MIKE SHEDD GIVES COACHING PERSPECTIVE ON MAVS

[mavsluvr]

The reports are he came 30 lbs over his listed weight. That is not a few pounds. 

I don't know how accurate those reports are, but Shedd mentioned 30 pounds as being more than they want him to lose. He did say, however, that if Luka would lose "a few" pounds, he might be a little less likely to suffer these lingering leg and ankle injuries. 

I keep reading by some on how players play into shape during the season. When did Kobe, LeBron, MJ play themselves into shape during the season?  That is the difference between elite talent that maximizes their potential vs a Harden type who does not. 

We might be having some internet-style communications issues here. I have been using the term "peak condition" to discuss Luka and his varying condition during the year. No one is in the exact same physical condition 365 days/year. "Peak" means better than usual, of course. LeBron prides himself on rounding into peak condition right before the playoffs. Kobe used to muscle up in the summer, so that he wouldn't have to worry as much about losing muscle and then having to replace it during the season. The Mavs try to get their players into peak condition toward the end of the season. Is this what you mean when you talk about game conditioning?

No matter how much you are in shape game conditioning is different from practice. So yes it takes some weeks before players get into the groove of game conditioning.  That is different from being out of shape. That means you have to first lose all that excess fat while trying to get into game condition as well which makes you more susceptible to injury as well. 

As for the offense, as I have said previously, the so called vaunted Mavs offense the past few years seemed to stall in the clutch against good teams. Then in the playoffs in the most important game this team has played in 5 years the team laid an offensive egg with the chance to win the series at home. During the series itself RC was throwing sht on the wall with his lineups with Burke and Boban suddenly getting a lot more minutes because the regular offense was not working. How can we just forget all that and romanticize the past?

Maybe you aren't addressing Shedd, but I didn't get any sense that he was romanticizing the past. If anything, I thought he seemed to be defending Kidd, especially with regard to shooting. All Kidd and his staff can do is make sure that the guys they want taking shots are getting good looks, and at that point, it's on the players to hit them.  

Yes we might be worse now, but that’s why I am willing to give Kidd a longer leash, because the previous offense got exposed in the clutch against good teams. Kidd wouldn’t have been my choice as a coach but I want to see what he can do.

Yes, it seems at the moment that Kidd's team is having the same issue, but there's still a long way to go. 

hakeem, like you, I hope for the best. 

But for the first time, it is really dawning on me in a serious way that there is nothing written in stone that says this group is going to turn things around. This really might just be who they are. This could really be just a lost season. I surely hope not. They have the pieces in place throughout the organization to at least make the playoffs, if everyone stays reasonably healthy. I think. I like to be optimistic, within reason, but it is seeming more to me like we're relying on, "They'll get better, just cuz."