GAME 16: HOU (6-9) @ DAL (8-8) | 108-133 loss

[Hypermav]

appreciate Brunson as he just had it from his first appearance on an NBA court.

[KillerLeft]

I thought Bey looked great. 

He’s not big enough to play 5, but he sure has the instincts for it.

This might be (and definitely is) recency bias, but my takeaway is that he could be getting some burn at the 4 while we wait for the bigs to stop coughing up blood or whatever.

[Kammrath]

Getting embarassed by the corps of Cousins, post achilles injury Wall and a bunch of g-league guys/rookies.

Absolutely THIS. Zero excuse to lose this game, especially in this fashion. Shoot, Vegas had the Mavs as a 7.0 pt favorite.

The Mavs have some serious soul searching to do IMO. Don't get me wrong, 8-8 is no reason to panic, but their poor and inconsistent effort and on-court chemistry is concerning. Laying way too many total duds this year when the other teams are facing the same difficult circumstances.

[cow]

I thought Bey looked great. 

He’s not big enough to play 5, but he sure has the instincts for it.

This might be (and definitely is) recency bias, but my takeaway is that he could be getting some burn at the 4 while we wait for the bigs to stop coughing up blood or whatever.

It will not happen but I'd love to see him rim running for Luka.

[pompelmo]

Terry is a project...he needs 2 years in the G-League if he wants to have an NBA career because he has to learn how to be a PG. Sitting on the bench this year is not going to help his development.

Sorry but it is hard to see the project either. If he had a lightnening quick jumper with great hit rate, but no feel for the game, handles, or floor vision, that might be a project trying to build on his shooting.

Now why would you try to build a 6'2'' slim guy with no exceptional speed, handles, athleticism, bbiq, anything? You might just as well try building Tyler Bey into a point guard.

[KillerLeft]

Oh, and Green does some good things out there, so I definitely don’t want to be a party pooper about that. But, if I’m being completely honest, his inability to convert even simple, lightly contested layups really harshes my mellow.

I have no idea why Terry won’t shoot. It’s EXTREMELY troubling, because he seems scared. I don’t know how great a shooter can be if they are scared to shoot when they first get into the league.

[Scott41theMavs]

Getting embarassed by the corps of Cousins, post achilles injury Wall and a bunch of g-league guys/rookies.

Absolutely THIS. Zero excuse to lose this game, especially in this fashion. Shoot, Vegas had the Mavs as a 7.0 pt favorite.

The Mavs have some serious soul searching to do IMO. Don't get me wrong, 8-8 is no reason to panic, but their poor and inconsistent effort and on-court chemistry is concerning. Laying way too many total duds this year when the other teams are facing the same difficult circumstances.

What's your diagnosis?

[Branduil]

Absolutely THIS. Zero excuse to lose this game, especially in this fashion. Shoot, Vegas had the Mavs as a 7.0 pt favorite.

The Mavs have some serious soul searching to do IMO. Don't get me wrong, 8-8 is no reason to panic, but their poor and inconsistent effort and on-court chemistry is concerning. Laying way too many total duds this year when the other teams are facing the same difficult circumstances.

It's the 5th game in 9 days, they're missing 4 starters, and their ideal starting lineup has literally never played together. I'd be surprised if they didn't have chemistry and effort problems.

[cow]

Oh, and Green does some good things out there, so I definitely don’t want to be a party pooper about that. But, if I’m being completely honest, his inability to convert even simple, lightly contested layups really harshes my mellow.

I have no idea why Terry won’t shoot. It’s EXTREMELY troubling, because he seems scared. I don’t know how great a shooter can be if they are scared to shoot when they first get into the league.

Green is unimpressive on the offensive end with the exception of some hustle rebounding.  I think he'll be okay as long as he develops a consistent corner three but he looks more like a guy you were happy to draft in the second round.

[KillerLeft]

It's the 5th game in 9 days, they're missing 4 starters, and their ideal starting lineup has literally never played together. I'd be surprised if they didn't have chemistry and effort problems.

I can see both sides of this one.

Everything you are saying is true, but it’s not like they set the world on fire right out of the gate this season. It’s just such a shame that this covert thing had to happen just as they were starting to play well. It seems like ancient history now, but the last two or three games before the Covid fiasco were really encouraging.

[cow]

I can see both sides of this one.

Everything you are saying is true, but it’s not like they set the world on fire right out of the gate this season. It’s just such a shame that this covert thing had to happen just as they were starting to play well. It seems like ancient history now, but the last two or three games before the Covid fiasco were really encouraging.

It's certainly an extreme test of our depth which just isn't great that far down the bench.  With Timmie a no-show, we didn't really have a shot at this game.

[Branduil]

I can see both sides of this one.

Everything you are saying is true, but it’s not like they set the world on fire right out of the gate this season. It’s just such a shame that this covert thing had to happen just as they were starting to play well. It seems like ancient history now, but the last two or three games before the Covid fiasco were really encouraging.

Yeah but they started the season with fat Luka and no KP. Mavs have played literally zero games this season with their ideal rotation healthy. They almost certainly have problems but it'll be hard to even diagnose them properly if we can't see the full team play.

[Hypermav]

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/statu...43104?s=20

The 1st and 4th play, smh WCS.  Regardless of the loss, that can't happen.

