A Few Thoughts on Mavs 103, Celtics 109

[mavsluvr]

Mavs Make a Game of It Against Celtics

The Mavs were competitive against the Eastern Conference's second best team, and without Luka, that's not such a bad thing. The emotional impact was disappointing, because our guys were in the lead for much of the game, and the contest seemed winnable. Oh, well. To paraphrase the Shirelles, Mama said there'd be games like this.


Game Story and Analytics

Luka was still out with his adductor, and Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward were on the Celtics' injury list. 

Dallas maintained an advantage for most of the first three periods. Their edge reached 12 points a couple of times, and was 8 around the middle of the third. Then, the Celtics went on a 16-5 run through the end of the quarter, took the lead with about a minute left in the frame, and never trailed again. The Mavs attempted a late rally, but it ended up being too little, too late. 

Stats-wise, the loss came down to rebounding and poor shooting. The Celts had a 54-42 rebounding margin, with the number of missed shots by each team almost exactly equal, and the Mavs allowed Boston to grab 14 offensive boards. Enes Kanter, in particular, burned the Mavs on the glass with 13 rebounds off the bench. 

A number of the Mavs had shooting nights ranging from simply terrible to pretty bad. Looking at you, Tim Hardaway (4-17), Jalen Brunson (4-13), DFS (2-7), Dwight Powell (2-6), and Justin Jackson (1-4). They were actually getting some good looks, but couldn't manage to knock them down. The Celtics, except for Kemba, weren't exactly lighting it up either, but ultimately, the Mavericks' inability to put the ball in the basket cost them. 

The Mavs also had a 7-point deficit in made free throws, a combination of Boston getting to the line a few more times and hitting at a better rate. 


Good Stuff

There were some positives to take away from this match. 

KP continues to look better and better. He was the team's leading scorer with 23 points, and had 13 boards, 3 blocks, and numerous deflections. His defense was excellent, especially around the rim. He appeared to assume an alpha mentality, especially in the first half, and took an aggressive approach on the offensive end. He still wasn't shooting well (8-19, 2-7 3PTA, 5-8 FTA), but he was effective at the basket, and we even got a taste of his drive-and-kick game, along with a couple of successful post-ups. Extremely encouraging!

Seth was an exception to the poor shooting mode of the night, with 20 efficient points (8-13, 4-8 3PTA). He went on a little scoring spree at the end, which spurred the Mavs' comeback attempt, but Dallas was already in too deep a hole. But overall, looked very good and performed well generally. 


Mixed Stuff

The Mavs' defense was pretty good, although not as on-a-string as we have seen it. Kemba burned them with 16 points in the first quarter. They adjusted to double team him in the second, and he was essentially shut out until he experienced a renaissance in the fourth. I was a little surprised to see them make a few baffling mistakes, however. For example, Seth got matched up with a big, was struggling, there was plenty of time for someone to come and help, and instead, everyone stood around and watched the big ultimately shoot over him. Just some confounding stuff -- maybe that's what happens sometimes when a bunch of youngsters are on the floor.  

Brunson ran the offense well for a long time, and made some good defensive plays, but again demonstrated his penchant for going off the rails at the end. Carlisle eventually took him out and let Wright close, but by that point, the Mavs were 12 points down with less than 4 minutes to go. It occurred to me that RC might break Barea out, but he didn't. Brunson isn't the only problem -- the units as a whole seem to be falling apart in closing stretches. I'm not super-concerned about it, largely because I don't think these bench players are likely to close any clutch games in the absence of injuries to the starters. However, it's something to watch. 


Takeaways

Despite the frustration of watching the Mavs dribble away a lead and a win, I think this match is mostly encouraging, considering the circumstances. It had occurred to me when Luka went down that this team might be blown out a few times by these Eastern teams. But even without their offensive engine, they were competitive, and did not embarrass themselves. They gave Boston a run for their money, and mostly acquitted themselves respectably. 

Although this team looked like it might have taken a step backward from its performance in Milwaukee, I don't think that's what really happened. They appear to be on an upward trend, and to even be in the game against Boston without Luka should probably get a satisfactory mark. The squad is still in a building mode as far as learning to play together, and there are going to be fits and starts. Win a few, lose a few. Hopefully, KP's star will continue to rise as we await Luka's return. 


Next.  The Process-Trusting Generational Dynasty To-Be, in Philadelphia on Friday.

[JamesConway]

Death by Kemba. Imagine what could have been...




At least KP looked good again. Efficiency-wise he still has a long way to go, but he's much more comfortable driving the ball now than he was a few weeks ago and it opens up his game. His stellar defense and rebounding have become the norm though which is great.

