GAME 66: DAL (39-27) @ SAS (27-36) | 109-119 loss

[MaxiThreeba]

I didn’t watch a second of this game.

I will still just assume Rick is to blame.

[jesusshuttlesworth82]

The end of the third was not the issue it was tbe start if 4th with Lee getting minutes , no Wright in the 4th is absurd

Things won't change here until the cancer is gone in RC

Because Lee really screwed up in those minutes....
He played solid defense. Stole the ball and drew a clear path foul. Made both FTs. Was subbed out early and wasn´t even on the floor when the Mavs gave up a big Spurs run.
Every time I read your posts I question my sanity. Did I watch a different game?

Even if he ever made a good point, I'd miss it.  I put him on ignore a solid 4-5 years ago.  Every loss somehow circles back to Carlisle.

---

@"dmavs4life03"

Did not want to quote so much. You have watched the game. What happened when Boban was on the floor? He could not score in the post and the Mavs were killed on defense.
What was the problem today? Mavs could not stop penetration and started to scramble on defense. They overplayed help defense and gave up open looks from the weak side. It´s not like Aldridge dominated the Mavs in the paint. He scored 24pts on terrible efficiency. That´s what the Mavs want.
Rebounding wasn´t the problem either. Spurs as a team have 5 off rebounds.
Going bigger was not the solution today. The Maxi/KP lineups and Maxi/Boban lineups were outplayed. Spurs stretched the floor and made their shots. Mavs could not defend the perimeter. The single big lineup with KP was the best today.

You complain about things that were no problem today.

I don't understand if half these people watch the games.  More WCS.  More Boban.  Used to be more Jus Jac before everyone figured out he sucked.  These guys aren't good.  There's a reason they don't play.

If you second best player shoots 3/17 or 4/15, you're probably going to lose.  It's not rocket science.

Mills and Bellineli killed us on the other end.  We don't have any good perimeter defenders.  DFS is slightly above avg.  That's it.

[ballsrchr]

The announcers, or at least the play by play guy, said it best: poor decision making.  The poor decision making includes the coach(es).  Can they not see what is happening?  Every missed bomb is a possible 4 point shift...and the Mavericks bomb away...especially from looooong distance.  What the hell ever happened to get a good shot?...and take care of the ball?
Defensive side?  Absolutely.  I am disgusted to say the least.  It's not the first time this year.  The next game is a pushover...isn't it?  Ah well.  Yay Mavs!

[dmavs4life03]

Another game that it's not on the coach, not on the refs. It's on our MAX guy that reverted back to his struggling days from early in the season. 7-32 on the last 2 games. 1-13 from deep. Hope he gets his mojo back or we won't win a single game come playoff time. Also Jackson and Boban are 3rd stringers and shouldn't see the court in the post-season. I guess Maxi is still feeling the effects of guarding Zion, because his games after that are trash.

I call BS on that.  Boban scores more easily than any other Mav, and vacuums up loads of rebounds.  Just because he got fouled a couple times w/ no calls tonight does not change that.  They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

Fixed it. But late in games the offense is SOOOOOOOOO predictable and more importantly, our shots are dictated to us by the defense instead of our "great offense" getting the look we want and scoring with it. Luka gets the ball and tries to create and everyone else goes into spectator mode. Let THJ get some screens and pop midrange/threes, post up Boban,KP,Maxi with DFS or THJ or Luka cutting. Almost all drives in the 4th are to pass back to the perimeter and twice in the 4Q alone, it gets picked off resulting in FTs or a bucket for the other team. Lets not even discuss our own missed FTs. 

Yes we know the refs are ass. They have been all year and probably always will be. So adjust the offense to stop relying on bailout calls, take the ball out of Lukas hands for a bit and let him be a decoy in the corner while we do a P&R with a C. (I know WCS wasn't available tonight but he'd be one option.) Read and react off that. Let THJ/Delon/Curry handle the ball. Post up or alley oop attempts with DFS/Maxi/KP. Not so many pull up 3s especially the deep ones because 9 times out of 10, when its missed we have no one in the paint to rebound and our guards are too small to get the long rebounds and we give up 2 points at the other end.

