01-04-2021, 12:18 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2021, 12:29 AM by ThisIStheYear.)
The Mavs play like an established team with a history of winning with nothing to prove that dials it up at times but is mostly coasting. It’s funny, because they’ve yet to accomplish anything really meaningful. No 50 win seasons, no deep playoff runs, not even a victorious playoff series. There’s just no urgency at all. You’d think they’d play hungry. Even coach usually is more aggressive with lineups and approaches early in the year, but this year, other than Luka’s load management tonight, it’s kind of the same looks over and over — uncharacteristically passive coaching to go with the passive play, IMO. The effort and attention to detail, or lack thereof, shows up especially in the rebounding, where the Mavs got beat again tonight. Maybe I should take the early season nonchalance as a sign of confidence, but given the lack of skins on the wall for this group, that’s difficult. Tomorrow’s game looks like another loss, but they better get turned around soon after that. They’re going to need a big winning streak to make sure they finish in the top six. Anything lower than six is a failed regular season.