[KillerLeft]

They almost certainly have problems but it'll be hard to even diagnose them properly if we can't see the full team play.

Agreed.

[Kammrath]

What's your diagnosis?

My partial diagnosis (riffing off of RC's post game comments last night) is that RC is actually giving Luka a ton of freedom to grow into the leader and on-court coach for this team. I think he wants Luka to be what Kidd was for the championship team. I think Luka is not ready for that yet, or maybe it is better to say Luka is struggling in taking on that burden so far. I don't think Luka is the leader he needs to be yet for this team, and my read is that for better or worse RC is choosing to step aside and give him the room to work that out for himself (I think JJB moving on was purposeful by the Mavs to create a leadership vacuum that Luka HAD to fill). 

In this game I would like to have seen Luka step up his own energy and get in the faces of his guys when the Rockets players came out much hungrier than them. Luka spends too much time talking to the refs when he should be encouraging and getting his own guys to step up with more energy. Luka cannot control the refs, but he can control his response to them, his energy on the court, and his encouragement and leadership of his team. That needs to be his on-court focus, ignore those blind fools in stripes. 

Long story, short, I think the Mavs have a team leadership issue. RC is creating the space and environment for Luka to be that and Luka is still young and immature and not performing well at his leadership role yet. I am confident he will grow and get there in the coming years, but I think his failure to be the leader he needs to be is the overall issue with this team (greater than the talent holes IMO) from my humble and limited perspective.

[pompelmo]

I can see both sides of this one.

Everything you are saying is true, but it’s not like they set the world on fire right out of the gate this season. It’s just such a shame that this covert thing had to happen just as they were starting to play well. It seems like ancient history now, but the last two or three games before the Covid fiasco were really encouraging.

 
Some of it is Timmy Ramdomness. People like analysis over average numbers but 0/10 one night and 10/10 on the other doesn't really have the effect of a 50% three point shooter. 

It also requires strong determination and higher effort to try to come back from 20. Add on the fact that this was the 5th game in 7 nights and the guys were just back from a road trip, the poor performance is understandable. It is hard to keep focused on for every game in a 72 game season where you play every other night, let alone among a pandemic and no fans in arenas.

[KillerLeft]

My partial diagnosis (riffing off of RC's post game comments last night) is that RC is actually giving Luka a ton of freedom to grow into the leader and on-court coach for this team. I think he wants Luka to be what Kidd was for the championship team. I think Luka is not ready for that yet, or maybe it is better to say Luka is struggling in taking on that burden so far. I don't think Luka is the leader he needs to be yet for this team, and my read is that for better or worse RC is choosing to step aside and give him the room to work that out for himself (I think JJB moving on was purposeful by the Mavs to create a leadership vacuum that Luka HAD to fill). 

In this game I would like to have seen Luka step up his own energy and get in the faces of his guys when the Rockets players came out much hungrier than them. Luka spends too much time talking to the refs when he should be encouraging and getting his own guys to step up with more energy. Luka cannot control the refs, but he can control his response to them, his energy on the court, and his encouragement and leadership of his team. That needs to be his on-court focus, ignore those blind fools in stripes. 

Long story, short, I think the Mavs have a team leadership issue. RC is creating the space and environment for Luka to be that and Luka is still young and immature and not performing well at his leadership role yet. I am confident he will grow and get there in the coming years, but I think his failure to be the leader he needs to be is the overall issue with this team (greater than the talent holes IMO) from my humble and limited perspective.

What an interesting theory. It makes sense, for sure, and would help to connect some of the dots.

[cow]

@"Kammrath", I've actually have noticed Luka being a lot more interactive with his teammates as the season as progressed, more so with encouragement (high-fives, etc.). Maybe he needs to break out the stick as well as the carrot. I only say that as it was something I noted he wasn't doing a lot of at the beginning of the season.

[KillerLeft]

Some of it is Timmy Ramdomness. People like analysis over average numbers but 0/10 one and 10/10 on the other doesn't really have the effect of a 50% three point shooter. 

Got a feeling there’s no changing anyone’s mind on this 3rd rail issue, but when I see those stat lines, I don’t see randomness. I see one version of Hardaway who’s playing to his strengths within a working offense that’s symbiotic to his skill set and another version of him where nobody on the court can create anything for anyone else (for a variety of reasons) so he winds up trying to make offense where none exists. 

Is there a simple element of “make or miss” involved with BOTH versions? Yes. But, I think his success last year was an important cog in a well-oiled machine, and showed elements of both chicken and egg, if that makes sense.

[Branduil]

 
Some of it is Timmy Ramdomness. People like analysis over average numbers but 0/10 one night and 10/10 on the other doesn't really have the effect of a 50% three point shooter. 

It also requires strong determination and higher effort to try to come back from 20. Add on the fact that this was the 5th game on the 7th night and the guys were just back from a road trip, the poor performance is understandable. It is hard to keep focused on for every game in a 72 game season where you play every other night, let alone among a pandemic and no fans in arenas.

Yeah a big problem is you can't count on THJ, Brunson, or Burke to give you 20 every night. JRich, DFS, and Maxi might not score 20 on every night either but you can at least count on them to always give effort on D and that's why they're normally starters.