A Few Thoughts on Knicks 106, Mavs 103

[mavsluvr]

Well, that was embarrassing.

How did the Mavs manage to lose this game to the worst team in the NBA, for the second time in 10 days?

1.  Abysmal three-point shooting 

     8-36, including KP 1-5, SC 0-4, LD 3-12, THJ 2-7

     Combination of poor shot selection and statistical outlier. 

2.  Mediocre free-throw shooting. 

     8 missed free throws, 74%

     OTOH, Mavs were very good at getting to the line, earning 31 attempts. Especially noteworthy were 10-13 from Luka        and 5-5 from KP. Free throws essentially kept the Mavs in the game. Four more makes would have been the difference. 

3.  Subpar rebounding. 

     Mavs out rebounded 44-53, and gave up 15 offensive boards. 

4.  Issues with game management and execution. We'll focus on the fourth quarter. 

     The teams entered the fourth tied at 87-87.  

     Luka and KP sat for over six minutes at the start of the final frame. One could disagree with this decision, and it wasn't what I would have done (barring unknown circumstances), but I'm giving Rick a pass on this one. Coaches have to be able to make decisions on playing time, and this one was not outlandish. Also, the bench kept the team in the game. When Luka was subbed back in at 5:53, the score was 95-94 Mavs. 

     Let's take a look at the rest of the possessions, as many of the Mavs' issues have come in the clutch this season. 

5:41  MM missed three.
        Boban called for a charge.  Mavs TO. KP and Powell come in. 

5:00  Barrett layup off an offensive rebound. 95-96
         Luka live ball TO off Dotson steal. 

4:38   Knicks TO on Robinson charge. 
          Luka live ball TO off Ntlikina steal. That is three turnovers in a row.

4:23   That turnover resulted in a jump ball. Knicks gain possession, and MM hits a three.  95-99
         Luka missed three. 

3:37  FN missed jump shot. 
        After a couple of out-of-bounds plays, Powell oop from Luka.   97-99

2:59  MM missed shot, Knicks OR, MM misses another shot.
        Wright reverse layup from Luka.  Game tied at 99-99.

2:11  MM misses layup. 
         Luka missed three. 

1:32  Randle makes layup.  99-101
        KP misses jump shot. Somewhat curious why a KP post up was the effort here. Seems like something they might put in a "Bad Idea" Jeans commercial, but whatevs. 

0:48  DSJ missed shot.
         THJ missed three, Seth OR and putback. Yay!!!  Game tied at 101-101.

0:27  Barrett missed layup, Knicks OR, jump ball, Knicks gain possession, MM three. Aaaargh. What a cluster.    101-104
        
0:06  Mavs have a three-point deficit, no timeouts, a foul to give. Luka goes for a layup. This one really confused me. Not sure if he thought he could draw a foul, if that was a coached play, or if it was just a desperate attempt to salvage something from a broken play that looked like it was intended to result in a Luka three. Maybe by the time this is read, we will have a little more info. A headscratcher.  103-104

0:04  Knicks make 2 free throws off intentional fouls. 103-106

0:02  Long pass to Seth, who airballs a tightly contested three (which he had to take).

FT.  Mavs lose 103-106.


A lot went wrong in this clutch stretch. Three turnovers, resulting in three Knicks points off turnovers. Three Knicks offensive rebounds, resulting in 5 second chance points. Four missed threes. Only eight points in almost six minutes. At least a couple of questionable plays. And still, the game was tied until the last 13 seconds. Did not execute like a contending team, and indeed, they aren't there yet. 

