GAME 1: San Antonio Spurs (0-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (1-0)| 119-126 WIN!

[surfpuckmd]

The Mavericks outrebounded the Spurs 48-45.

The Spurs have one of the biggest lineups in history.

I think this was one of the keys to our victory.  

The worst of the game was the nonsense starting lineup.

The best of the game was Lively and Luka.  I was very wrong about Lively's readiness.  If he can keep this up, he solves so many problems.   

Grant Williams also looked useful.  I do hope Kidd won't play him 36 minutes every game.  I think giving the role players more rest will allow them to better maintain their defensive energy.  Once Powell is back, I think Kleber or DJJ will need to provide 16-18 mpg of decent production as the backup 4.  Williams and Lively seem to pair pretty well together though.  I like our starting 5 as long as it includes Lively and Green.  

For all Kidd's faults, another thing I liked was the lack of whining from the Mavericks.  Luka and Grant Williams made some faces but generally complained much less than expected.  I liked that.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I do hope Kidd won't play him 36 minutes every game.  I think giving the role players more rest will allow them to better maintain their defensive energy.  Once Powell is back, I think Kleber or DJJ will need to provide 16-18 mpg of decent production as the backup 4. 

I think once Lively is starting, Powell may be down to 12 minutes or so (the non-Irving minutes with Luka each half).  That’s a good role (plus early subbing when Lively gets a couple of early fouls).  Lively isn’t going to get 30 a night and Williams isn’t going to get 36, so there is probably room here for Maxi to get his 22-24.

Jones may get what we used to call “the Powell role”.  Starts with Lively, Williams, Irving and Luka and is out pretty quickly.  The main benefit being it sets up Green better to play when one of the stars is out AND finish halves.

[surfpuckmd]

I think once Lively is starting, Powell may be down to 12 minutes or so (the non-Irving minutes with Luka each half).  That’s a good role (plus early subbing when Lively gets a couple of early fouls).  Lively isn’t going to get 30 a night and Williams isn’t going to get 36, so there is probably room here for Maxi to get his 22-24.

Jones may get what we used to call “the Powell role”.  Starts with Lively, Williams, Irving and Luka and is out pretty quickly.  The main benefit being it sets up Green better to play when one of the stars is out AND finish halves.

I hate having Jones in the starting lineup and as a small forward.  I don't think he or Williams can play the 3.  I would much rather have THJ or Green at to start at the 3.  I think Jones is a useful backup 4 but a terrible starting 3.  I think DJJ would fit best in the non-Luka minutes with Kyrie, Jaden Hardy and Josh Green.  Lots of athleticism and transition opportunities with that grouping.  

I also hope Powell gets more minutes than Maxi.  I do agree Powell fits best in the non-Kyrie minutes but I think Powell is a better player than post-injury Maxi.  Maybe Maxi will prove me wrong but he looked pretty bad on defense last night.  I think Lively for 28 minutes and Powell for 20 minutes is how Kidd should run the center position when everyone is healthy.  Maxi can take some of those Powell minutes if he gets his legs back defensively.

[JamesConway912]

Just finished watching the game. Wow what a stunning performance from Lively. I was against drafting him that high but he has not only looked good „for a rookie“ he completely changed the game when he was on the court in our favor. He needs to be the starting Center, no doubt about that. He held his own pretty good during preseason already but that was a breakthrough performance tonight.

Also the fit between Lively and Williams looks good. I think Maxi + Lively is also a solid fit. The „size“ issue also mostly vanishes with Lively in the middle, therefore I continue to argue that Green should start too.

Other thoughts:

- Luka looked a bit hampered but still did his thing. Awesome performance in the clutch and he ran the PnR with Lively almost to perfection. 

- LOVE how Kyrie is committed to filling the holes on offense. He’s playing incredibly selfless but still finds ways to get „his“ (which is what he’s here to do)

- I think Grant will be frustrating to watch at times but all in all he’s an important addition to the squad Imo. He shoots and defends well, but clearly some rim protection is needed alongside him. I am pretty worried how he and Kleber looked together. 

- Kleber struggled majorly as the sole big. Something to monitor.

- Green played well, but continues to have problems getting around screens. Good that he got his 30 minutes, that should be the norm going forward Imo. He’s clearly a guy who helps the team on both ends.

