Mavs 113, Celtics 108

[omahen]

While I get the theory, in practice, that course of action has its own risks.

Totally agree

[KillerLeft]

It seemed to me that they started trying to run out the clock pretty early. While I get the theory, in practice, that course of action has its own risks.

For sure, it seemed way early. 

I didn’t view it as a team-wide strategy, myself. I felt like Luka and the other Mavericks on the floor were just confused and a little apprehensive about what Boston was doing, defensively. It was as if Luka wasn’t sure when the double was coming, or from where, and didn’t want to do the wrong thing. I think he tends to have a little more confidence than he should in his ability to dribble out of traps, and his teammates aren’t the best at giving him safe passing angles out of them, either.

But, if it was a strategy put in place by the coaches, I think it was a dumb one.

[mavsluvr]

For sure, it seemed way early. 

I didn’t view it as a team-wide strategy, myself. I felt like Luka and the other Mavericks on the floor were just confused and a little apprehensive about what Boston was doing, defensively. It was as if Luka wasn’t sure when the double was coming, or from where, and didn’t want to do the wrong thing. I think he tends to have a little more confidence than he should in his ability to dribble out of traps, and his teammates aren’t the best at giving him safe passing angles out of them, either.

But, if it was a strategy put in place by the coaches, I think it was a dumb one.

Good points. If this team ever gets any practice time, it seems like they could use a little training/drilling in dealing with double teams. A few of those possessions were truly cringeworthy.

[Mapka]

For sure, it seemed way early. 

I didn’t view it as a team-wide strategy, myself. I felt like Luka and the other Mavericks on the floor were just confused and a little apprehensive about what Boston was doing, defensively. It was as if Luka wasn’t sure when the double was coming, or from where, and didn’t want to do the wrong thing. I think he tends to have a little more confidence than he should in his ability to dribble out of traps, and his teammates aren’t the best at giving him safe passing angles out of them, either.

But, if it was a strategy put in place by the coaches, I think it was a dumb one.

Or a very good one, longterm.

[mavsluvr]

Yeah, good observation. There was more going on than just "Celts went small" because we have in fact punished some teams for going small with KP. I think about how KP has feasted on Rocket meat at times. Wanting Brunson on the floor was part of it. Coach may not have wanted to take any of the other wings off the floor. 

This is a shot in the dark, but is there a message about what to do against smaller players that KP has not been implementing. Is there some psychological ploy or negative reinforcement going on here? A non-verbal, "if you'll do these things we've talked about, you'll punish smaller players". Maybe not, just spit balling. 

After the fact, if Rick had to do it over again, given the problems of the 4th quarter, he might not do it the same way.

---

Anyone have patience for a coach trying stuff and learning from the experience? Seems like not, for most fans.

Thanks, fifteenth. Not sure I am completely certain of what question you are posing. 

Are you suggesting the possibility that Rick wants KP to play a certain way against smaller players, KP may not have been going along with the plan, and being pulled in the fourth was a message from Rick in that regard?

I hadn't really considered that possibility, but it's an interesting take.

[mavsluvr]

Great stuff ML.  Consistent MVP writeups! 

Thoughts that jump out to me on this one (this Melli throw-in guy btw looks like he could be a fun story but another day, give him time). 

Luka !  Despite the poor stretch with turnovers, I think we're watching this young super star in the process of ascending to another level when it was already at the franchise player and NBA Allstar level.  
He said he was going to focus on his shooting, especially his 3 point shot as an area of improvement and incredibly you can see him trying to get into that extended range, step back, Curry, Dame range with some degree of accuracy.   Just turned 22! 

Becoming a threat out there takes his offense to that continual MVP candidate level we're really seeing for the 1st time this season.  Brad Stevens and the Celtics clearly treated him with defensive respect of a guy they see as the key to the game when he's on the floor.  Stop Doncic and worry about everyone else later. 

Agree that Luka's becoming a shooting threat should cause the rest of the league to lose some sleep. 
Fortunately everyone else included a capable team with a guy named ... 