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...40672?s=20

Seth keeps giving flashbacks of the '16-'17 season.

[omahen]

This game was really puzling to me. When watching I thought:
- Mavs lose a ball too much
- Mavs can't hit an ocean, Celtics are scoring in bunches
- Mavs are equal on rebounding

When I checked the stats:
- Mavs lost 7 balls only, Celts lost 15
- Mavs shot 35 % from three and 40 % from floor while Celts shot 32 % from three and 40 % from floor
- Mavs were outrebounded by 12 rebounds

The difference was solely in the ability to get to the line and be accurate. Boston made 7 FT more than Dallas.

[DrMav]

The difference was solely in the ability to get to the line and be accurate. Boston made 7 FT more than Dallas.

Mavs were pretty dumb in helping the Celtic in that regard. 


- Seth Curry clear path foul (yeah it was debatable but I think it was the right call) where Kemba hit them both then they scored 2 more points
- Defensive 3 second on KP - Kemba made
- Technical on THJ - Kemba missed this one
- Technical on DP - Kemba made

When Luka went down most said we expected to lose all these games against the top East teams, and it would be tough to be disappointed with that. Well after seeing how they rallied against Miami and handled the Bucks before almost blowing it by relaxing too much, I can now say I am disappointed that we lost this one. This Celtics team is good, but nowhere near the quality of the Bucks team we just beat with Hayward and Smart both out.

My takeaways from last night (and the last couple games):
- Mavs need to find a way to bring the same focus/edge/intensity to home games that they do on the road
- Brunson needs to get it together. I'm still baffled how a NCAA Player of the Year and 2x National Champion can play so well the majority of the time, but make such poor decisions when it matters. 
- THJ needs to get hot, or at least room temperature, again. He's missing a lot of really good looks.
- KP is really coming along with 4 straight 20+ point games. Efficiency could still get better, but he's making quicker decisions with the ball, and it seems is getting more comfortable with his handles with successful drives from the perimeter. All while keeping up excellent defense and rebounding.
- Seth Curry is playing great, hope he can keep it up.

[ClutchDirk]

https://twitter.com/coopmavs/status/1207539830411931648

[BigDirk41]

The shooting was frustrating for sure. Overall I can't complain keeping the game so close without Luka. We had our chances and would have won if we had a normal shooting night. On to the next one.

[fifteenth]

Learning how to close is one of the checklist items for a developing team. We had gotten pretty good at it with Luka. We keep seeing evidence that we don't know how to close without Luka, especially for JB. We could use JJB more with Luka out but maybe we're not using JJB for the sake of JB's growth.

[vfromlmf]

I really like the player who crawled into KP's body last night. 

What really jumped out at me was the speed and decisiveness of his moves. When he faced up, even his swipe-through was hard. Earlier in the year defenders were getting a hand on the ball and forcing a turnover. His drives were hard. He actually drew contact and still got a shot up.

I remember Dirk would go through stretches when -- it's hard to describe -- Dirk looked floppy at times. Just not hard. 

There were other times, particularly in the Mavs championship run, but really anytime he got into a groove, when he was simply unstoppable. 

KP looked like he was in that kind of groove last night. To borrow a phrase from Carlisle, I saw KP playing with some force on the offensive end, really for the first time all year. He's still not shooting it very well but it was super exciting to see.

[Dahlsim]

I watch that game and it's beyond me how JJ Barea and Boban Marjanovic don't get a shot. No shot, no time, no rotations.

JJ produces just about every time he's on the floor, makes clutch shots, plays and passes that guys like THJ and young Jalen B. don't make consistently.
Boban is a guy the Celtics have ZERO answer for on offense at this point while defensively its not like you're stopping Kemba and Tatum anyway, the Celtics are still scoring, so how about creating a mismatch the other way?

I'm sure you have strong reasoning for keeping these proven vets glued to the bench in what looks like very winnable games, but ...

[fifteenth]

I watch that game and it's beyond me how JJ Barea and Boban Marjanovic don't get a shot.  No shot, no time, no rotations.

JJ produces just about every time he's on the floor, makes clutch shots, plays and passes that guys like THJ and young Jalen B.  don't make consistently. 
Boban is a guy the Celtics have ZERO answer for on offense at this point while defensively its not like you're stopping Kemba and Tatum anyway, the Celtics are still scoring, so how about creating a mismatch the other way?

I'm sure you have strong reasoning for keeping these proven vets glued to the bench in what looks like very winnable games, but  ...