- Hardaway scares me the most. He’s not the type of shot creator you’d expect from a 6th man who initiates stuff on his own. He’s miscast in that role. Hopefully they’ll find ways to implement him off the bench in more of a catch and shoot role that has always been and continues to be his strong suit. He should always play alongside one of Kyrie/Luka with preferably additionally one more of Green/Hardy/Curry/Exum out there as well who have the guidance to run stuff instead of Timmy

- Jones Jr: shouldn’t be in the regular rotation, baffling decision to start him. I hope we’re done with that.

[Mavs2021]

Single game +/- always tells the full story, I forgot. Would’ve been nice to have 6 orebs and 13 total and a good defensive anchor while Lively was not on the floor. I’d like to have Cap at a lower cost, but having him here for a full training camp would have been great too. A win is a win and I’m very glad we did against a team that’ll probably prove to be a bottom dweller when all is said and done.

He has had a lot of those bad +/- games. Maybe you evaluate that Young is a big reason for that, but that´s only more reason to make a leverage buy low play. Not our problem that Young drags down his numnbers or they are in a cap crunch.

[Nowitzki Way]

Before i start with my 1st game observations, welcome back NBA!  This is what we've been waiting all summer for.

I forgot how much i've missed all your expert comments and analysis. And i do mean expert. The way some of you guys can break down the NBA game is amazing. Thank you.


My observations:

Lively is ready to contribute and its a crime if he doesn't start from here on out. He'll have his ups and downs this season, but right now we're way up. I think we need to remember he's 19 and still learning this game.  He's aggressive and active, so he'll find his self in foul trouble a lot.  The next move for this team needs to be adding another big man.  Kleber, Powell, maybe Holmes can hold it down for now. But we need to find someone for the non-Lively minutes by trade deadline time.

I like Grant Williams. He brings a different mindset and skillset to this team. He's undersized sure, but he makes up for it with grit and hustle.

I'm struggling whether i want Green starting or not. I think he's earned it, and i like having our 5 best players starting games, but it really only matters who finishes. I'm not sure if DJJ is the guy who should be starting, but I'm ok with it.

I'm sorry, but Kleber looks done out there. He's cooked.  I think he can be ok in limited minutes, but i'm not sure he's playable in the playoffs.

THJ. This guy never fails to chuck as soon as he touches the ball. He is such dead weight. We need this guy gone, asap. With Curry and Hardy ready to take his minutes, he serves no purpose here. He kills the the flow of the offense every single time he touches the ball.

Speaking of Curry and Hardy. The bench rotation is sort of a mess. I know they are figuring things out, but having Curry, Hardy, Exum, and THJ fighting for bench minutes seems odd to me. We need to add some size to this group.

In conclusion, good 1st game. I still think we struggle to make the playoffs in this crowded Western Conference, but we finally have young building blocks to go along with our young superstar.

[SleepingHero]

Jones may get what we used to call “the Powell role”.  Starts with Lively, Williams, Irving and Luka and is out pretty quickly.  The main benefit being it sets up Green better to play when one of the stars is out AND finish halves.

We'll see.

Right now after last season, I'm pretty done with the notion of this pseudo starting 5. Just start your best 5 for now instead of purposefully putting your team in a deficit to start the game. 

Of course it's way too early to say DJJ isn't apart of that best 5 and perhaps he does work well, but the Mavs looked pretty poor to start the game. And it was only until Lively, Green, and THJ came in till the Mavs started to have life and that pretty much told the story of the game to me.

[KillerLeft]

Jones may get what we used to call “the Powell role”.  Starts with Lively, Williams, Irving and Luka and is out pretty quickly.  The main benefit being it sets up Green better to play when one of the stars is out AND finish halves.

My interpretation of Kleber starting last night was that there was correlation to DJJ starting. In other words, DJJ isn't a shooter, so have Kleber out there to help with spacing. Might be wrong, but that's the assumption I made once that surprise dropped.

[DanSchwartzgan]

My interpretation of Kleber starting last night was that there was correlation to DJJ starting. In other words, DJJ isn't a shooter, so have Kleber out there to help with spacing. Might be wrong, but that's the assumption I made once that surprise dropped.