Bigger picture. A lot of young team type issues. This should improve, probably a lot, as the season wears on, although that may not be reflected in W-L record, as there are a lot of good teams out there. I know I will get flamed for this, but this team may have set expectations a little too high with their early successes. Tbh, on paper, the roster, aside from Luka and KP, is pretty barf-worthy for a contender. Not that these guys aren't good basketball players -- they're very good -- but they're just (necessarily) being asked to do too much relative to their capacities. I would be surprised if many of these players are still on the team in a couple of seasons, and if they are, I think it will be for a good reason (they performed above expectations) rather than a bad one (the Mavs couldn't find anyone better). I think, although the Mavs are definitely trying to win this season and contend for a playoff spot, their numero uno objective is to mold the squad into a Carlisle team, even if it means sacrificing a few Ws. 

On the Bright Side. Luka -- OMG. Yet another triple double, with 33 points, 10 boards, and 11 dimes. What a tremendous privilege to watch this youngster! Also, the Mavs are 6-5, but have been right there in almost every game. When they learn to finish a little better, they should scare some teams. Finally, although this was a mortifying loss, considering the circumstances, the game itself was highly entertaining, so at least that. 

Random observations. The Knicks treated KP very rudely, booing him and yelling crude chants at him at every opportunity. He seemed to take it in stride. Secondly, I don't get how TNT permits Reggie Miller to pronounce Luka's name "Donkitch" for almost the entire game. Grrr. 

Next. Mavs play the Raps on Saturday.

[fifteenth]

Thanks mavsluvr!! Well done!!

A good mavsluvr recap does a lot to make the loss a little bit less painful. The Mavs are a work in progress but Mavs talk is in a better place!

---

their numero uno objective is to mold the squad into a Carlisle team, even if it means sacrificing a few Ws

I think this point is the key piece to why Mavs basketball has been fairly ugly for a few games. The Mavs front office and the Mavs coach are playing the long game.

[ClutchDirk]

We finally are playing well enough to get a Mavsluvr recap...

https://media.giphy.com/media/l1nALKk98i.../giphy.gif

[mavsluvr]

Aw, you guys are too much.

[iolide]

This is good stuff. Definitely helps see in other perspective. I do too think a lot of the issues stem from being a young team. Yeah, our avg isn't young but that's cause of the few old guys that barely play. It'll come with the losses, unfortunately; but i do believe the MBT is working harder now than any time after our Championship to figure out what fits and what is needed. 

Can't win em all i guess. On to the next one!

[mavsluvr]

There is an article in the Athletic today that discusses KP's reception at MSG last night. 

He was booed mercilessly, with shouts exhibiting such classiness as "Traitor," "Go back to Latvia," and "KP sucks."

KP said it didn't affect him, but Marcus Morris thought it rattled him a bit. He noted that KP "played too fast," and missed shots and threw away a pass for a turnover in the first quarter.

https://theathletic.com/1380942/2019/11/...rn-to-msg/


Whether it is/was nerves or not, it has struck me that KP often plays a little too fast in general. He has a bit of tendency to force up shots early when he feels pressured, and has said that he is aware that he needs to correct that. On posting up, he rarely backs his defender down very much, preferring to take a quick turnaround jumper over the opposing player, which often ends up clanking. We have Dirk for an example of how it's done, with how patient he was at working for his shot on postups, with phenomenal results. 

I am basing this on this season's games. If there is data from his previous seasons showing that this is an aberration for him, then I will be happy to be corrected.

---

Thanks mavsluvr!! Well done!!

A good mavsluvr recap does a lot to make the loss a little bit less painful. The Mavs are a work in progress but Mavs talk is in a better place!

---

their numero uno objective is to mold the squad into a Carlisle team, even if it means sacrificing a few Ws

I think this point is the key piece to why Mavs basketball has been fairly ugly for a few games. The Mavs front office and the Mavs coach are playing the long game.

Love the applauding dogs, lol.

[SportPsychMav]

There is an article in the Athletic today that discusses KP's reception at MSG last night. 

He was booed mercilessly, with shouts exhibiting such classiness as "Traitor," "Go back to Latvia," and "KP sucks."

