Game 39: Denver Nuggets (22-15) vs. Dallas Mavericks (22-16) | 2:00pm CST

[sefant]

Didn't watch the game -- but this stood out  on the box scores.

SD had 5 attempts in the fourth quarter and missing 2 3s and a 2.
Grimes had no attempts.

Din had 10 assists with only 2 TOs while Grimes had no assist with 4 TOs.

Spencer was 4 of 13 from the field and was 0 for 3 on 3.
Grimes only had 4 attempts overall with a single conversion of 3 attempts.

Spencer had 39 mins against Grimes' 19.

Of course the Mavs needed a ball handler, and Din is. IMHO, the Mavs could do without one for stretches as there are enough ballhandlers on the team who can ably secure the ball on plays. Din had 10 assists, but he should have sticked with the ball handling and facilitating duties rather than calling his own number. If the Mavs needed points, Kidd should realize than Grimes > Dinwiddie.

Summary: Too many minutes and attempts for Dinwiddie, and wat too less minutes and attempts for Grimes.

Of course -- this is what you would expect from the less than mediocre Jason Kidd.

Grimes played 16 min out of the 19 with Dinwiddie. Obviously he isn't getting shots

[Knutsen]

You're not going to beat many teams scoring 12 pts in the 4th qtr, and giving up 33. Mavs had at least an 11 pt lead in the 3rd qtr.

The Mavs were up by 19 and had a winning probability of 97.7 % with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The Mavs were up by 19 and had a winning probability of 97.7 % with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter.

Damn!  They blew that one.

[Mavs2021]

The Mavs were up by 19 and had a winning probability of 97.7 % with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter.

3:59 Maxi Kleber enters the game for Klay Thompson 69-87
7:54 Daniel Gafford enters the game for Maxi Kleber 94-93

25-6 in eight minutes. Coaching genius after something similar happened at the end of the 1st half.

[Chicagojk]

Didn't watch the game -- but this stood out  on the box scores.

SD had 5 attempts in the fourth quarter and missing 2 3s and a 2.
Grimes had no attempts.

Din had 10 assists with only 2 TOs while Grimes had no assist with 4 TOs.

Spencer was 4 of 13 from the field and was 0 for 3 on 3.
Grimes only had 4 attempts overall with a single conversion of 3 attempts.

Spencer had 39 mins against Grimes' 19.

Of course the Mavs needed a ball handler, and Din is. IMHO, the Mavs could do without one for stretches as there are enough ballhandlers on the team who can ably secure the ball on plays. Din had 10 assists, but he should have sticked with the ball handling and facilitating duties rather than calling his own number. If the Mavs needed points, Kidd should realize than Grimes > Dinwiddie.

Summary: Too many minutes and attempts for Dinwiddie, and wat too less minutes and attempts for Grimes.

Of course -- this is what you would expect from the less than mediocre Jason Kidd.

Someone said when Luka (and maybe Kyrie) got injured that we would probably see too much of Dinwiddie.  I think that is true.  He has had some good games with both out, but I just think it is too much of him.   Even with the 10 assists, I assume that he didn't create easy scoring opportunities.   He does get to the line and that is good.  He is also good creating off the dribble.   I just think he is much better in a much smaller role (Secondary creator...max 20 minutes).   I am not even sure he should get that in a playoff game, but I think Kidd will get him that.   I also have a sneaky suspicision that he may not be the funniest guy to play with...but that is just a guess.  

I was really suprised to see Grimes stats today.    The Klay, Grimes, Marshall minutes are still tough for me to figure out on how it plays out in a playoff series.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Maxi killed us. -26 +/-. He got cooked

[Chicagojk]

Maxi killed us.  -26 +/-.  He got cooked

Who was he guarding?  Was he playing small ball 5?

I noticed he was -26 in 20 minutes.   Grimes was -22 in 19.  Dinwiddie was -17 in 39.  I assume those three were in the game during Denver's big run.  Who else was in the game?  the rest of our starters were plus for the game.   It looks like our bench shot 6 for 23.

[Scott41theMavs]

Games like this makes me wonder what the team things about Grimes.  It looks like he had a rough game, but only had 19 minutes.  I think, especially shorthanded, that he should get close to 30 minutes a game.  To see him with 19 and only 4 shots is curious.

I would guess that they're saying, "He's good," and "Boy, we don't want his contract to get too big," and "We don't want other teams to insist on him in a trade."

[SkenfromLMF]

3:59 Maxi Kleber enters the game for Klay Thompson 69-87
7:54 Daniel Gafford enters the game for Maxi Kleber 94-93

25-6 in eight minutes. Coaching genius after something similar happened at the end of the 1st half.

In fairness, Lively had picked up his 4th foul in that period. So Maxi started as the backup 4 and ended up playing SB 5 while Gafford sat (in a matchup to Jokic).
Whistles in the 2nd half most definitely favored Denver, but the FT shooting in the clutch disappeared.
I am not holding out much hope for a split after today

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Grimes played 16 min out of the 19 with Dinwiddie. Obviously he isn't getting shots

Din had 10 dimes...

