GAME 18: DAL (8-10) @ UTA (14-4) | 104-116 loss

[robillionaire]

I think it's time to consider tanking. We don't have the pick but let's just be cool and help the Knicks out

[KillerLeft]

Nobody wants to hear this, I’m sure, but I think about 60% of this is conditioning.

Doncic is still not at his physical peak form, and he is probably the most well conditioned of all the five starters tonight.

I thought they played really hard for about the first seven minutes of the game.

[cow]

I would prefer Andre Drummond this very moment over KP and at least with Drummond I know I can count on double digit rebounds and a few blocks and assists and some nice screens.

Can't get any worse and the rest of the league would love you for keeping him off the nets but I'm not sure how to make the salaries work.

[Mavs2019]

I think it's time to consider tanking. We don't have the pick but let's just be cool and help the Knicks out

2023 Mavs first back + Randle for Powell and Mavs promise to finish with a bottom three record. 

[Kammrath]

I'd love to see stats on how many of our possessions have three or more different players touch the ball or passes per possession.

Before this game the Mavs were 25th in the NBA with 274.1 passes per game (76ers lead the league with 314.1 per game) and 26th in the NBA with 393.9 touches per game (76ers lead the league with 439.1 touches per game).

[Hypermav]

Sucks to lose but Utah is really good.  Put me in the Mavs will be fine with time camp.

[KillerLeft]

I’m not sure it’s fair, but this is the type of season that gets coaches fired.

They need to figure some stuff out over the next couple of weeks, or this is going to get UGLY.

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They aren’t just losing, they are playing joyless basketball and it doesn’t seem like they honestly care that they are losing. That’s just my read, I could be wrong.

[cow]

Before this game the Mavs were 25th in the NBA with 274.1 passes per game (76ers lead the league with 314.1 per game) and 26th in the NBA with 393.9 touches per game (76ers lead the league with 439.1 touches per game).

Makes my gut feeling a bit stronger.

KP:  There is no ball movement in our offense, I'm going to let it fly every touch.
Luka:  No one else can create open looks, I have to do everything.
Everyone else:  Can we get some shots up too, please sir?
WCS:  What day is it?

[Kammrath]

I’m not sure it’s fair, but this is the type of season that gets coaches fired.

Absolutely this. And it may almost be ZERO actual blame on the coach, but when team dynamics get really screwed up you have to reset SOMETHING and sometimes the easiest thing is the coach. 

I am still wanting to see where they are come the midway mark, 36 games. We are half way to half way, 18 games. Anything near or above 0.500 and the Mavs will likely be fine. But if they continue the 3-6 pace they are on with KP it will be UGLY.

[omahen]

Mavs have become so easy to defend for opposing coaches. 
1. Put a random wing on KP. He can't get any advantage due to his height, his go to move is a low percentage fadeway. 
2. Put your paint protector on the Mavs wing and clogg the lane. They can't score anyway. DFS was 1-6 and Johnson was 0-3, all wide open threes. That is imho the biggest problem Mavs have. It is killing their energy. 

PnR defense was absolutely attrocious. Criminaly bad. KP drop coverage didn't do any help as the guards/wings were unable to get around Gobert screen and it was 2 against 1 all the time. He should either aggresively help at screen or switch.

[cow]

Absolutely this. And it may almost be ZERO actual blame on the coach, but when team dynamics get really screwed up you have to reset SOMETHING and sometimes the easiest thing is the coach. 

I am still wanting to see where they are come the midway mark, 36 games. We are half way to half way, 18 games. Anything near or above 0.500 and the Mavs will likely be fine. But if they continue the 3-6 pace they are on with KP it will be UGLY.

The team could certainly use a veteran who is a night-in contributor.

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PnR defense was absolutely attrocious. Criminaly bad. KP drop coverage didn't do any help as the guards/wings were unable to get around Gobert screen and it was 2 against 1 all the time. He should either aggresively help at screen or switch.

One of my bigger takeaways from the game.  They murdered us with PNR, in transition and with ball movement on 2nd chance attempts.  I'm struggling to think what the Mavs do well on either end of the floor right now.

[KillerLeft]

PnR defense was absolutely attrocious. Criminaly bad. KP drop coverage didn't do any help as the guards/wings were unable to get around Gobert screen and it was 2 against 1 all the time. He should either aggresively help at screen or switch.

OMG OMG OMG THIS

I’m sure the extent to which Porzingis was absolutely putrid defensively tonight has been well established in this thread on earlier pages, so I won’t comment on that. Actually, yes I will, because I can’t help it: KP was absolutely putrid on defense tonight.

