GAME 19: DAL (13-6) @ LAL (17-3) | 114-100 win

[Kammrath]

[TurkishMFFL]

17-2 is tied as the franchise best for the Lakers. Would be fun to snap it.

#beatLA
#letsgomavs

[StepBackJay]

I am guessing we have to suffer with the national broadcast today.

[SportPsychMav]

I am guessing we have to suffer with the national broadcast today.

The price of being hyped

[iolide]

As much as I would LOVE to win this game @ LA; it's national TV against the Media's team. 

No way we win this one, boys. 

Let's just enjoy some, hopefully good, basketball on a Sunday afternoon. I guarantee its better than watching the Cowboys stink up the joints on Sundays.

[LukTheShadow]

As much as I would LOVE to win this game @ LA; it's national TV against the Media's team. 

No way we win this one, boys. 

Thank goodness nba games are not video games.
Is there a chance mavs win this one in real life?
Sure is, not big, but it is.
So I gonna a go with mavs.

[mtrot]

KP can't be passive in this one.  He has to get inside and take full advantage of his height and length on offense.  There is no reason why he can't draw a lot of fouls, if the refs will call them.

And the Mavs better get serious about offensive rebounding, as I do not want to see a layup drill for the Flakers.

[IamDougieFresh]

Play well + neutral refs + bench Dwight = win

[LukTheShadow]

https://twitter.com/townbrad/status/1201207171318312960

[Mavsfan12]

Play well + neutral refs + bench Dwight = win

Dwight wasn't the reason we lost the first matchup with LA.  He actually played well.  There were many times that he played excellent D on Davis and Lebron.  If the Mavs are going to win today, they are going to need that same kind of effort from Powell.  This game is big for Powell/KP/Maxi/Bobi/DFS!  Let's see how they do.

Now, if you are hoping that the Lakers bench Dwight Howard, I am with ya.

[dirkfansince1998]

Play well + neutral refs + bench Dwight = win

Dwight wasn't the reason we lost the first matchup with LA.  He actually played well.  There were many times that he played excellent D on Davis and Lebron.  If the Mavs are going to win today, they are going to need that same kind of effort from Powell.  This game is big for Powell/KP/Maxi/Bobi/DFS!  Let's see how they do.

Now, if you are hoping that the Lakers bench Dwight Howard, I am with ya.

Remember the late game FTs. Powell didn´t lose it but he could have secured the win. Just for comparisation Howard and Drummond are better FT shooters this season.
Sample size is still small but Powell is shooting 50% from the FT-line. Add his bad defense and Dampier-hands on offense and he looks like a completly different player compared to last season.

It´s like Powell forgot how to play basketball over the summer. Is it because he signed a big contract and lacks the motivation to put in the necessary effort? Is the injury still impacting him? Is he outmatched against opposing starters and needs to return to his former role?

[IamDougieFresh]

Play well + neutral refs + bench Dwight = win

Dwight wasn't the reason we lost the first matchup with LA.  He actually played well.  There were many times that he played excellent D on Davis and Lebron.  If the Mavs are going to win today, they are going to need that same kind of effort from Powell.  This game is big for Powell/KP/Maxi/Bobi/DFS!  Let's see how they do.

Now, if you are hoping that the Lakers bench Dwight Howard, I am with ya.

Wasn't talking about the Lakers game in particular. Maxi is just infinitely better.

---

Play well + neutral refs + bench Dwight = win

Dwight wasn't the reason we lost the first matchup with LA.  He actually played well.  There were many times that he played excellent D on Davis and Lebron.  If the Mavs are going to win today, they are going to need that same kind of effort from Powell.  This game is big for Powell/KP/Maxi/Bobi/DFS!  Let's see how they do.

Now, if you are hoping that the Lakers bench Dwight Howard, I am with ya.

Remember the late game FTs. Powell didn´t lose it but he could have secured the win. Just for comparisation Howard and Drummond are better FT shooters this season.
Sample size is still small but Powell is shooting 50% from the FT-line. Add his bad defense and Dampier-hands on offense and he looks like a completly different player compared to last season.

It´s like Powell forgot how to play basketball over the summer. Is it because he signed a big contract and lacks the motivation to put in the necessary effort? Is the injury still impacting him? Is he outmatched against opposing starters and needs to return to his former role?

Dwight has never played consistently well in a non-tank situation

[BigDirk41]

I don't think we'll win this one, but I'll be happy if we keep it close with a chance in the 4th. LA is really hot right now and at home. It's going to be a good experience for this team regardless.