JJB doesn't have the role you want him to have. He's probably the 3rd best player on the team but it seems pretty clear that for this time of the year, for this team, the priority of player development is ranked above using JJB to win games. We've seen JJB come in to give the team a shot in the arm periodically, which also gets him some burn to keep the rust off, but my thought is that in Luka's absence the opportunity for some Brunson development (including learning to close games) trumps the JJB save shot.

Late in the season it may be different. In fact, who knows, but we might see JJB worked into the rotation leading in to the playoffs. Or maybe he remains a trump card even then. But at that point the JJB trump card would be played with less hesitance and might take priority over player development. 

For Boban, I've seen what you've written about him in the past, and it just looks like you and Rick aren't on the same page regarding how Boban should be used. Sorry pal.

[mavsluvr]

Learning how to close is one of the checklist items for a developing team. We had gotten pretty good at it with Luka. We keep seeing evidence that we don't know how to close without Luka, especially for JB. We could use JJB more with Luka out but maybe we're not using JJB for the sake of JB's growth.

Very likely. 

When Rick yanked Brunson after those back-to-back turnovers at 3:45 in the fourth, I wondered if he would throw on Barea in an attempt to salvage the game. Not that I necessarily wanted him to, just wondered if they might be starting to transition to prioritizing wins. But he put Delon Wright in, continuing the focus on development. 

I would not have found it objectionable if he had used Barea, but I thought giving Wright the chance was also a good choice. I didn't necessarily get a sense that Rick was mad at JB. More like maybe he sensed JB wasn't ready for the moment, and didn't want to embarrass him and undermine his confidence by continuing to put him in situations he isn't prepared to handle. But I equally could be reading something into it -- it's not like Rick called me to discuss it, or anything, lol.

[Jommybone]

I saw Brunson fall apart at the end and get benched. Same as everybody else saw. But I sure don’t share what appears to be the majority consensus opinion.

1. Delon appears to be on a minutes restriction still.

2. JJB was a no go for whatever reason.

3. That leaves Seth and Jalen as the creators of offense. And Seth, while en fuego himself, was not distributing and was turning it over.

4. Meanwhile, Jalen had 10 assists to just 1 turnover by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Sure, he turned it over twice more and had some sad-finish drives to nowhere as the game got physical during the 4th. And there's no doubt he played his way to a seat on the bench. But there were more than flashes of top-shelf play for much of the game. And that 10/7/11 stat line, even with 3 turnovers, is nothing to complain about.

Seriously now, on a night when 3 of 5 starters basically no showed, we're complaining about the sub for our injured star? When that sub is our 2nd leading rebounder and posts an 11:3 assist to turnover ratio?

[ClutchDirk]

I saw Brunson fall apart at the end and get benched. Same as everybody else saw. But I sure don’t share what appears to be the majority consensus opinion.

1. Delon appears to be on a minutes restriction still.

2. JJB was a no go for whatever reason.

3. That leaves Seth and Jalen as the creators of offense. And Seth, while en fuego himself, was not distributing and was turning it over.

4. Meanwhile, Jalen had 10 assists to just 1 turnover by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Sure, he turned it over twice more and had some sad-finish drives to nowhere as the game got physical during the 4th. And there's no doubt he played his way to a seat on the bench. But there were more than flashes of top-shelf play for much of the game. And that 10/7/11 stat line, even with 3 turnovers, is nothing to complain about.

Seriously now, on a night when 3 of 5 starters basically no showed, we're complaining about the sub for our injured star? When that sub is our 2nd leading rebounder and posts an 11:3 assist to turnover ratio?

Excellent post...

A young player who has not had much experience at this level closing a tough game against a contender should not be getting flammed...

Carlisle is prioritizing development for the future over a single win and I support that...

[michaeltex]

It looked to me like BOS worked on slowing the game down and it seemed like it took a rhythm away from DAL. As the game went on, I kept expecting DAL to make a big run to pull away with some cushion, but it never happened and the energy level never reached the critical point necessary to make such a run.

This actually felt more like a playoff type game. Not the hype, but the grinding style of play that it devolved into. I was actually surprised to see some reach the 100 pt. mark after watching most of the game.

[fifteenth]

I didn't necessarily get a sense that Rick was mad at JB.

I think that playing, and watching from the bench when you get off the rails, can both be part of development. Even Luka sat a bit recently when he let the refs get him off the rails. 

it's not like Rick called me to discuss it, or anything, lol

what!? why not!?

---

I saw Brunson fall apart at the end and get benched. Same as everybody else saw. But I sure don’t share what appears to be the majority consensus opinion.

1. Delon appears to be on a minutes restriction still.

2. JJB was a no go for whatever reason.

3. That leaves Seth and Jalen as the creators of offense. And Seth, while en fuego himself, was not distributing and was turning it over.