Here’s what I want to know: there was one possession where Johnson and a wing switched a high pick and roll above the break and the result was a very well defended sequence ending with a contested shot. Every other big who played tonight was in drop coverage, even freaking Dwight Powell. If that dude can’t switch the pick and roll, why play him at center? That should be the upside of playing him there.  Same for WCS, honestly, but seeing Powell in DEEP drop coverage made me snap.

I hate it sooooo much.

[omahen]

Everyone else:  Can we get some shots up too, please sir?

Non Luka/KP guys had 49 shots. They made 21. Luka and KP, as bad as they were tonight, took 42 shots and also made 21. So not really that the rest of the crew can point any fingers.

[dirkfansince1998]

Before this game the Mavs were 25th in the NBA with 274.1 passes per game (76ers lead the league with 314.1 per game) and 26th in the NBA with 393.9 touches per game (76ers lead the league with 439.1 touches per game).

Low pace combined with a helio centric offense. Last season the Mavs ranked 15th 289.6 passes per game.
RCs offensive scheme is complex and guards more often than not need some time to figure out their role. A flow offense (even with a dominant ballhandler) requires good decision making from all five players on the floor. Right now that´s not the case. Feels like most of the guys don´t know what they are supposed to do. Especially when it comes to rotations on offense.
Example: Luka drives to the rim. DFS and Richardson rotate to the same spot and the Jazz only need one defender to prevent the kick out pass.
Other example: James Johnson. I don´t know why he leaves the corner when Luka is driving to the rim. He drags his defender into the paint and always picks the worst possible angle. Preventing Luka from making a kick out pass to the top of the key.

I will try to find a video that showcases the problems.

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Non Luka/KP guys had 49 shots. They made 21. Luka and KP, as bad as they were tonight, took 42 shots and also made 21. So not really that the rest of the crew can point any fingers.

Puttting up numbers in garbage time. Congrats. Might as well trade Luka for RW and KP for Drummond.

[Fuerza1]

REMINDER: 

RICK CARLISLE HAS A BELOW .500 RECORD SINCE 2011-12 SEASON!!!

BELOW .500 RECORD!!!

[cow]

Non Luka/KP guys had 49 shots. They made 21. Luka and KP, as bad as they were tonight, took 42 shots and also made 21. So not really that the rest of the crew can point any fingers.

It was mainly a setup for my WCS joke but I do think it's got to be frustrating to play in the Mavs offense right now with how ball dominate Luka is, especially with some of his shot selection and then your second star is jacking up every touch like he's still in warm-ups.

[Mavs2019]

Something is seriously wrong with the whole franchise. The MBT needs to take a long and hard look in the mirror.

The Thunder are 8-9. Tonight they beat the Suns and these players played the most minutes

Horford
23rd pick from 2019
undrafted from 2019
34th pick from 2020
11th pick from 2018 
17th pick from 2020
undrafted from 2019
45th pick from 2018

Three picks in the top 36 and none of ours are good enough to get on the floor consistently? Well then it´s not the rookies that are the problem. It´s the scouting/staff selecting them and the coaching/staff developing them.

I´m sorry if 23 year old Tyler Bey is not ready to match the nothingness that is Wes Iwundu, then it´s another failed pick.

[KillerLeft]

I know why Johnson does that. It is because he knows that he’s about to get an open shot that he does not want to shoot from the corner.

Depending on how you look at it, he is either not the right player for the team or the team is not incorporating his skill set correctly.

But, right now he has to play with WCS quite a bit, so he needs to get it through his head that he’s got a jack up corner threes.

[RDB]

It’s not the coach, it’s not the conditioning, it’s not the calvary, it’s not any of the other excuses.  We will get better but until everyone removes their rose colored glasses, this team will break their heart.  We have miss matched, one dimensional pieces that got hot in the bubble with multiple career years and suddenly everyone thought we were a championship team.  Utah has bench players that would start on our team.  Let’s shore up our weaknesses and prepare for good years ahead.

[KillerLeft]

It’s not the coach, it’s not the conditioning, it’s not the calvary, it’s not any of the other excuses.  We will get better but until everyone removes their rose colored glasses, this team will break their heart.  We have miss matched, one dimensional pieces that got hot in the bubble with multiple career years and suddenly everyone thought we were a championship team.  Utah has bench players that would start on our team.  Let’s shore up our weaknesses and prepare for good years ahead.

Whoa, whoa. 

I have consistently said that they are nowhere close to a championship team, including during the playoffs last year. And before. And all off-season.

And I don’t agree that all of these role players are this bad. I don’t agree that they just “got hot” last year. 

I actually think the things you just said were not the problems are all very plausible contributors. But, since you brought up rose colored glasses, I think that comment does apply to Luka and KP. they are both talented, and the team is lucky to have both of them, but I think we are seeing right now that they are not ready to lead a team to a championship. There is something broken right now, and it has to involve them, more than a little. Nothing we can do but hope it gets fixed.