GAME 39 DIRKIE: Winner DP (67%) & Runner-up Maxi (17%)

[Kammrath]

Who was the "player of the game" who elevated his game to help the team get the win?

[ClutchDirk]

Dwight Diamond Powell...

https://media.giphy.com/media/tIj0FMyrSe.../giphy.gif

[dirkfansince1998]

Dwight Diamond Powell...

https://media.giphy.com/media/tIj0FMyrSe.../giphy.gif

Somewhere in the internet Mak is smilling today.

[cow]

A real test for Dwight haters tonight.

[Hypermav]

DP for the win.  He got 8 points just following Luka's missed shots.  I don't remember Luka missing so many of those close in shots before.

[LukTheShadow]

Maxi. He shut down Simmons in second half who dominated in first and with 3 blocks and great defense participated big time to mavs offense acceleration in second half.

[dcon]

^^^ Agreed that Maximilian had the Max Effect tonight..

Honorable mention to Boban - he really changed the ENERGY of the game in favor of the Mavs after he was able to contribute on offense.

[ThisIStheYear]

DP had the worst game I’ve ever seen him play against the Lakers, but bounced back with a great performance. That’s a competitor. DFS and Maxi were also atrocious Friday but came back strong. Those three led the way.

[SleepingHero]

A real test for Dwight haters tonight.

I am still firmly in the "trade Dwight camp"

I think he stepped up huge tonight. But seeing his play he didn't do anything "special". He hustled, grabbed rebounds, and attacked the rim. Something we all crave from the center position. Sometimes Dwight is exactly what we need, other times he is one of the biggest liabilities on the floor on both ends. Tonight was a tale of two Dwights. 

If anything, seeing how Dwight played in the 2nd half, it made me wonder how good this team would be with an elite rebounder at the 5, something Powell is not. We saw just how everything shifted when Boban came in. Just having sheer size and a rebounding presence forces opposing teams to shift things up. 

But I don't want to rain on the Powell parade, he stepped up after a TERRIBLE first half.

[MrGoat]

I'll go with Powell even though Maxi had a better +/-. I wasn't happy when Maxi was sent to the bench when Powell returned from his early season injury but credit is due for this one. Embiid was out and Powell played like we needed him to in this one knowing that. I'm still in the trade Dwight if we can get a real 5 camp though

[ItsGoTime]

I am still firmly in the "trade Dwight camp"

I liked this post, but I am not in the "trade Dwight camp". I am in the move Dwight to the bench camp. I think any one of Dedmon, Dieng, Zeller or Biyombo would be good enough starters in place of DP. Not that they're better players, just better at what I believe we need more of with KP.

[SleepingHero]

I liked this post, but I am not in the "trade Dwight camp". I am in the move Dwight to the bench camp. I think any one of Dedmon, Dieng, Zeller or Biyombo would be good enough starters in place of DP. Not that they're better players, just better at what I believe we need more of with KP.

That is fair. I should've been more detailed in my original post and my stance is almost the same as yours.

I don't mind Powell, that is in a bench role. I think off the bench there aren't many better centers in the league. He does exactly what the Mavs need in a limited role. So a better way to put it is that I'm more in favor of finding deals that move Powell back in his limited role off the bench for 15-18 minutes a night, but I'm not against including Powell in deals that would hopefully make the Mavs better.

As for the players you mentioned, I don't really think any of them are clear cut better than Dwight. Dedmon had a hot year on a bad team in ATL, and he hasn't really shown much in his limited time on the Kings. He isn't athletic, and while he can shoot it, he's streaky. Zeller is almost the exact same player as Dwight. Hard-nosed hustlers who are team first guys. Dieng and Biyomobo are one of the same to me, overpaid low impact guys that make boneheaded moves. 

If the Mavs were trade for any of them, the team giving them up should be giving us another asset because we are doing them a favor. The only clear-cut "leaps and bounds' better player than Powell that's available is Drummond, but at this point I feel like I've beaten to death that topic. 

