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HALLELUKA: Luka Clinches All-NBA 1st team. 4th in 5 years
https://twitter.com/kirkgoldsberry/statu...8635806720
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(01-30-2023, 11:40 PM)Kammrath Wrote: The argument about whether Luka cares about his stats should be over as of tonight. 

He clearly wants the scoring title. He left the last game he played in the 1st quarter and it tanked his scoring average. Then in the first game back he does this.

I disagree. I think Luka wants to WIN. And the only way we can WIN right now is having Luka go off
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(01-31-2023, 07:38 PM)MFFL Wrote: I disagree. I think Luka wants to WIN. And the only way we can WIN right now is having Luka go off

I agree (with your post MFFL). Your statement is also well supported by the team record with and without Luka. That last game would have been a clear loss if Luka didnt get those attempts. He was incredibly insanely efficient. We have the best player in the league.
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The people in the background....

[Image: FoBTSK_WYAAmBqR?format=jpg&name=large]
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(02-03-2023, 07:45 AM)Kammrath Wrote: The people in the background....

[Image: FoBTSK_WYAAmBqR?format=jpg&name=large]


https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...8726933514
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https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/...6728506369
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Glad heel be back soon
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https://twitter.com/MarcJSpears/status/1...3234244608
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https://twitter.com/MavsMuse/status/1622086670823690240
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(02-04-2023, 11:29 PM)Kammrath Wrote: https://twitter.com/MavsMuse/status/1622086670823690240

- Dinwiddie on: 37.00% opp 3 pt shooting
- Dinwiddie off: 32.71% opp 3 pt shooting

- Luka on: 34.97% opp 3 pt shooting
- Luka off: 36.85% opp 3 pt shooting

- THJ on: 34.58% opp 3 pt shooting
- THJ off: 37.21% opp 3 pt shooting


Its Luka 0-7 with:

- 7 times no Kleber
- 4 times no Green
- 2 times no DFS
- 2 times no Wood

30th in DefRtg when they had the best DefRtg vs. Cavs with DPOY Kemba + Wood starting. BBref has that game at 97 DefRtg. The only game Spencer missed (color me surprised). Guess Bullock/DFS weren't "washed" for that game Shy

Also in all the doom and negative news. I am having a hard time seeing the Mavs last year avoiding the play in if DFS/Kleber miss so much time. It would been awfully close tbh. Green was not ready, and you have to hope the defense somehow survives without DFS/Kleber missing a lot of time.
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(02-05-2023, 04:04 AM)sefant Wrote: Dinwiddie on


 He cannot be traded soon enough.
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(01-20-2023, 10:41 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: Buy low.

Bump.
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(02-05-2023, 08:15 AM)Kammrath Wrote: He cannot be traded soon enough.

[Image: monkeys-paw-paw.gif]
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https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/maveri...-vs-kings/



Quote:“That was a little scary in my mind,” Doncic said. “One second or two I was in the air, it was a little scary, but I think it was nothing compared to what it could be.”

Often self-deprecating about his athleticism, Doncic quipped back at a reporter who joked the 23-year-old All-Star couldn’t have jumped high enough to be in the air for two seconds before hitting the court.

“No, I do,” he said with a smile. “You saw it.”
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.
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https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/27...-Mavericks

https://sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durant-ma...05648.html


Quote:That is why the Irving gamble has skeptics in rival front offices raising plenty of eyebrows. For the conversation this season about a purported window the Mavericks have to supplement Doncic, before it becomes his turn to look elsewhere, Dallas’ All-NBA engine had remained far from contemplating any future with another franchise, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. Doncic gave Mavericks leadership his approval before Dallas went forward with landing Irving, sources said.



This is good news. I hated the Irving trade and do think it can be a potential powder keg, however it's apparent how much Luka has been enjoying playing with Kyrie thus far. And the fact he never even contemplated leaving the Mavs after losing Brunson for nothing and selling pretty low on KP is good news! 

Halleluka and hope he stays here for another 15 years.
14x All-Star, 12x all-NBA, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1 NBA Championship: Dirk Nowitzki, the man, the myth, the legend.
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The question is can and will Luka change his game?   It is a tough ask because he has been one of the top 3 players in the league for the past several seasons and have led one of the best offenses in the league.   But Dallas has been pretty apparent they wanted a second star in the past.  They have one now.   How do you balance the brilliance of Luka while allowing others freedom to create?  Looking back it is quite apparent now Jalen should have been given more responsibility.   This may be not popular and maybe turn out wrong, but looking at KP this year there is a strong case he should have been given a bigger role here too.   

I feel pretty confident Kyrie will not be happy in the Jalen/Dinwiddie role.   But hopefully it is not your turn, my turn type of offense.   Hopefully in time we can have the ball movement and fast pace offense we saw against the Clippers and first Kings games mixed with the dominance of Luka.   It will take time and sacrifice, but long term it is the best direction imo.  

I don't want to put Hardy into this grouping yet, because he has a long way to go and may not get there.  But he will also be a guy who is going to need the ball.   You won't get the most out of him if you ask him to play the Bullock role on offense.
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(02-15-2023, 07:40 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: The question is can and will Luka change his game?   It is a tough ask because he has been one of the top 3 players in the league for the past several seasons and have led one of the best offenses in the league.


As you say, offense was never really a problem. Lukas high usage was a problem and minutes without him were a problem. Kai solves that. I think Luka has showned plenty of willingness to divert to Kai. He only took one shot in Q4 against Minny (hot Kai took 12) and his usage (33% in last two games) is lower than it is his season average. It was posted a day or two ago how number of passes have increased since the trade. Kai is far from reduced to stay in the corner and watch Luka do his thing. Despite all the talk about the offense, it has been actually great in this first two games (of course it can always be better). 

