(10-18-2022, 11:39 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: Right. I get it, trust me. 

I don't know what it is about this place (not aimed at you MVOSS) but there's this trend of restating every nuance of every opinion in every post as if none of us have ever met. 

Guys, I READ what you write. I try to remember it. I remember quite a bit about every conversation I've ever had with most of you, dating in some cases to like 2008. 

Anyway, to your point, what I'm saying is that I would've been happier with nothing being added after Wood (a trade I think has potential) than I am with what they've done since. I'm not comparing it to moves I think should've been made, I'm comparing it to last year's team. I like this one less.

(10-18-2022, 12:56 PM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: Awww, KL, do you miss your Bobi?

(10-18-2022, 11:45 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: This is just where our preferred approaches differ. 

When I see a "traditional center" being played, my thought is "sweet! Get Kleber out there and make them pay for playing that sloth!" Wood has the ability to do that, too, potentially, which is why I liked that one. 

I think the very last thing you should want to do is match personnel with your opponent. That's what they want you to do. They are playing that traditional center because they have no choice, imo. 

I mean, people are free to view the game through their own lenses, but for my money not playing guys like McGee is pretty much how the Mavs beat Utah and PHX last year. People bring up GS, but unlike most, my takeaway from that series wasn't really about lack of a "traditional center."

(10-18-2022, 10:33 AM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: But they themselves said that the greatest need this offseason was a wing. Unless they were saying, with a twinkle in their eye, "THJ is back!", then epic fail on that front. Moreover, replacing Brunson as a ballhandler was a Psycho shower music urgency after he walked. Facu is a pretty lame answer.

Actually, the scariest thing written on the previous page was KL's point about Powell. I bet we're going to see a fair amount of him, his garbage time in the last preseason game notwithstanding. That in itself tanks the McGee signing.

(10-18-2022, 03:17 PM)MarkAguirreWrathofGod Wrote: KL— I totally agree with your premise, in theory. But like many others here I view McGee as an innings eater that will save some wear and tear on our bigs. There is value in that.  Not sure who the other rotation guys were that we could’ve added for the tax MLE. Are you saying you’d rather they just didn’t even add McGee? I do think he will be of limited value in a playoff series but can help get us there in one piece, hopefully. I feel worse about this years team because of the obvious— losing Brunson for nothing. Seeing  the $ guys like Poole and Herro and Kevin Porter Jr. got only made this look worse in retrospect. We have limited assets to replace the shot creation Brunson brought as well as add the high level wing we need to truly compete. Now we almost need our next big move to be a shot creator AND high level defender in one. With plenty of teams in possession of more desirable assets to get guys like SGA or Jaylen Brown should they come available. Our core is all on the older side and teams will go into negotiations knowing we are desperate to deal as the Luka clock ticks. Maxi, DFS, Reggie and Din are all older and we will need to backfill for them. I think one wing spot can be capably filled by Josh and hopefully we can get him signed to an extension in the Nas Little ballpark after this season. Maybe Hardy can grow into the Dinwiddie role? Maybe we can turn THJ into a better fitting piece? The front office has very little margin for error from here on out.

(10-18-2022, 02:51 PM)michaeltex Wrote: I think most of us remember the damage done by Looney during the WCF series. Dal started last season with like 7 "big" men, C's and PF's, and by the end the only one playable, due to performance or trade, was Maxi.

Certainly wasn't the only factor in losing the series, but seemed like a glaring deficiency that needed addressing.

(10-18-2022, 10:33 AM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: But they themselves said that the greatest need this offseason was a wing. Unless they were saying, with a twinkle in their eye, "THJ is back!", then epic fail on that front. Moreover, replacing Brunson as a ballhandler was a Psycho shower music urgency after he walked. Facu is a pretty lame answer.

Actually, the scariest thing written on the previous page was KL's point about Powell. I bet we're going to see a fair amount of him, his garbage time in the last preseason game notwithstanding. That in itself tanks the McGee signing.

(10-18-2022, 03:06 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: So...

How will we evaluate Powell's court time this season?

Plus/minus?

Consistency of playing time despite varying opponent matchups?

Team record when he plays?

Points / rebounds / blocks?

Minutes? Maybe just a knee-jerk confirmation bias that he's bad, so any minutes with him on the court are bad, proven by lots of anecdotes?

(10-18-2022, 11:34 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: 1) I literally say some variation of your first sentence in every third post these days, precisely to avoid passive aggressive stuff like this. I guess I'll try harder. I'm sorry my opinions offend you, but I'm definitely going to keep thinking for myself. 

2) I'm not sure I made it clear enough, but that "enlightened" comment was about "the basketball people in Dallas," which was my way of saying "the people who work for the Mavericks." It had nothing to do with the frequenters of this message board, though now that I can see some took it that way, I think we could use a little more enlightenment around here. Who couldn't?

(10-18-2022, 02:51 PM)michaeltex Wrote: I think most of us remember the damage done by Looney during the WCF series. Dal started last season with like 7 "big" men, C's and PF's, and by the end the only one playable, due to performance or trade, was Maxi.

Certainly wasn't the only factor in losing the series, but seemed like a glaring deficiency that needed addressing.

(10-18-2022, 05:09 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: Me? I think that's a waste of time. I'd rather play the way I know I'll be forced to play in the playoffs all year round so that my team gets good at it. I flatly don't want specialists like McGee in the top 8-9 of my rotation. I want all 8-9 of those guys to be able to play multiple ways in multiple styles.

(10-18-2022, 05:50 PM)F Gump Wrote: Frankly, I think the Mavs have a way better handle on this issue.

You want to have the ideal big-man roster for GS in June. But, The Mavs are intent on having a group that will (a) survive 110 games, and (b) be effective against 29 teams, not just 1.

You can argue that being able to handle GS then will make you good enough against the rest - but you'd be wrong. All big man groups and team strengths to play against are not alike. For example, if you can't get past Towns-Gobert in playoffs, you might not even get to GS. Or GS might not get past them, and then the hurdle is not GS but someone else. And MINN's a completely different animal to deal with, requiring quite a different big-man roster. I'm not saying the Mavs chosen plan does ALL of that, but it's a helluva lot more flexible than what you wanted them to settle for.

(10-18-2022, 06:29 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: Don´t know why this is a GS centric take. Take a look at the bigs the Mavs beat in last years playoff run. Gobert and Ayton (McGee, Biyombo). You don´t need a dinosaur to match them. The opposite. You aren´t going to beat the best bigs in the game if you are trying to play their game.
That was the great thing about the Mavs approach last season. For the first time in years they dictated matchups. Forcing others teams to make adjustments.

When the Suns tried McGee the Mavs didn´t counter with their own slow and traditional big. They went even smaller and gave Bertans some spot minutes at center. When Gobert was grabbing 5+ off rebounds per game they didn´t panic and continued with their game plan. Knowing that the open looks from three in 5-out lineups with Maxi on the floor would more than make up for it over the entire series.

I absolutely agree with @"KillerLeft" take on the Warriors series. The Mavs didn´t lose because their bigs outmuscled the Mavs. It started with them not being able to defend the perimeter. Forcing them to overplay the perimeter. Exposing the paint.

We are once again in a situation where the Mavs are trying to compensate for the lack of talent (only having one player that fits the need of a modern NBA defense, Maxi). Something that we have seen before. Specialists for spot minutes instead of true flexibility (players that allow the Mavs to dictate matchups).

(10-18-2022, 08:26 PM)mvossman Wrote: I assume by only one player that fits modern NBA defense you meant one big, right?  Out of curiosity, was there anyone reasonably available this offseason given our meager assets that meets that description?