KP said it didn't affect him, but Marcus Morris thought it rattled him a bit. He noted that KP "played too fast," and missed shots and threw away a pass for a turnover in the first quarter.

https://theathletic.com/1380942/2019/11/...rn-to-msg/


Whether it is/was nerves or not, it has struck me that KP often plays a little too fast in general. He has a bit of tendency to force up shots early when he feels pressured, and has said that he is aware that he needs to correct that. On posting up, he rarely backs his defender down very much, preferring to take a quick turnaround jumper over the opposing player, which often ends up clanking. We have Dirk for an example of how it's done, with how patient he was at working for his shot on postups, with phenomenal results. 

I am basing this on this season's games. If there is data from his previous seasons showing that this is an aberration for him, then I will be happy to be corrected.

Kristaps definitely is struggling mentally, he seems to be an overthinker, which put him at risk for depression (Probability sentence fifteenth). A lot of difficult things have happened to him in the past 3 years.

That's no critique on him. 

Mavs are doing fine in cushioning him. He needs stability and trust more than anything. I hope Carlisle is doing him right as he isn't known as a players coach. 

He is aware of his issues, which take time to fix. Cognitively understanding something is different than adjusting emotions and habits.

While Luka thrives through adversity I think Kirstaps is a different character. It's good for him that he is the 2nd/3rd option. 


Overall,  he had a good game against the Knicks.

[embellisher]

Bigger picture. A lot of young team type issues. This should improve, probably a lot, as the season wears on, although that may not be reflected in W-L record, as there are a lot of good teams out there. I know I will get flamed for this, but this team may have set expectations a little too high with their early successes. Tbh, on paper, the roster, aside from Luka and KP, is pretty barf-worthy for a contender. Not that these guys aren't good basketball players -- they're very good -- but they're just (necessarily) being asked to do too much relative to their capacities. I would be surprised if many of these players are still on the team in a couple of seasons, and if they are, I think it will be for a good reason (they performed above expectations) rather than a bad one (the Mavs couldn't find anyone better). I think, although the Mavs are definitely trying to win this season and contend for a playoff spot, their numero uno objective is to mold the squad into a Carlisle team, even if it means sacrificing a few Ws. 

Been missing your recaps, so glad you found your way here, and that the Mavs are competitive enough for you to share your input again! 

The bit that I quoted above  - right on! All of the Carlisle bashers and knee-jerkers don't seem to realize that the Mavs are playing the long game.

Playoffs would be nice, but I don't really think it's a goal of the MBT this season.

This season is for building chemistry, for getting our young team more experience (that includes guys who have been around for a few years but never had this big of a role) and molding this team into a RC team. 

Seriously, some of these new guys, we don't really know what we have yet. That takes time to find out. Rick has to play with lineups to find out what works, and what doesn't.

Like I said, playoffs would be really nice, but this is a rebuild in progress. It might be a year early to insist that we HAVE to make the playoffs or the season is a failure.

[Reunion Mav Old]

Coming to this thread makes me so happy. I just love the balanced and insightful thoughts....and I agree.

I hope we don't get too many hard lesson losses...but it is still very interesting to watch. I was so mad at the Knicks last night. Playing as well as they did with hustle, defense and offensive rebounding just makes them look worse because it took asinine motivation to get them to play that hard. This hustle and confidence that they have showed a grand total of two times this year is precisely what they don't do any other night. 

Last night makes the Knicks franchise and fans look worse in my opinion. I am very upset at the loss...but I understand it. It also means little besides a good lesson in the long game.

[ItsGoTime]

It might be a year early to insist that we HAVE to make the playoffs or the season is a failure.

It's that because we didn't make good enough use of the $30M in the biggest FA class the NBA has ever seen. RC has faults, but it's not his fault he has to get to know a new team every single year he's been here. It's not his fault the FO keeps going after home runs when they could get a solid double and then have to settle for either striking out or a single.

