A Few Thoughts on Mavs 139, Wolves 123

[mavsluvr]

Mavs Crush Wolves at AAC

The Mavericks demonstrated their class at home, comfortably putting an overmatched Minnesota team away. 


Game Story and Analytics

Luka returned to the court after having been listed as "probable" before the game. His ankle is still bothering him, and it was fortunate that he was only required for 25 minutes on the night. Jalen Brunson was out with his sprained shoulder, and will not play in the upcoming road trip. Seth took Powell's place in the starting lineup.

Dallas came out of the gate strong, winning the first quarter 41-27. Their point differentials in the remaining three quarters were +2, -2, +2. Minny made a couple of runs, but never looked like seriously threatening. 

Oddly enough, excellent inside shooting (61%) won the day for the Mavs, who had 60 points in the paint. You don't see that very often. The home team were +3 on points from three, -3 on made free throws, and +16 on points from twos. 


Players

Tim (28 min) put on a clinic, leading the team with 23 points. His full arsenal was on display, as he scored from long range, drove to the basket, executed backdoor cuts, had a lovely floater over an opponent, posterized Layman, and had a variety of fancy finishes. Carlisle showered him with praise, not only for this match, but for being a "culture guy" and being "about the right stuff." Jason Terry thinks that the Mavs have found their third option, and believes that Hardaway can be counted on for 18-20 points per game when it matters. What a serendipitous find!

Luka (25 min) was proficient, boasting a 20-9-7 line. He came up limping after stepping on Johnson's foot in the first quarter, but was able to continue playing. He looked like his ankle was still bothering him throughout the game, and the FSSW crew thought his most important number was 25 -- the minutes required of him on the court. I hope he is able to shake off what appears to be a nagging injury. It can't be comfortable having to play on an injured ankle. 

Porzingis (25 min) also made his return to action, and had a relatively quiet night, but still put up 15 points and 9 boards. Seth (25 min) did yeoman's work as a starter, and registered an efficient 19 points, including a team-high 5 threes, on 7-11 shooting. Wright (22 min) led the bench with 16 points (6-11 FGA), displaying his athleticism zipping to the basket and pestering the Wolves on defense. Barea (22 min), dubbed the "Puerto Rican flash" by Jason Terry,  got a run-out in Brunson's absence, and played like the champ he is, recording 12 points and a game-high 8 assists. Maxi (21 min) was miked up, and contributed some colorful commentary, along with 11 points and 7 rebounds. MKG (21 min) got his first extended run as a Mav, albeit serving much of it in garbage time. He opened his Mavericks account with 2 points, to go with his six boards, and had some exciting defensive play. Fan fave Boban had 6 points in 4 minutes, delighting the loving crowd.

Wolves. We got to see Minny's new roster, which was fun, but this team was far from impressive. Recent arrival D'Angelo Russell featured with 29 points. Karl Anthony-Towns was on the injured list with a fractured wrist. 


Remarks

Carlisle had some good words for THJ and Seth, but did not seem especially pleased with the performance. He was particularly critical of the first half, despite his squad scoring a season-high 81 points. He thought the team's excellent shotmaking in the half covered a poor defensive performance, with the Wolves blowing by the Mavs and the home team fouling too much. He accorded his guys a lukewarm commendation for tightening up the defense in the second half, while noting that the two teams split the points evenly in the second 24. He thought the first 8 minutes of the fourth quarter were key, allowing him to rest all of his starters but Seth in the final frame. 

I was happy to see the Mavericks live up to their superior talent at home, putting a bad team away and not making a thriller of it at the end. A great team effort, with seven guys in double figures. I think we can take heart from the tremendous start in their own arena, a situation that has all too often not materialized. Neither star had an especially noteworthy night, but they provided a solid foundation and provided opportunities for their teammates to shine. There were enough exciting plays to fill up a highlight reel, but as a competition, the match was a bit of a yawner, tbh. As it should be. 


Next. The Mavs face the Spurs in a rivalry game in San Antonio on Wednesday. A Pop-Rick chess match is always fascinating.

Go Mavs!

[DanSchwartzgan]

Mavs Crush Wolves at AAC

Seth (25 min) did yeoman's work as a starter, and registered an efficient 19 points, including a team-high 5 threes, on 7-11 shooting. Wright (22 min) led the bench with 16 points (6-11 FGA), displaying his athleticism zipping to the basket and pestering the Wolves on defense.  

Go Mavs!