Make adjustments. And for crying out loud, when we have a play thats working.... milk it to death. Dont call a timeout because its rotation time when you see a player is smoking and at the same time, bench or limit the attempts of someone who's not hot. Boxing out, getting quality shots/making FTs has nothing to do with the bad refs. Same with playing undersized lineups or spectator ball in the 4th where Luka holds the ball to create and everyone else stands around watching. Delon can do stuff and always looks better without luka, as does Curry. THJ can handle the ball and attack the rack and set people up. KP should post up or catch by the FT line and go or P&R with someone other than only Luka. He's hurt, he's been carrying stuff all game long and the defense is literally waiting on him to try to bait him into quick 3s or to pick off his passes or to just foul him hard since he'll probably split a pair anyway. MIX IT UP and PLAY SIZE. Luka's wearing down from this crap and is getting beat up. 

Rant wasted because Rick's gonna do the same thing next game.

---

I call BS on that.  Boban scores more easily than any other Mav, and vacuums up loads of rebounds.  Just because he got stripped a couple times tonight does not change that.  They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

Our problem is on the defensive side, always was and Boban's offense is fine, always was. His defense that is really bad. Combine the fact that he played with Doncic and Jackson and you can see why we couldn't get a stop. Guy has to foul to get back in position, every team he has been into it's the same story, very efficient and all. Do you really believe he should be on our 8-9 and even 10 man rotation over a good defensive player like WCS? 

Doncic/Curry/THJ/DFS/KP/Brunson/Lee/Wright/Kleber/WCS this is our team come playoff time (if we're going 10-man).

seems like we can never get a bucket because we have no staple play to get a decent attempt late in games or anytime we want it.... hence the cry for maybe boban (who if he gets fouled w/o calls we can't do anything about that) WCS to screen (and I mean SCREEN) for a shooter to get a good look. And they can roll to the hoop to get a potential tipin/out, rebound, accept a dump down pass etc. We also can't get a rebound when we need it, brick FTs and devolve to watch Luka get beatup with no calls on offense (which while it's bad, we aren't doing ourselves any favors not changing and trying to score some other way).

[ClutchDirk]

Damn injury bug...depleted roster...KP with another stinker...blind biased refs...

https://media.giphy.com/media/4ac8lAu6Mk.../giphy.gif

[mtrot]

Another game that it's not on the coach, not on the refs. It's on our MAX guy that reverted back to his struggling days from early in the season. 7-32 on the last 2 games. 1-13 from deep. Hope he gets his mojo back or we won't win a single game come playoff time. Also Jackson and Boban are 3rd stringers and shouldn't see the court in the post-season. I guess Maxi is still feeling the effects of guarding Zion, because his games after that are trash.

I call BS on that.  Boban scores more easily than any other Mav, and vacuums up loads of rebounds.  Just because he got fouled a couple times w/ no calls tonight does not change that.  They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

Fixed it. But late in games the offense is SOOOOOOOOO predictable and more importantly, our shots are dictated to us by the defense instead of our "great offense" getting the look we want and scoring with it. Luka gets the ball and tries to create and everyone else goes into spectator mode. Let THJ get some screens and pop midrange/threes, post up Boban,KP,Maxi with DFS or THJ or Luka cutting. Almost all drives in the 4th are to pass back to the perimeter and twice in the 4Q alone, it gets picked off resulting in FTs or a bucket for the other team. Lets not even discuss our own missed FTs. 

Yes we know the refs are ass. They have been all year and probably always will be. So adjust the offense to stop relying on bailout calls, take the ball out of Lukas hands for a bit and let him be a decoy in the corner while we do a P&R with a C. (I know WCS wasn't available tonight but he'd be one option.) Read and react off that. Let THJ/Delon/Curry handle the ball. Post up or alley oop attempts with DFS/Maxi/KP. Not so many pull up 3s especially the deep ones because 9 times out of 10, when its missed we have no one in the paint to rebound and our guards are too small to get the long rebounds and we give up 2 points at the other end.

