Game 9: Phoenix Suns (7-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (5-3) | 6:30pm CST

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

Kidd subbed Naji out for Din, it was a very short span, but the Suns scored on plays Din was involved in.
Bad call by Kidd.


And yes Royce pushed off Gaff.

[Chicagojk]

Mavs just need to be better securing defense rebounds. Just sucks when you work hard but give up second shots. Just killer. At least three scores in the last few minutes off second shots.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Not a foul on Gaff.  I don’t think they can overturn it. Mavs shouldn’t have wasted their challenge.

Clearly a foul on Gafford. He whacked him across the arm.

[ThisIStheYear]

Not Luka’s year. It’s sad he’s never had a great team regular season — just some pretty good ones. He won’t win an MVP without a top 2 seed. No one should. The team is just mid like their coach. They lost tonight because of a slow start and a choke job. They’ll need a 10 - 12 game winning streak to get back into it. The offense is the problem even though it’s the most talented offensive team in the NBA. Rick would have this team as the number one offense in history. I don’t even think they’re top 12 this season under Kidd. They’ve never really had a great offense with Kidd. What a shitty season so far.

[Chicagojk]

Powell is limited but he is all energy, all the time. Perfect third center. Ready when needed. He is limited protecting the rim though.

Kidd going with what he knows. Luka and Ky again play heavy minutes. Not crazy with the big minutes from Din. No one else is forcing playing time though. So Kidd probably goes with what he knows.

[Chicagojk]

Really disappointing 2-3 home stand. Was hoping for much better. Now a tough stretch begins.

[JamesConway912]

Powell is limited but he is all energy, all the time.  Perfect third center.  Ready when needed.  He is limited protecting the rim though.

Kidd going with what he knows.  Luka and Ky again play heavy minutes.  Not crazy with the big minutes from Din.  No one else is forcing playing time though.  So Kidd probably goes with what he knows.

Yeah the backup guard stuff is really frustrating right now. Just nobody able to put together a few good games in a row.

Feels like something that will definitely get adressed with a roster change if nobody steps up. Backup scoring guards aren’t that expensive.

Big performance from
DP. Against a really difficult matchup too with a bruiser like Nurkic. Deserves a ton of credit. Marshall once again, too. 

Kyrie was also superb but with a crucial turnover down the stretch. Very unfortunate.

Klay good on d and active on offense with many smart plays, but he’s really overdue for a good shooting streak.

[JamesConway912]

Btw: I think it’s time to go away from starting Gafford. Once Lively is back he should get the starting spot back and that quite honestly should be it on that front. Make the pecking order clear to everyone. Lively is easily the third most important player on this team. No empty calories, just a ton of positive impact. I for one am pretty over it with the slow starts.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Really felt the injuries tonight. Kidd doesn’t seem to know how to fill the PJ/Maxi minutes which were sorely missed against someone like KD.

Might be the last two minutes we see Kessler Edwards on the floor. Surprised we didn’t see more OMax but he smoked that layup early then got planted on the bench.

[Chicagojk]

Btw: I think it’s time to go away from starting Gafford. Once Lively is back he should get the starting  spot back and that quite honestly should be it on that front. Make the pecking order clear to everyone. Lively is easily the third most important player on this team. No empty calories, just a ton of positive impact. I for one am pretty over it with the slow starts.

I have been thinking the same thing.  But to be honest, Lively needs to show he can stay healthy.

[Chicagojk]

Hmmm…it has been a problem almost every game.

https://x.com/townbrad/status/1855091423168675985?s=61&t=-aAylloVlVRI2-DRvoajoA

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Not Luka’s year.  It’s sad he’s never had a great team regular season — just some pretty good ones. He won’t win an MVP without a top 2 seed. No one should. The team is just mid like their coach. They lost tonight because of a slow start and a choke job.  They’ll need a 10 - 12 game winning streak to get back into it.  The offense is the problem even though it’s the most talented offensive team in the NBA. Rick would have this team as the number one offense in history.  I don’t even think they’re top 12 this season under Kidd. They’ve never really had a great offense with Kidd. What a shitty season so far.

This seems like a bit of an overreaction considering we’re still just 3 games out of first.  Not like we’re 3-6 or anything, still beating up on the teams we’re supposed to beat up on.. Gotta remember that a 50 win pace is really just going 6-4 every 10 games. Plus these Kidd teams always start slow (which I agree is annoying, just saying this feels similar to the starts that led to very competitive teams is all).

Need to get healthy, Lively is the third most important player on this team.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Hmmm…it has been a problem almost every game.

https://x.com/townbrad/status/1855091423168675985?s=61&t=-aAylloVlVRI2-DRvoajoA

Definitely feels like he’s getting ready to start Lively…

Kyrie being more assertive in the first quarter would also be helpful.

[JamesConway912]

I have been thinking the same thing.  But to be honest, Lively needs to show he can stay healthy.

That sucks bc it’s true. Played only 50 something games last season, again out now.

Still: I’d do it regardless it given that the sample size on his durability problems isn’t great (well at least on the Nba scene, he’s had some injuries before turning pro afaik).

[Chicagojk]

Kidd not happy. Can’t argue with the points. More energy to start the game, limit offensive boards, and need to find bench production,

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/1855092...14467?s=61&t=-aAylloVlVRI2-DRvoajoA

[BigDirk41]

Kidd not happy.  Can’t argue with the points.  More energy to start the game, limit offensive boards, and need to find bench production,

https://x.com/noahweber00/status/1855092...14467?s=61&t=-aAylloVlVRI2-DRvoajoA

I'm glad he's finally showing some fire. Ultimately, this is on him, but at least he'll try to fix it if he's mad.

[BigDirk41]

This didn't lose the game, but the final minute definitely prevented the Mavs from winning. Kyrie can't turn the ball over at all in crunch time, yet alone in the last minute. I love Gafford and I am a huge fan, but he played soft AF at the end of the game and didn't do his job rebounding. There's just no excuse for a big not sealing his man off and getting the rebound.

[ThisIStheYear]

50 wins not going to cut it. Great players challenge 60 wins at some point in their career. Anything less than a number 2 seed is a failure. Kidd is feeling the heat. I have a feeling the new owner will expect more than Cuban did. But Luka just doesn’t seem right. He’s become more like a stretch 4 than a point guard. It’s a little early in his career to have to transition to a new position because of changes in his body.

[omahen]

Too bad. I didn't believe Mavs had a chance after the first half, but they got back in and were a bit unlucky in the fourth. I think the decision to play Din heavy minutes in the fourth instead of Naji was questionable. Although, he was actualy +10 in this time. But Mavs had problem securing rebounds and playing small definitely contributed to that. Phoenix had 5 offensive boards in the last quarter. Ultimately, Luka and Ky didn't make their shots when it mattered most. They were good looks though.

[Chicagojk]

Regarding Din, I said before the season that he was going to get the minutes early but he would need to earn those minutes with good play. So far he has had some positive games but also negative ones. Hasn’t hurt us too much but hasn’t been a huge positive.

The issue is no one is really forcing playing time for his minutes though. It was one of the reasons I was bummed for Exum’s injury. For most of the year, I wanted to see more of Exum last year, not less. I think with this current team, he could be more valuable than last year. Something happened though for Kidd to lose trust in him, so I wanted to see where he fit in this year. I am fine with EXum not Loki g for his shot often. He does a lot of other good things. We will see if he gets a shot when healthy.