PRESEASON GAME 1: MIN vs. DAL

[Mavs2021]

So early overreactions to -22 in 14 minutes: We can always trade Kyrie for Harden.

[dirkfansince1998]

OMax with the Powell special. Taking an ellbow to the face.

[ItsGoTime]

Did I just see Corliss Williamson in the Minnesota coaching staff?

[Chicagojk]

Again, preseason and I guess a long trip coming up, but sort of weird OMAx and lively get no minutes in the second half. Would like them to get minutes playing with nba players

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Did I just see Corliss Williamson in the Minnesota coaching staff?

You sure did. Big Nasty is a assistant.

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Jelly Walker making sure he gets his FGA's.

[KillerLeft]

Game showing basic problems on defense Mavs will have whole season. Luka has to switch screens, but you can't switch screens with Kyrie (and he is not quick enough fighting through them). Mavs will have huge problems defending PnR, as they had last season

Also. It is a first game and all, but considering Omax as starter before Green looks like a huge insult to Green

Yes, I was SHOCKED to hear Dameris say the team would be "more switchable" this season. Kyrie's presence means the exact opposite, obviously. That's alarming, because he is basically a parrot for things Dirk, Cuban and the coaches think.

[Nowitzki Way]

OVER REACTIONS to the 1st pre season game.

OMax looks really bad. No handles. Clumsy. Looks totally lost

Powell is still worthless

Hardy has improved and will be a problem for opposing teams

Josh Green just plays with an extra gear. His energy is electric. No way OMax should start over him

Lively is going to get a ton of fouls. But he's active under the basket. He is actually trying to get rebounds and loose balls. He'll be good for 2 or 3 oops a game, you can bet on that.

[omahen]

Yes, I was SHOCKED to hear Dameris say the team would be "more switchable" this season. Kyrie's presence means the exact opposite, obviously. That's alarming, because he is basically a parrot for things Dirk, Cuban and the coaches think.

The only way to protect Kyrie is pre-switching, to not get him in a PnR situation. The way GSW protects Steph. I don't think I saw Mavs do that once last season.

[dirkfansince1998]

Not a lot of fun to be a big on the Mavs.

Powell 4 FGA
Lively 2 FGA
Kleber 3 FGA
Holmes 1 FGA

Unwilling or unable to involve bigs on offense. Guards just looking for their own shot.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

All this OMax hype. Didn't show me anything. He looked lost out there. He got bullied inside too. He has a lot to learn apparently.

[SwisherPrice]

Need to see more Holmes...especially over Powell!

[ItsGoTime]

McDaniels impressed me!

[Knutsen]

All this OMax hype. Didn't show me anything. He looked lost out there. He got bullied inside too. He has a lot to learn apparently.

Looked like he‘s on skates… Had the same impression in summer league, he has a weird kind of imbalance to him, I‘m always fearing he‘ll break or tear something.

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Need to see more Holmes...especially over Powell!

That’s the one point I don’t understand. Why is Powell our first sub? Don’t we know already what he can and can‘t do? Holmes was looking good, very active on D and aggressive in blocking out his man. Haven’t seen that in a long time from a Mav.

[Chicagojk]

My grand vision of what I hope Dallas grows into is having Luka, Kyrie and Jaden just put a ton of pressure on defenses. Two of those should be in the game at all times. Then surround the rest of floor with defense and shooting. Green and Williams are two of these. Hopefully Lively and Omax are two more. That leaves two spots left to fill.

I don't think Hardy steps into the role I envision right away, so it will take some patience. Lively and Omax will also take time to develop. This team needs both to find roles they can be productive in early though. Those last two spots may take awhile to fill, but they need to find short term fits in the meantime.

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McDaniels impressed me!

Yeah, he is going to get a big contract.  Probably over 20 million a year if he can build on last season.

[Chicagojk]

Any thoughts on the two way candidates? I had to turn off in the second half. Jelly is not shy with getting his shots up and has been productive. Just not sure you add another small guard on a two way. Greg Brown is probably who I am most interested in seeing. Probably not going to put it together as a productive NBA player but he is at least intriguing to gamble on.

[dirkfansince1998]

Any thoughts on the two way candidates?  I had to turn off in the second half.    Jelly is not shy with getting his shots up and has been productive.  Just not sure you add another small guard on a two way.  Greg Brown is probably who I am most interested in seeing.  Probably not going to put it together as a productive NBA player but he is at least intriguing to gamble on.

Based on todays game and summer league. I am looking elsewhere and see if a more promising prospect gets cut by another team.

