Game 19: New York Knicks (10-7) vs. Dallas Mavericks (10-8) | 6:30pm CST

[Scott41theMavs]

Gentlemen, we have ourselves a squad. I just hope Luka and Klay can get integrated. Luka has just got to have the maturity to see this and acknowledge that he has an All-Star team of teammates and can make himself and the team far more lethal if he trusts them.

I didn't see Luka on the bench in this game, and not sure I remember him being there in the previous game. Could he be dealing with an alcohol problem (good, if he's *dealing* with it) that the Mavs are trying to keep quiet? It's not like him to absent himself from games when injured.

[Scott41theMavs]

Yeah, Dinwiddie is not cooked. He's starting to look like the guy we traded Kyrie for and who helped us to the WCFs.

[myconsumerclub]

I concur guys and think we have a potential scarry bad ass team brewing here and I think Din looked great tonight and it reminded me of his past performances in the play offs when he hit some tough 3 pt shots.

[JamesConway912]

It’s great to see Dinwiddie have more success with his driving game. The jump
shot falling opens up the court for him but he also appears to have some more burst compared to a few weeks ago. Or he at least plays with more decisiveness.

One play really stood out to me where he had the ball at the top of the key, did a straight line drive to rim to lob it up for Lively who then got fouled on the dunk attempt and went to the line. That looked an awful lot like the Dinwiddie of old who was a steady and impactful presence off the bench behind Luka and Jalen.

[DL2RimRocker]

It’s great to see Dinwiddie have more success with his driving game. The jump
shot falling opens up the court for him but he also appears to have some more burst compared to a few weeks ago. Or he at least plays with more decisiveness.

One play really stood out to me where he had the ball at the top of the key, did a straight line drive to rim to lob it up for Lively who then got fouled on the dunk attempt and went to the line. That looked an awful lot like the Dinwiddie of old who was a steady and impactful presence off the bench behind Luka and Jalen.

Dinwiddie was the hero tonight imo because he hit shots when they counted the most.
Every time the Knicks made a run, he seemed to hit a bucket to kill their momentum.

On another note, I'm wondering just how bad OMax is as a player to get virtually no opportunities.

[Mavs2021]

I think this team is on a path to good things, and that Nico Harrison is qualified.

He had a great mentor. For 12 months Cuban showed him exactly how not to do it.  

Though I have to give Cuban credit. His new pharma business venture is actually a great sustainable business idea that can help millions of Americans unlike internet radio. That only helped screw Yahoo. So this worked out for Mavs fans and America.

[david75090]

I didn't see Luka on the bench in this game, and not sure I remember him being there in the previous game. Could he be dealing with an alcohol problem (good, if he's *dealing* with it) that the Mavs are trying to keep quiet? It's not like him to absent himself from games when injured.

They showed Luka on the bench. They also showed JKidd having a conversation with Tom Brady, who had a very good seat.

[SleepingHero]

Tbh I’m not even surprised. Just so many good two way players with size and athleticism on the team it’s seriously impressive. Loosing Luka obviously hurts as he can just bury EVERY single opponent any moment but there’s still 

- Kyrie playing allstar / maybe even all nba level of basketball

- Lively is a highly impactful player

- PJ is a STUDDDD. Like to the point where it’s absurd that he isn’t viewed in the same mold as guys like OG or Mikal. He’s actually been a gigantic reason for why we’ve been to the finals last year and also again helped turn the season around this year after he came back from injury.

- Marshall was an impactful player already early in the season despite being ice cold from three. Now he even makes those, on top of strong defense, a great driving game and unselfish playmaking. I don’t follow other teams much but he should seriously be in the 6MOY conversation.

- Grimes is a genuinely good SG with very strong defense and shooting who is also not incompetent off the bounce or unathletic. Another guy who I expect to impact the game in a positive way whenever he steps on the court

- Klay is a healthy presence for the team so far with good defense and smart plays, just not completely there shooting-wise

- Powell has played a VERY good season so far. Not a ton of minutes but just reliable when you need him

- Dinwiddie with a HUGE performance tonight again. Giving reasonable hope that we might be able to fix the backup guard spot.

- Gafford: I get frustrated a lot but he’s a physical & athletic force and a blessing to have on the roster. If you look at the starting Centers we had since 2011 he’s probably easily in the top 5 despite being often used off the bench.

The next two games are against Utah who might play without Markkanen and Portland. If we can pull those two out we’re right back to a 50 win pace despite the early season struggles and lineup turmoil. 

The results are solid at best right now but this looks like a much better team to me than the record shows right now. Completely different from last year where we had a good record early but te squad was full of holes. I dont think that’s the case now. Backup guard is my biggest worry but Dinwiddie has really shown something now.

Absolutely beautiful recap. Took basically all the words out of my mouth.

It was surprising to me still seeing the Mavs just snatch NYK's soul last night. Holding that NYK team to sub 40 point half is an incredible accomplishment.