With all of the injuries we've had, we have needed Seth, Wright and Brunson to function as ball handlers behind and next to Luka.  It is also nice to have someone the quality of Barea on standby.

But, it seems to me that all of the non-Luka ball handlers do better when someone is missing.  Just not enough burn for all of them when everyone is healthy and it forces people to play out of position.

[omahen]

We got to see Minny's new roster, which was fun, but this team was far from impressive. Recent arrival D'Angelo Russell featured with 29 points. Karl Anthony-Towns was on the injured list with a fractured wrist. 

Minny gained nothing with their trades. They gave away their best defender and feature a line-up full of "offense first" guys. Beasley and Hernangomez might be expensive to keep.

But, it seems to me that all of the non-Luka ball handlers do better when someone is missing.  Just not enough burn for all of them when everyone is healthy and it forces people to play out of position.

Totally agree. We have too many good/decent PG. Having a vet min or rookie third stringer instead of Wright or Brunson would be perfectly fine. Thing to look at in the summer

[SleepingHero]

Can we talk about KP's passing ability? Now that's a skill we havent seen ever before from him. Granted in NYK he never was really asked to move the ball.

But 2 games now in a row he's flashed a special ability to find Luka on some gorgeous passes.

[michaeltex]

Tim (28 min) put on a clinic, leading the team with 23 points. His full arsenal was on display, as he scored from long range, drove to the basket, executed backdoor cuts, had a lovely floater over an opponent, posterized Layman, and had a variety of fancy finishes. Carlisle showered him with praise, not only for this match, but for being a "culture guy" and being "about the right stuff." Jason Terry thinks that the Mavs have found their third option, and believes that Hardaway can be counted on for 18-20 points per game when it matters. What a serendipitous find!

I'm reminded of when JET came over from ATL. He was a bit of a gunner (I think he had a few 50 pt. games there) but seemed a bit out of control with DAL. After a year or so though, he seemed to find his sweet spot and relaxed into being an important contributor rather than the important contributor.

[mavsluvr]

Tim (28 min) put on a clinic, leading the team with 23 points. His full arsenal was on display, as he scored from long range, drove to the basket, executed backdoor cuts, had a lovely floater over an opponent, posterized Layman, and had a variety of fancy finishes. Carlisle showered him with praise, not only for this match, but for being a "culture guy" and being "about the right stuff." Jason Terry thinks that the Mavs have found their third option, and believes that Hardaway can be counted on for 18-20 points per game when it matters. What a serendipitous find!

I'm reminded of when JET came over from ATL. He was a bit of a gunner (I think he had a few 50 pt. games there) but seemed a bit out of control with DAL. After a year or so though, he seemed to find his sweet spot and relaxed into being an important contributor rather than the important contributor.

Interesting comparison!

[StepBackJay]

So WCS was out again altho it sounded like he was questionable and not out for "personal reasons" which seems like an upgrade from where he was. I was worried things were devolving with him but I haven't seen any news on it at all. I like WCS' game a lot. Mavs beat the Hawks the other day if WCS is in there no question.

[Scott41theMavs]

So WCS was out again altho it sounded like he was questionable and not out for "personal reasons" which seems like an upgrade from where he was. I was worried things were devolving with him but I haven't seen any news on it at all. I like WCS' game a lot. Mavs beat the Hawks the other day if WCS is in there no question.

Given his past and reputation, I am afraid of substance abuse issues. The Mavs had enough of that with Dalambert and Odom, tbqh. I hope that, if that's it, they can help him out and get things under control.

[Darth Cuban]

So WCS was out again altho it sounded like he was questionable and not out for "personal reasons" which seems like an upgrade from where he was. I was worried things were devolving with him but I haven't seen any news on it at all. I like WCS' game a lot. Mavs beat the Hawks the other day if WCS is in there no question.

Given his past and reputation, I am afraid of substance abuse issues. The Mavs had enough of that with Dalambert and Odom, tbqh. I hope that, if that's it, they can help him out and get things under control.

Has he been suspended before?

[mavsluvr]

Can we talk about KP's passing ability? Now that's a skill we havent seen ever before from him. Granted in NYK he never was really asked to move the ball.

But 2 games now in a row he's flashed a special ability to find Luka on some gorgeous passes.

This is a great observation. He is a very underrated passer.