Yeah, I said something similar yesterday.  There could be Powell/Maxi bench minutes (with Luka and w/o Kyrie).  There could also be Maxi/DJJ bench minutes (with Kyrie and w/o Luka).

[Dundalis]

I'm happy if THJ is gone also, but THJ was literally our only source of non Luka offense first half and without him we are probably down by significantly more than 4 points at the end of the half. We literally have one other bench player with the confidence to take his shot and doesn't defer, no matter the situation, and that player is Hardy who wasn't playing. In fact that's one of the problems with Green IMO. People act like that type of selfishness is a problem (I'm not saying it's not at times), but then complain when we get no offense and everyone is playing passive when the two stars are out or gone cold.

[KillerLeft]

I'm happy if THJ is gone also, but THJ was literally our only source of non Luka offense first half and without him we are probably down by significantly more than 4 points at the end of the half. We literally have one other bench player with the confidence to take his shot and doesn't defer, no matter the situation, and that player is Hardy who wasn't playing. In fact that's one of the problems with Green IMO. People act like that type of selfishness is a problem (I'm not saying it's not at times), but then complain when we get no offense and everyone is playing passive when the two stars are out or gone cold.

Yes. It was unfortunate that he didn't make more shots in the 2nd half, but THJ played hard last night, and in the way the team needs him to play. Only a small handful of those shots seemed forced, and SOMETIMES shots MUST be forced. Last night, THJ scored in a variety of ways (he's not being giving credit for that, but there were multi-dribble pull-ups from mid-range, back door cuts, fast break catch and shoots, etc), worked hard on defense and even moved the ball effectively (had some nice passes). 

Frankly, he looked BETTER than I expected in the 6th man role (for one game, at least).

[Dahlsim]

Just finished watching the game. ...

Luka looked a bit hampered but still did his thing. Awesome performance in the clutch and he ran the PnR with Lively almost to perfection. 

? for me will Luka be hampered or flat out hurt all year or is this something he can ever get enough rest from to recover to 100% healthy?  I sounds like with his desire to play pretty much all year long the Mavs don't know when they may ever get a 100% healthy Doncic again. 

- LOVE how Kyrie is committed to filling the holes on offense. He’s playing incredibly selfless but still finds ways to get „his“ (which is what he’s here to do)

Kyrie was great.  He demonstrated that he can navigate between pass/shoot/score as a playmaker, something that sets elite PG play apart from average and good.  In the past this is not something he always did well with other teams.  Maybe the Kidd influence too. Great start. 

- Hardaway scares me the most.

Every team needs a flame throwing shooter, more than one in fact to be a real contender.  They just have to know how to limit the times they shoot you out of a game rather than in.  Seth's consistency has been great for that but THJ is still a useful bomber. Keep him on the leash. 

- Jones Jr:

So far, not so good.  Its early though. 

Wow what a stunning performance from Lively.

Potential draft pick homerun. 

[ItsGoTime]

On a different note, man, Vassell looked good on both sides of the ball last night. In his draft the Mavs tried pretty hard to get Haliburton, I (and a few others) liked Vassell about as much as him.

[DanSchwartzgan]

We'll see.

Right now after last season, I'm pretty done with the notion of this pseudo starting 5. Just start your best 5 for now instead of purposefully putting your team in a deficit to start the game. 

Of course it's way too early to say DJJ isn't apart of that best 5 and perhaps he does work well, but the Mavs looked pretty poor to start the game. And it was only until Lively, Green, and THJ came in till the Mavs started to have life and that pretty much told the story of the game to me.

It does make you wonder if the idea all along was to close with Green and Lively and the three starters or that just happened in the flow of the game.  I suspect the former.  I think it’s probably far better for there to be a set rotation.  I don’t mind taking a few weeks to get there as long as it doesn’t cost us games.  Right now 1-0 in clutch situations after being among the worst in the league last season and among the best the season before.

To me, it makes sense to have a bench unit that is Star/Exum/THJ/Maxi/Powell and then Star/Exum/THJ/DJJ/Maxi.  That doesn’t mean those guys all get the entirety of the minutes where only one star is playing.  Green comes back to play some of the Kyrie Only minutes which naturally holds Exum (or some other bench guard) to something more like 15-18.  Powell, Maxi and DJJ maybe somehow split 40 minutes (other than nights Lively has foul trouble) so that GWill gets a few minutes of run with the bench rotation.  

