01-03-2023, 12:46 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-03-2023, 12:46 AM by SleepingHero.)
Decided to ultimately give it to Luka, although I really didn't want to.
Luka made an incredible mid game adjustment to just stop shooting threes and attack the rim relentlessly. He, along with almost everyone else, came out incredibly flat. So flat it made me wonder if they all chugged a keg of recovery beer the night before. Everyone was sloppy, slow, and didn't really give crap. The only one that did kind of show up was Wood (who I'll talk about a bit later).
Still, I felt instead of chalking this game up as one to give away, Luka actually came out in the 3rd looking to win. He attacked relentlessly and was awarded for it. He kept looking for guys and they stepped up. For that, along with a casual 39/12/8 (7/14 in the 2nd half after starting 3/12) with game icing free throws is enough for me to reward him.
Now onto Wood. He started this game off with lots of energy and I felt he was the only one trying... then Dinwiddie and THJ didn't pass him the ball. On more than one occasion I saw Wood throw a small tantrum putting his hands up in defiance when Dinwiddie and THJ ignored him on the wing. That kind of body language is/was pretty gross. Was the correct play to give Wood the ball? Sure. His reaction though made me want to bench him. Further, aside from a great 4th and some parts of the 1st, he had a pretty rough showing on defense. It was like the fact he was snubbed made him revert to old Wood for 2 1/2 quarters.
I actually time stamped multiple instances where Jalen Green made Wood look like a fool in the 3rd, and most of it was lack of positional awareness. Let me know if y'all want them.
With that being said, I don't want to rag on the guy too much. He did have an absolutely fire 4th quarter. He came out swatting everything and his 4 point play was a massive momentum shift. So kudos to him there. Still, seeing Wood revert like that for even 2 quarters makes me scared committing any long term money to him. What to stop him from staying locked in after securing the bag? Things to think about.
Some passing thoughts:
Luka made an incredible mid game adjustment to just stop shooting threes and attack the rim relentlessly. He, along with almost everyone else, came out incredibly flat. So flat it made me wonder if they all chugged a keg of recovery beer the night before. Everyone was sloppy, slow, and didn't really give crap. The only one that did kind of show up was Wood (who I'll talk about a bit later).
Still, I felt instead of chalking this game up as one to give away, Luka actually came out in the 3rd looking to win. He attacked relentlessly and was awarded for it. He kept looking for guys and they stepped up. For that, along with a casual 39/12/8 (7/14 in the 2nd half after starting 3/12) with game icing free throws is enough for me to reward him.
Now onto Wood. He started this game off with lots of energy and I felt he was the only one trying... then Dinwiddie and THJ didn't pass him the ball. On more than one occasion I saw Wood throw a small tantrum putting his hands up in defiance when Dinwiddie and THJ ignored him on the wing. That kind of body language is/was pretty gross. Was the correct play to give Wood the ball? Sure. His reaction though made me want to bench him. Further, aside from a great 4th and some parts of the 1st, he had a pretty rough showing on defense. It was like the fact he was snubbed made him revert to old Wood for 2 1/2 quarters.
I actually time stamped multiple instances where Jalen Green made Wood look like a fool in the 3rd, and most of it was lack of positional awareness. Let me know if y'all want them.
With that being said, I don't want to rag on the guy too much. He did have an absolutely fire 4th quarter. He came out swatting everything and his 4 point play was a massive momentum shift. So kudos to him there. Still, seeing Wood revert like that for even 2 quarters makes me scared committing any long term money to him. What to stop him from staying locked in after securing the bag? Things to think about.
Some passing thoughts:
- Holy shit please stop Bullock from playing. His defense if we want to even call it that made me want to pull my own teeth
- Dinwiddie had zero legs on him. Was he partying it up with Luka?
- The Theo Pinson minutes actually were kind of ok. Maybe center Luka with 4 wings might be a super secret play Kidd should save.
- Franky Nicotine isn't an NBA player and the Mavs need to find someone consistent.
- Kemba Walker doesn't have it anymore and if he can't get more than 5 minutes in a game like this I don't see his value here. He has moments, but if Kidd can't trust him (or worse his body can't hold up) the Mavs need to move on.
- I feel like Bertans doesn't have a set role and it's killing him. Aside from the hail mary 3, what is his supposed role on offense? Is there no way we can find a play for this dude?
- How does Kidd not find minutes for Hardy? I understand it was a close game, but the Mavs needed some energy in the first and he goes to Frank. Puzzling.
- This team is badly missing Green, DFS, and Maxi. Wood/Powell rotation is super thin and Bullock is running around with his head in the sand.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.