GAME 15: DAL (8-7) @ SAS (8-8) | 122-117 Win

[Kammrath]

[omahen]

Young Spurs are growing up but defense is still questionable. I am optimistic

[omahen]

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1352...wcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Fdallas-mavericks

[DrMav]

We could beat the Spurs for a decade straight and it wouldn’t be a long enough winning streak. Must win game!

[SleepingHero]

A trend I'm noticing is that the Mavs are slowly falling more and more into the negative X direction of that graph. Offense is seriously hurting. The defense is notably improved, but at what cost?

[StepBackJay]

A trend I'm noticing is that the Mavs are slowly falling more and more into the negative X direction of that graph. Offense is seriously hurting. The defense is notably improved, but at what cost?

We literally have 3 starters out if you think Maxi is a starter (which I do). All 3 are good two-way players. Let's see what this offense looks like when we have all 5 starters back.

[mtrot]

I'm kind of surprised to see the Mavs favored in SA with four of our top guys still out.  The Spurs are always at the top of their game for the Mavs, and Pop hates to lose to the Mavs. 

BTW, any thoughts on that ridiculous mullet that Pop seems to be wearing?

[SleepingHero]

We literally have 3 starters out if you think Maxi is a starter (which I do). All 3 are good two-way players. Let's see what this offense looks like when we have all 5 starters back.

Agreed, but the offense with our COVID guys sans KP also wasn't in the positive quadrant of the graph. It was early in the season and there were a lot of reasons for that.

However, you can't say the offense isn't seriously hurting, no matter who's on the court for the Mavs. They're 22nd in PPG. 20th in offensive rating. The Mavericks haven't shot over 50% in a game ONCE so far this year. Even in that 50 point rout of LAC. They're 26th in the league for 3p% yet 8th in 3PA. 

I hope it's just as simple as getting Maxi/Jrich/DFS and plugging them back in but I'm a little wary of it being that simple.

[StepBackJay]

Agreed, but the offense with our COVID guys sans KP also wasn't in the positive quadrant of the graph. It was early in the season and there were a lot of reasons for that.

However, you can't say the offense isn't seriously hurting, no matter who's on the court for the Mavs. They're 22nd in PPG. 20th in offensive rating. The Mavericks haven't shot over 50% in a game ONCE so far this year. Even in that 50 point rout of LAC. They're 26th in the league for 3p% yet 8th in 3PA. 

I hope it's just as simple as getting Maxi/Jrich/DFS and plugging them back in but I'm a little wary of it being that simple.

Can we see it for a few games at least? We haven't seen the full starting lineup which I expect to see when everyone is available:

Luka, Rich, DFS, Maxi, KP.

I believe this is your starting lineup and if so it means we have had exactly zero games with this lineup. Let's get to > 0 before we panic ab the offense.

[omahen]

Let's get to > 0 before we panic ab the offense.

Why do you think expressing concern about offense is panic?

[StepBackJay]

Why do you think expressing concern about offense is panic?

Okay so concern, fine - lets reserve some judgment til we see the full product.

[KillerLeft]

Can't believe I'm about to compare these two franchises, but I think the Mavericks made a mistake this year that parallels ONE of the many annual Cowboys mistakes we all know will never stop happening. 

The biggest thing the Cowboys did wrong this season (there are always so many to choose from) was installing a completely new defensive scheme during an off-season when they didn't have the time or ability to do so. Now, the new scheme might have been better, and so this might have been born from a good thought, but we'll never know, because there really wasn't a single game all season where it looked like the players understood what they were supposed to be doing out there. 

I think the Mavericks made a similar mistake, although I hope it's far less catastrophic. They REALLY got serious on this whole "defense first" thing. New players, new schemes, new approach to practices, new lineup philosophies, etc, etc, etc. So, maybe this was exactly the right thing to do in the bird's eye view of the team's timeline, and to their credit, it wasn't just lip service. It's clear that they really mean business with all of that. But, maybe this off-season, with its condensed schedule, wasn't the ideal time to do it? 

I mean, Carlisle has basically told us that they barely worked on offense at all during training camp. To me, the idea should've been to ADD improved defense to the GREAT offense they had last season. They've essentially just FLIPPED their great offense for a pretty good defense. As they get healthy, there will be time to practice throughout the year, and some of this should improve, but even in-season practice time is more scarce than in other seasons, so I'm honestly not sure how much better they'll get. I hope they work a lot of this out, but I don't KNOW they will. 

