Mavs 109, Knicks 117

[omahen]

Yes, we were extremely lucky over the span in which our defense seemed to have been improved. Opp 3%FG was very bad

Data doesn't really support that.

Feb: opp 3pt% 39 overall, 36 % in wins, 44 % in losses
March: 36 % overall, 32 % in wins, 44 % in losses
April: 35 % overall, 31 % in wins, 41 % in losses.

Mavs shooting on the other hand: Feb 39 %, March 38 %, April 33 %. Last 5 games 32 %. Mavs are 13th best for the season in opponent 3pt % and 8th best in April. Mavs are 19th best in own 3pt percentage for the season and 23rd in April.

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When the D stops, the buckets stop dropping.

For me it is more logical if it is the other way around. When you keep bricking wide open shots the morale tends to drop.

[ClutchDirk]

Maxi was more like Mini last night...he does not know how to rebound and is still getting torched on defense...

[Kammrath]

What do you attribute this falloff to?

I have no good explanation other than I have seen Luka's D noticeably slip since he has been favoring that knee and looking tired and hobbled. Team D can be terrible if only one guy isn't doing his job with the right effort, but from my eyes it looks much more like everyone has slipped in the effort and energy department on the defensive side. My only explanation this whole season has been "chemistry" but I know that is ambiguous....but it is still my best guess. I think D is always the first thing to slip when there are chemistry struggles IMO.

[Fuerza1]

Remember, Rick Carlisle chose Dwight Powell and his $33M contributions over Nerlens Noel significantly superior defense, cheaper contract, and hot dog w/ extra mustard. 

The MBT (this includes Rick Carlisle) had zero interest in Maverick fan and local native Julius Randle (an actual star, hey I thought MBT said "we like stars?") when he was a FA. Carlisle had the starting PF slotted up for his boo, oh darn. 

Mavs' ceiling will continue to be capped every offseason when they're backed into a corner due to Carlisle's "preferences" in roster building.

[omahen]

Another thing I am surprised is not mentioned. Brunson and THJ are having considerably worse month than March. Even that killer line-up that starts around 5 minutes into the first when Brunson and THJ replace Luka and Maxi has been a net negative in April. THJ averaged 16 ppg in March and is at 12,7 in April on considerably worse shooting. Brunson dropped from 13 ppg to 12 ppg but his overall shooting dropped from 55 % to 46 %. 

Of course, Luka percentage also dropped significantly. From 43 % in February and March to 29 % in April.

[ItsGoTime]

Maxi was more like Mini last night...he does not know how to rebound and is still getting torched on defense...

He has always needed to be a great bench player. Just like DFS, Powell, JB, THJ, all of them. Teams need great bench players, let’s figure out how to extract from those teams an upgraded starting group with our band of less than merry men. 

We need a couple Little John’s, a Frier Tuck and could use a Sheriff of Nottingham. The rest can be the extras.

If I could just choose those guys, they’d be Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Covington, John Collins and Myles Turner. Find pieces as close to that as possible (or future “those guys”) and we’re set. 

Mix age and experience with youth and we are deadly!

[hakeemfaan]

There are some good players on this team, but this isn't a good team. I expect we're gonna see a lot of different faces next year.

But the gap is not large. Doncic is a legit alpha  which gives the Mavs an advantage that say a team like the Knicks don’t have despite Randle being a solid player. 

They need some interior toughness.  I have said for a while now that despite all the praise that Kleiber and Powell get, they are both soft and get pushed around when the other team wants to play bully ball. Not sure why Javale did not work out here at least as the backup center. Dwight Howard would have been great too.

[Mavs2021]

But the gap is not large. Doncic is a legit alpha  which gives the Mavs an advantage that say a team like the Knicks don’t have despite Randle being a solid player. 

So let me ask this provocative question:

If Doncic is a top 8 player and Randle is just a top 30ish (#1 option) player, why are we only 1.0 games better than the Knicks?

Rest of Knicks roster >>> Rest of Mavs roster 
Coaching by Thibs >>> Coaching by Carlisle

How do you explain it?

[Jason Terry]

So let me ask this provocative question:

If Doncic is a top 8 player and Randle is just a top 30ish (#1 option) player, why are we only 1.0 games better than the Knicks?

Rest of Knicks roster >>> Rest of Mavs roster 
Coaching by Thibs >>> Coaching by Carlisle

How do you explain it?

The east is still terrible same as ever. The west is rough. And Luka has not played like a top 10 player recently. More games missed from covid than all the other teams. Our 2nd “star” only plays in half the games so Luka is worn down from being alone carrying the team

[Thukydides]

Data doesn't really support that.

Feb: opp 3pt% 39 overall, 36 % in wins, 44 % in losses
March: 36 % overall, 32 % in wins, 44 % in losses
April: 35 % overall, 31 % in wins, 41 % in losses.

Mavs shooting on the other hand: Feb 39 %, March 38 %, April 33 %. Last 5 games 32 %. Mavs are 13th best for the season in opponent 3pt % and 8th best in April. Mavs are 19th best in own 3pt percentage for the season and 23rd in April.

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For me it is more logical if it is the other way around. When you keep bricking wide open shots the morale tends to drop.

