Might be an unpopular post...

[fifteenth]

Rick: 11-8 and in 6th place

Mavs: 11-8 and in 6th place

[fifteenth]

Did Rick start with a bad team and catch the Mavs?

[dirkfansince1998]

Pick and roll heavy offense with terrible defense. It's a match.

Pacers 1st (123.3 would be the best of all time) in O-Rating 28th in D-Rating...
Mavs 7th in O-Rating 23th in D-Rating

In the second season with Luka the Mavs had the best offense in the league. Now RC is doing the same with Haliburton. Honestly think that Haliburton is having a better season than Luka. Already mentioned it in previous threads but what he is doing is Nash-like with a higher usage and lower turnover numbers. 27ppg 67% TS 11.8ast vs 2.4tov.
What stands out is that compared to RCs Mavs teams they are playing super fast. 1st in the league in pace. Another aspect where the Nash comparisation fits. D'Antoni and the Suns introduced 7s or less offense. Pacers are taking it to another level.

Looking back at the draft and the rumors that the Mavs tried to trade up for Haliburton we are looking at another Giannis scenario. Identified the player. But couldn't get the deal done.

[fifteenth]

Thanks for playing, df98! Good to see ya.

As a Rick supporter from back in the day I think that the Pacer's rise this season has been fun and interesting. But I'm not actually convinced that Rick has caught the Mavs regarding championship potential. My guess is that the Pacers may continue to experience the same shortcomings as Rick's Mavs.

However, I'm having my doubts about JKidd for sure. Kidd's first season earned him some points with me. I think he gets a pass for the second season. But this season he seems to do such odd things. The "no timeout" quarter where he just hung the team out to dry made me think of the odd mind games that he played in his first coaching gig. The long stretches of really bad offense are concerning. And a few games where the team looked completely disinterested are concerning. Having said that, I'll just file this concerns away until we have a good bit more information.

My conclusion: Rick hasn't passed the Mavs. But Nico and Kidd (or the next coach) have some work to do to stay ahead of him!

[dirkfansince1998]

Thanks for playing, df98! Good to see ya.

As a Rick supporter from back in the day I think that the Pacer's rise this season has been fun and interesting. But I'm not actually convinced that Rick has caught the Mavs regarding championship potential. My guess is that the Pacers may continue to experience the same shortcomings as Rick's Mavs.

However, I'm having my doubts about JKidd for sure. Kidd's first season earned him some points with me. I think he gets a pass for the second season. But this season he seems to do such odd things. The "no timeout" quarter where he just hung the team out to dry made me think of the odd mind games that he played in his first coaching gig. The long stretches of really bad offense are concerning. And a few games where the team looked completely disinterested are concerning. Having said that, I'll just file this concerns away until we have a good bit more information.

My conclusion: Rick hasn't passed the Mavs. But Nico and Kidd (or the next coach) have some work to do to stay ahead of him!

Might be Rick's biggest fan on this board but considering that the Mavs have more star power and experience I tend to agree with you. That said. RC is an all time great when it comes to X's and O's. Kidd most likely bottom five in the league. Going back to his first season in Dallas things started to work when the team went back to RC's scheme and abandonded Kidd's plan to rebuild the 2020 Lakers.
With every attempt to install his own brand of basketball things get worse. Might be a coach that players like to play for but when it comes to X's and O's he is terrible.
Do you want a roster that has talent but underperforms (Kidd) or a roster that lacks talent but overperforms (RC)?

[fifteenth]

Do you want a roster that has talent but underperforms (Kidd) or a roster that lacks talent but overperforms (RC)?

Can I take option C?

[KillerLeft]

Can I take option C?

Nick Nurse changed teams this year and the Mavs didn't even consider him, apparently. That's pretty sad, to me.

[fifteenth]

My Plan: 1. Bring back my favorite player. 2. Hire a good coach.

Can I have the GM job? :-)

[Scott41theMavs]

My Plan: 1. Bring back my favorite player. 2. Hire a good coach.

Can I have the GM job? :-)

I'd say yes except that GM isn't our problem.

[hakeemfaan]

KP wasn’t working out here. Who cares how he has changed or adapted now with the Celtics. Maybe KP has learned from the mistakes he made here.