Other bigs that I think that would be a better in Powell spot but aren't necessarily available and are not Drummond: Montrez Harrell; Are the Clips really in the position to pay him this summer? All it takes is 1 team offering him some good money. Dwight Howard; I was one of the few advocating for a Howard signing over the summer. It was a risky move then and it's a pretty risky move now, but Howard has had a big resurgence. He does literally everything the Mavs want at the 5. Can he stay this Dwight outside of Lebron/LA's magnifiying glass? Who knows, but its worth the risk imo. Derrick Favors; I think everyone here likes Derrick Favors. Solid vet. Nikola Vucevic; Dude got his money in Orlando, and he's regressed from his all-star form, but he's still everything we want from a center. Al Horford; everything about Vucevic except better.

[ItsGoTime]

but I'm not against including Powell in deals that would hopefully make the Mavs better.

For sure, I don't think any player other than KP and Luka should be in any way some kind of untouchable, because I see them as bench players. You don't hold on to bench players if you can get a potentially better player that will start for your team. Even with THJ, the role he is playing, he should be averaging in the 16-18 ppg range, not 14. Last 15 games he's been scoring 16.5 per, so that is ok considering his struggles early, just not a lot to go on to trust that these stats will stay, and if we were to get someone like BB, not sure he would be able to do as well off the bench.

---

As for the players you mentioned, I don't really think any of them are clear cut better than Dwight. Dedmon had a hot year on a bad team in ATL, and he hasn't really shown much in his limited time on the Kings. He isn't athletic, and while he can shoot it, he's streaky. Zeller is almost the exact same player as Dwight. Hard-nosed hustlers who are team first guys. Dieng and Biyomobo are one of the same to me, overpaid low impact guys that make boneheaded moves. 

If the Mavs were trade for any of them, the team giving them up should be giving us another asset because we are doing them a favor. The only clear-cut "leaps and bounds' better player than Powell that's available is Drummond, but at this point I feel like I've beaten to death that topic. 

Nope (edit: You're right, but), it's not about being clear-cut better than DP, it's about players with different (and overlapping) skillsets that should fit better with a tall, high center of gravity guy who isn't able to bang with the bigger guys in starting units (or whenever they play those "bruiser" types). DP and Maxi together have shown that they can bang with most of the lesser skilled bigs off the bench and they really work well together (one of the reasons I can't understand why RC hasn't started Maxi in place of KP...seems like a no-brainer to me, but they don't pay me to make those decisions, so I'll just keep typing away).

---

Other bigs that I think that would be a better in Powell spot but aren't necessarily available and are not Drummond: Montrez Harrell; Are the Clips really in the position to pay him this summer? All it takes is 1 team offering him some good money. Dwight Howard; I was one of the few advocating for a Howard signing over the summer. It was a risky move then and it's a pretty risky move now, but Howard has had a big resurgence. He does literally everything the Mavs want at the 5. Can he stay this Dwight outside of Lebron/LA's magnifiying glass? Who knows, but its worth the risk imo. Derrick Favors; I think everyone here likes Derrick Favors. Solid vet. Nikola Vucevic; Dude got his money in Orlando, and he's regressed from his all-star form, but he's still everything we want from a center. Al Horford; everything about Vucevic except better.

Vuc in hindsight and in light of the offseason we had would have worked pretty well here IMO. He's the one big that is just under all-star quality that can do most everything too. Twin towers would have been pretty fun to watch I think. His contract is declining, so that is pretty dang promising with what should be an increasing cap. I had hoped that Bamba would have shown more than he has and forced ORL to make a decision on the two. 


Always wanted Horford, Favors is the lesser version of Horford (maybe closer to him since AH is declining with age). 

I was out on Howard with most the rest of us, I might have been wrong on that. He is Powell on steroids (probably literally), that guy on this team with that contract would have probably been huge for us! 

Would love Harrell too, he's the hustle version of Randle.