Jalen B. ! If Luka is a 1st name only needed guy, Jalen maybe a guy that needs only an initial added.  (There was that Jalen Rose guy that also pops to mind ...).   I've said the gem of draft pick from Villanova might have Chris Paul light as a ceiling.  I'll admin that does seem a bit exaggerated, after all he's not an NBA Allstar, yet, but really, how good might Brunson get if he continues on this pace?   He's a little older on the young player curve at 24 but his BBIQ makes him fun to watch his growth. 

Yes, I have been very impressed with Brunson's development, especially this season. Due to his size, I still doubt that he is a guy who can be on the floor for heavy minutes in the playoffs or against physically large teams. But even with those limitations, we saw a guy with similar size disadvantages play a key role in a championship with JJ Barea. 

KP ! The KP thing is fascinating to watch for me because it goes directly to observations I and others have made about the quirky brilliance of Rick Carlisle and the very specific mindset he applies to his basketball system.  I've pointed it out as it particularly affects the BIG men on his teams, most specifically the 5 position. 
Fitting with Carlisle ball as a 5 requires a very specific beast and the Unicorn probably sits right at the edge of acceptability because no matter what a center can do offensively Carlisle thinks 1st in terms of who does he defend? 


I made this point ad nauseum as it relates to Boban, whose career looks to be pretty much ending effectively in Dallas in the bench cheerleader role primarily.  KP who is a star player and a giant in his right just like Boban, still must be able to guard someone effectively at all times.  No matter what the score is.  
We can all see that if the Celtics were super small they would be a problem for KP or any giant sized Mav or even just a BIG Mav to guard.  

At the same time, the mismatch on the other end should mean they have major problems guards a giant Mav near the basket, right?  The losing team has to get stops more so than the team with significant lead right? 
Carlisle ball doesn't have that mode, despite the fact that he is known for his brilliant offense.  Its the defense that dictates there.    As Coach Stan Van Gundy pointed out, this is the way NBA coaches are trained, and its why a Boban can't get minutes in today's game, although he is an extreme case. 

Rick won't close the game by holding a lead with using an offensive scoring mismatch. The team has to defend well, no matter what the score says or logic even would seem to dictate in terms of winning the game. 

I agree that is not his style. I rather thought that KP's benching in the fourth would raise your blood pressure.

Thanks for the good observations, Dahl.

[mavsluvr]

In some respects, we were lucky to win this game and owe a lot of it to Luka hitting the big 3 pointers in the first half.  But a couple of things I have not seen mentioned were Hardaway (3-10 overall and 1-6 from 3) and Maxi (1-5 overall and 3-4 from 3).  As two key scorers in a number of our wins, they were cold last night.  

Not the best showing from these guys on the night. At least Hardaway can draw a defender, and thus have an impact on the game, even if he isn't hitting. I might have a quibble on the Maxi front.  I wouldn't consider him a key scorer, although he has surprised us in a few games. I think of him as a primarily defensive player, who can hit threes well enough that his defensive impact usually outweighs his limited ability to contribute on the offensive end.  

The biggest thing that I hope that Luka learns from this game is that he needs to move the ball more quickly early in the double-teams.  If he doesn't, expect more of the same, especially in the playoffs.  

Also, his teammates need to learn to step up and give him a passing angle, rather than just stand around watching as Luka struggles until the double team results in a turnover. I rather wonder if the Mavs/Luka will makes this a point of focus in the offseason and next season's training camp. They did that with Dirk, iirc. 

I also think that we should have at minimum, a brief Boban sighting each game (especially as long as WCS is unavailable), not only to give KP some key rest, but it also disrupts the defensive strategy of the other team.  It was also interesting to see Powell get zero playing time against an athletic team.

There are a lot of fans who are proponents of your Boban strategy. As a practical matter, I don't expect it to be implemented, even there is a case to be made for it, particularly on the rebounding front. Rick has tended to play him selectively against teams where he has the best chance of matching up (teams with gigantic front courts, teams with guards that don't implement the PNR very effectively). 

