Game 13 Dirkie Thread: Gafford

[ballsrchr]

I'm not going to lie. The Mavs were a little down for the first half. Starting the third quarter they showed signs of life and finally began to pull away. I felt like Gafford kept the team in the game during the first half. Kyrie started slow but picked it up quickly--didn't he play the entire 3rd quarter? Seems like Followill mentioned that. I could be wrong. Just add it to big bucket of mistakes I make if I am.

One thing that Jazzes me (no pun intended) is that the deep bench got to play some quality minutes. That usually means the team is way ahead, but also can pay benefits down the road.

No secret on my end--Gafford wins my Dirkie.

[KillerLeft]

Gafford gets my vote, too. His second half play was inspired.

Kyrie Irving could’ve won another one, easily.

[SleepingHero]

I suppose I might be the outlier here....

I don't think the Mavs played particularly well tonight. They blew out the Wemby-less Spurs, sure. But I don't think that's such a feat. And before you say "...but Utah!", the hospital Spurs with 3 rotation guys injured (2 of them being their best guys), is in another class of ass.

After a pretty torrid start, they flatlined and lost the 1st quarter. The 2nd was a bit better but again, not great. 2nd half was much better, but it felt more like the Spurs just ran out of gas than the Mavs really putting together a great stretch.

I am officially sounding the alarms on Luka. I've never seen him like this before. He's playing without confidence. Laboring up and down the court. He looks disengaged and uninvolved. Whenever he is involved, he's out of rhythm and making choices he's literally NEVER done. Stupid 1 hand passes directly to the opposing team. Throwing it straight out of bounds because he was confused. Unable to get anyone to bite on fakes, yet still forcing the shot up. The worst moment for me personally was in the 1st quarter, where Luka drove baseline, drew 3 Spurs defenders, and in a moment where he's usually passed to the corner every single time in his career, chooses to go up for the layup and promptly gets blocked. What's even more infuriating is that Klay was literally wide open in the corner. The Mavs sign a top 3 (top 2?) best 3pt shooter of all time and Luka chooses that...? It's maddening. Because that has NOTHING to do with injuries, or conditioning, or arguing with the refs. And it's something Luka has never done in his career thus far. It's worrying. I hope Luka snaps out of it sooner than later because this team goes nowhere with him playing as he has.

Gafford to me had an okay game. His first half was pretty horrible. He gave up so many offensive rebounds, was consistently out of position on drives. There was a reason the Spurs took off as soon as Lively checked out and Gafford went in. Just a step slow and bit dumb. But then he had an inspiring 3rd quarter. Lots of energy, dunks, and defense. That is the Gafford we're used to but we're not really getting this season. Gafford's first half for me disqualified him for any Dirkie consideration. But I am glad and hopeful that his 2nd half can keep him in the groove for tomorrow.

And please don't get me wrong. The Mavs won. I am not here to be a negative nelly. I am just trying to voice some measured concerns on what I think we can improve. I will give them a little bit of credit for simply getting the job done tonight. Something they haven't been able to do consistently all season long thus far. By far and away Kyrie Irving is carrying this team. Night in and night out the dude is just playing lights out basketball and is one of the lone bright spots. He would be getting my Dirkie if it wasn't for Lively.

I'm giving my Dirkie to Lively because his defensive impact this game was, to me, the bedrock to us winning tonight. Lively showed up and did the little things. He boxed out every possession. Fought like hell on defense to alter as many shots as possible without fouling. Just a defensive masterclass. That is what we're going to need if we're trying to go far this season. Great game from Lively. Deserved Dirkie imo.

[ballsrchr]

And please don't get me wrong. The Mavs won. I am not here to be a negative nelly. I am just trying to voice some measured concerns on what I think we can improve. I will give them a little bit of credit for simply getting the job done tonight. Something they haven't been able to do consistently all season long thus far. By far and away Kyrie Irving is carrying this team. Night in and night out the dude is just playing lights out basketball and is one of the lone bright spots. He would be getting my Dirkie if it wasn't for Lively.

I saw some of the same things you did.  I also didn't want to be a negative nelly.  The comments on this forum range from the sky is falling to the favored team (in our case, the Mavs) being Gods.  This is natural because all people are different.  Negative comments seem to drive some people away.  I don't know what the solution is.  Perhaps rational, thoughtful, respectful, informed comments would do the trick.  Unfortunately I'm usually none of those things.  I'm the guy looking at a Picasso or Dali painting and saying, "...I don't like it."  I'm watching the Mavs play--and I don't like it--but I can't always tell you why.  They are out of synch.  And yes...something is wrong with Luka.

I appreciate your thoughtful comments.  It wasn't negative...just pointing out stuff that should be apparent to anyone.  On to the next game--OKC.  Should be an easy one...

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Luka was still bad and slow but looking at a still picture of him from last night instead of his play, I thought he looked the least fat he has all season. Maybe another 7-10 days he’ll be in shape. Fingers crossed.

Kyrie was the best player on the floor

[ThisIStheYear]

I admit I was wrong about Gafford coming off the bench. Not because DLive is better (he is) and should thus start but because Gafford is more of an offensive threat and may solve the bench scoring issues in one simple move.

[KillerLeft]

I admit I was wrong about Gafford coming off the bench.  Not because DLive is better (he is) and should thus start but because Gafford is more of an offensive threat and may solve the bench scoring issues in one simple move.

I absolutely think it can work this way, and very advantageously, IF the rest of the rotation ensures he's still next to a ball-handler with whom he has some chemistry.

[DallasMaverick]

I absolutely think it can work this way, and very advantageously, IF the rest of the rotation ensures he's still next to a ball-handler with whom he has some chemistry.

Agreed. 

Kidd knows what he’s doing.

[KillerLeft]

Agreed. 

Kidd knows what he’s doing.

Well, except for the part where this has been obvious since last season. But yeah, he does some things well.