Make adjustments. And for crying out loud, when we have a play thats working.... milk it to death. Dont call a timeout because its rotation time when you see a player is smoking and at the same time, bench or limit the attempts of someone who's not hot. Boxing out, getting quality shots/making FTs has nothing to do with the bad refs. Same with playing undersized lineups or spectator ball in the 4th where Luka holds the ball to create and everyone else stands around watching. Delon can do stuff and always looks better without luka, as does Curry. THJ can handle the ball and attack the rack and set people up. KP should post up or catch by the FT line and go or P&R with someone other than only Luka. He's hurt, he's been carrying stuff all game long and the defense is literally waiting on him to try to bait him into quick 3s or to pick off his passes or to just foul him hard since he'll probably split a pair anyway. MIX IT UP and PLAY SIZE. Luka's wearing down from this crap and is getting beat up. 

Rant wasted because Rick's gonna do the same thing next game.

---

I call BS on that.  Boban scores more easily than any other Mav, and vacuums up loads of rebounds.  Just because he got stripped a couple times tonight does not change that.  They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

Our problem is on the defensive side, always was and Boban's offense is fine, always was. His defense that is really bad. Combine the fact that he played with Doncic and Jackson and you can see why we couldn't get a stop. Guy has to foul to get back in position, every team he has been into it's the same story, very efficient and all. Do you really believe he should be on our 8-9 and even 10 man rotation over a good defensive player like WCS? 

Doncic/Curry/THJ/DFS/KP/Brunson/Lee/Wright/Kleber/WCS this is our team come playoff time (if we're going 10-man).

seems like we can never get a bucket because we have no staple play to get a decent attempt late in games or anytime we want it.... hence the cry for maybe boban (who if he gets fouled w/o calls we can't do anything about that) WCS to screen (and I mean SCREEN) for a shooter to get a good look. And they can roll to the hoop to get a potential tipin/out, rebound, accept a dump down pass etc. We also can't get a rebound when we need it, brick FTs and devolve to watch Luka get beatup with no calls on offense (which while it's bad, we aren't doing ourselves any favors not changing and trying to score some other way).

Well said.  Rick, as well as the way the Mavs tend to play, is just entirely too predictable for the other teams, which makes it too easy to shut down the Mavs in critical game situations.  You have to be creative and change things up sometimes, when what you are doing no longer works.

[hakeemfan]

The biggest issue is IMO Luka and KP still haven’t learned to play off each other. A good stretch of a few games does not change that.

If Luka takes a rest the next game I would not be surprised if KP goes off again.

The issue currently is that on most nights they are not playing off one another as much as passing to the other on the perimeter where one of them ends up taking a long shot. They are not the Splash Brothers Need more plays with them involved where the defense is worried that focusing too much on one results in a great shot closer at the rim for the other. Luka also needs to play off the ball quite a bit more and let the offense run through KP knowing that Luka will always have great numbers at the end of the game even if he does not dominate the ball at all.

[Kammrath]

The biggest issue is IMO Luka and KP still haven’t  learned to play off each other.

Amen. 

I would personally consider their offensive chemistry to be pretty poor overall (at least in comparison to the theoretical potential) and downright terrible at times.

[MrGoat]

This one really pisses me off because it was against the Spurs with a chance to really harm their season. This team is still soft and KP is quickly reverting back to being deferential, 3 point chucking, unconfident KP, that needs to be addressed. Though they should probably rest both KP and Luka tomorrow

[Dahlsim]

Another game that it's not on the coach, not on the refs. It's on our MAX guy that reverted back to his struggling days from early in the season. 7-32 on the last 2 games. 1-13 from deep. Hope he gets his mojo back or we won't win a single game come playoff time. Also Jackson and Boban are 3rd stringers and shouldn't see the court in the post-season. I guess Maxi is still feeling the effects of guarding Zion, because his games after that are trash.

