GAME 56 DIRKIE: Kyrie wins 53%

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/16...yHgogtAAAA

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/16...qxg4gtAAAA

[Chicagojk]

To have one practice and play like that against a good team, Kyrie definitely has a strong case.

But I will give it to Pinson.  He stabilized us in the fourth with several nice plays.

Green and Bullock honorable mention with really nice defense.

[SleepingHero]

I have to give it to Kyrie for this one.

His presence was felt immediately. Clips had to double him ALL game and it opened up our entire offense.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...1746756610

[Chicagojk]

McGee has a few really nice minutes to. Not Dirkie but let’s see if he can string a few together.  Maybe the faster pace helped him too?

[Jym]

You can make a solid case for Pinson but I gotta with Kyrie after only participating in one real practice

[SleepingHero]

McGee has a few really nice minutes to. Not Dirkie but let’s see if he can string a few together.  Maybe the faster pace helped him too?

McGee played with more energy tonight than the entire season prior combined. If he can be like this then the Mavs center rotation looks a lot better all of a sudden.

[MFFL]

Pinson because it was so fun

[ballsrchr]

All the starters played decent games.

Pinson deserves some consideration for timely baskets and good play.

So...it comes down to Josh Green and Kyrie Irving.  Who has earned my Dirkie?

I just have a hard time giving a Dirkie to a man who has played only one game for the Mavs.  It was a good game--and I expect better later on, but...

So, my Dirkie goes to Josh Green.  "He's here, he's there, he's everywhere...."

[KillerLeft]

McGee has a few really nice minutes to. Not Dirkie but let’s see if he can string a few together.  Maybe the faster pace helped him too?

don't hate me, but...I kind of want to vote for McGee. 

when LA was clearly in control and about to take the lead, he had a stretch of about 3 minutes that completely transformed the game, imho.

[Jym]

don't hate me, but...I kind of want to vote for McGee. 

when LA was clearly in control and about to take the lead, he had a stretch of about 3 minutes that completely transformed the game, imho.

he had a friggin' chase down block
never thought I'd see that from him

[SleepingHero]

don't hate me, but...I kind of want to vote for McGee. 

when LA was clearly in control and about to take the lead, he had a stretch of about 3 minutes that completely transformed the game, imho.

Do it. McGee absolutely deserves it.

I'd be voting McGee too, but Kyrie was doing stuff like this:
https://twitter.com/MavsHighlights/statu...3422239747

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1623...19521?s=20&t=fRY3xDaaJeGjgsTQhJwhQA

[MrGoat]

I got to go with Theo. Kidd put huge trust in him in the 4th quarter and he delivered, not just the threes, he had him as the main ball handler in the clutch to make sure we didn't turn it over again

McGee was frisky tonight though so he gets an honorable mention, there were points in the game when Zubac was working Powell over where I was actually calling for the Mavs to put McGee back in. That isn't something that happens every game

[Reunion Mav]

I like the large number of strong contributors tonight. My vote goes to Timmy for playing above expectations of this board. Besides it might still be his last game.

[ThisIStheYear]

Welcome to the team, Kyrie!  But Bullock clearly deserves the Dirkie tonight.  Solid defense, hot shooting, 6 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals.  He stuffed the stat sheet.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...81664?s=20&t=fRY3xDaaJeGjgsTQhJwhQA

[MrGoat]

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...81664?s=20&t=fRY3xDaaJeGjgsTQhJwhQA

Finished watching that a bit earlier, it was hilarious. 10 minutes later he took a massive dump on the Nets when he was finally willing to take questions about it. Said he was glad for KD that he was out of there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVSMH1UJdKE

[SleepingHero]

Anyways, this was a fantastic game. 

