GAME 7 DIRKIE: Winner Barea (44%) & Runner-up Luka (40%)

[ThisIStheYear]

poorly played game overall but snuck out a win on home floor against a mediocre team from a bad conference playing on a back to back. A game like that really shouldn’t be close, but it beats losing.  He wasn’t always his best but no one else really stood out, so I’d give it to Luka.  He’s a great player.   JJB gave a nice spark in the first half, but was overplayed and lit up in the second. He gave back everything he got.  Kleber and THJ were the second and third best players.  Where’s Zinger?

[Mak]

Barea inspried the whole team and locker room. Y’all realize he snapped his Achilles a few months ago right. The Achilles is literally named after a ancient mythological god-like figure who was unstoppable ... except for when his Achilles got injured. 


JJ got the post-game interview on the broadcast and got this post-game jersey tweet thingy from @dallasmavs:

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/11...09600?s=21


Also, Dirk would probably vote for JJ. 
Just sayin. Dirk. Do it for Dirk. 


#Vote4JJ

[SleepingHero]

I am ready to sell my Thank-Yous for Barea votes.

---

I am ready to sell my Thank-Yous for Barea votes.

Or my “Likes”. Whatever they’re called. They’re for sale.

Barea was the MVP tonight, he deserves the Dirkie 100% and I'll change my vote right now. His play in the 2nd sparked this team and they performed noticeably different with him on the court

Powell was trash

[Jommybone]

Luka did a lot of things at or above his usual level of greatness. I’m especially impressed with his improving defense. His rebounding, scoring and playmaking have always been out of this world. But his two chief weaknesses were fully on display tonight: turnovers and shot selection. Not a Dirkie-worthy performance unless we're just gonna give it to him every game for being the best player. (He certainly was our best player again tonight. No doubting that.)

Jackson came in and sparked a run with terrific shooting. It was timely and beyond his usual level of play, which is already quite good. But his 5 fouls in 17 minutes were bad. Really bad. And this particular fan—who complains a lot about NBA reffing—agreed with all 5 of those calls.

JJ was expected to remain on the bench, just as he has all season. His 7:36 of playing time in the 2nd quarter was a shock, as was the level at which he contributed. In those 7+ minutes, JJ managed 11 points on just 4 shot attempts. Add to that 3 assists plus a hokey assist. And we went from down 8 to up 2. That’s game-changing stuff right there. Precisely the kind of stuff the Dirkie was invented for.

[radioaktiv]

Luka.  His longball wasn't falling, but he was pretty solid inside the arc (9-14).  The other game this season he had that much 2FGA was in the could've-been-statement-game vs LA.  Plus the solid playmaking that ORL didn't have the answer for.

[ClutchDirk]

I feel like I'm from a different planet sometimes.

Most: Why is THJ getting minutes?
Me: Glad THJ got minutes, the team probably loses without him tonight.

Most: Why is JJ getting minutes? This one game must mean he's gonna get all the minutes.
Me: Glad JJ got some burn. He helped. I'm sure we'll see him play once in a while to stay ready.

Most: Rick's rotations suck. Why doesn't he pick a lineup and stick with it, preferably the lineup I want?
Me: I'm glad Rick finds a way to get spot duty guys some burn and is willing to change things up and find the right buttons to push to pull out a win on a night where the team is struggling a bit.

Well said...can't believe people are complaining about who played and minutes that were given to certain players when they helped us win...

[michaeltex]

Luka all the way. It's funny how Luka has 27,7,7 and anyone else is even considered. Let's not take his greatness for granite.

 You're saying his greatness isn't etched in stone? 

[dirkfansince1998]

I feel like I'm from a different planet sometimes.

Most: Why is THJ getting minutes?
Me: Glad THJ got minutes, the team probably loses without him tonight.

Most: Why is JJ getting minutes? This one game must mean he's gonna get all the minutes.
Me: Glad JJ got some burn. He helped. I'm sure we'll see him play once in a while to stay ready.

Most: Rick's rotations suck. Why doesn't he pick a lineup and stick with it, preferably the lineup I want?
Me: I'm glad Rick finds a way to get spot duty guys some burn and is willing to change things up and find the right buttons to push to pull out a win on a night where the team is struggling a bit.

To be fair. I think we all are actually happy about any kind of contribution from THJ but he is shooting 37% FG and 32% from 3 for the season. Expectations are low and him not going 0-5 from 3 or 2-8 from the field is counted as a good game. Not really sure if any other player would be praised for consecutive 4/11, 5/12 and 4/11 performances with mediocre defense ( I know that he he forced a crucial charge against Gordon but overall he is an average onball defender that misses more rotations than any other player on the roster).

Last night probably wasn´t the right moment to call out THJ because other bench players had really bad games (Brunson, Wright) but the general point about him getting minutes over Seth Curry still stands.
I am not sure where Justin Jackson fits into this discussion because even in his good games I barely notice him on the floor. Don´t think it makes a difference whether it´s him or THJ on the floor.

To sum it up. THJ is not a good bball player but I don´t see any alternative options so the Mavs might as well play him for a few minutes every night. Keep using him if he is hot. Bench him ASAP if he is not. And most importantly don´t reduce Currys minutes in THJs favor.

[Mak]

I am ready to sell my Thank-Yous for Barea votes.

---

I am ready to sell my Thank-Yous for Barea votes.

Or my “Likes”. Whatever they’re called. They’re for sale.