To me, this would've been a great year for continuity. They have more than enough of it with the roster, but they shot themselves in the foot a bit with play style, imo. Is there any question that simply continuing last season's approach would've resulted in a better record at this point? Again, I'm not saying the changes were bad, just raising the question of whether this was the right time for them. Nothing to do now but hope the team gets better as the year goes by, and honestly, it might!

[Hypermav]

I miss those early start time games.

[Reunion Mav Old]

Can't believe I'm about to compare these two franchises, but I think the Mavericks made a mistake this year that parallels ONE of the many annual Cowboys mistakes we all know will never stop happening. 

The biggest thing the Cowboys did wrong this season (there are always so many to choose from) was installing a completely new defensive scheme during an off-season when they didn't have the time or ability to do so. Now, the new scheme might have been better, and so this might have been born from a good thought, but we'll never know, because there really wasn't a single game all season where it looked like the players understood what they were supposed to be doing out there. 

I think the Mavericks made a similar mistake, although I hope it's far less catastrophic. They REALLY got serious on this whole "defense first" thing. New players, new schemes, new approach to practices, new lineup philosophies, etc, etc, etc. So, maybe this was exactly the right thing to do in the bird's eye view of the team's timeline, and to their credit, it wasn't just lip service. It's clear that they really mean business with all of that. But, maybe this off-season, with its condensed schedule, wasn't the ideal time to do it? 

I mean, Carlisle has basically told us that they barely worked on offense at all during training camp. To me, the idea should've been to ADD improved defense to the GREAT offense they had last season. They've essentially just FLIPPED their great offense for a pretty good defense. As they get healthy, there will be time to practice throughout the year, and some of this should improve, but even in-season practice time is more scarce than in other seasons, so I'm honestly not sure how much better they'll get. I hope they work a lot of this out, but I don't KNOW they will. 

To me, this would've been a great year for continuity. They have more than enough of it with the roster, but they shot themselves in the foot a bit with play style, imo. Is there any question that simply continuing last season's approach would've resulted in a better record at this point? Again, I'm not saying the changes were bad, just raising the question of whether this was the right time for them. Nothing to do now but hope the team gets better as the year goes by, and honestly, it might!

I totally agree that this emphasis on defense is hurting us and that lack of preparation time exacerbates the problem. Furthermore, given the offensive emphasis of the vast majority of basketball players as they grow up, emphasis on defense is and has always been difficult. 

Since I bought Mavs season tickets on June 7, 1981, we have always struggled on offense whenever defensive emphasis increases. It has long been a curse. The Mavs have never had a team that learned to be good defensively without it taking significant time for the offense to come back. So I totally see this happening for about the 20th time in Mavs history. 

It is a good strategy for this young developing team? Absolutely! Just ask Shawn Marion, who when we traded for him, began the slow accent to a good defensive team, one that proved capable of stopping Lebron James and Dwayne Wade.

Do I think our offense will come back fine at some point. Yes. Will it be this year? That will be very interesting. I am hopeful but more than a little worried it won't. Lack of practice; lack of player continuity; quality of play in the West; what looks like a bad beginning to the year for games missed by key players; all of these dynamics and more make becoming a good two way team more challenging. 

The counter point: We now have and are developing better two way players than we have had since 2011. That is reason for hope. We have a top 5 star and a top 30 or better star who are both seemingly committed to becoming two way players. That is an even better reason for hope.

The Spurs are always a good team to measure our BBIQ progress. Houston is a hot mess with some talented individual players (I live here now and I enjoy the disaster that is Houston professional sports right now). This will be a difficult but incredibly interesting weekend.

[Luka_Magic]

Always my favorite matchup for the Mavs given the storied rivalry between these squads and the fact that the Spurs franchise began as the Dallas Chaparrals. Hopefully Luka is a go for tonight.

[SleepingHero]

Okay so concern, fine - lets reserve some judgment til we see the full product.

Fair enough. Though I'm just trying to project given what we saw pre-KP with those guys and now we see how the Mavs operate post-KP (but not w/our regular guys).

Maybe it really is as simple as just replacing Burke/Brunson/Green with JRich/DFS/Maxi and the added presence of KP fixes everything. And I'm more than willing to wait a couple of games before judging.

[StepBackJay]

Mavs have plenty of offense when they get their full squad back. The reality of this season is that they might have to deal with a skeleton crew all year long because of Covid.

The main moves the Mavs made were:

- Rich for Curry
- JJ for Wright, Jackson
- Rookies that don't play much
- Iwundu who doesn't play much

Curry has started the year super hot but Rich for Curry is not some massive downgrade in offense. I think Rich is a better fit because he can be your lockdown perimeter defender but he can still score.