I call BS on that.  Boban scores more easily than any other Mav, and vacuums up loads of rebounds.  Just because he got stripped a couple times tonight does not change that.  They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

Agree, and I raise your BS with a Double BS.    

Carlisle was giving the post game a try but give LaMarcus credit.  Marjanovic backed him all the way down to the hoop a couple of times and he did the only thing he could do, he hacked the hell out of Boban.   Notice that he also paid a price himself, getting up off the floor after the 2nd collision.  Be nice to see the other team get wore down sometimes. Fortunately for him the Spurs were getting home cooking like crazy from the refs so what should have been 2 fouls against him turned into 2 Dallas turnovers for San Antonio.  

Bottom line is anyone with 2 eyes could see the fouls and and the 2nd time it was a virtual Karate chop across the arms because Boban was expecting it and went up strong but still couldn't hold on.  

They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

They could in theory but in reality the Mavericks are as you said, not committed to an inside power game.  Players and coaches have said that post players can be virtually assaulted the way the game is refereed today while aggressive perimeter players and shooters get calls all day easily. 
So that is an issue for an elite offensive big man inside today.  Boban could have held the ball out further from the body, more of a hook or baby hook shot and protected himself with offhand ala a Kareem shot but then again he was always going to be on a short leash with Carlisle. 

As for the defense, did it actually get any better without Boban in the game?  Aldridge went into the post himself and scored with ease against Kleber didn't he?  Then he started scoring all over against the little Mavs and Spurs basically ran away with it.  Defense didn't really factor in, with our without Boban. 
The Mavs offense totally hinged on the jump shooter hitting shots.  Rick Carlisle could have stayed with attack inside and forced the refs hands eventually but in fact the game got completely away from them after they gave up on the inside big attack.  

I understand his point of view.  If KP can hit some of those long 3 pointers then its a different game but then that's always the story of this offense. 
Live or die by the jumper, long jumpers, 3 pointers.  If KP is shooting poorly then Dallas is simply going to lose because he's going to be given those shots.   If he's shooting well along with Luka then the Mavs have a shot to win any game. 

Miss or Make jumpers, with this offense its that simple because let's face it this is not a team that is going to defend well enough at the rim to really beat elite teams on defense.

---

---

The end of the third was not the issue it was tbe start if 4th with Lee getting minutes , no Wright in the 4th is absurd 

Things won't change here until the cancer is gone in RC

Because Lee really screwed up in those minutes....
He played solid defense. Stole the ball and drew a clear path foul. Made both FTs. Was subbed out early and wasn´t even on the floor when the Mavs gave up a big Spurs run.
Every time I read your posts I question my sanity. Did I watch a different game?

Even if he ever made a good point, I'd miss it.  I put him on ignore a solid 4-5 years ago.  Every loss somehow circles back to Carlisle.

---

@"dmavs4life03"

Did not want to quote so much. You have watched the game. What happened when Boban was on the floor? He could not score in the post and the Mavs were killed on defense. 
What was the problem today? Mavs could not stop penetration and started to scramble on defense. They overplayed help defense and gave up open looks from the weak side. It´s not like Aldridge dominated the Mavs in the paint. He scored 24pts on terrible efficiency. That´s what the Mavs want.
Rebounding wasn´t the problem either. Spurs as a team have 5 off rebounds.
Going bigger was not the solution today. The Maxi/KP lineups and Maxi/Boban lineups were outplayed. Spurs stretched the floor and made their shots. Mavs could not defend the perimeter. The single big lineup with KP was the best today.

You complain about things that were no problem today.

I don't understand if half these people watch the games.  More WCS.  More Boban.  Used to be more Jus Jac before everyone figured out he sucked.  These guys aren't good.  There's a reason they don't play.

If you second best player shoots 3/17 or 4/15, you're probably going to lose.  It's not rocket science.

Mills and Bellineli killed us on the other end.  We don't have any good perimeter defenders.  DFS is slightly above avg.  That's it.

