DAMN-WIDDIE: All Things Spencer | "Mr Game Seven" (30 pts, 11-15 FGs, +29)

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/MavsPR/status/1500271872121974788

He has earned his own thread IMO!

Carrying the team without Luka. 

Clutch in the 4th with Luka.

[audiosway]

I told you that dude can ball. That trade of KP for SD and Bertans got my attention. Cuban had just about lost me. Color me impressed. I've liked SD since he was with Brooklyn. Very good fit with Luka. Bertans is as well. Just the kind of guys Dallas needs.

I would resign Brunson this offseason and next deadline look to trade him for a wing. Put DFS at the 4 and upgrade the starting 5 spot. I like Powell and think they can win with him. However, I would like to upgrade that spot if they are going to be a contender.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...8551420932

[Kammrath]

"I've never bashed Washington. I've never said an ill thing about the team. In fact, I thank the owner or chairman Ted [Leonsis], I thank Tommy Sheppard the GM and I thank [Bradley Beal] for those three kind of collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn't have to pay somebody coming off an ACL.

"I'm appreciative of that, appreciative of my time there. ... So to be bashed out on the way out the door hurt my feelings for sure. I think I'm human, of course."

[Kammrath]

"He's been very receptive to coaching and to his teammates, and they trust him," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "That's one of the hardest things is, how fast will the trust take place? I think you can see the trust is at a very high level when he's on the floor."

Asked why he seems to fit so much better in Dallas than Washington, Dinwiddie said, "Not to beat a dead horse, I just think our commitment to the collective and to winning games is all that matters."

[Kammrath]

"I do what I do and I don't do what I'm not supposed to do," Dinwiddie said. "That goes one through 15. Everybody here follows that type of mentality because we understand to win basketball games not just in the regular season but to win in the playoffs, you need that."

[Kammrath]

"When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more -- they felt like I was scoring a lot -- I did that. I took my foot off the gas scoring-wise because that's what they felt -- the team needed to get [Kyle Kuzma] and [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and those guys shots. I said, 'Look, I already got paid. This is about y'all trying to get the shots that y'all need, whatever.'

"So to get kind of kicked out the door was a wild feeling. I hadn't really experienced that before. But I still have nothing ill to say other than, yes, it hurt my feelings. But just like anything else, you become cautiously optimistic about your new situation. So far, it's a great fit. I love what they ask me to do here, which is get in the paint, and I'm going to continue to do that and continue to try to be of service."

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/GrantAfseth/status/1...5096903684

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/NickVanExit/status/1...3979374596

[Slavius]

Dude knows how to talk and is very likeable, as is the team. It is really fun watching them. Even through tough stretches like most of the last game. very refreshing. i was doubtful at least with the KP trade, but i like the outcoming so far

[Chicagojk]

I want to give both guys a good month to get a good evaluation but I am really enjoying Dinwiddie's ability to get to the rim and his ability to get to the free throw line.  Both are excellent for this team.   It is nice to have three guys who are very good at the rim off dribble penetration.  All do it different ways.  Luka is all world at it.   Jalen uses angles, change of pace and some trickery to get to the rim.   Dinwiddie is sort of a mix.   It is so nice to have another guy who can get to the rim off the dribble.   As good as Jalen is in the paint, getting to the free throw line is not his strongest asset.  Hopefully with Dinwiddie and Luka this will allow us to get into the penalty.  It is always nice in close games to get possessions where you get free throws....especially late in games.

[Chicagojk]

Also, way to soon to make a final judgement but so far Dinwiddie looks like the much better player to Dragic.   Dragic being out for most of the year needs to be considered.   To be transparent, I would have preferred targeting Dragic even if it meant keeping KP longer.    I haven't watched the nets play, but his play has been pretty average.   I hope I continue to be wrong.

[Jym]

Also, way to soon to make a final judgement but so far Dinwiddie looks like the much better player to Dragic.   Dragic being out for most of the year needs to be considered.   To be transparent, I would have preferred targeting Dragic even if it meant keeping KP longer.    I haven't watched the nets play, but his play has been pretty average.   I hope I continue to be wrong.

Yeah I said multiple times that I would have preferred Dragic
Looking wrong on that one. Dinwiddie has been a great fit. Maybe an injury bug bites but gotta love the way he's attacking and fitting in

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/NickVanExit/status/1...4258623491

[DanSchwartzgan]

Pretty good article on Mav's Moneyball today talking about how SD amplifies what Brunson does.  As we know, Brunson famously wilted in the LAC series last season.  The issue was when he was running the team alone without Luka.  When JB was the focus of the LAC defense, his TS% was 46.3% and Dallas scored only 88.9 points per 100 possessions.  But, when paired with another big playmaker (Luka), Brunson's TS% was 70.5% against the Clippers.  The point is this team can always have a large playmaker alongside JB now, which takes advantage of his ability to hit open 3's or attack closeouts and get to the rim.

Here is how this looks since the trade:



"Dinwiddie is not Luka Doncic, but he duplicates several of Luka’s strengths. He is massive for a point guard in the traditional sense. He leverages his extreme size and length to get to the rim and finish or create open shots for teammates.

His size and athleticism prevents Dinwiddie from being enveloped by perimeter defenders the same way Brunson can be. The Mavericks have played 82 minutes with Brunson and Dinwiddie on the court and Luka on the bench. During those minutes the Mavericks have a net rating of +16.2. As with any lineup data with so few minutes, that net rating is of extremely limited value but it shows the value of keeping three playmakers. The Mavericks are shooting 46.6 percent from three in those minutes.