[dmavs4life03]

Here's to hoping rick goes against his fetish of undersized/3pg lineups and plays players of size at their actual position and let the rest of the chips fall where they may. So we see few/limited mins of brunson/curry/west as a set but actually mixing them in with JJ,DFS,Maxi,Boban and maybe even Brokoff. We need all the size we can muster to hopefully rebound and keep them to one possession as when we play smaller guys we just f ourselves defensively and have to work harder offensively. And don't try to 3 our way to victory either.

Its not brain science but it is a frustration for me to watch us shoot ourselves in the foot by playing undersized matchups in a league that is more and more about size/length and shooting. (and our guys dont even flop {which i hate too;but hey might as well if your too small and getting pushed around with blind refs}.

The lineups that we play will determine if we will keep it close with a chance of grabbing the game late or if it'll be like the clippers game.... down 12-20 points most of the game and losing by 8-12. Choice is yours Rick..... unless Luka/KP just go bonkers which would be cool too.

[j0Shi]

Keys:

• Lakers best in biz: The Lakers are certainly on a tear lately, winners of the last 10 and owning the best record in the association at 17-2. Their streak however mostly came at the expense of sub .500 teams. So the next three (Dallas, Denver, Utah) are important for them to show that they're a legit #1. 
  
• Mavs got robbed: In the first matchup the L2M report confirmed that the Mavs should have won the game. Howard held Curry so he was unable to close the passing lane to Green, who eventually made the shot that sent the game to overtime. Of course the NBA doesn't have the guts to just give the W to the Mavs, which would have been the obvious choice. So I guess we'll have to earn the win the hard way at Staples.
  
• KP vs. AD: Davis took on the challenge of guarding KP in the first matchup and did decently well on both ends of the floor. If the Mavs again don't want Porzingis to cover him then we could be looking at another strong outing from AD. DP is no match for him.
  
• Luka vs. LeBron: Luka always gets up for games against his idol. Plus it's EU friendly tipoff. Plus it's Dirk and Luka's mom in the audience.
  
• Lakers supporting cast: It's hard to find the "third guy" on the Lakers team. It's easy to point to Kuzma, but there have been five to six guys that score in the 8 - 11 PPG range. It's similar to the Mavs that have a deep bench but not a sixth man type of player that can take over games off the bench.
  
• THJ: Many thought THJ might be such a dude that can give you a consistent 10-15 PPG, but it was actually the insertion into the starting unit that got him going. Dude is averaging 20 very efficient points and we sure could need another strong outing from him today.
  
• Brunson vs. JJB: A lot of folks are calling for JJB lately on Twitter, but I'm not a fan at all. I like his role and would much rather see Brunson trying to figure it out. He hasn't been that bad either, but it's currently hard for him playing only 10 minutes as Luka's reserve.
  

[Hypermav]

"The Lakers dominated the easy start they had to the season, going 17-2 and finding themselves at the top of almost every major statistic. Now comes a real test where they’ll have to play playoff-caliber teams on an almost nightly basis from both conferences and it starts with the Mavericks."

Wow, it is nice to be respected as a team again.  

"Avery Bradley was re-evaluated for his hairline fracture after the team’s win against the Washington Wizards and at that time was ruled out for not only this game, but the entire three-game road trip coming up afterward.

Kyle Kuzma is also listed as questionable, but it’s much more likely he’ll see the court than Bradley after suffering a mild left ankle sprain in the win over the Wizards"

No Bradley!

https://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-vs-m...019/12/01/

[fifteenth]

brunson/curry/west

Who is West?

The lineups that we play will determine if we will keep it close with a chance of grabbing the game late or if it'll be like the clippers game.... down 12-20 points most of the game and losing by 8-12. Choice is yours Rick.

You believe this? If the coach plays conventional lineups the Mavs win? If he doesn't they don't? And you think we lost to the Clippers because we didn't play conventional lineups?

I don't think data would support this general idea and I don't think the general idea describes the Clippers game.

[mtrot]

Oh well, Powell starting -- again.  How long will it be until he gets two or three fouls and RC will be forced to play Maxi?

[ClutchDirk]

https://media.giphy.com/media/yoJC2K6rCz.../giphy.gif

[Luka_Magic]

Very cool that Dirk is at the game. Loving the pre-game analysis. Here's our starting 5.

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/12...6260611079