 

You're right, its not rocket science, so go back and do your basic math again.    

KP takes 17 shots. He makes 3.  8 of those shots are 3 pointers.  He makes 1 and many of those are well past the 3 point lines, even lower % 3 pointers. 
1 of 8 on 3 pointers.  That's your rocket science. 
They look spectacular when they go in but what does the math say your odds are? KP is shooting just under 35% on all 3's so the odds are even worse on the long 3's.  

Even if KP wasn't having a bad shooting night those chances aren't great to outscore the Spurs on 8 of those shots.  I'd rather dare the refs to ignore 5 or 6 more blatant hacks on Boban, or forget about Boban and just send the 7'3 Unicorn inside to get some high percentage shots up. 

How is it that Luka is the only player getting up consistent shots at the rim?

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Mavs blew a chance to sweep the season series from the Spurs, for the 1st ever. Spurs 23rd consecutive playoff appearances, are still in jeopardy.

[bartlettbear]

The end of the third was not the issue it was tbe start if 4th with Lee getting minutes , no Wright in the 4th is absurd

Things won't change here until the cancer is gone in RC

Because Lee really screwed up in those minutes....
He played solid defense. Stole the ball and drew a clear path foul. Made both FTs. Was subbed out early and wasn´t even on the floor when the Mavs gave up a big Spurs run.
Every time I read your posts I question my sanity. Did I watch a different game?

Even if he ever made a good point, I'd miss it.  I put him on ignore a solid 4-5 years ago.  Every loss somehow circles back to Carlisle.

---

@"dmavs4life03"

Did not want to quote so much. You have watched the game. What happened when Boban was on the floor? He could not score in the post and the Mavs were killed on defense.
What was the problem today? Mavs could not stop penetration and started to scramble on defense. They overplayed help defense and gave up open looks from the weak side. It´s not like Aldridge dominated the Mavs in the paint. He scored 24pts on terrible efficiency. That´s what the Mavs want.
Rebounding wasn´t the problem either. Spurs as a team have 5 off rebounds.
Going bigger was not the solution today. The Maxi/KP lineups and Maxi/Boban lineups were outplayed. Spurs stretched the floor and made their shots. Mavs could not defend the perimeter. The single big lineup with KP was the best today.

You complain about things that were no problem today.

I don't understand if half these people watch the games.  More WCS.  More Boban.  Used to be more Jus Jac before everyone figured out he sucked.  These guys aren't good.  There's a reason they don't play.

If you second best player shoots 3/17 or 4/15, you're probably going to lose.  It's not rocket science.

Mills and Bellineli killed us on the other end.  We don't have any good perimeter defenders.  DFS is slightly above avg.  That's it.

He played terrible D, literally that is all he did on offense was draw clear path foul he picked up a lose ball and made two dribbles,  he played 22 minutes not a single FG, assist, or rebound.  Mavs were playing 4 on 5 with him out on the court not a single 4th quarter minute for Wright.

   I blamw RC because it is the  truth it is the same thing for 9 years now  the pieces have change but issues remain the same. 
          Mavs win when they knock down threes lose if they dont, it is prett much that simple and that is terribel system and basketball.

---

Miss or Make jumpers, with this offense its that simple because let's face it this is not a team that is going to defend well enough at the rim to really beat elite teams on defense.

Yup this is the truth is as been this way for along time , I would even say in 2011 this was it they just made a lot of jumpers.

In game 2 they did have 3 or 4 layups but they also it all 5 of their jumpers down the stretch with 4 keey lay ups

[mtrot]

Another game that it's not on the coach, not on the refs. It's on our MAX guy that reverted back to his struggling days from early in the season. 7-32 on the last 2 games. 1-13 from deep. Hope he gets his mojo back or we won't win a single game come playoff time. Also Jackson and Boban are 3rd stringers and shouldn't see the court in the post-season. I guess Maxi is still feeling the effects of guarding Zion, because his games after that are trash.

