Projecting how Mavs handle remaining 'murderous' schedule

[2011Champs]

Right now I feel like Dallas has given up especially after the Rondo trade.
Dallas greatly misses the intangibles that Wright, Crowder and Nelson brought to the team. Yes those players had their deficiencies but it was working. Chemistry appeared to be awesome and offense was producing at a record breaking pace. So we go from a fun and exciting team to watch that may not have gone far in the playoffs to a team that is tremendously painful to watch that may not even make the playoffs.
It's not Rondos fault that he doesn't fit here, it was Dallas that traded for him. You would think Dallas would be more careful about going after a big name player after the Lamar Odom fiasco. So yeah, I'm not sure Dallas goes to the playoffs this year unless they change quickly.

[Lord Cuban]

We need to win against OKC and Magic before we play againt Grizzlies

[Lord Cuban]

@ Portland Trail Blazers L ✔
@ Golden State Warriors L ✔
@ Los Angeles Lakers W ✔
VS Cleveland Cavaliers W ✖
VS Los Angeles Clippers W ✔
VS Oklahoma City Thunder L ✖
VS Orlando Magic W ✔
VS Memphis Grizzlies L ✔

In terms of the record my prediction is still correct

[Dirk]

@ Portland Trail Blazers L ✔
@ Golden State Warriors L ✔
@ Los Angeles Lakers W ✔
VS Cleveland Cavaliers W ✖
VS Los Angeles Clippers W ✔
VS Oklahoma City Thunder L ✖
VS Orlando Magic W ✔
VS Memphis Grizzlies L ✔

In terms of the record my prediction is still correct

The problem is that you had the Mavs going 9-3 the rest of the way. Unfortunately there's no way in hell that will happen. *fingers crossed* it does though.

Let's just hope the Mavs get the symbolic 50 win mark.

[Lord Cuban]

The problem is that you had the Mavs going 9-3 the rest of the way. Unfortunately there's no way in hell that will happen. *fingers crossed* it does though.

Let's just hope the Mavs get the symbolic 50 win mark.

I have a strange faith in this team dude...

[sweet daddy]

When this thread came out, I thought 50 wins, now I'm not even sure about that. But probably 49 or 50. And unless something unusual happens, like an injury to a key opposing player, I think we're one and done in the playoffs this year. Darn it.

I said at the beginning of the year that for me this year was about watching Dirk move up all of the all-time leader lists, and that's still true. Right at the end of the year, he'll crack 28k points and 10k rebounds, and those are great accomplishments. Good thing, too, because he's starting to look like the tank is nearly empty.

[Absinthe]

When this thread came out, I thought 50 wins, now I'm not even sure about that. But probably 49 or 50. And unless something unusual happens, like an injury to a key opposing player, I think we're one and done in the playoffs this year. Darn it.

I said at the beginning of the year that for me this year was about watching Dirk move up all of the all-time leader lists, and that's still true. Right at the end of the year, he'll crack 28k points and 10k rebounds, and those are great accomplishments. Good thing, too, because he's starting to look like the tank is nearly empty.

His tank isn't close to being empty. Look at the last five or six games and it's obvious he needs to shoot more. He put up 18 shots against Orlando and scored 25 points. He put up 15 shots against OKC and scored 22 points. He has been an absolute failure this season when he isn't shooting 15-18 shots a game. He only put up 10 shots against Phoenix. 50% shooting but only 10 shots. The Clippers game he only put up NINE shots. Again, 50%+ shooting but only 9 shots. Look at the stats this season. When he's shooting 15+ shots a game he is exactly like the Dirk of old. When he is chucking threes all game and only takes 8 or 9 shots he looks awful. They've got to draw more plays for him.

[sweet daddy]

When this thread came out, I thought 50 wins, now I'm not even sure about that. But probably 49 or 50. And unless something unusual happens, like an injury to a key opposing player, I think we're one and done in the playoffs this year. Darn it.

I said at the beginning of the year that for me this year was about watching Dirk move up all of the all-time leader lists, and that's still true. Right at the end of the year, he'll crack 28k points and 10k rebounds, and those are great accomplishments. Good thing, too, because he's starting to look like the tank is nearly empty.

His tank isn't close to being empty. Look at the last five or six games and it's obvious he needs to shoot more. He put up 18 shots against Orlando and scored 25 points. He put up 15 shots against OKC and scored 22 points. He has been an absolute failure this season when he isn't shooting 15-18 shots a game. He only put up 10 shots against Phoenix. 50% shooting but only 10 shots. The Clippers game he only put up NINE shots. Again, 50%+ shooting but only 9 shots. Look at the stats this season. When he's shooting 15+ shots a game he is exactly like the Dirk of old. When he is chucking threes all game and only takes 8 or 9 shots he looks awful. They've got to draw more plays for him.

He isn't putting up that many shots a game any more because he can't do it for a full season any more. He's being saved for the playoffs. Why?! Because he doesn't have as much in the tank any more. Come on, man, if he was still capable of being the go-to guy all the time, that's what he would be doing. It isn't an insult, ask around, I'm a HUGE Dirk fan, but fact is he's slowing down.

[Absinthe]

When this thread came out, I thought 50 wins, now I'm not even sure about that. But probably 49 or 50. And unless something unusual happens, like an injury to a key opposing player, I think we're one and done in the playoffs this year. Darn it.

I said at the beginning of the year that for me this year was about watching Dirk move up all of the all-time leader lists, and that's still true. Right at the end of the year, he'll crack 28k points and 10k rebounds, and those are great accomplishments. Good thing, too, because he's starting to look like the tank is nearly empty.

His tank isn't close to being empty. Look at the last five or six games and it's obvious he needs to shoot more. He put up 18 shots against Orlando and scored 25 points. He put up 15 shots against OKC and scored 22 points. He has been an absolute failure this season when he isn't shooting 15-18 shots a game. He only put up 10 shots against Phoenix. 50% shooting but only 10 shots. The Clippers game he only put up NINE shots. Again, 50%+ shooting but only 9 shots. Look at the stats this season. When he's shooting 15+ shots a game he is exactly like the Dirk of old. When he is chucking threes all game and only takes 8 or 9 shots he looks awful. They've got to draw more plays for him.

He isn't putting up that many shots a game any more because he can't do it for a full season any more. He's being saved for the playoffs. Why?! Because he doesn't have as much in the tank any more. Come on, man, if he was still capable of being the go-to guy all the time, that's what he would be doing. It isn't an insult, ask around, I'm a HUGE Dirk fan, but fact is he's slowing down.

He isn't putting up as many shots because Carlisle is perfectly comfortable with Monta Ellis shooting us out of games. Watch the games. They're not even drawing up plays for Dirk anymore. Almost no isos even though he can shoot over everyone. No low block plays either. Most of his shots this year have been on three point shots and jumpshots (sometimes the jump shots he is shooting are heavily contested or bail out shots when the shot clock is running out). To make matters worse, he's only shooting around ten times a game. It's a combination of Rondo dominating the ball, Ellis shooting every time he touches the ball, and Carlisle losing his mind. Dirk could easily be averaging 22+ points a game but when he doesn't have plays drawn up for him or opportunities that's simply not going to happen.

[N8N]

I think the truth is somewhere in between to be honest. Yes he has gotten older and the mileage hurts and he himself had stated this. However, I feel he can still be a consistent scorer if he has more touches. The truth is, he needs penetration from Rondo, Ellis and Parsons to ease his job a little bit.