[Scott41theMavs]

So WCS was out again altho it sounded like he was questionable and not out for "personal reasons" which seems like an upgrade from where he was. I was worried things were devolving with him but I haven't seen any news on it at all. I like WCS' game a lot. Mavs beat the Hawks the other day if WCS is in there no question.

Given his past and reputation, I am afraid of substance abuse issues. The Mavs had enough of that with Dalambert and Odom, tbqh. I hope that, if that's it, they can help him out and get things under control.

Has he been suspended before?

He is a notorious cannabis user... One can argue about how bad that is or isn't, but in large quantities, it may affect his reliability, not to mention his ability to pass a league drug test.

[Darth Cuban]

So WCS was out again altho it sounded like he was questionable and not out for "personal reasons" which seems like an upgrade from where he was. I was worried things were devolving with him but I haven't seen any news on it at all. I like WCS' game a lot. Mavs beat the Hawks the other day if WCS is in there no question.

Given his past and reputation, I am afraid of substance abuse issues. The Mavs had enough of that with Dalambert and Odom, tbqh. I hope that, if that's it, they can help him out and get things under control.

Has he been suspended before?

He is a notorious cannabis user... One can argue about how bad that is or isn't, but in large quantities, it may affect his reliability, not to mention his ability to pass a league drug test.

Notorious? He’s never been suspended. I googled him and marijuana and didn’t find anything. I don’t follow college basketball, so if something happened there, I wouldn’t know. If someone is a regular cannabis user it is impossible to pass a piss test, with their actual urine. It is the most detectable of any drug. It can show up days to weeks later.

[omahen]

He is a notorious cannabis user...

I will not go into if that statement is true or not. However, claiming someone is a notorious cannabis user and then asking, why he doesn't play?

[mavsluvr]

He is a notorious cannabis user

What is your source for that information?

[Darth Cuban]

Maybe Scott mixed him up with a different Willie.

[Scott41theMavs]

He is a notorious cannabis user

What is your source for that information?

OK, maybe I'm remembering wrongly. I thought that was the entire bash on WCS all of these years, the basis for all of these posters who disparaged the idea of getting him, that he was more into drugs than basketball a la Sanders.

Let's put it this way, if he is ***not*** a drug abuser, then that very information means

https://media.giphy.com/media/10H4by255F2UsU/giphy.gif

...where "Hulk" is that data, and "Loki" is Rick Carlisle. Because, I am sorry, if substance issues aren't the problem, there's no defense for Rick for what we're seeing.

[fifteenth]

@"Scott41theMavs", maybe before you decide to go Scott Smash on Rick, figure out for all of us, because we all want to know, what's up with him missing games?

[StepBackJay]

I hope WCS isn't in the doghouse or on pot bc I would really like to see more of him. One thing I haven't seen that I desperately want to see is WCS start next to KP in the "Powell" spot which I don't believe we have seen yet. Mavs have mostly been going small and Luka was also hurt during many of WCS' early games. My theory is that the starting defensive unit will look better with 2 shot blockers and WCS will be able to do a lot of the same things Powell did on offense.

[mavsluvr]

Because, I am sorry, if substance issues aren't the problem, there's no defense for Rick for what we're seeing.

Sorry, you totally lost me there, buddy. Why does Rick need a defense if WCS has to miss a couple games for personal reasons? For all we know, his mother could be dying or something. (I hope not, but it seems just as likely as jumping to the conclusion that he's off on a drug spree.)

[Scott41theMavs]

Because, I am sorry, if substance issues aren't the problem, there's no defense for Rick for what we're seeing.

Sorry, you totally lost me there, buddy. Why does Rick need a defense if WCS has to miss a couple games for personal reasons? For all we know, his mother could be dying or something. (I hope not, but it seems just as likely as jumping to the conclusion that he's off on a drug spree.)

It's far from just a matter of those two personal reasons games. Prior to that, WCS was available for RC's use for 10 games. Those included:

28 Jan. vs. Suns, 12 minutes
31 Jan. @ Houston, 11 minutes
1 Feb. vs. Hawks, 26 minutes
3 Feb. @ Pacers, 6 minutes
5 Feb. vs. Grizz, 12 minutes
7 Feb. @ Wiz, 9 minutes
8 Feb. @ Hornets, 25 minutes (of course, his signature game with the Mavs so far)
10 Feb. vs. Jazz, 5 minutes
12 Feb. vs. Kings, 4 minutes
21 Feb. @ Magic, DNP-CD

I would consider less than 10 minutes to be a functional DNP-CD, so that's half of the games.