Hey Omahen, quite a coincidence, but this twitter guy (I recommend following him) did all the work for me: 

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...64192?s=20

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...0400264192

[Thukydides]

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...0400264192

Thanks for posting this in a more reader friendly way. How do I do this? Could you explain this to me in PM, if you mind?

[hakeemfaan]

So let me ask this provocative question:

If Doncic is a top 8 player and Randle is just a top 30ish (#1 option) player, why are we only 1.0 games better than the Knicks?

Rest of Knicks roster >>> Rest of Mavs roster 
Coaching by Thibs >>> Coaching by Carlisle

How do you explain it?

Very few legit no question alphas. After that Randle will come in the next category. 30 seems low for him. 

If you are asking me if RC deserves some blame here. Of course he does. Luka does too. Everyone does. But it goes back to the Mavs even with Dirk having the most success whenever Dirk was paired up with tough/strong guys near the basket. Yet the front office seems to have forgotten that. Or even the coach who could not find much use for JaVale though the LAL could. 

You can talk all about how the 3 pt shot has changed the league. Yes. It has. However without that toughness underneath the shooting by itself is not going to carry you. Even the Warriors needed Green and Looney, both of whom are tougher under the basket than anyone on this roster. That was with 3 transcendent shooters too.

[Scott41theMavs]

Very few legit no question alphas. After that Randle will come in the next category. 30 seems low for him. 

If you are asking me if RC deserves some blame here. Of course he does. Luka does too. Everyone does. But it goes back to the Mavs even with Dirk having the most success whenever Dirk was paired up with tough/strong guys near the basket. Yet the front office seems to have forgotten that. Or even the coach who could not find much use for JaVale though the LAL could. 

You can talk all about how the 3 pt shot has changed the league. Yes. It has. However without that toughness underneath the shooting by itself is not going to carry you. Even the Warriors needed Green and Looney, both of whom are tougher under the basket than anyone on this roster. That was with 3 transcendent shooters too.

We have the 6th-ranked defensive center in the league (DRPM) (as well as the 2nd-ranked PF, who is really a center, as well) on roster, and they can't get out of Carlisle's doghouse. I'll give you a hint - their names are neither Kristaps, nor Dwight, nor Boban.

Hard to argue a commitment to defense if you won't give your best defensive players minutes.

[hakeemfaan]

Who are you referring to? Melli and WCS?

[Scott41theMavs]

Who are you referring to? Melli and WCS?

Yep.

[Thukydides]

Honestly, I don´t get, why Melli didn´t get a shot at guarding Randle yesterday. Just try it for a few minutes.

[hakeemfaan]

Honestly, I don´t get, why Melli didn´t get a shot at guarding Randle yesterday. Just try it for a few minutes.

What I don’t get is we never double up consistently and dare others to beat you. Time and again a single player on another team has a great and maybe even career games against us. The last time we did that to Harden and it worked. Yet RC refuses to try that consistently.  I understand that it might open up some easy shots elsewhere but that is the point isn’t it?  To at least make some others prove they can beat you. We all know Randle is the alpha on that team just as DeRozan is on the Spurs.

[mavsluvr]

I've said it before as far as 3 point shooting big men.  I love 'em.  

Great to be in their arsenal, but there is a difference between being more efficient overall i.e. 3 point shooting vs being more reliably consistent overall i.e. inside bigs scoring in the paint and also drawing fouls. 




3 point efficiency by nature tends to be streakier than inside the paint.  Even the best 3pt marksmen have a bad shooting game or bad quarter or half then come back and scorch the nets leading a win. 

2 point efficiency especially from big men, think Shaq, Wilt, Embiid, Jokic etc. the efficiency is more reliable.  The team can call on it when in a crunch for buckets.  The Mavs don't have that unless Wonderboy keeps driving to the rim and getting all the pounding that goes along with that.  Watching Luka it looks like his young body is taking a serious wear and tear beating btw. 

I won't say mention the name, B*b*n, because that's a dead horse, Carlisle doesn't run his offense that way period, so there's no big to give the mavs that consistent efficiency inside.  They have to get it from their guard/wings and as feasible as that might seem its not the same thing. 

Just look at the Lakers, they have it all, inside and outside, they can score with the new 3, midrange and score consistently with Big and Bullyball inside.  Porzingis is maybe the only Big inside scorer but then he's not used consistently that way and he's not the body type to really lean into it.

I think there is something to this. 

Huge guys who can dominate the paint, and also score from outside, have been the Mavs' kryptonite. Theoretically, I guess KP could have been that guy for Dallas, but, for whatever reason, has never established a dominant inside presence.

[SleepingHero]

I think there is something to this. 

Huge guys who can dominate the paint, and also score from outside, have been the Mavs' kryptonite. Theoretically, I guess KP could have been that guy for Dallas, but, for whatever reason, has never established a dominant inside presence.

KP is shooting nearly 74% within the restricted area. That's pretty dominant. The problem is he doesn't get enough shots there. 
Further if he takes a step out to anywhere beyond the restricted area within the paint he shoots a paltry 46%. Not bad, not good. 

I don't think KP has the frame to reliably get he wants anytime in the restricted area, but when he does shoot there, it almost always goes in. Puzzling why he only gets around 3.5 shots a game at the rim and not more.