We won’t be playing Luka and Kyrie 70 minutes a night mosts nights.  So, there are a few more guard minutes for someone besides THJ and Green.  I liked the way they rotated Luka and Kyrie (not playing Luka 12 straight minutes of the 1st/3rd).  I hope that’s the plan and not just a way of adapting to Luka’s lack of preseason PT.

[Chicagojk]

I totally understand why Kidd may prefer Green off the bench. Personally I am more interested in total minutes and who is finishing most games. I just don't think we have an alternative on the roster that will stick as a starter that Kidd is envisioning. A prime Boris Diaw type is the guy I could see in this role. Green is the best player for this role on the roster though So can Dallas find a player who can play this role the first 5-6 minutes of a game who plays smart, plays good defense and can hit a shot when needed? I don't think we have one on the roster. I would probably be more interested in Exum than Jones, but I think Exum is probably better off the bench as well.

I think I was one of the early cheerleaders for Lively and he has exceeded my expectations already. I will warn though there will be plenty of rough spots, a rookie wall, and a ton of foul trouble. I am more worried what happens when Lively struggles. I think I would prefer to see Powell and Maxi together (with Luka). They play well together and typically don't make mental mistakes. Not sure how it will work, but I prefer that than Maxi at the 5 (outside of the times we are playing a dinosaur center). Just seeing Lively's confidence of thinking he belongs and talking a lot on defense is really impressive for a 19 year old. I say start him. If you see him getting in constant foul trouble to start games, maybe bring him off the bench then.

I really want to see Hardy get minutes, but I think I agree that Hardaway should be getting those minutes. I hope they let Jaden fight for minutes though. Maybe he can earn them. I think Prosper's development is going to be huge. We really need a player of his height and skill. It will take some time, but I hope we get him some minutes (especially at home) for some games.

[Reunion Mav]

A lot of good thinking about last night!  I really enjoyed observing the progress, surprises, and the close of the game by Triple Double Clutch Luka. It never gets old.

I like the no complaints approach I saw. Yes that may be Jason Kidd or maybe a whole team decision or it might not last. I have been thinking it might be Kyrie who has the respect level for Luka and the whole team to listen about this important improvement. I would love for Kyrie to add being that leadership guy to his talent.

As for starting Derrick Lively I think last night’s rotation for him might just be the best way to play him for awhile. First, the first quarter is when the least defense is played most NBA games. That makes it by far the most dangerous foul wise for the lonely big trying to defend. Since first quarter foul trouble ruins everything for most NBA players, avoiding all that is a defensible strategy.

Plus, it is possible that coming off the bench helps Lively read the flow of the game and play better because of it. This dynamic is also possible for Green and Hardaway Jr.

This team is already more fun to watch. I agree Killer, give Kidd a chance and everyone else as well. The world’s greatest coach could not have strategized the holes last year’s team had.

Finally I noticed some DFS level ball tipping distractions defense from Grant Williams and some good 3point shots. I am observing for possibly successful DFS replacement with him.

[michaeltex]

FWIW,

I think Maxi started to be a floor stretcher to try and pull Wemby from clogging the basket. Lively would have had zero cred and not provided any gravity to accomplish this. I think it sort of worked. Maxi has always been an OK defender, but he was over-matched on defense with all the length SAS put on the floor. He's going to be an important rotation piece going forward though.

Williams is someone we are all going to grow to love, I think. He had some turnovers, but hit 4 0f 8 on 3PA and played some tough defense when getting switched to Wemby that seemed to get more effective as the game wound down. To my eyes anyway.

I think Luka said it best...Lively was F***in Awesome! It's going to be fun to (finally) watch a young center grow into possible stardom in DFW. I think a strategy of keeping him on the bench early to avoid foul trouble keeping him effective late in the game is something to look at going forward, depending on the matchup.

THJ, love him or hate him, he kept the team in the game until they found their collective balance and found ways to play together.

I know it was important, for some reason, to go to Abu Dhabi and Madrid for "friendly" games, but this team would have been better served staying in Dallas and playing a more conventional exhibition slate.