[mavsluvr]

Bigger picture. A lot of young team type issues. This should improve, probably a lot, as the season wears on, although that may not be reflected in W-L record, as there are a lot of good teams out there. I know I will get flamed for this, but this team may have set expectations a little too high with their early successes. Tbh, on paper, the roster, aside from Luka and KP, is pretty barf-worthy for a contender. Not that these guys aren't good basketball players -- they're very good -- but they're just (necessarily) being asked to do too much relative to their capacities. I would be surprised if many of these players are still on the team in a couple of seasons, and if they are, I think it will be for a good reason (they performed above expectations) rather than a bad one (the Mavs couldn't find anyone better). I think, although the Mavs are definitely trying to win this season and contend for a playoff spot, their numero uno objective is to mold the squad into a Carlisle team, even if it means sacrificing a few Ws. 

Been missing your recaps, so glad you found your way here, and that the Mavs are competitive enough for you to share your input again! 

The bit that I quoted above  - right on! All of the Carlisle bashers and knee-jerkers don't seem to realize that the Mavs are playing the long game.

Playoffs would be nice, but I don't really think it's a goal of the MBT this season.

This season is for building chemistry, for getting our young team more experience (that includes guys who have been around for a few years but never had this big of a role) and molding this team into a RC team. 

Seriously, some of these new guys, we don't really know what we have yet. That takes time to find out. Rick has to play with lineups to find out what works, and what doesn't.

Like I said, playoffs would be really nice, but this is a rebuild in progress. It might be a year early to insist that we HAVE to make the playoffs or the season is a failure.

Hey, embellisher!

I think the playoffs push will be real, if only because Luka wants it so badly, but agree that the team has broader overall priorities and the organization will not measure this season by whether they make the top eight or not. 

One of the main things working for them in making the playoffs might be that several other Western Conference teams have stumbled out of the gate. Would probably not have given them much of a chance, but for that.

---

There is an article in the Athletic today that discusses KP's reception at MSG last night. 

He was booed mercilessly, with shouts exhibiting such classiness as "Traitor," "Go back to Latvia," and "KP sucks."

KP said it didn't affect him, but Marcus Morris thought it rattled him a bit. He noted that KP "played too fast," and missed shots and threw away a pass for a turnover in the first quarter.

https://theathletic.com/1380942/2019/11/...rn-to-msg/


Whether it is/was nerves or not, it has struck me that KP often plays a little too fast in general. He has a bit of tendency to force up shots early when he feels pressured, and has said that he is aware that he needs to correct that. On posting up, he rarely backs his defender down very much, preferring to take a quick turnaround jumper over the opposing player, which often ends up clanking. We have Dirk for an example of how it's done, with how patient he was at working for his shot on postups, with phenomenal results. 

I am basing this on this season's games. If there is data from his previous seasons showing that this is an aberration for him, then I will be happy to be corrected.

Kristaps definitely is struggling mentally, he seems to be an overthinker, which put him at risk for depression (Probability sentence fifteenth). A lot of difficult things have happened to him in the past 3 years.

That's no critique on him. 

Mavs are doing fine in cushioning him. He needs stability and trust more than anything. I hope Carlisle is doing him right as he isn't known as a players coach. 

He is aware of his issues, which take time to fix. Cognitively understanding something is different than adjusting emotions and habits.

While Luka thrives through adversity I think Kirstaps is a different character. It's good for him that he is the 2nd/3rd option. 


Overall,  he had a good game against the Knicks.

He is definitely going through a lot of adjustments, on and off the court. These guys are human, after all, and the Mavs seem to be trying to be sensitive to that. Thought-provoking points!

[StepBackJay]

Great recap @mavsluvr. I was really pissed off last night but it is what it is, still some positives you can take away. KP I thought looked terrible and yet you look at his box score and he got a 20/11 double double. He had some nice passes I thought (only 1 assist logged but nice passes all the same). His shooting was not good but he still ended up with 20 points. 

