, and it was totally ineffective.  IMO, when you have a big tearing you up like Jokic was, you have to make somebody else beat you.  Somebody has to double him hard and make him give up the ball, since he had shown all night that he was going to score if you don't.

I've watched that play a few times now (LACES OUT!). I think, yes, obviously something else should have clicked in the way of help for DFS on Jokic. That's where high end defenders come into play. Recognizing something different should happen and making that difference happen.

In the play, the design was to get the mismatch for Jokic and Murray and them play the 2 man post to 3 point shooter game. Powell started out defending Jokic, but switched on a screen set by Murray who was guarded by DFS. Now it's DFS on Jokic and Powell on Murray, big advantage Den. The play was broken up when Jokic showed what they were doing by passing the ball out to Murray as Powell was showing a half-hearted double on Jokic. 

Once re-set with plenty of time on the clock, Powell has to make a decision, does he double Jokic and leave Murray wide open for 3 (or actually trust his teammates to cover his man, which again, defensive minded teammates would do that), or stay on his man and let DFS fend for himself on the guy going off on everybody trying to cover him this half. Murray gives the entry pass and Powell once again, shows a non-committal double team. His teammates at that point have no chance to really help out cause they don't know what Powell is going to do. 

One alternate reality thing that could have happened is both Luka and Wright were guarding 2 guys that were pretty much right on top of eachother in the corner. One of those 2 could have covered the 2 while the other comes up on Jokic's blindside and disrupt the play in some way. Wright is supposed to be a defensive minded guy, so I don't like that he didn't do something like that. However, Powell's non-commitment could have frozen any defensive creativity that should have been. If Powell (or alternatively a better defender than Powell) commits one way or the other, the other guys then have to think quickly what the best coverage should be. Better defensive-minded guys, do all of this.

Another alternate reality thing could have been once the play was broken up, Powell quickly switches with DFS so the bigger mismatch isn't in the play. 

I suspect that RC told them all to stick to their man in the huddle, because THJ didn't even look like he was in any way looking to help Powell out either (on top of Luka and DW).

Sucks that it happened that way, wish we had won, but this to me, is yet another tip of the hat to this team needing better defenders. I know the counter argument is going to be more or better ball handlers/creators, because once again, all we needed to do was score 1 or 2 more buckets and we put this away. There's more than 1 way to skin a cat, I suppose, just think we can decrease to being the #3 offense in the league (Wait, what? It's blasphemy to not be the #1 all time offense) while improving to be the #8ish defense and be just fine. With a couple moves (unfortunately those couple moves weren't made in the offseason, so now here we are) I believe that could happen.

[SleepingHero]

Why in the world does Carlisle think he's being smart putting 6'7 210lb Dorian Finney Smith on Nikola Jokic 7'0 255lb Jokic??????


Jokic had been destroying our bigs in the 2nd half, and instead of doubling or throwing in Boban, Carlisle chooses to put one of the smallest/lightest guys on him for the final possession??


I cannot believe the Mavs choked that one away.

[dirkfansince1998]

Why in the world does Carlisle think he's being smart putting 6'7 210lb Dorian Finney Smith on Nikola Jokic 7'0 255lb Jokic??????


Jokic had been destroying our bigs in the 2nd half, and instead of doubling or throwing in Boban, Carlisle chooses to put one of the smallest/lightest guys on him for the final possession??


I cannot believe the Mavs choked that one away.

RC had Powell on Jokic but Murray screened him and forced the switch.

[mavsluvr]

Why in the world does Carlisle think he's being smart putting 6'7 210lb Dorian Finney Smith on Nikola Jokic 7'0 255lb Jokic??????


Jokic had been destroying our bigs in the 2nd half, and instead of doubling or throwing in Boban, Carlisle chooses to put one of the smallest/lightest guys on him for the final possession??


I cannot believe the Mavs choked that one away.