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Who was he guarding?  Was he playing small ball 5?

I noticed he was -26 in 20 minutes.   Grimes was -22 in 19.  Dinwiddie was -17 in 39.  I assume those three were in the game during Denver's big run.  Who else was in the game?  the rest of our starters were plus for the game.   It looks like our bench shot 6 for 23.

At least in the 1st quarter he was in with Gafford, at the 4.  Are we still at a point that we're justifying Maxi?  Dude is to the point he'll give one good game out of five.  Put a fork in him.

Obi!!!

[Chicagojk]

More Lively. I just watched his highlights from the game. Especially shorthanded, he needs to be a bigger factor on offense. Get his the ball in the paint and let him make plays. Really liked him looking to score on a few plays. With their team being shorthanded, he needs at least 10 shots a game. Maybe when everyone is healthy too.

https://youtu.be/_oVM4HSFpS4?si=XCSTpbu_B-EGDYKx

[DallasMaverick]

I'm not saying Maxi was good this game, but you are using single game net rating to explain he was so bad.  You realize Maxi actually has the third best net rating on the team this season?  He was not the difference of 26 points in this game, and Lively was in foul trouble.

Of course we can use one game as a sample size!

It’s what we do here.

In fact, we can even use a single play as a sufficient sample size to render all kinds of definitive, all encompassing judgments about a player’s value and career.

Just watch us! 

Especially after a loss.

[Mavs2021]

I'm not saying Maxi was good this game, but you are using single game net rating to explain he was so bad.  You realize Maxi actually has the third best net rating on the team this season?  He was not the difference of 26 points in this game, and Lively was in foul trouble.

Yes he was. He was awful on both ends of the floor. Killed the defense and the offense.

So he has a positive net rating for the season.

+57 against the Pelicans and Wizards in two games.
-19 rest of the games.

That´s while carefully being cuddled into favourable match-ups and minutes.

Sure it will benefit us greatly in the play-offs that Maxi kicked some butt against the two worst teams in the league.

[mvossman]

Yes he was. He was awful on both ends of the floor. Killed the defense and the offense.

So he has a positive net rating for the season.

+57 against the Pelicans and Wizards in two games.
-19 rest of the games.

That´s while carefully being cuddled into favourable match-ups and minutes.

Sure it will benefit us greatly in the play-offs that Maxi kicked some butt against the two worst teams in the league.

Historically he has been his most valuable to this team in the playoffs.  I disagree with him being cuddled into favorable match-ups.  I would argue that he has mostly been playing out of position at the 4 when at this point he clearly needs to be at the 5 in specific circumstances.  

But my primary point was more about how you have bashed large sample net rating numbers on this board many times, but when it fits your narrative you use small sample example to make your point.  Can't have it both ways.

[Mavs2021]

Historically he has been his most valuable to this team in the playoffs.  I disagree with him being cuddled into favorable match-ups.  I would argue that he has mostly been playing out of position at the 4 when at this point he clearly needs to be at the 5 in specific circumstances.  

But my primary point was more about how you have bashed large sample net rating numbers on this board many times, but when it fits your narrative you use small sample example to make your point.  Can't have it both ways.

Well the sample size relevant to why we lost this game is this game. Kleber was the reason we lost this game. You brought up his seasonal net rating.

The biggest problem is his refusal to shoot. If he didn´t start this, teams would not leave him wide open all the time. Teams still respected his shot. It´s not like he´s Ben Simmons. He got into his own head. He turned himself into a mental liability on top of his physical issues.

Either he starts to shoot every time he´s open or he might as well sit on the bench for the next two years. Omax can shoot 5% from three and it would still be better than Maxi. Maxi is responsible for half the bad plays on offense from other players, when he´s on the floor. I can´t even count how many times, he´s gotten somebody into a bad late clock situation, cause he refused to shoot a wide open shot prior. Or how often somebody then decides to attempt a worse pass or shot (Hello Dinwiddie), when he´s wide open, cause they don´t see the point of passing to him. 

Kleber trying a wide open three (even at his current 26%) likely has a higher points expectancy than Hardy or Grimes shooting an expiring clock mid range sideways jumpers with two defenders draped around them. Shoot or get off the floor.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Historically he has been his most valuable to this team in the playoffs.  I disagree with him being cuddled into favorable match-ups.  I would argue that he has mostly been playing out of position at the 4 when at this point he clearly needs to be at the 5 in specific circumstances.  

But my primary point was more about how you have bashed large sample net rating numbers on this board many times, but when it fits your narrative you use small sample example to make your point.  Can't have it both ways.

With that reasoning, let's bring back Dirk.

Maxi has been primarily a PF his entire career.  Of course playing small C hides a lot of his deficiencies, but that's not a sustainable.  

Maxi is in a serious decline.  He will string together one good game in five games.  A bit of fools' gold