I call BS on that.  Boban scores more easily than any other Mav, and vacuums up loads of rebounds.  Just because he got stripped a couple times tonight does not change that.  They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

Agree, and I raise your BS with a Double BS.    

Carlisle was giving the post game a try but give LaMarcus credit.  Marjanovic backed him all the way down to the hoop a couple of times and he did the only thing he could do, he hacked the hell out of Boban.   Notice that he also paid a price himself, getting up off the floor after the 2nd collision.  Be nice to see the other team get wore down sometimes. Fortunately for him the Spurs were getting home cooking like crazy from the refs so what should have been 2 fouls against him turned into 2 Dallas turnovers for San Antonio.  

Bottom line is anyone with 2 eyes could see the fouls and and the 2nd time it was a virtual Karate chop across the arms because Boban was expecting it and went up strong but still couldn't hold on.  

They can coach him up on how to prevent that.

They could in theory but in reality the Mavericks are as you said, not committed to an inside power game.  Players and coaches have said that post players can be virtually assaulted the way the game is refereed today while aggressive perimeter players and shooters get calls all day easily. 
So that is an issue for an elite offensive big man inside today.  Boban could have held the ball out further from the body, more of a hook or baby hook shot and protected himself with offhand ala a Kareem shot but then again he was always going to be on a short leash with Carlisle. 

As for the defense, did it actually get any better without Boban in the game?  Aldridge went into the post himself and scored with ease against Kleber didn't he?  Then he started scoring all over against the little Mavs and Spurs basically ran away with it.  Defense didn't really factor in, with our without Boban. 
The Mavs offense totally hinged on the jump shooter hitting shots.  Rick Carlisle could have stayed with attack inside and forced the refs hands eventually but in fact the game got completely away from them after they gave up on the inside big attack.  

I understand his point of view.  If KP can hit some of those long 3 pointers then its a different game but then that's always the story of this offense. 
Live or die by the jumper, long jumpers, 3 pointers.  If KP is shooting poorly then Dallas is simply going to lose because he's going to be given those shots.   If he's shooting well along with Luka then the Mavs have a shot to win any game. 

Miss or Make jumpers, with this offense its that simple because let's face it this is not a team that is going to defend well enough at the rim to really beat elite teams on defense.

---

---

The end of the third was not the issue it was tbe start if 4th with Lee getting minutes , no Wright in the 4th is absurd 

Things won't change here until the cancer is gone in RC

Because Lee really screwed up in those minutes....
He played solid defense. Stole the ball and drew a clear path foul. Made both FTs. Was subbed out early and wasn´t even on the floor when the Mavs gave up a big Spurs run.
Every time I read your posts I question my sanity. Did I watch a different game?

Even if he ever made a good point, I'd miss it.  I put him on ignore a solid 4-5 years ago.  Every loss somehow circles back to Carlisle.

---

@"dmavs4life03"

Did not want to quote so much. You have watched the game. What happened when Boban was on the floor? He could not score in the post and the Mavs were killed on defense. 
What was the problem today? Mavs could not stop penetration and started to scramble on defense. They overplayed help defense and gave up open looks from the weak side. It´s not like Aldridge dominated the Mavs in the paint. He scored 24pts on terrible efficiency. That´s what the Mavs want.
Rebounding wasn´t the problem either. Spurs as a team have 5 off rebounds.
Going bigger was not the solution today. The Maxi/KP lineups and Maxi/Boban lineups were outplayed. Spurs stretched the floor and made their shots. Mavs could not defend the perimeter. The single big lineup with KP was the best today.

You complain about things that were no problem today.

I don't understand if half these people watch the games.  More WCS.  More Boban.  Used to be more Jus Jac before everyone figured out he sucked.  These guys aren't good.  There's a reason they don't play.

If you second best player shoots 3/17 or 4/15, you're probably going to lose.  It's not rocket science.

Mills and Bellineli killed us on the other end.  We don't have any good perimeter defenders.  DFS is slightly above avg.  That's it.

 

You're right, its not rocket science, so go back and do your basic math again.    

