GAME 48: DAL (29-19) @ HOU (30-18) | 121-128 loss

[mavsluvr]

Last game we had Luka which automatically gives us more of what is being asked for. Funny how he said he did put big lineups out there and others talk about those times as points where we were coming back on Hou, then he goes back to matching up with them. Hou's ridiculous three point shooting did them in cause we stopped what was working for us. 

So the bigs couldn't stop the 3 point shooting, and the smalls couldn't stop the 3 point shooting, so lets play their game mostly. Their smalls COULD stop our smalls, but that's irrelevant.

Yeah, having Luka out put us at a big disadvantage, but there unfortunately wasn't a choice in that respect. 


I understand your point on going small, and it is impossible to know whether a different plan would have been better, the same as, or worse than the one that was implemented. I will say this. The comeback period was a stretch of about 5 1/2 minutes, primarily fueled by Seth going off, and some good rebounding from Maxi and WCS. They didn't stop doing anything in particular when they started sliding in the other direction, just executed horribly. Crazy turnovers, bad shots, poor decisions. 

The offense actually wasn't a real problem, except for the turnovers. They did score 121 points. The defense was highly problematic, and maybe the bigs would have helped, although the only realistic options for additional big minutes were Maxi and Boban. I have wondered why Maxi is getting fewer minutes than usual, and that remains a mystery for now. The Rockets' three-point shooting prevented them from using a zone, and  Boban would have faced a lot of rollers in the pick and roll. Maybe that could have worked, who knows. 

I am all for making more effective use of the bigs. Jet and Cedric also mentioned it on the post-game show. I support that. But as far as whether it would have made a positive difference in the result, it's hard to say. Any time a team makes 28 threes, they're going to be hard to beat. And the Mavs made way too many mistakes. No one really wants to acknowledge the talent differential with Luka out, but it's substantial. 

I think your point about the bigs is fair, and I don't say it is wrong. I just say it's not the whole story.