A Few Thoughts on Mavs 115, Suns 117

[ThisIStheYear]

Phoenix may miss the playoffs, but as we sit now, they are simply a better team than Dallas. They whipped the Mavs a little before the end of the first season too. The Mavs will have to pull at least one more rabbit out of the hat to get into contention before Luka’s contract comes up.

[Dahlsim]

I assume it has something to do with how many open 3s the other team gets with Boban on the court.
But his plus/minus was +7 in the Houston game and even in the Suns game so can't have been that bad on defense.

Letting him do 6 hard fouls on Harden when he drives would also be fine with me.
Harden gets the foul call no matter what so make him earn it.

 

That might make some sense if the Mavericks did even an average job of guarding 3's or even guarding in general when Boban is out, which is most of the time.  Problem is, they do not.  Boban comes out challenges the 3 at least with his massive wingspan.  
The Mavs defense is at least as ineffective without Marjanovic as it is with him, but they also don't generate easy baskets either when they need them to hold a lead.  That's when they most need an alternative to the small ball "I shoot better than you" offense that has been consistently failing them in the clutch.  

Boban's issue is more being slow moving to cover defensive space then it is strictly guarding the 3. 
Defensively I have always disliked Bobi's lack of aggression at the rim.  If he would simply aggressively attack and put a body on a few penetrators at the rim, I think the perception of his defense would improve .  
I would like to see coaches really jump on him about that if anything since he always has fouls and minutes to spare.  He should be at least a little of an enforcer at the rim.  

At the same time he's not nearly a total negative at the rim.  His big body does disturb some shots inside and isn't easy to push under the basket like the other lightweight Mavs front line defenders. 
Then there's the fact that he REBOUNDS and makes free throws, both of which can actually help defensively as well.

[michaeltex]

KP says he doesn't imagine the fans are very entertained by all their complaining to the refs.

Jordan in the Last Dance series talked about how the Bulls were never going to get over the hump until they stopped complaining and letting the other team or the refs get to them (like against the Pistons). I 100% agree. Luka has to get past that but it might take some significant time of emotional maturing.

I didn't know that about MJ. Interesting. 

All the superstars work the refs, but I agree that Luka can get distracted over it to the point that he's not paying enough attention to the game. I think it is probably a good thing that KP is wiling to gently call him out on it, so he's aware that he's letting down his teammates, and not just the coach, when he allows that to happen. Agree that it should improve with growing up and constructive commentary.

I agree that he should leave the refs alone. I understand his frustration. He thinks he's a star on the level of LBJ, Giannis or Hardin, I tend to agree, but the refs are going to make you pay your dues. Unfortunately, it's going to take a few bruises for him to earn their respect.

[Reunion Mav Old]

That Phoenix loss is looking a little better given they are now 3-0 and played very well against the Clippers. They have played very loose so far but we will see how loose they play if they manage to work their way into true playoff contention. That race for 8-9 is getting interesting.