02-24-2020, 07:35 AM
I've come to the conclusion the Mav's are treating this season like they are playing with house money. They are way ahead of their own projections and won't be rushed. This season they are operating a teaching hospital with hopes the lessons learned will pay off down the road. Getting robbed by the ref's gets old. But so does the over-the-top hand wringing that awaits any decision that doesn't correspond to our collective and individually superior basketball opinions. If the team really cared about winning in Atlanta, they would have made some different decisions about who to play and who to sit. That doesn't excuse the refs, but this is a game they win by double digits if they play just one of their stars.
In the final analysis, say six months from now, does it really matter if they win 47 games or 52 games? Does it really matter if they win 1, 2 or 3 games in their first round playoff series? Not really. They've reset their trajectory and now its time to build around what they have. Who are the keepers. Who are the culls. What kind of players need to be added and how. What on-court combinations work. Those are the things that really matter. Continued .500 ball from here gets them to 47 or 48 wins. That will get them the 7th seed in the west and the 18th or 19th pick. Any single loss isn't going to change that. Relax and enjoy the ride. Beating some .500 team from the east by 20 doesn't make us a championship contender and losing to some horrible team from the east doesn't make us a lottery team. We are what we are and that won't change without further growth from our stars and a couple of good personnel moves beyond the stars.
In the final analysis, say six months from now, does it really matter if they win 47 games or 52 games? Does it really matter if they win 1, 2 or 3 games in their first round playoff series? Not really. They've reset their trajectory and now its time to build around what they have. Who are the keepers. Who are the culls. What kind of players need to be added and how. What on-court combinations work. Those are the things that really matter. Continued .500 ball from here gets them to 47 or 48 wins. That will get them the 7th seed in the west and the 18th or 19th pick. Any single loss isn't going to change that. Relax and enjoy the ride. Beating some .500 team from the east by 20 doesn't make us a championship contender and losing to some horrible team from the east doesn't make us a lottery team. We are what we are and that won't change without further growth from our stars and a couple of good personnel moves beyond the stars.