Game 36 Dirkie thread: Josh Green by a whisker...

[SleepingHero]

This was a cathartic experience. I don't think the Mavs played particularly well for 3 quarters, the Blazers are just that bad.

Some thoughts:

• DJJ has gained some incredible confidence. He hit 2 stare down threes off the catch and just drained them. He took I believe Simons off the drive at the top of the key and just powered through him for an easy layup. Stuff like that makes me want to believe we don't need any help at the forward (even if it's a ridiculous thought). 
  
• Kyrie wow. Just completely dominated the game on both ends. I felt like he could've had 40+ tonight if he really wanted to, but he picked his spots. That first quarter scoring romp really settled the Mavs. He was on fire and just unstoppable. But not only that, he defended the Blazers so well. He did the patented Dirk slap I believe 5 times and prevented 5 easy layups for the Blazers. He was everywhere tonight. I easily could've given him the Dirkie. Just a great game from him.
   
• AJ Lawson has a lot of talent. I wasn't a big believer in him last season. This season he looks so much more poised and his aggression driving to the rim is just suffocating for defenses. If he becomes a consistent 3pt shooter, which I don't think he's there yet, I don't see why the Mavs haven't found a consistent rotation guy in Lawson
  
• Speaking of consistent rotation guys, Josh Green finally had a game where I thought it was a statement game. He needs to play like this every game. I obviously don't expect him to hit half time beating buzzers, or throw some random stuff up and make it all the time. But he looked for his shot tonight. I wonder if the Mavs marathon playstyle finally helped Green get into some rhythm. We know he's a transition player. Of Greens 8 attempts, 7 of them were in the paint where he made 6. Of his 7 overall made shots, 3 of them were off steals and were transition buckets. 1 was off a broken defense forgetting to defend an inbounds pass. 2 were consistent looks he is going to get within the offense, and 1 was just a hail mary end of clock buzzer beater. I want more of Green being aggressive to shoot and less reliant on transition buckets. It certainly doesn't hurt that he generates so many though. 
  

• Finally I'm giving my Dirkie to Omax. I am so excited for this dude. His one little crossover between the legs drive that just left the layup short is the stuff we see from Kawhi, Siakam, and any premium 2 way forward we are clamoring for. His defense was great. He hit 2 threes this game that looked solid. The only downside is that I'm pretty mad at Kidd for not finding more minutes for OMax earlier in the game where stuff mattered. He rather run a 5 guard lineup and put DJJ at center. I guess he also was just having fun with the lowly Blazers. My one small critique from OMax comes from a moment in the late 3rd where he looked lost on an offensive set, and was confused on who to set the pick on, either THJ or Kyrie. It was for Kyrie but it certainly ruined the flow of the play. He shouldn't be questioning stuff like that. He should know the playbook inside and out. Of course this is an isolated moment and it could've come from a random play Kidd had drawn up and the rookie just forgot. But I expect great things from OMax and I want him to have a Tom Brady level "prove it" type vibe. Overall he gets my Dirkie. 
  

Some random Portland thoughts:

• Its a lot of fun to shit talk Powell, even if some of the time (most of the time?) it's undeserved. Watching Portland's center rotation tonight has given me a newfound respect for granite head. Reath and Badji are some of the worst players I've seen in the NBA in a long time. Reminds me of DJ Mbenga and/or Hasheem Thabeet. Just bottom of the barrel stuff. At least Reath can shoot a bit, but both of them are some of the most reckless guys. At times I felt they were trying to hurt people. 
  
• Chauncy Billups is the defacto worst coach in the NBA. In what world does Sharpe not start and play 40mpg on this team? Why is Camara getting so many minutes? What is he doing? The Blazers look lost. I'm glad they lost by so much