JJ for Wright and Jackson to me is an upgrade all the way around. They were inconsistent players all the way around. JJ fits into what the Mavs do better and gives you both offense and defense.

The other guys don't matter that much. So this notion that Mavs went super heavy into defense, at least from a personnel standpoint is way over-stated. The fact of the matter is Luka and KP are both talented scorers and Mavs have the ability to play 3 good two-way players around those guys: Rich, DFS and Maxi. These are all guys that add spacing on offense and actually MAKE shots when Luka gets them the ball. On defense they make this a top 10 defensive team.

The bench with THJ, Brunson, Burke and others is still a very good bench. The problem is not the Mavs offseason moves, the problem is this stupid virus that has made half our starters unavailable for multiple weeks + KP's injury to start the year.

I don't know if this is a contender yet even with a full compliment of players but I think the roster as constructed has top 4 in the West upside. I still believe this team can be a top 10 defense and offense with this roster.

[KillerLeft]

We now have and are developing better two way players than we have had since 2011. That is reason for hope. We have a top 5 star and a top 30 or better star who are both seemingly committed to becoming two way players. That is an even better reason for hope.

I don't disagree at all. I think that overall, the direction the team is headed is a good one.

[mavsluvr]

Can't believe I'm about to compare these two franchises, but I think the Mavericks made a mistake this year that parallels ONE of the many annual Cowboys mistakes we all know will never stop happening. 

The biggest thing the Cowboys did wrong this season (there are always so many to choose from) was installing a completely new defensive scheme during an off-season when they didn't have the time or ability to do so. Now, the new scheme might have been better, and so this might have been born from a good thought, but we'll never know, because there really wasn't a single game all season where it looked like the players understood what they were supposed to be doing out there. 

I think the Mavericks made a similar mistake, although I hope it's far less catastrophic. They REALLY got serious on this whole "defense first" thing. New players, new schemes, new approach to practices, new lineup philosophies, etc, etc, etc. So, maybe this was exactly the right thing to do in the bird's eye view of the team's timeline, and to their credit, it wasn't just lip service. It's clear that they really mean business with all of that. But, maybe this off-season, with its condensed schedule, wasn't the ideal time to do it? 

I mean, Carlisle has basically told us that they barely worked on offense at all during training camp. To me, the idea should've been to ADD improved defense to the GREAT offense they had last season. They've essentially just FLIPPED their great offense for a pretty good defense. As they get healthy, there will be time to practice throughout the year, and some of this should improve, but even in-season practice time is more scarce than in other seasons, so I'm honestly not sure how much better they'll get. I hope they work a lot of this out, but I don't KNOW they will. 

To me, this would've been a great year for continuity. They have more than enough of it with the roster, but they shot themselves in the foot a bit with play style, imo. Is there any question that simply continuing last season's approach would've resulted in a better record at this point? Again, I'm not saying the changes were bad, just raising the question of whether this was the right time for them. Nothing to do now but hope the team gets better as the year goes by, and honestly, it might!

Very interesting. I have had some of the same thoughts myself. 

In the case of the Mavericks, I think there is a pretty good chance that this wasn't a "mistake," in the sense of being caught unawares and making the wrong decision. I think that, with the whole COVID thing, they were aware that this would be an asterisked season, with a lot of absences and postponements likely, and no particular assurance that all 72 games would even be played. 

I suspect they had already concluded that they were not going to win it all without a much more solid defense, and decided to go ahead and move forward with their plans to fundamentally change their approach on that end, live with the consequences in this shortened weird season, and get a jump on the following season. 

I could be wrong, but I feel like there is a certain amount of method in all this madness.

[KillerLeft]

In the case of the Mavericks, I think there is a pretty good chance that this wasn't a "mistake," in the sense of being caught unawares and making the wrong decision. I think that, with the whole COVID thing, they were aware that this would be an asterisked season, with a lot of absences and postponements likely, and no particular assurance that all 72 games would even be played. 

I suspect they had already concluded that they were not going to win it all without a much more solid defense, and decided to go ahead and move forward with their plans to fundamentally change their approach on that end, live with the consequences in this shortened weird season, and get a jump on the following season. 

I could be wrong, but I feel like there is a certain amount of method in all this madness.

Very possible. 

From MY perspective, this sucks. Life sucks right now, and I wanted the Mavericks to be fun to watch, at least. The kind of basketball they're playing currently isn't entertaining, hasn't been successful and doesn't inspire much hope, even if it ultimately gets them closer in the long run (which isn't guaranteed).