Kyrie's level of play right now is otherworldly. I don't say this lightly but he really has reminded me of a 6'3 Kobe Bryant that is shooting 50/40/90 this season. Just methodical, inevitable, and cutthroat. His leadership every night brings a tear to my eye. 

Dinwiddie had a helluva game. When he gets hot like this he's impossible to defend. I think the more Kidd plays him in that shooting guard role, the better he looks. Reminiscent to that 2022 run where Dinwiddie just played off our lead guards. It makes me excited for when Exum finally returns. 

On the other side of the pendulum, Hardy couldn't have looked worse in a blowout. Couldn't get anything going offensively. Seemed to just want to play his game instead of the team game. Defensively he looked lackluster (although that could just be a product of sharing the floor with Grimes+Naji, who raise the bar defensively so much). Not much to take away other than Hardy is still learning and growing, and that is usually not a linear process. 

Once again, this team's ceiling is so high. This was without Luka+Klay+Gafford. This team has weathered the storm of injuries and haven't missed a beat. A lot of that is due to Kyrie and Naji, but every game someone else steps up too. Whether that be Grimes, Dinwiddie, Lively, Gafford, etc. Just a fantastic win sheesh.

[SleepingHero]

Gentlemen, we have ourselves a squad. I just hope Luka and Klay can get integrated. Luka has just got to have the maturity to see this and acknowledge that he has an All-Star team of teammates and can make himself and the team far more lethal if he trusts them.

I didn't see Luka on the bench in this game, and not sure I remember him being there in the previous game. Could he be dealing with an alcohol problem (good, if he's *dealing* with it) that the Mavs are trying to keep quiet? It's not like him to absent himself from games when injured.

We absolutely have a squad.  

Luka was on the bench during the entire first half in a green sweater. He was talking shit to Brunson and KAT the whole time. He left the bench during the entire 2nd half. As to why? Who knows.

[mvossman]

He had a great mentor. For 12 months Cuban showed him exactly how not to do it.  

Everything changed when we hired Lindsey, and I was really worried after he left, but this last offseason was even better (did we seriously just add Klay, Naji and Grimes with no cap space for Timmy, Green and some seconds?!).  I think he learned a lot from Lindsey and is no longer suffering from Cuban influence (which is a great combination).  I can now look forward to offseason/TDL moves instead of dreading.

[meistermatze]

Absolutely beautiful game, and it was nice to hear Followill on the ESPN stage with actually competent female colleagues (no sexism here, because YES, women CAN be great in sports, like Doris Burke—just pointing out that they usually are not). I’d prefer them over Devin and especially Harp, but I’m beating a dead horse here...

Anyway, and I say this through clenched teeth: our team looked better without Luka the last couple of games. Just beautiful team basketball all around. Kyrie is just amazing and has easily become my favorite player, and he seems genuinely nice. If he weren’t such a whack job (flat-earther and whatnot), I’d have nothing but praise for him. Basketball- and culture-wise, he’s been an absolute blessing for the Mavericks. If this guy were a little taller, we’d be talking Top-10-All-Time material. Just poetry in motion watching him play.

PJ, Naji, and Grimes have been great for us—not surprised by Lively; he’s just THAT good. He’s even been making his FTs recently (finally, because I was so sick of his constant miss-make-miss-make cycle... dude, you’re better than this). Naji might have one of the best floating games in the league, period. It looks so awkward, but he makes them so frequently it can’t just be luck anymore. Without a doubt, he has the best floating game of a role player in this league, and that’s HUGE. Grimes looks like the prototype next to Luka: tough defender, good motor, athletic, and strong enough. If he keeps making his threes and layups, he’s perfect for us. The numbers back it up as well, I’d say (+/-).

If PJ can get to around 35% on threes, we virtually have NO weakness offensively.

I’ve been positively surprised by Klay. I think he needs to settle more into an elite role-player type and focus on 3-and-D (yes, his D has been better than expected). He’s doing all the right things: good passes, good movement. He doesn’t have to score 20 a night—15 on good efficiency would be enough.

I don’t know how sustainable Dinwiddie’s play is, but I surely love to see it—at least until Exum comes back. Any word on him, anyone?

Lastly, about Hardy: Please don’t play this kid anymore. He’s so streaky and inconsistent, and even when his shot falls—like in the Utah or Atlanta game (can’t remember)—he commits so many mistakes. I’m sorry, but I’ve all but given up on him. If we need a competent spark plug off the bench, use Spencer. He can also be a black hole at times, but at least he can competently run an offense. Hardy is just a poor man’s THJ.

Overall, I’m not impressed with our start to the season. Luka is clearly out of shape or dealing with something else, but even with him playing like crap (by his otherworldly standards) and now being injured, we’re sitting at 11-8. I was never worried, and after seeing how good Naji and Marshall are for us, what Klay brings, and how Ky has not just maintained but elevated his level, I’m more confident than ever: If we get healthy, gel some more, and the dominoes fall into the right places, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. The Conference Finals should be the floor for this team.