Rick lost Luka. He lost one of the top players in the league and regardless of who was more to blame, that by itself meant it was time for a change. Maybe Rick has learned from the mistakes he made here.

If Kidd is not working out there will be another coach. Regardless of how well RC did here or continues to do elsewhere , that ship sailed away the moment he lost Luka.

[KillerLeft]

Rick lost Luka.  He lost one of the top players in the league and regardless of who was more to blame, that by itself meant it was time for a change.  Maybe Rick has learned from the mistakes he made here.

If Kidd is not working out there will be another coach.  Regardless of how well RC did here or continues to do elsewhere , that ship sailed away the moment he lost Luka.

I don't think anyone disagrees with this. I think we all know it was a change that had to be made. 

But, there was a decade-long argument leading up to that point that should still be won by those who understood Carlisle was great. I imagine you'll see entries in that debate as long as the Mavs are around. It's right up there with "the Mavs letting Nash go was dumb." It will never be over.

[Chicagojk]

Rick was/is a great coach. I was worried he would wear on Dirk when he was hired. He never did. He outperformed every year he coached here...with the exception of his last year. I thought that was his weakest year here, but there appears to be a lot of things going on behind the scenes.

Luka wasn't a huge fan though of Carlisle. Luka appears to like Kidd. Therefore it is more likely Kidd is here for the next few years.

[dirkfansince1998]

KP wasn’t working out here. Who cares how he has changed or adapted now with the Celtics.  Maybe KP has learned from the mistakes he made here.

Rick lost Luka.  He lost one of the top players in the league and regardless of who was more to blame, that by itself meant it was time for a change.  Maybe Rick has learned from the mistakes he made here.

If Kidd is not working out there will be another coach.  Regardless of how well RC did here or continues to do elsewhere , that ship sailed away the moment he lost Luka.

How many coaches lost Harden, Westbrook, Kawhi, LeBron...it's a players league and you are right that in the end they are going to outlast any given coach (except for Pop and Spoelstra) but I wonder if that is the smartest strategy.
Not that long ago I posted a video in another thread. Topic. How many coaches in the NBA are actually allowed to coach. Why is an analytics based approach applied to all areas of the game except for coaching? Why are NBA teams limiting themself to a small pool of coaches and rarely give them the freedom to "coach".
Considering that teams are trying to maximize any potential advantage it's just weird that this isn't a bigger topic.

[youzigizag]

How many coaches lost Harden, Westbrook, Kawhi, LeBron...it's a players league and you are right that in the end they are going to outlast any given coach (except for Pop and Spoelstra) but I wonder if that is the smartest strategy.
Not that long ago I posted a video in another thread. Topic. How many coaches in the NBA are actually allowed to coach. Why is an analytics based approach applied to all areas of the game except for coaching? Why are NBA teams limiting themself to a small pool of coaches and rarely give them the freedom to "coach".
Considering that teams are trying to maximize any potential advantage it's just weird that this isn't a bigger topic.

Sposedly...Riley didnt let Lebron be a "players league" player.  

Probably worked out for Miami.  And Im a Lebron Stan.

Sposedly Miami lied to Lebron about him cutting pay to acquire players and they didnt do it.  So maybe Lebron was right to leave.  He did win a Ship with LA afterwards.

[ThisIStheYear]

Rick won a title. He can coach. He’s proven. Kidd, not so much. Indiana’s offense is amazing having outperformed Dallas’s far more talented squad.

[chaparral]

I'll be rooting for Rick and the Pacers tonight.

[ItsGoTime]

I'll be rooting for Rick and the Pacers tonight.

I will be too, for Rick as well, but it’s too easy to root against the Lakers and Lebron for me as well.

[SleepingHero]

Any time the Lakers lose it's a good day.

Hope Haliburton spends his 500k on something nice.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Any time the Lakers lose it's a good day.

Hope Haliburton spends his 500k on something nice.

Well..unfortunately it will be 200k. Still a nice consolation prize. Lakers dominated them. If they play like that, they're unbeatable. Too bad they're consistently inconsistent.

[fifteenth]

Pacers are my East team, for sure. But make no mistake, I'll hate Rick and the Pacers if we ever play them in the finals.