4. Meanwhile, Jalen had 10 assists to just 1 turnover by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Sure, he turned it over twice more and had some sad-finish drives to nowhere as the game got physical during the 4th. And there's no doubt he played his way to a seat on the bench. But there were more than flashes of top-shelf play for much of the game. And that 10/7/11 stat line, even with 3 turnovers, is nothing to complain about.

Seriously now, on a night when 3 of 5 starters basically no showed, we're complaining about the sub for our injured star? When that sub is our 2nd leading rebounder and posts an 11:3 assist to turnover ratio?

dang, this is quite strong

POTD

[mavsluvr]

I saw Brunson fall apart at the end and get benched. Same as everybody else saw. But I sure don’t share what appears to be the majority consensus opinion.

1. Delon appears to be on a minutes restriction still.

2. JJB was a no go for whatever reason.

3. That leaves Seth and Jalen as the creators of offense. And Seth, while en fuego himself, was not distributing and was turning it over.

4. Meanwhile, Jalen had 10 assists to just 1 turnover by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Sure, he turned it over twice more and had some sad-finish drives to nowhere as the game got physical during the 4th. And there's no doubt he played his way to a seat on the bench. But there were more than flashes of top-shelf play for much of the game. And that 10/7/11 stat line, even with 3 turnovers, is nothing to complain about.

Seriously now, on a night when 3 of 5 starters basically no showed, we're complaining about the sub for our injured star? When that sub is our 2nd leading rebounder and posts an 11:3 assist to turnover ratio?

Is there a majority consensus on Brunson? Are people complaining about him?

Apart from the late-game meltdown, I thought there was a lot to like about JB's performance. I hate to cite those ESPN announcers for anything, but they talked quite a bit about how well he was doing. I thought he might have called his own number a little too often (4-13), but that is sort of a nitpick on a one-night basis. For most of the time he was on the court, he managed the game well, especially considering the circumstances. 

JB has been open about wanting to become a starting PG in the NBA. If that is his ambition, he is going to have to learn how to close, but he's a young guy, and I agree that it doesn't happen overnight.

[fifteenth]

Is there a majority consensus on Brunson? Are people complaining about him?

The game thread was pretty mad at Jalen

[Dahlsim]

I watch that game and it's beyond me how JJ Barea and Boban Marjanovic don't get a shot.  No shot, no time, no rotations.

JJ produces just about every time he's on the floor, makes clutch shots, plays and passes that guys like THJ and young Jalen B.  don't make consistently. 
Boban is a guy the Celtics have ZERO answer for on offense at this point while defensively its not like you're stopping Kemba and Tatum anyway, the Celtics are still scoring, so how about creating a mismatch the other way?

I'm sure you have strong reasoning for keeping these proven vets glued to the bench in what looks like very winnable games, but  ...

JJB doesn't have the role you want him to have. He's probably the 3rd best player on the team but it seems pretty clear that for this time of the year, for this team, the priority of player development is ranked above using JJB to win games. We've seen JJB come in to give the team a shot in the arm periodically, which also gets him some burn to keep the rust off, but my thought is that in Luka's absence the opportunity for some Brunson development (including learning to close games) trumps the JJB save shot.

Late in the season it may be different. In fact, who knows, but we might see JJB worked into the rotation leading in to the playoffs. Or maybe he remains a trump card even then. But at that point the JJB trump card would be played with less hesitance and might take priority over player development. 

For Boban, I've seen what you've written about him in the past, and it just looks like you and Rick aren't on the same page regarding how Boban should be used. Sorry pal.

The role I want him to have?  That's a misdirection 15th, the post is me expressing an opinion, in the form of questioning the strategy about this game and this situation.  Its not about me and not even about an overarching role I envision for JJB or for Boban.  You're taking the isolated point and stretching way beyond the scope of the post.  

I tend to agree actually that it looks like Coach is prioritizing development over veteran player time and for the most part I like that coach Carlisle is doing that.  I posted a similar idea about the last game when there was some discussion about the way the Bucks were allowed to come back at the end and make that game uncomfortable.  Others thought  as well the JJB could have kept the score more at arms length but as I said then, it looked like a teaching opportunity for Jalen and the younger new Mavs core.  I get it.

That said, in this case I think its worth questioning if JJB as well as Boban could have helped turn a close loss into a close win, while still continuing to develop the young guys.  
I didn't make any grand point about Boban here, you're pulling that in unnecessarily.  

In fact if you read what I last posted on the topic, I've said that the young guys like Powell and Maxi are playing so well alongside KP who is a given, that there really hasn't been minutes for Boban.
So yeah, keep up buddy!    