Some thoughts:

The Good:

Ball movement, Now you see me-
This team passed the ball like a hot potato. They were having so much fun that they turned the ball over 18 times in 3 quarters. Worth it? I absolutely think so. 4 Mavs had 4+ assists. The team had a total of 26 assist. For a team that ranks dead last in APG (22, and Luka averages 9 a game), that's incredible. I sure do hope this off-ball action continues when Luka comes back, and Green/Kyrie/THJ can all feast with the cuts. 

The Thunder From Down Under
It felt like Green had a so-so game tonight, and then we look at the stat sheet and he had 14 points on 71% shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Green's defense also was incredible tonight. On more than one occasion he ripped PG. He was all over the perimeter and just played with energy. I mean just look at this https://twitter.com/bobbykaralla/status/...mc_IctAAAA
The man was everywhere. 

Kyrie Opening his Third Eye
Kyrie had his Mav debut, and boy did he deliver. He dazzled us all with his smooth dribble moves, incredible layup package, and actually played some defense. Further, Kyrie got the Luka treatment and was doubled all night. It didn't slow him down that much as he got 24 efficient points and he moved the ball all over. In fact many of us were clamoring for him to go get more shots, but Kyrie made sure everyone feasted. He hit this incredible game icing layup with 2 mins left https://twitter.com/MavsHighlights/statu...422239747/

He had 5 turnovers, 2 really bad ones where he just lost the ball, but overall played this opener as good as he could have. It makes me giddy thinking what opposing teams are going to do because you can't double both Luka and Kyrie! 

The 3pt Shooting Bonanza
Mavs opened up this game shooting a ridiculous 9/13 from 3. Reggie started the game 5 for 5. Kyrie got in on the action with 2 threes himself. Timmy rounded it out going 2 for 4. The team ended the game going 17 for 35 from 3, (48.5%). That kind of hot shooting wins championships. Obviously not sustainable, but it needs to be lauded. Especially Reggie, who seems to thrive on rhythm. Lets hope it continues. 

Rebounding War WON
This Mav team has had an issue on the boards the whole year. They've ranked dead last in the league in rebounding. What's incredible is that the Mavs added 2 centers that should've solved this issue, but they only have gotten worse. Tonight though the Mavs fought and clawed like crazy, especially Powell and Green, and they won the rebounding war 44 to 40. This builds on the rebounding war win they got against the Jazz. Lets hope this is a trend, and not a one off. 

Need for Speed
The Mavs played fast this game, and pushed it in transition every time they got. This led to some incredibly easy buckets. They outscored the Clips 24 to 6 in fast break points. MORE of this please! 

The Bad:

The Ball movement, -Now you don't...

This team had some fantastic ball movement, but as I said earlier, it led to 18 turnovers. These turnovers all but let LAC back into it in the 2nd quarter, where they gave up 8 turnovers alone, and let the Clips win the quarter 27 to 19. But I'd rather a team try and overshare because they're having fun vs. letting 1 guy pound the air out of the ball. So not too mad at the Mavs here.

HolloWood 2: Hollywood Harder
Wood played one of the worst games he's had as a Mav again. He was limited to 17 uninspiring minutes, where he only had 4 attempts, and was largely a ghost out there. In fact he had more bad plays than good, as he was picked apart on the defensive end, and played slow on the offensive end. Kidd didn't bring Wood in until 1 min left in the 1st quarter, which is highly unusual. It led many to thinking he was being used in a trade. But it just seemed like this was Kidd's new rotation for this game. The only plausible explanation was either he has to be on a minute restriction due to his thumb, or the Mavs are ready to move on. In any case, I wanted to see more from Wood, and he didn't deliver much like in the UTA game. 

Overall, it was a really fun fast paced win. The Mavs played with so much energy, and Kyrie Irving made his presence felt. This Mavs team would've been no where near a win without Irving. Mavs win 3 in a row, and have notched 2 straight wins without Luka, when they were previously 0-7 without him. 

Lets hope we can see Luka+Kyrie on Friday against the Kings!

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/iztok_franko/status/...65088?s=20&t=I0Bc9JAhaEVgjsBqd00H3Q