[ThisIStheYear]

Lively played well. OMax was a whirling dervish of nervous, clumsy, athletic energy. He also was just never in the right place. It’s usually pretty easy to tell if someone has something. Lively does I think. OMax though is more difficult. He has the energy, hustle and athleticism. I think he’ll probably just need some GLeague time to get settled and play with purpose.

Otherwise, kind of the same Mavs. Luka puts on a spectacular show that contributes little to winning because every other player adds nothing on either side of the floor (and that’s as much on Luka as the rest of the guys). The paint defense was a little better because of Lively, but the rebounding was still awful and the D seems to have added the consistent wide open three to its repertoire. But, it’s just preseason and nobody died or even got hurt. Lively looks like he can stay on the floor, and the team learned a bit about the other guys who might be fit for the rotation (e.g,, Hardy needs to get regular minutes). I’ll take that as a success.

[surfpuckmd]

It was a disappointing preseason opener.  Neither rookie looks like they should be in the rotation at this point.  Lively showed some potential but really struggled against Gobert.  Nothing nice can be said about Omax's performance.  

A few positive thoughts:

The Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy and Josh Green grouping was really successful and really fun to watch.  All three are quick, can handle the ball and shoot the 3.  Exum and Green both provide good defense.  I would really like to see that grouping with Derrick Jones Jr and a center who can shoot-  either Kleber or Grant Williams as a small-ball 5.  

Speaking of Josh Green, he clearly needs to be the starting small forward.  We need at least two plus-defenders in the starting lineup.  I believe he and Grant Williams can do that for us.  

Jaden Hardy has a better chance of being 6th man of the year than Tim Hardaway Jr.  Hardy is so wildly dynamic and fearless.  Plenty of star potential there.  

Richaun Holmes looked better than expected.  Naz Reid is a backup beast but Holmes had some nice stops against him.  If Kleber can't recover, I think Holmes might serve as a decent platoon center until Lively is ready.   

My greatest concern is our coaching.  Kyrie and Luka seem like they've never played together.  The Timberwolves dominated our starters while missing their best player.  It looked like we hadn't practiced.  Kidd doesn't seem to even understand who his better players are.  I don't see that any other NBA coach has that same deficiency.  I think a team with Kyrie and Luka should win at least 45 games.  If Kidd can't get to that number, I hope we'll have a new coach next summer.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

It was a disappointing preseason opener.  Neither rookie looks like they should be in the rotation at this point.  Lively showed some potential but really struggled against Gobert.  Nothing nice can be said about Omax's performance.  

A few positive thoughts:

The Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy and Josh Green grouping was really successful and really fun to watch.  All three are quick, can handle the ball and shoot the 3.  Exum and Green both provide good defense.  I would really like to see that grouping with Derrick Jones Jr and a center who can shoot-  either Kleber or Grant Williams as a small-ball 5.  

Speaking of Josh Green, he clearly needs to be the starting small forward.  We need at least two plus-defenders in the starting lineup.  I believe he and Grant Williams can do that for us.  

Jaden Hardy has a better chance of being 6th man of the year than Tim Hardaway Jr.  Hardy is so wildly dynamic and fearless.  Plenty of star potential there.  

Richaun Holmes looked better than expected.  Naz Reid is a backup beast but Holmes had some nice stops against him.  If Kleber can't recover, I think Holmes might serve as a decent platoon center until Lively is ready.   

My greatest concern is our coaching.  Kyrie and Luka seem like they've never played together.  The Timberwolves dominated our starters while missing their best player.  It looked like we hadn't practiced.  Kidd doesn't seem to even understand who his better players are.  I don't see that any other NBA coach has that same deficiency.  I think a team with Kyrie and Luka should win at least 45 games.  If Kidd can't get to that number, I hope we'll have a new coach next summer.

45 wins may be a stretch. The West is a bloodbath, and there are some talented teams.  I don't care what other's say about some teams being old and washed. Age is experience and if some teams can stay healthy, this won't be any cake walk.

[surfpuckmd]

45 wins may be a stretch. The West is a bloodbath, and there are some talented teams.  I don't care what other's say about some teams being old and washed. Age is experience and if some teams can stay healthy, this won't be any cake walk.

I think a roster with an MVP candidate and a 2nd-all NBA type player should win 45 games.  I understand there are plenty of flaws on the roster but our overall depth looks much better this season than it did last year.  Kidd appears to have had some input into roster-building this year as well so if it doesn't work, he can blame himself.  If I were Mark Cuban, I would set an expectation for Kidd that we need to win at least 45 games, make the playoffs and at least be competitive in the first round.  Otherwise, it's time to move on to a coach with a winning pedigree.