DFS wasn't supposed to be on Jokic. Powell and DFS failed to execute the desired switch. 

Once it happened, for whatever reason, the other Mavs decided not to help, and DFS chose not to foul. These guys just aren't very good at making decisions when plays go wrong in high-pressure situations.

[dirkfansince1998]

Some thoughts:

Already mentioned it in the game thread but Luka needs to learn that every single possession counts. Not taking the early 3 with a 3s differential between shot and game clock to end the half.

The Mavs would really benefit from a ballhandling and passing 4. Powell, Kleber or whoever gets the ball after Luka was trapped has an 4 vs 3 advantage. Just needs to make the right decision. The Mavs should get an good look every single time in those situations but right now the execution is terrible.
Coaches should probably take a look at the Warriors playbook and see how Curry-Green solved the trapping issue.

The Mavs don´t try to recover or reswitch on defense. Feels like every single time the opposing teams forces a switch and gets a mismatch in the post the Mavs are leaving their teammate on an island. It really annoys me that they aren´t even trying to reswitch.
I have to call out Jackson at this point and even though I don´t like that RC forces him to play PF he has to accept his role. If he is on a guard and Brunson defends Plumlee he has to switch back. Same for boxouts. If he is under the rim and Plumlee goes for the offensive board he has to put a body on him.

[SleepingHero]

DFS wasn't supposed to be on Jokic. Powell and DFS failed to execute the desired switch. 

Once it happened, for whatever reason, the other Mavs decided not to help, and DFS chose not to foul. These guys just aren't very good at making decisions when plays go wrong in high-pressure situations.

Right but is Powell any better on Jokic? Even moreso, if the Nuggets got such a favorable switch, then Carlisle should've called an impromtu double off the drive. As soon as Jokic put it down, Powell should've shaded down and forced the double which in turn would've forced Jokic to pass the ball and make someone else beat us. I'd rather have a Murray 3 than a free Jokic layup.

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RC had Powell on Jokic but Murray screened him and forced the switch.

So in other words, RC failed to tell the team don't switch. It was a massive blunder by RC giving the Nuggets one of the most favorable matchups for them on the last possession.

[dirkfansince1998]

DFS wasn't supposed to be on Jokic. Powell and DFS failed to execute the desired switch. 

Once it happened, for whatever reason, the other Mavs decided not to help, and DFS chose not to foul. These guys just aren't very good at making decisions when plays go wrong in high-pressure situations.

Right but is Powell any better on Jokic? Even moreso, if the Nuggets got such a favorable switch, then Carlisle should've called an impromtu double off the drive. As soon as Jokic put it down, Powell should've shaded down and forced the double which in turn would've forced Jokic to pass the ball and make someone else beat us. I'd rather have a Murray 3 than a free Jokic layup.

---

RC had Powell on Jokic but Murray screened him and forced the switch.

So in other words, RC failed to tell the team don't switch. It was a massive blunder by RC giving the Nuggets one of the most favorable matchups for them on the last possession.

I don´t think that a wide open shot for Jokic would have been a better option. We can talk about the lack of help defense or a lineup without Maxi on the last defensive possession but the switch was the only option in that situation.

[ClutchDirk]

Last year at this time we were 13th in the West...

[DanSchwartzgan]

Still experimenting last night as one of Luka and Hardaway were always on the floor.  In the first and third THJ sat early and then came back to play with four bench guys.  It didn't work all that well as the team was -4 with this alignment at the start of the 2nd and -4 again at the start of the 4th.  Denver has a good bench, so it is difficult to know if it was good competition or our bench missing Wright, but our starters beat their starters last night while our bench lost to their bench.