KP takes 17 shots. He makes 3.  8 of those shots are 3 pointers.  He makes 1 and many of those are well past the 3 point lines, even lower % 3 pointers. 
1 of 8 on 3 pointers.  That's your rocket science. 
They look spectacular when they go in but what does the math say your odds are? KP is shooting just under 35% on all 3's so the odds are even worse on the long 3's.  

Even if KP wasn't having a bad shooting night those chances aren't great to outscore the Spurs on 8 of those shots.  I'd rather dare the refs to ignore 5 or 6 more blatant hacks on Boban, or forget about Boban and just send the 7'3 Unicorn inside to get some high percentage shots up. 

How is it that Luka is the only player getting up consistent shots at the rim?

To me, that sort of giving up, backing down, "softness", or whatever you want to call it is what hurts the Mavs over the long term.  You cannot allow the opponent or the refs to dictate, or basically take away an important component of your game strategy.  What I would do is double down on it by continuing to get the ball to Boban down low, and force the refs to make some correct calls.  Don't give up after two missed foul calls.  It's a mental toughness issue, IMO.

[Dahlsim]

You're right, its not rocket science, so go back and do your basic math again.    

KP takes 17 shots. He makes 3.  8 of those shots are 3 pointers.  He makes 1 and many of those are well past the 3 point lines, even lower % 3 pointers. 
1 of 8 on 3 pointers.  That's your rocket science. 
They look spectacular when they go in but what does the math say your odds are? KP is shooting just under 35% on all 3's so the odds are even worse on the long 3's.  

Even if KP wasn't having a bad shooting night those chances aren't great to outscore the Spurs on 8 of those shots.  I'd rather dare the refs to ignore 5 or 6 more blatant hacks on Boban, or forget about Boban and just send the 7'3 Unicorn inside to get some high percentage shots up. 

How is it that Luka is the only player getting up consistent shots at the rim?

To me, that sort of giving up, backing down, "softness", or whatever you want to call it is what hurts the Mavs over the long term.  You cannot allow the opponent or the refs to dictate, or basically take away an important component of your game strategy. 

What I would do is double down on it by continuing to get the ball to Boban down low, and force the refs to make some correct calls.  Don't give up after two missed foul calls.  It's a mental toughness issue, IMO.

Evidently Carlisle and Boban read your post!  Coach didn't go away from Boban this time but stayed with it against a very good Denver team even though he started the game missing a few easy shots.  

He was rewarded with a big 'W' (unfortunately going into suspended season  ) and superstar numbers from Big Bobi. 

[mtrot]

You're right, its not rocket science, so go back and do your basic math again.    

KP takes 17 shots. He makes 3.  8 of those shots are 3 pointers.  He makes 1 and many of those are well past the 3 point lines, even lower % 3 pointers. 
1 of 8 on 3 pointers.  That's your rocket science. 
They look spectacular when they go in but what does the math say your odds are? KP is shooting just under 35% on all 3's so the odds are even worse on the long 3's.  

Even if KP wasn't having a bad shooting night those chances aren't great to outscore the Spurs on 8 of those shots.  I'd rather dare the refs to ignore 5 or 6 more blatant hacks on Boban, or forget about Boban and just send the 7'3 Unicorn inside to get some high percentage shots up. 

How is it that Luka is the only player getting up consistent shots at the rim?

To me, that sort of giving up, backing down, "softness", or whatever you want to call it is what hurts the Mavs over the long term.  You cannot allow the opponent or the refs to dictate, or basically take away an important component of your game strategy. 

What I would do is double down on it by continuing to get the ball to Boban down low, and force the refs to make some correct calls.  Don't give up after two missed foul calls.  It's a mental toughness issue, IMO.

Evidently Carlisle and Boban read your post!  Coach didn't go away from Boban this time but stayed with it against a very good Denver team even though he started the game missing a few easy shots.  

He was rewarded with a big 'W' (unfortunately going into suspended season  ) and superstar numbers from Big Bobi. 

Lol, then I want a small commission for getting us the win!