I loved the fact that ESPN started the game only able to hype up Wemby but ended it talking about Luka. Like, oh yeah, we forgot how good he really is.

Anyway, on to the next one.

[Chicagojk]

I really liked the late game execution. The Spurs are young so they have holes on their defense but having Luka get into the lane with a rolling Lively just opens up so many options. Last year I very rarely felt they were the smart team who executed late to win a game. I hope it continues.

For the Spurs, I really like Vassel. I mostly see him when they play the Mavs but I have always been a big fan. The new hairstyle did make it feel like he was a new player though. The development of Sochan over the next year or two will be very important. I also thought Collins had some strong moments. I do wonder as they mature if Keldon Johnson is the odd man out. He is good, but really probably best as a small ball PF. It appears they want Wemby to play a lot of PF. I wonder if that is a piece they look to trade in for a better fitting part sometime in the future. Wemby is just so different. There are some plays he makes that almost no one else has ever done. Even some simple things. If he develops a mid range game like Dirk...he will be unstoppable.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Last night, THJ scored in a variety of ways (he's not being giving credit for that, but there were multi-dribble pull-ups from mid-range, back door cuts, fast break catch and shoots, etc)

I thought that Hardaway scoring at all three levels was incredibly encouraging.  One thing that frustrated me last year was knowing that the year prior to that, before he broke his foot, we would low key see Hardaway get to the rim a lot (he probably had the best dunk highlights of anyone on the team) and that just kind of disappeared.  Any way he can score outside of spot up shooting just makes his shooting that much more dangerous because defenses have to respect a counter.  

While the shots didn't fall in the second half, I thought he looked good in his bench role, giving us 15 quick points when he first came in when we really needed it.  If Green and Hardaway are both going to be playing around 30 minutes a night, until Green shows more offensive aggressiveness it makes way more sense to bring Hardaway and his scoring off the bench when one of Luka or Kyrie sit and let Green's defense and energy compliment the offense those two bring at the beginning and ending of games.  I still think the organization has set themselves to use Hardaway as a trade asset to get help in other areas given that a lot of offense you would lose could potentially be replaced by Curry and Hardy, but I expect him to play well in his bench role with this group as long as he's here.

[KillerLeft]

I thought that Hardaway scoring at all three levels was incredibly encouraging.  One thing that frustrated me last year was knowing that the year prior to that, before he broke his foot, we would low key see Hardaway get to the rim a lot (he probably had the best dunk highlights of anyone on the team) and that just kind of disappeared.  Any way he can score outside of spot up shooting just makes his shooting that much more dangerous because defenses have to respect a counter.  

While the shots didn't fall in the second half, I thought he looked good in his bench role, giving us 15 quick points when he first came in when we really needed it.  If Green and Hardaway are both going to be playing around 30 minutes a night, until Green shows more offensive aggressiveness it makes way more sense to bring Hardaway and his scoring off the bench when one of Luka or Kyrie sit and let Green's defense and energy compliment the offense those two bring at the beginning and ending of games.  I still think the organization has set themselves to use Hardaway as a trade asset to get help in other areas given that a lot of offense you would lose could potentially be replaced by Curry and Hardy, but I expect him to play well in his bench role with this group as long as he's here.

Yeah, I think they have Hardaway's role in mind for Hardy. I think that's why Hardaway was available this summer. But, I think they (smartly, but unsuccessfully) tried to USE Hardaway, a useful player, to rid themselves of the distasteful need to stretch waive McGee, who is NOT a useful player and should never have been brought here (even the first time). 

What I like about this is that despite this plan falling through, they have pivoted back to finding a way to make Hardaway a useful player for this team. To me, that shows the right type of flexibility on their parts. For comparison, look at how NY is handling the Evan Fournier situation. I think Hardaway is better than him (always have), but you can't tell me NY couldn't have handled/be handling that better. 

I'm sure we'll hear Hardaway's name come up again at this deadline, and if he's playing well in this 6th man role that we always thought was right for him but he bizarrely never looked comfortable playing until a stretch last year and this first game last night, they might get something for him. For SURE I expect him to be moved as an expiring contract during his last year at the very least, but that won't prevent me from hoping he plays well and helps the team stack some wins in the meantime, rather than bitch and moan because we have to watch him, which has always been this board's favorite pastime.