It is still amazing that with all the problems he has he is still above his career averages in points and rebounds. Mentally he is just not there for some reason but he's so talented that even when he's struggling he's a good player. Eventually he is going to get it all together if he can just stay the course and the Mavs can build around his strengths.

[mavsluvr]

Great recap @mavsluvr. I was really pissed off last night but it is what it is, still some positives you can take away. KP I thought looked terrible and yet you look at his box score and he got a 20/11 double double. He had some nice passes I thought (only 1 assist logged but nice passes all the same). His shooting was not good but he still ended up with 20 points. 

It is still amazing that with all the problems he has he is still above his career averages in points and rebounds. Mentally he is just not there for some reason but he's so talented that even when he's struggling he's a good player. Eventually he is going to get it all together if he can just stay the course and the Mavs can build around his strengths.

Thanks, SBJ. Yeah, I was very disappointed too, but found that trying to analyze it calmed me down some. 

Donnie gave an interview yesterday and said that this year was a time for Luka and KP to learn to play together, and it is just going to take some time. 

Your comments remind me of stuff going on in another sport. I don't know if you or anyone else follows Spanish soccer, but FC Barcelona fans are always (with some justification) talking about badly Barca is doing, but then we have to remind ourselves that they are still first in La Liga and first in their Championship League group, lol. Even though KP struggled, he still had 20/11. Good point!

[mtrot]

Great recap @mavsluvr. I was really pissed off last night but it is what it is, still some positives you can take away. KP I thought looked terrible and yet you look at his box score and he got a 20/11 double double. He had some nice passes I thought (only 1 assist logged but nice passes all the same). His shooting was not good but he still ended up with 20 points. 

It is still amazing that with all the problems he has he is still above his career averages in points and rebounds. Mentally he is just not there for some reason but he's so talented that even when he's struggling he's a good player. Eventually he is going to get it all together if he can just stay the course and the Mavs can build around his strengths.

I think the problem with KP is that he still needs one legitimate NBA level wing to work with.  The Mavs just don't move well without the ball, don't slash and cut to the rim like they should.  You mentioned his passes, I think he is able to make great passes, and I think with such a player to work with, his level of play would go up.

[TXBamanut]

KP still has played better in both games that Chandler Parsons EVER did against the Houston Rockets...he never got over leaving them when he was here.

[Lucky Luciano]

Definitely missed the post game wrap ups from MLVR!!!

[Magickian]

Woot woot!!! This site is now OFFICIAL! We have mavsluvr back and with the state of the art game recaps!

I truly missed these! It is an honor to have you doing this on our site mavsluvr!

[mavsluvr]

Woot woot!!! This site is now OFFICIAL! We have mavsluvr back and with the state of the art game recaps!

I truly missed these! It is an honor to have you doing this on our site mavsluvr!

http://clipart-library.com/img1/4073498.jpg

[ThisIStheYear]

My thoughts:

1). On the most crucial late game defensive possession, instead of playing defense, Zinger decided to just fall down and give up a layup.

2) On the next most crucial offensive possession, Zinger demanded the ball in the post, where he’s terrible, barely had the strength to turn his body to awkwardly get a shot off, and bricked it. What were the Mavs thinking putting the game on the line with a play like that? Talk about playing to your weaknesses.

And that was the ballgame.

[mavsluvr]

My thoughts: 

1). On the most crucial late game defensive possession, instead of playing defense, Zinger decided to just fall down and give up a layup.

2)  On the next most crucial offensive possession, Zinger demanded the ball in the post, where he’s terrible, barely had the strength to turn his body to awkwardly get a shot off, and bricked it.  What were the Mavs thinking putting the game on the line with a play like that?  Talk about playing to your weaknesses.

And that was the ballgame.

I don't have an answer for you, TItY. I had hoped we might get a clue from Rick, a player, or a journalist on the head scratching plays. But I haven't heard anything.