Mavs 130, Magic 124

[KillerLeft]

IMHO, he's still not where he need him to be, but there's noticable improvement from where he was 2 weeks ago.

Yeah, my hopeful side is starting to dwell on this conditioning angle more and more. So, if that's truly the case, the question becomes: Can he stay healthy long enough to actually get in shape, and then how long can he stay healthy enough to stay that way? 

It's still a sobering situation, but way less so than the questions I've been asking myself for the last month.

[HanspardShowerVoice]

My concern with KP isn't that he has slowed down and isn't recovering. The concern I have is a) that he's injury prone which means more injuries to come and b) that he's going to be high maintenance and not happy with his role on offense. Those two things combined which may or may not come true are why I would trade KP for the right deal.

The injury problems are never ending concern for me ... but as far as KP being an attitude problem: winning is the ultimate deodorant.   There are a lot of guys in the league who are 'attitude problems' when things aren't going well and the team is losing, including some current superstars who will be no brainer Hall of Famers.   If the Mavs continue to win games and if KP starts playing better, I think a lot of that stuff takes care of itself.

[KillerLeft]

... but as far as KP being an attitude problem: winning is the ultimate deodorant... If the Mavs continue to win games and if KP starts playing better, I think a lot of that stuff takes care of itself.

I couldn't agree more.

[Hypermav]

KP got as many 3pt attempts as Luka, he should be fine.  I am sure he thought he would make more.  The only thing Luka does sometimes is instead of swinging the ball around the court through KP, he skips him and sends it over to the next guy.  Maybe that is to keep KP from launching more 3's, not sure.

[KillerLeft]

The only thing Luka does sometimes is instead of swinging the ball around the court through KP, he skips him and sends it over to the next guy.  Maybe that is to keep KP from launching more 3's, not sure.

I think this is a valid observation. I don't think it has anything to do with managing KP, I think it's just that Luka believes the unexpected pass is the best way to create a wide open look...a "wow" play. Sometimes it is, but other times it comes off as a young player's mistake. You're right that when the latter result happens KP might very well find it frustrating. 

Another thing I've noticed, which is interesting: on the pick and pop, the pass BACK to the popper needs to happen pretty quickly. It needs to be premeditated, basically, and I think it's maybe not in Luka's nature not to probe the defense for an even better pass. We, Mavs fans, are used to seeing JET make that pass surgically to Dirk so often that we took it for granted. That didn't happen because JET had better court vision than Luka, obviously. I think it happened because the POINT of those plays was either A) to make that pass for a Dirk attempt or B) for Terry to shoot the pull-up jumper, depending on how the action was defended. It was machine-like. Routine. They had it down to a science, whereas Luka seems to prefer to keep the play going and use his creativity. 

I really don't think it has anything to do with Luka wanting to avoid passing to KP. I think it's just a matter of both players and the coach not quite having gotten on the same page yet about just what, exactly, they're trying to accomplish out there in those situations. But, I believe they will in time. I respect all three of them too much not to believe that.

[KillerLeft]

Quick question:  Would you rather have Fournier or DeRozen if the Mavs moved on from Richardson?

Fournier for me, but I'm not sure I would prefer him to Richardson...yet. 

It's DEFINITELY either Richardson or Fournier for me, though. DeRozen would be a distant third.

[Mapka]

Watching the Orlando game, everyone minus WCS, who was kinda in good shape already, seems just more agile. And the bigs look more spry too. 

I thought the opponents 3"%  were the main point in us looking so bad, but if our own offense is humming, we can weather even if Orlando is shooting near 50%.

[Hypermav]

I was curious what WCS did to his thumb, the replay showed he made the goal tend swat and then started grabbing his thumb.  Then next play down the court, Luka passed it to him underneath the basket and the ball bounced of his chest.  I think his thumb was really hurting then because he was still grabbing at it after that play.  I guess I was pretty hard on him for missing that pass but it looks like he had an excuse, this time.

[ItsGoTime]

this time.

hehe, yep.

[mavsluvr]

Rare second half Burke sighting.  Minutes came at the expense of THJ.  

I'd feel better about this 8 of 10 run we are on if I felt like we actually beat a good team at full strength.  It beats the alternative, but I'm not convinced we are anywhere near back to ourselves yet.

Wednesday is definitely a trap game.  We don't tend to play well the first home game after a road trip (not to mention looking forward to a short break).

Agreed. It's great that the Mavs are winning, but no reason to start getting complacent.

[Hypermav]

https://twitter.com/MFollowill/status/13...60164?s=20

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It is only right that this tweet goes in his thread.

[embellisher]

9) Brunson is a treasure. Beautiful to see when a player gets developed so effectively and arrives into his own right when the team needs him.