Barea was the MVP tonight, he deserves the Dirkie 100% and I'll change my vote right now. His play in the 2nd sparked this team and they performed noticeably different with him on the court

Powell was trash

Your like payment has been delivered. Pls change vote accordingly. 

#Vote4JJ

[fifteenth]

To be fair. I think we all are actually happy about any kind of contribution from THJ but he is shooting 37% FG and 32% from 3 for the season. Expectations are low and him not going 0-5 from 3 or 2-8 from the field is counted as a good game. Not really sure if any other player would be praised for consecutive 4/11, 5/12 and 4/11 performances with mediocre defense ( I know that he he forced a crucial charge against Gordon but overall he is an average onball defender that misses more rotations than any other player on the roster).

Last night probably wasn´t the right moment to call out THJ because other bench players had really bad games (Brunson, Wright) but the general point about him getting minutes over Seth Curry still stands.
I am not sure where Justin Jackson fits into this discussion because even in his good games I barely notice him on the floor. Don´t think it makes a difference whether it´s him or THJ on the floor.

To sum it up. THJ is not a good bball player but I don´t see any alternative options so the Mavs might as well play him for a few minutes every night. Keep using him if he is hot. Bench him ASAP if he is not. And most importantly don´t reduce Currys minutes in THJs favor.

To be fair, I agree with 98% of this. The only way I diverge is that players' minutes are best judged as trends. I have no problem with a minutes change up in a game where Rick wanted to get JJB some burn and where, for some reason, in this particular game, the coach thought THJ gave the team something it needed. I'm a Seth fan. I want him to have a much larger role than THJ. I want Seth as a closer, and I'm leaning towards liking him as a starter. But I'm not going to get bent out of shape about anomaly games.

[dirkfansince1998]

To be fair. I think we all are actually happy about any kind of contribution from THJ but he is shooting 37% FG and 32% from 3 for the season. Expectations are low and him not going 0-5 from 3 or 2-8 from the field is counted as a good game. Not really sure if any other player would be praised for consecutive 4/11, 5/12 and 4/11 performances with mediocre defense ( I know that he he forced a crucial charge against Gordon but overall he is an average onball defender that misses more rotations than any other player on the roster).

Last night probably wasn´t the right moment to call out THJ because other bench players had really bad games (Brunson, Wright) but the general point about him getting minutes over Seth Curry still stands.
I am not sure where Justin Jackson fits into this discussion because even in his good games I barely notice him on the floor. Don´t think it makes a difference whether it´s him or THJ on the floor.

To sum it up. THJ is not a good bball player but I don´t see any alternative options so the Mavs might as well play him for a few minutes every night. Keep using him if he is hot. Bench him ASAP if he is not. And most importantly don´t reduce Currys minutes in THJs favor.

To be fair, I agree with 98% of this. The only way I diverge is that players' minutes are best judged as trends. I have no problem with a minutes change up in a game where Rick wanted to get JJB some burn and where, for some reason, in this particular game, the coach thought THJ gave the team something it needed. I'm a Seth fan. I want him to have a much larger role than THJ. I want Seth as a closer, and I'm leaning towards liking him as a starter. But I'm not going to get bent out of shape about anomaly games.

Agree. I think games like last nights one fall into the category of "might as well give him minutes". Rest of the usual rotations guards had off nights and even JJB was resurrected.
Mavs were losing and nothing worked. Cannot fault RC for changing things up and the result speaks for itself.

[fifteenth]

Agree. I think games like last nights one fall into the category of "might as well give him minutes". Rest of the usual rotations guards had off nights and even JJB was resurrected.
Mavs were losing and nothing worked. Cannot fault RC for changing things up and the result speaks for itself.

I wonder if he wanted THJ's size. Jackson played more than usual too, which could fit a size theory. 

Also, early season Rick lineups shift at times. I think he'll decide, "all right, it's time to get some date on lineups with "x" player at times. I hope that tendency doesn't result in less Seth.

[omahen]

I wonder if he wanted THJ's size.

I think that is quite obvious. Orlando was killing us with offensive boards in the first quarter. I bet this was the main reason Brunson and Curry didn't return.

[vfromlmf]

Luka won the game - but he wouldn't have been in position to win without Barea's first half heroics.

Boban didn't work so Barea was Carlisle's last resort before taking an intentional T.

[ClutchDirk]

Luka and Barea tied right now...

[fifteenth]

Boban didn't work so Barea was Carlisle's last resort before taking an intentional T.

I like this theory

[Mak]

Luka and Barea tied right now...

And ClutchDirk has yet to cast a vote. 

Just gonna leave this here for your consideration. 

[ClutchDirk]

Luka and Barea tied right now...

And ClutchDirk has yet to cast a vote. 

Just gonna leave this here for your consideration. 

I voted right before my post for Barea...

[Reunion Mav Old]

I am thinking back to the days win 60 win seasons were the norm. These are the kind of wins we pulled out consistently. We knew how to win. Last night was actually pretty bad because this team still makes too many game losing plays (which we have listed in game threads) and that needs to improve and it will. But....

It is great that the quality of our depth goes so deep that Rick has all of these legitimate options. 

Orlando will not be the last lesser team that plays with desperation this time of year still hoping to prove they are a playoff team. 

I really like what Fifteenth wrote and the followup discussion. I am totally on board with this line of thinking. 

Voted for Barea because I thought his performance was the most special and important to the win relative to his usual performance and a little bit because who knows how many more chances he will get for the Dirkie.

[ClutchDirk]

Luka and Barea tied right now...

And ClutchDirk has yet to cast a vote. 

Just gonna leave this here for your consideration.