Brunson and Dinwiddie have both been on unsustainable shooting runs but that does not mean that the offense won’t continue to dominate once they cool off. Brunson is shooting [b]63.6!!!! [/b]percent from three since Dinwiddie joined the team. Brunson has averaged 16.7 points on 62.8 percent true shooting during this time. The Mavericks are 6-1 in these games despite playing tough opposition. Bench units, which the Brunson and Dinwiddie combo will mostly face are simply not equipped to handle two play makers this good.


Dinwiddie has been sensational with the Mavericks. He has averaged 17.6 points and 5.1 assists on 66.0 percent true shooting. Most impressively he has done so without detracting from the game of either Luka or Brunson. Luka has still averaged 32.2 points per game since Dinwiddie joined the team."


https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2022/3/7/2...en-brunson

[burekemde]

This is all what I was hoping the team would get. To exploit the space Luka creates with driving, finishing at the rim, and bbIQ and passing to the next player when defense collapses. All that is the skillset of Brunson and Dinwiddie. They have the basketball IQ to move in the right positions depending what Luka does and they know how to exploit the space not only through shooting as some of our previous players could only do (KP in particular) but also through penetration, passing, ball movement, finishing at the rim.

[MaxiThreeba]

Pretty good article on Mav's Moneyball today talking about how SD amplifies what Brunson does.  As we know, Brunson famously wilted in the LAC series last season.  The issue was when he was running the team alone without Luka.  When JB was the focus of the LAC defense, his TS% was 46.3% and Dallas scored only 88.9 points per 100 possessions.  But, when paired with another big playmaker (Luka), Brunson's TS% was 70.5% against the Clippers.  The point is this team can always have a large playmaker alongside JB now, which takes advantage of his ability to hit open 3's or attack closeouts and get to the rim.

Here is how this looks since the trade:



"Dinwiddie is not Luka Doncic, but he duplicates several of Luka’s strengths. He is massive for a point guard in the traditional sense. He leverages his extreme size and length to get to the rim and finish or create open shots for teammates.

His size and athleticism prevents Dinwiddie from being enveloped by perimeter defenders the same way Brunson can be. The Mavericks have played 82 minutes with Brunson and Dinwiddie on the court and Luka on the bench. During those minutes the Mavericks have a net rating of +16.2. As with any lineup data with so few minutes, that net rating is of extremely limited value but it shows the value of keeping three playmakers. The Mavericks are shooting 46.6 percent from three in those minutes.

Brunson and Dinwiddie have both been on unsustainable shooting runs but that does not mean that the offense won’t continue to dominate once they cool off. Brunson is shooting [b]63.6!!!! [/b]percent from three since Dinwiddie joined the team. Brunson has averaged 16.7 points on 62.8 percent true shooting during this time. The Mavericks are 6-1 in these games despite playing tough opposition. Bench units, which the Brunson and Dinwiddie combo will mostly face are simply not equipped to handle two play makers this good.


Dinwiddie has been sensational with the Mavericks. He has averaged 17.6 points and 5.1 assists on 66.0 percent true shooting. Most impressively he has done so without detracting from the game of either Luka or Brunson. Luka has still averaged 32.2 points per game since Dinwiddie joined the team."


https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2022/3/7/2...en-brunson

I have confidence the Mavs will pay market rate for JB.  I hope JB feels the love and loves the fit and decides Dallas is where he wants to be.  

The three headed monster at the guard positions is a nightmare to deal with.  Adding that third playmaker has just further unlocked JB's insane efficiency.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1501046070805155840

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/15...0608878597

[Mavs2021]

Must say I´m absolutely shocked about the Dinwiddie returns on the trade. Gives me some faith that the new MBT actually knows what they are doing or we are just lucky that John Wall is not into bitcoin.  To be determined.

Obviously Dinwiddie is not going to suddenly shoot 50/45/90 for the rest of his career, but this shows how badly we needed that 3rd playmaker.

It has also helped us, in combination with the freedom to express himself, to further unlock DFS.

Since the Dinwiddie trade DFS is averaging 15 PPG,  5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG and that´s a stretch against some of the best defensive teams in the league, no tankers. 

Bertans is basically Latvian , shoots it like Porzingis. Despite all the empty numbers his boxscore +/- are very nice and he won´t complain about only playing 10-15 minutes. Trading that contract will be near impossible, then as long as Dinwiddie plays anywhere near this level, the trade is a win.

It´s also not a question whether Luka should win a title, has but how many titles he should win, and hopefully unlike with Dirk the answer will be multiple. Maybe in that regard it helps with the recruitment of a Damian Lillard that Dinwiddie shows you can win with Luka and multiple ballhandlers. It´s not a Harden-ball situation, if that one was ever accurate.

In a sense by trading for Dinwiddie/Bertans, the MBT did something I´m very much in favour of. Trading for players that are relentlessly talked down in the media to the point that even the GMs start to believe their media value. Not that we got them for cheap or anything in this specific case, just that the players are probably better their perceptions.

Another rule is always buy into players from bad teams, rather than good teams. Good teams make mediocre players better and good teams don´t let good players go. Bad teams make mediocre players look worse, and they don´t know how to make them better.

Still a hot candidate for both theories the Knicks fall guy: Julius Randle.

Shame we did not invest the two 2nd round picks into another victim of this: Marvin Bagley. That would have been really nice. 16/7 in Detroit so far, team is 4-2.