Powell deserves some positive acclaim for his effort last night.  Second leading scorer and second leading rebounder again while holding his own against one of the best bigs in the game.  Jokic was 2 of five in the first half with all of his time coming against Powell.  Denver was -4 in the nearly 14 first half minutes where Powell covered Jokic.  The third quarter was ugly, but go back and watch.  Dallas was +2 when Powell subbed out at 7:20 in the third.  Jokic had scored 5 points on 2/3 shooting when Powell subbed.  Jokic absolutely rag dolled Maxi scoring 10 points in the five minutes Powell was out.  Jokic hit two threes in the final two minutes of the third, one on Powell and one on Jackson (but Dallas was actually +1 during that time).  In the fourth, Jokic was 1/3 and Denver was -1 with Powell on Jokic until the final shot.  For the game Jokic was -3 and Powell was +6.

Please don't take this as anti-Maxi.  Here's a really nice article from The Athletic that outlines how far he's come:  https://theathletic.com/1515575/2020/01/...tial-game/

But Powell really doesn't deserve the snipes he's getting regarding last night.  As to the final play, Denver game planned to switch off of Powell.  The coach decides whether to play it straight up or to have someone double off of someone (Murray wouldn't have been the logical place to double from).  The best passing big in the league has the ball 10 feet from the basket on a small guy and he is surrounded by marksmen.  That was a low success rate scenario for Dallas no matter what.  The issue came in our inability to score the final two minutes, not in defending the play Denver called.

One last thing...I've been consistent since the summer in saying we are too thin at C/PF to withstand any of KP/Powell or Maxi going down for a couple of weeks.  At the very least, we should use some of our assets to put another big on the team to get us to and through this years playoffs.

[ClutchDirk]

@"DanSchwartzman"

Amen on Powell...

[dirkfansince1998]

Powell deserves some positive acclaim for his effort last night.  Second leading scorer and second leading rebounder again while holding his own against one of the best bigs in the game.  Jokic was 2 of five in the first half with all of his time coming against Powell.  Denver was -4 in the nearly 14 first half minutes where Powell covered Jokic.  The third quarter was ugly, but go back and watch.  Dallas was +2 when Powell subbed out at 7:20 in the third.  Jokic had scored 5 points on 2/3 shooting when Powell subbed.  Jokic absolutely rag dolled Maxi scoring 10 points in the five minutes Powell was out.  Jokic hit two threes in the final two minutes of the third, one on Powell and one on Jackson (but Dallas was actually +1 during that time).  In the fourth, Jokic was 1/3 and Denver was -1 with Powell on Jokic until the final shot.  For the game Jokic was -3 and Powell was +6.

This. And even when Jokic scored Powell was able to get his own against him on the other end. Jokic couldn´t defend him at all. As the roll man or cutter Powell easily blew by him for layups or dunks.
Jokic was great in the second half and neither Maxi or Powell could stop him once he got going but in the 1st half he was badly exposed on defense and passive ond offense.

[ItsGoTime]

I don´t think that a wide open shot for Jokic would have been a better option. We can talk about the lack of help defense or a lineup without Maxi on the last defensive possession but the switch was the only option in that situation.

Just re-watched the play for the this pick and switch situation specifically. Powell did actually immediately go to relieve DFS on Jokic, DFS either didn't want to switch back or wasn't paying attention to know Powell was trying to do that. What might have been.

[fifteenth]

But Powell really doesn't deserve the snipes he's getting regarding last night.

Powell gets snipped around here no matter what happens in the games. He's this year's chosen whipping boy (along with Brunson). It's hard to get out of that game thread doghouse. THJ seems to have done it.

[IamDougieFresh]

Watch the last 6 minutes of the game. Luka/Powell PnR was run almost every possession. We got 6 points. 3 for DFS, 2 for THJ and 1 for Dwight.

Luka/Powell PnR is INEFFECTIVE crunch time offense. If my count is correct they had 15 possessions in the last 6 minutes for a terrible .4 points per possession.

Our best bet to score in crunch time is a Luka drive, but it was impossible with so many bodies in the paint. Fortunately, this problem will solve itself with KP setting the screen instead of Dwight.