GAME 43: LAC (31-13) @ DAL (27-16) | 107-110 loss

[fifteenth]

Giving a green light to a 7’3” guy from beyond the arc after a long layoff, when he was not shooting great from3 even before that, is not squeezing max from this team. C’mon. That is poor and lazy coaching. Put him in some sets where he can get shots closer to the rim.

He's not just a 7'3" guy. He's a shooter. The 3 ball is part of his game. He should play his game and shoot the rust off if need be.

[hakeemfan]

Put him in some sets where he can get shots closer to the rim.

Like they didn't. He had nine 2 point shots and scored just 3. They tried post up (horrible again), he tried driving a couple of times (only successful once). Dude is just off, still shaking that rust off. Shooting open threes is his most efficient offense at the moment, if you ask me.

He has been shooting 3s pretty average even before his injury. There is no reason to take that many 3s today.  If he is missing 2s out of high post sets, it is ok.I feel there is something to build there  There is no reason for Luka either to be taking so many 3s.  We are acting like these guys are 40% career 3 pt shooters. 

I understand this team has decided to live and die by the 3. I don’t think it is smart or builds up good habits in the long run. I made a thread on this before the season started hoping they would not do that this year because I saw a lot of this last year too.  Unfortunately they seem to have decided that’s the way to go.

[mtrot]

You are correct, but those other guys are also correct that the Mavs need to develop a game plan of making easy inside-the-arc shots in the clutch.

Certainly, they have many things to improve. And I am sure they know it perfectly well and they are working on it. But if you ask me, they are squeezing more or less max from this team.

Giving a green light to a 7’3” guy from beyond the arc after a long layoff, when he was not shooting great from3 even before that, is not squeezing max from this team. C’mon. That is poor and lazy coaching. Put him in some sets where he can get shots closer to the rim.

KP should be living at the FT line, but Rick doesn't have the vision for that.  Get the ball to him near the rim.

[hakeemfan]

Giving a green light to a 7’3” guy from beyond the arc after a long layoff, when he was not shooting great from3 even before that, is not squeezing max from this team. C’mon. That is poor and lazy coaching. Put him in some sets where he can get shots closer to the rim.

He's not just a 7'3" guy. He's a shooter. The 3 ball is part of his game. He should play his game and shoot the rust off if need be.

You anointed Luka as a 3 pt shooter too just going through a bad streak. Neither Luka nor KP(other than 1 year) has any great 3 pt shooting percentages. Luka is downright poor. 

You can be a shooter and shoot 2 pt shots too. That’s all Inam saying. I did not say he should not shoot.

[TurkishMFFL]

DFS is not great.  But that is not the biggest problem. The problem is 3 pt shooting by  Luka. I said before. The good games he has is fool’s gold. He should focus on better shots. The problem is poor defense overall.  KP comes back after a long layoff and he is jacking up 3s like he has been on a hot streak. Just because defenses give you something does not mean it is a good shot.

Unfortunately RC seems to be fully on board with volume shooting 3s. This was a terrific game we should have won if we stayed away from jacking up so many 3s.

Yeah HF, I definitely agree. As much as we have a team to be proud of and having success much more than we have anticipated, there are some things that haven't changed over the course of the season and tbh there isn't any sign of change at all.

First of all, it is fair to label the team as "learning". That's fair and no shame in that. However, the team is not learning. Whatever they did a month ago is still what we see on the court. The offensive scheme is atrocious. Jacking up threes after threes is not a creative way to play this game. That is why when we play against a top or high defensive minded team, we go flat. Threes don't fall and the players wander around the court cluelessly as if there were no other option than driving and kicking the ball out.

Secondly, playing bad in the clutch is of course mainly related to the things I mentioned above, that is the lack of creativeness on offense and chuking threes. What's more, the team lacks size and hustle on defense. The opponents make some tweaks and let us chuck three after three but since we do not have any defensive presence, they score at will and run away with the win.

That has been a motto for our opponents. What has the team "learned" to overcome this issue? What has Carlisle contributed to the team in terms of whatever he kept on telling us on after game presses? He took the blame on some meltdowns and breakings in the clutch, what has changed? Nothing.

If nothing changes, you cannot talk about a "learning process". The same crap as the Dallas Cowboys did for the last few years.

[hakeemfan]

Fif. Sorry about saying you anointed Luka as a 3 pt shooter. That was uncalled for and was just my frustration with this team’s penchant for jacking up 3s game after game.

[Jym]

I still look back at wonder at the people who thought KP would be the leading scorer even if we got Kemba. 
Nah that would have slotted him into the #3 spot where he needs to be while focusing on defense.

[fifteenth]

You anointed Luka as a 3 pt shooter too just going through a bad streak. Neither Luka nor KP(other than 1 year) has any great 3 pt shooting percentages. Luka is downright poor. 

You can be a shooter and shoot 2 pt shots too. That’s all Inam saying. I did not say he should not shoot.

I haven't annointed anyone. I said Luka was in a bad steak when he had a couple of 1 for 5 or 1 for 6 games from 3.

Luka and KP are both good shooters, not because I've annointed them. They just are. I think their shooting percentages are low because KP is coming back from over a year off of playing and Luka is carrying a huge load for a 20 year old. I expect both of them to shoot better, from KP returning to form, Luka growing as a player and athlete, and both learning how to play together.

I respect your basketball chops immensely. I consider you more knowledgeable and more of a pure basketball guy than myself. But I do not share your distaste for the 3 pt shot, especially when it's used in the flow of beautiful ball movement, which I think the Mavs are working towards.