Coach Carlisle has the team playing far too well to get slammed here about his overall strategy so its misdirection to suggest that a specific critique is really much more than that.  I'd like to see you address the specific point more.
Would JJB have likely finished the game better in this case than Jalen and THJ?
This one is more dicey I'd say but did Boston really have someone to stop Boban inside when the Mavs could have used a few buckets to hold a lead or stop a run?

I do think its worth asking if a close 'L' could have been quite possibly turned into a 'W' by using a bit more of some guys that are getting paid on your roster and have some proven efficiency in their track record that your developing guys have not yet. 

Develop and get the 'W' too?  I like that.  Walk and chew gum.

[mavsluvr]

- THJ needs to get hot, or at least room temperature, again. He's missing a lot of really good looks.

After watching the last couple of games, I am really wondering whether it makes sense to try to play THJ heavy minutes in Luka's absence. Seth isn't as dependent on being set up, and can score even without Luka's gravity. (In fact, he is his own center of gravity. Last night, there were occasions where Seth's guy couldn't help inside because he had to stick to Seth. That's much less of an issue with THJ.)


I'm sure there are other factors involved, but this has crossed my mind.

---

Is there a majority consensus on Brunson? Are people complaining about him?

The game thread was pretty mad at Jalen

Ah. Well, that's the game thread. There's always going to be a lot of knee-jerking in those. (In a fun way.) That's part of watching the game, lol.

[ItsGoTime]

I watch that game and it's beyond me how JJ Barea and Boban Marjanovic don't get a shot.  No shot, no time, no rotations.

JJ produces just about every time he's on the floor, makes clutch shots, plays and passes that guys like THJ and young Jalen B.  don't make consistently. 
Boban is a guy the Celtics have ZERO answer for on offense at this point while defensively its not like you're stopping Kemba and Tatum anyway, the Celtics are still scoring, so how about creating a mismatch the other way?

I'm sure you have strong reasoning for keeping these proven vets glued to the bench in what looks like very winnable games, but  ...

JJB doesn't have the role you want him to have. He's probably the 3rd best player on the team but it seems pretty clear that for this time of the year, for this team, the priority of player development is ranked above using JJB to win games. We've seen JJB come in to give the team a shot in the arm periodically, which also gets him some burn to keep the rust off, but my thought is that in Luka's absence the opportunity for some Brunson development (including learning to close games) trumps the JJB save shot.

Late in the season it may be different. In fact, who knows, but we might see JJB worked into the rotation leading in to the playoffs. Or maybe he remains a trump card even then. But at that point the JJB trump card would be played with less hesitance and might take priority over player development. 

For Boban, I've seen what you've written about him in the past, and it just looks like you and Rick aren't on the same page regarding how Boban should be used. Sorry pal.

The role I want him to have?  That's a misdirection 15th, the post is me expressing an opinion, in the form of questioning the strategy about this game and this situation.  Its not about me and not even about an overarching role I envision for JJB or for Boban.  You're taking the isolated point and stretching way beyond the scope of the post.  

I tend to agree actually that it looks like Coach is prioritizing development over veteran player time and for the most part I like that coach Carlisle is doing that.  I posted a similar idea about the last game when there was some discussion about the way the Bucks were allowed to come back at the end and make that game uncomfortable.  Others thought  as well the JJB could have kept the score more at arms length but as I said then, it looked like a teaching opportunity for Jalen and the younger new Mavs core.  I get it.

That said, in this case I think its worth questioning if JJB as well as Boban could have helped turn a close loss into a close win, while still continuing to develop the young guys.  
I didn't make any grand point about Boban here, you're pulling that in unnecessarily.  

In fact if you read what I last posted on the topic, I've said that the young guys like Powell and Maxi are playing so well alongside KP who is a given, that there really hasn't been minutes for Boban.
So yeah, keep up buddy!    

Coach Carlisle has the team playing far too well to get slammed here about his overall strategy so its misdirection suggest that a specific critique is really much more than that. 
I do think its worth asking if a close 'L' could have been quite possibly turned into a 'W' by using a bit more of some guys that are getting paid on your roster and have some proven efficiency in their track record that your developing guys have not yet. 

Develop and get the 'W' too?  I like that.  Walk and chew gum.

Sometimes, especially in the beginning, watching how to do it with discussion about it afterward is just as good as doing it. The development thing was going on last year after the KP trade. Maybe these guys need to get that "tanking development" beat out of them before showing it on the court, maybe not, I don't know, but I think the game could have used the littlest guy on the court for some better direction on "how". As Dahlsim said, not an overarching damning of RC's coaching, just a possibility of how it might have gotten the desired results and get the W too.