Game 69: Dallas Mavericks (39-29) vs. San Antonio Spurs (15-53)

[dirkfansince1998]

Exum and Kleber just will not shoot. This is concerning.

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FINALLY!

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Kyrie hyping him up during the timeout, trying to raise his confidence. I love it.

I really liked Exum's and Kleber's decision making today. Might have overpassed it on a few occasions but overall they were almost flawless. Best players on the floor for the Mavs (with Kyrie).

[Jason Terry]

This is a good closing lineup

Luka
Kyrie
Exum
PJ
Maxi

[GATA]

Exum won the game tonight

[speedkilz88]

If Kidd had any kind of offensive game plan this game would have been over a long time ago.

[Mavs2021]

That was fugly. One guy shooting too much and others passing up too many shots. Exum really stepped up. Not afraid of the moment.

[KillerLeft]

Exum needs to shoot more. He’s been excellent all year from 3.

Hardy deserves Hardaway’s minutes. He’s just better. Credit to Kidd for dropping THJ minutes from ~30 to 17ish. Still too many. Hardy is ready.

Hardest of agrees on the first point. 

Not there with you on the second. Hardy is close, but I don't believe he's quiiiiiiite ready. Next year, for sure, as long as he gets consistent burn before the all star break.

[Chicagojk]

Love Exum. Exum and Kyrie took us home. Still not an impressive performance. But a win is a win.

[KillerLeft]

I don't have time to make the Dirkie thread tonight, so I hope someone is on it.

I'll swoop back by and vote for Exum later.

[DallasMaverick]

Love Exum.  Exum and Kyrie took us home.  Still not an impressive performance.  But a win is a win.

Sometimes, you’ve got to win ugly.

[Jason Terry]

I really liked Exum's and Kleber's decision making today. Might have overpassed it on a few occasions but overall they were almost flawless. Best players on the floor for the Mavs (with Kyrie).

Yes. They were great decision makers. We’ve had too much poor decision making and jacking up shoots. Missed defensive rotations and closeouts. Exum and Maxi are dependable in that regard and should be trusted more than others

[Chicagojk]

I haven’t watched much of the spurs but it feels like Wemby is dealing with what early Dirk dealt with. Smaller defenders give him the most trouble. When he figures that out and the spurs get better players…watch out.

[omahen]

It wasn't preatty, but we will take it. As many times before, Mavs took it easy after the big win and really played with fire. Thankfully SA is bad enough for Mavs to squeeze out a win. Excellent defense on Wemby. Mirror shooting game compared to Denver one. Stars couldn't hit a three but the rest were very accurate. Two more "easy" games before crucial games against Sacramento.

[Jason Terry]

Hardest of agrees on the first point. 

Not there with you on the second. Hardy is close, but I don't believe he's quiiiiiiite ready. Next year, for sure, as long as he gets consistent burn before the all star break.

My concern is that if we don’t do this then Rich Paul will make sure there isn’t a next year just like he did with Cam Reddish

[BigDirk41]

My concern is that if we don’t do this then Rich Paul will make sure there isn’t a next year just like he did with Cam Reddish

I kinda think I'm at the point of THJ hasn't done anything to deserve to keep his minutes since the trade so let's give Hardy his time and give him time to get ready for the playoffs. THJ has been lost Kidd's confidence as seen by his minutes reduction.

[soog]

Was really worried they were going to lose this one. Several positives from the game though:

- won with Luka putting up a stinker
- ground out another ugly clutch win
- beat a team they are supposed to beat
- people not named Luka or Kyrie went 8 of 13 from deep

A lot of this would have been unthinkable last year or even earlier this season

[ThisIStheYear]

This would have been the game to give Luka a night off.

[Mavs2021]

Was really worried they were going to lose this one. Several positives from the game though:

- won with Luka putting up a stinker
- ground out another ugly clutch win
- beat a team they are supposed to beat
- people not named Luka or Kyrie went 8 of 13 from deep

A lot of this would have been unthinkable last year or even earlier this season

Usually good 3pt percentage means we lose, so Luka/Kyrie dropped a 2-16 to make sure we are safe.

[SleepingHero]

Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports)
Mavericks have been flying in a personal chef for Kyrie Irving to be able to have his vegan meals ready for him to eat once the sun goes down as he observes Ramadan as he continues to play per @bdameris on the Mavs postgame show on @971TheFreak; Mavs taking care of Kyrie #MFFL

Noah Weber (@noahweber00)
“We were going to take him out, but he declined nicely that he wasn’t tired.” - Jason Kidd on Kyrie Irving

Also talked about Irving’s ability to play at a high level while on an empty stomach.

[meistermatze]

Porbably Luka's worst game ever and he still managed a triple double with 16 assists. The only concern is that he looked slow, he did not have the explosiveness to get to the basket. I guess he's still injured and should not be playing agfainst the freakin' Spurs. Our defense improved an we are really physical now but on the downside, our spacing is horrible.

IF Exum, PJ, DJJ and Maxi can shoot around 36 percent in the playoffs, we'll be alright. If not, opoonents are going to take away PnR-action with our centers and we have to rely on hero ball from Luka and Ky. Might work but probably not often enough.

I hope Exum stays healthy and Hardaway sees no minutes in the postseason, once Green is back.

[Chicagojk]

I thought Hardaway was ok last night. With everyone healthy, it is going to be hard for him to get more than the 17 minutes he got last night. I am sure he is not happy with his role. I wonder if there are any lockerroom issues? I am going to watch the bench moving forward to see how they react to his made buckets.

Anyway, he took a few tough shots but passed on a few. I thought he was about to take a few tough shots off the dribble where his feet were all messed, but he passed. With his shooting though, it may come in helpful in a playoff series....just a smaller dose that he is used to and was expecting.

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I think PJ continues to do a lot of the dirty, non stat counting things. He even hit two threes (and had one rim out). Still though, I would like to see him get more than 3 shots inside the three point line. Maybe even run some plays for him that gets him the ball in the lane. Might help his confidence as well to see a few plays run for him. Even if he doesn't shoot it. Just knowing the play is run for him to shoot or create may have a effect.