The problem is defense.


(02-15-2023, 07:40 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: But Dallas has been pretty apparent they wanted a second star in the past.  They have one now.


The big question is, if he is the right one. Brunson was not (they were not prepared to pay him more) according to Mavs, because he was small and limited defensively. Now the star they got is exactly the same on that end. Better offensively, no doubt, but very same way limited regarding building the defense around Luka.
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(02-15-2023, 07:40 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: The question is can and will Luka change his game?   It is a tough ask because he has been one of the top 3 players in the league for the past several seasons and have led one of the best offenses in the league.   But Dallas has been pretty apparent they wanted a second star in the past.  They have one now.   How do you balance the brilliance of Luka while allowing others freedom to create?  Looking back it is quite apparent now Jalen should have been given more responsibility.   This may be not popular and maybe turn out wrong, but looking at KP this year there is a strong case he should have been given a bigger role here too.   

I feel pretty confident Kyrie will not be happy in the Jalen/Dinwiddie role.   But hopefully it is not your turn, my turn type of offense.   Hopefully in time we can have the ball movement and fast pace offense we saw against the Clippers and first Kings games mixed with the dominance of Luka.   It will take time and sacrifice, but long term it is the best direction imo.  

I don't want to put Hardy into this grouping yet, because he has a long way to go and may not get there.  But he will also be a guy who is going to need the ball.   You won't get the most out of him if you ask him to play the Bullock role on offense.

The most likely way for all of this to change is for Kyrie to be quite vocal and take a leadership role in the locker room.

Needing Kyrie to be more vocal would have been the dead last thing I would have wanted when we were rumored to be trying to trade for him, but I'm more comfortable with the idea now - as long as he sticks to basketball.
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(02-15-2023, 08:54 AM)omahen Wrote: As you say, offense was never really a problem. Lukas high usage was a problem and minutes without him were a problem. Kai solves that. I think Luka has showned plenty of willingness to divert to Kai. He only took one shot in Q4 against Minny (hot Kai took 12) and his usage (33% in last two games) is lower than it is his season average. It was posted a day or two ago how number of passes have increased since the trade. Kai is far from reduced to stay in the corner and watch Luka do his thing. Despite all the talk about the offense, it has been actually great in this first two games (of course it can always be better). 

The problem is defense.




The big question is, if he is the right one. Brunson was not (they were not prepared to pay him more) according to Mavs, because he was small and limited defensively. Now the star they got is exactly the same on that end. Better offensively, no doubt, but very same way limited regarding building the defense around Luka.

If Kyrie re-signs, I hope the eventually the offense is less about not diverting and more about using each other.  Kyrie is already really good off the ball.  Luka needs to get there.  If Kyrie is here in the future, Luka has to add the ability to catch and shoot...and maybe it's more the willingness and readiness to do it.  Kyrie is also adept at cutting, and that is another area Luka can improve offensively.

Anytime I think about areas Luka can improve offensively, its actually scary the possibility to get better even exists because of how good he already is.

They have got to get a paint defender and a big wing defender in here this offseason.  I don't know how they do it, but the defense is absolute trash (Luka's last game was pathetic).  Scoring will not be a problem as long as Luka and Kyrie are here.
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(02-15-2023, 08:54 AM)omahen Wrote: As you say, offense was never really a problem. Lukas high usage was a problem and minutes without him were a problem. Kai solves that. I think Luka has showned plenty of willingness to divert to Kai. He only took one shot in Q4 against Minny (hot Kai took 12) and his usage (33% in last two games) is lower than it is his season average. It was posted a day or two ago how number of passes have increased since the trade. Kai is far from reduced to stay in the corner and watch Luka do his thing. Despite all the talk about the offense, it has been actually great in this first two games (of course it can always be better). 

The problem is defense.




The big question is, if he is the right one. Brunson was not (they were not prepared to pay him more) according to Mavs, because he was small and limited defensively. Now the star they got is exactly the same on that end. Better offensively, no doubt, but very same way limited regarding building the defense around Luka.

Keep seeing people talking about Kyrie and his ball dominance and comparisons with Brunson, and it just being the same thing with Kyrie being a better scorer. It's just not the case, and I posted about this in another thread. Now the defensive concerns are absolutely valid, but Kyrie is a much better fit with Luka offensively, not purely because Kyrie is a better player and scorer, but because his production is not suppressed playing off ball, which is the case with Brunson who is one of the most ball dominant players in the league this season. If Brunson was still here his numbers would look pretty similar to last season, and nothing like what he's doing in NYK. That's a huge difference compared to Kyrie who should maintain his production even playing with the current iteration of Luka who leads the league in TOP (Kyrie's TOP numbers with the Nets are basically what Dinwiddie's were playing next to Luka).

"Brunson is putting up his current stats ranking 3rd in the NBA in time of possession (behind Luka and Harden), and 4th in dribbles per possession. Kyrie on the other hand is producing close to career best numbers ranked 23rd in time of possession, and 78th in dribbles per possession. He ranks slightly below Steph Curry in both these rankings this year. Both Brunson and Dinwiddie are ball pounders who produce more having much more of the ball, their numbers are suppressed without it. Kyrie for all the talk, isn't. That's actually pretty relevant when talking about whether Brunson would be able to do anything close to what he's currently doing in NYK with Luka if he was still around or if he would have been an equal fit to what Luka and Kyrie might do together moving forward."
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