Do you think that RC is letting him play through mistakes on the closing unit to develop him as a permanent part of that unit? He's been great in the fourth until the last 3 or 4 minutes, and then he makes turnovers or misses open shots, shots that he made earlier in the quarter, and missing FTs.

[KillerLeft]

Do you think that RC is letting him play through mistakes on the closing unit to develop him as a permanent part of that unit? He's been great in the fourth until the last 3 or 4 minutes, and then he makes turnovers or misses open shots, shots that he made earlier in the quarter, and missing FTs.

Maybe that’s part of the overall thinking. Could be.

[embellisher]

Maybe that’s part of the overall thinking. Could be.

I'm going to put this in the JB thread too, for discussion.

[meistermatze]

https://twitter.com/MFollowill/status/13...60164?s=20

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It is only right that this tweet goes in his thread.

That's why mavsluvr has not posted in this thread - he was busy on twitter.

[mavsluvr]

Great stuff, @"mavsluvr". Here's a few thoughts I had that I couldn't beat people in the discord with (had to watch very late):

1) I'm sure there was and will be today a lot of talk about the Mavs' defense in this one because of the high scoring quarters they gave up, but I actually thought they played REALLY hard on that end, and well, mostly. Orlando had a great offensive night, and I know that sounds like a copout, but I really think it's legit in this case. The pace of this game was quite frenetic - it felt like Orlando wanted badly to end their losing streak. To their credit, I thought Dallas matched their energy nicely and even surpassed it. Both teams played HARD.

2) The only thing the Dallas defense didn't handle well, imo, was that they gave off-ball Fournier too much room as he popped around pin downs in the first quarter. I thought the coaching staff and Porzingis did a nice job of adjusting in the 2nd quarter, having the center predict those sets a little more aggressively and take away more of that shooting space. Orlando didn't have a counter inside (on those specific actions) to which Fournier could pass and make Porzingis pay for coming out so far. I thought it was a great adjustment, and credit to KP. Fournier still hit some shots, but this tactic slowed Orlando down enough to retake the lead, and they never looked back. 

2) Porzingis had another good night, imo. I'm sure there was some hate in the discord over the bad shooting in the first half, but I actually don't remember a single shot I hated - he just missed them. On the defensive end, I thought he was moving well again last night, and he was GREAT in the paint, especially against Vucevic, who was absolutely destroying everyone else down there. This might have been the best post defense I've seen from KP since coming here. That was a welcome sight. And, though this certainly wasn't a pick and roll team (KP's huge weakness), it was a RUNNING game, and I feel that KP more than held his own getting up and down the floor. To my eye, this is two games in a row for the "keep KP" crowd to count in their evidence column. Love to see it. 

3) Kleber absolutely could not handle Vucevic in the post, but it was his best game of the season last night, by far. He was moving soooo much better. Quicker and more aggressive. I voted him for the Dirkie, and I think Dallas is a different team with him playing well on defense. He's letting those open catch and shoot opportunities go without hesitation, too. 

4) Luka was playing with more joy than I think he has in quite some time. He actually pushed the ball (like, fast) on 3-4 possessions, getting to the rim before the backpedalling defense could even get set. First time I've seen him do this all season. I'm getting to a point now where I feel like every one of his 3's are going in. Some tried to downplay his early-season conditioning and others might have overhyped it, but last night I thought he definitively looked in shape. Can't wait to see what this kid does next. 

5) Burke should sign his next contract with Orlando, so that he can play most of his games there. 

6) OMG, Vucevic is good. Like, I can't believe how well rounded and lethal his offensive game is. Great post game, and his release on shots off the catch is even quicker than KP's. He's a special player, offensively. 

7) Fournier, I thought, looked like he was auditioning to come here. We all remember the tweet "the Mavericks make me dream" from the bubble. I just really think he wants to be here, but I don't think Dallas needs him. Still, he's a good player who had a great night. Underrated, imo. 

8) I thought Richardson had kind of a rough night, defensively. He guarded MCW, who can't shoot, he can only drive. You can go under on every screen (which Richardson did), and somehow MCW was still beating Rich to the paint on many possessions. I'm really not feeling him here yet, but my mind is still open. 

9) Brunson is a treasure. Beautiful to see when a player gets developed so effectively and arrives into his own right when the team needs him.

Thanks for these detailed observations. Very thought-provoking!

It is good to see the injury/COVID guys rounding into form. Not sure what the deal is with JRich.

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That's why mavsluvr has not posted in this thread - he was busy on twitter.

smh, haha

[HanspardShowerVoice]

I imagine Brunson's awkwardness in the final 4 minutes of the "close out 5" probably have more to do with having to play a new off ball oriented guard role while Luka dominates ball handling in late minute situations, as opposed to his traditional role being the man PnR ball handler with the 2nd unit.    Considering he was the quarterback and team leader of a Vilanova team that won a NCAA National Championship, I'm really not worried about him lacking some sort of mythical "clutch" gene.