There is zero question that Luka is a once a generation player and the hope is that he will not play too much hero ball, especially as teams double team him.  His turnovers per game need to come down.  The good news is that the same draft added the very mature for his age, Jalen Brunson.  We would not have won the game without Jalen.

[Dahlsim]

Rick won't close the game by holding a lead with using an offensive scoring mismatch. The team has to defend well, no matter what the score says or logic even would seem to dictate in terms of winning the game. 

I agree that is not his style. I rather thought that KP's benching in the fourth would raise your blood pressure.

L   L .  I don't get my blood pressure worked up much watching the way KP is used at the 5 the way I do someone like a Bobi.   I mostly think Carlisle's use of Porzingis is very well done, with and without Luka. 
Watching a traditional skilled offensive big like Boban, standing around outside the perimeter setting giant sized but slow footed screens, yeah that might add a few points to my diastolic.   3 point shots indeed are more efficient overall but being efficient overall isn't the same thing as being consistently efficient. 
A high powered offense getting streaky many times at the worst times, that can get annoying to watch as leads evaporate quickly. 

KP on the other hand, offensively can go to work inside but isn't strong enough or quite good enough to really press his advantage to dominance inside.   Mixing in his perimeter game, while it depends on his shooting well, does take good advantage of his height by the fact that almost no one can really bother his 3 point attempts and barely even bother his mid range jumpers or set shots.  
Yeah, benching KP is a little weird but if he played, he still wouldn't have been relied to close the game out with consistent offense.  I get the fact that Carlisle wanted a team on the floor that could defend its way to the W'. 

In other words when KP plays offensively he's going to KP mix in the outside shot generously as well as work his height near the rim.  He's not going to consistently dominate inside at the rim so that a Boston can't quite close the gap in time.  Defensively you also have to give credit to Coach C as well as to Porzingis himself for a nice bounce back to form

[mavsluvr]

L   L .  I don't get my blood pressure worked up much watching the way KP is used at the 5 the way I do someone like a Bobi.   I mostly think Carlisle's use of Porzingis is very well done, with and without Luka. 
Watching a traditional skilled offensive big like Boban, standing around outside the perimeter setting giant sized but slow footed screens, yeah that might add a few points to my diastolic.   3 point shots indeed are more efficient overall but being efficient overall isn't the same thing as being consistently efficient. 
A high powered offense getting streaky many times at the worst times, that can get annoying to watch as leads evaporate quickly. 

KP on the other hand, offensively can go to work inside but isn't strong enough or quite good enough to really press his advantage to dominance inside.   Mixing in his perimeter game, while it depends on his shooting well, does take good advantage of his height by the fact that almost no one can really bother his 3 point attempts and barely even bother his mid range jumpers or set shots.  
Yeah, benching KP is a little weird but if he played, he still wouldn't have been relied to close the game out with consistent offense.  I get the fact that Carlisle wanted a team on the floor that could defend its way to the W'. 

In other words when KP plays offensively he's going to KP mix in the outside shot generously as well as work his height near the rim.  He's not going to consistently dominate inside at the rim so that a Boston can't quite close the gap in time.  Defensively you also have to give credit to Coach C as well as to Porzingis himself for a nice bounce back to form

Very good points, Dahl. 

Enjoyed the elaboration of your thoughts.

[fifteenth]

Thanks, fifteenth. Not sure I am completely certain of what question you are posing. 

Are you suggesting the possibility that Rick wants KP to play a certain way against smaller players, KP may not have been going along with the plan, and being pulled in the fourth was a message from Rick in that regard?

I hadn't really considered that possibility, but it's an interesting take.

First, all this is just a guess. I don't think of it as "not going along with the plan" and an overt benching. The process of developing KP's game so that he can routinely punish smaller players is probably multifaceted. Maybe he's doing some of the stuff, and having trouble implementing some of the stuff. RC probably really wanted Brunson in the game. So it gave him an excuse to low-key sit KP for a bit. And then you have KP in the post game saying that he wants a plan where he plays against smaller lineups so that he can punish them. 

Make sure to take all of this as a flimsy theory developed with no inside knowledge. So it's just "for fun" talk.