And I don't think its fair to characterize the Mavs as just living and dying by the 3. They attack the basket with an array of layups, lobs and floaters. Ideally they are building a symbiotic relationship between their 3 ball and attacking the rim. I believe there is still a place for the mid range shot in basketball, but I'm fine with Luka using his floater in lieu of that. He's in his second year so who knows what else he'll add.

This is all opinion, and my position is not that Rick and Luka and KP are doing it wrong, but that they need time to continue their growth trajectory.

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Fif. Sorry about saying you anointed Luka as a 3 pt shooter. That was uncalled for and was just my frustration with this team’s penchant for jacking up 3s game after game.

No need for an apology pal. We both want the same thing, even if we currently see their plight a little differently. No big deal. I always respect what you have to say whether it's what I think or not.

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but Rick doesn't have the vision for that. 

Give me Rick's vision and a couple of unicorns and we'll circle back to this conversation next year about this time.

[omahen]

This is all opinion, and my position is not that Rick and Luka and KP are doing it wrong, but that they need time to continue their growth trajectory.

77 times this! People forget how historically good Luka is. And how he improved every single professional season since he was 14. Trust him, he will improve. He has done nothing so far in his carreer that would make me doubt him or his proffessional conduct.

[hakeemfan]

Fif. Beautiful basketball movement that results in a 3 in the flow of the offense happens with sets that start closer to the basket, and a lot of ball movement. Dribble and kick or dribble/dribble and step back and shoot are not that.

I don’t hate the 3 pt shot at all. My problem is that we now think it is ok if Luka averages 5+ 3s a game. He has not proved that he is good enough to be taking that many 3s. Neither has KP. If Seth wants to do it I am fine. He is a legit 3 pt shooter.

I can accept that the offense overall is not bad but that in the clutch there is too much standing around and watching Luka, and so in close losses it looks worse than it is . You might be correct that will rectify with experience. But regardless of that, I am not ok with Luka shooting so many 3s every game, unless most are of the catch and shoot variety. I am not ok with KP jacking up a lot of 3s either.

[ThisIStheYear]

Luka was amazing tonight. The rest of the team, not so much, particularly Zinger who Lets’s fave it he’s Just a bad contract and a bad fit at this point. I would move on but he’s probably not even really tradable. No one will want a maxed out, injury prone bricklayer at this point.

[mtrot]

Fif. Beautiful basketball movement that results in a 3 in the flow of the offense happens with sets that start closer to the basket, and a lot of ball movement. Dribble and kick or dribble/dribble and step back and shoot are not that. 

I don’t hate the 3 pt shot at all. My problem is that we now think it is ok if Luka averages 5+ 3s a game. He has not proved that he is good enough to be taking that many 3s. Neither has KP. If Seth wants to do it I am fine. He is a legit 3 pt shooter. 

I can accept that the offense overall is not bad but that in the clutch there is too much standing around and watching Luka, and so in close losses it looks worse than it is . You might be correct that will rectify with experience.  But regardless of that, I am not ok with Luka shooting so many 3s every game, unless most are of the catch and shoot variety. I am not ok with KP jacking up a lot of 3s either.

Yes.  They need to be running more plays to get good three point looks for THJ and Seth, and also for Delon and Brunson.  And Luka can't let the shot clock run down while he's pounding the ball and trying to put moves on guys.  The Mavs have to create some sort of effective offense that creates good looks with no less than five seconds remaining on the shot clock.

[fifteenth]

hf, I hear ya pal

in this instance we just see what the Mavs are doing from different lenses

Time will have to tell us if one of or tthe other of us has any idea what we're talking about :-)

[philjuan1]

I don't think our offense is a big problem, let me say that first.. Our problem is defense and toughness. We just don't have those type of guys. Look at the team Dirk finally had that won a championship. That was a team FULL of toughness.

I'd seriously consider trading KP, if I'm Donnie Nelson for a strong meaty type center and a 3d tough wing defender.  If we can trade for those two type of players without moving KP, then I say do it all day every day, but if we don't get some toughness on this team, we have no chance.

I don't want to see any of Luka's years or months wasted on an inferior roster, and by inferior, I mean that is not at the top echelon of the top-tier (defensive) teams.

I truly expect something significant by the trade deadline from the Mavs. At least I'm hopeful.

[hakeemfan]

Luka was amazing tonight. The rest of the team, not so much, particularly Zinger who Lets’s fave it he’s Just a bad contract and a bad fit at this point. I would move on but he’s probably not even really tradable.  No one will want a maxed out, injury prone bricklayer at this point.

To be fair to Porzingis, what were folks realistically expecting given his long layoff, and playing one of the best teams in his return?  If he stays healthy he will fully be worth his contract.  Health is the only thing I worry about with him.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I don't think KP is the answer either. I just don't see the fit, on this team. He just wants to shoot 3's and RC encourages him to. He should be punking people on the elbow, and in the paint. The TNT crew brought that up a few weeks ago. Shaq and Chuck says KP should play closer to the rim, and shoot less 3's. When RC heard about it, he says KP has more value in their offense playing on the perimeter. Maybe mix it up RC ? I agree that he shoots too many.

[ItsGoTime]

Health is the only thing I worry about with him.

I'm pretty worried about that though.

[LukTheShadow]

He will be good. Stop with those negative thoughts. They can hurt too.
He will be good!

[ItsGoTime]

They can hurt too.

Are you trying to say that being pretty worried about him being injured quite a bit during his career hurts his chances at being healthy?

[LukTheShadow]

Yes, 100%!
Worry is driven by fear. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. That's ideal path to the dark side.