Thoughts from Mavs open practice

[Imon]

ICYMI the Mavs had a free open practice at the AAC this afternoon.
The line to get into the AAC was pretty long and I had to wait outside for half an hour but inside only the lower bowl seats were filled.

Here are the teams this practice session.


Some thought I had from this practice scrimmage (and keep in mind it was only a practice).

Positives

KP looked really good. He moves well, his shots were falling, and he was generally very active. Watching KP in this scrimmage really boosted my hopes for him on this team. I know we've never actually seen KP play a real game for the Mavs but he looked really happy to be playing again and I hope he can keep it up. Hopefully having a teammate like Luka can help keep him healthy and fresh throughout the season. Last thing - I think KP will quickly become a favorite with Mavs fans. When he was introduced before the scrimmage he ran out and waved his arms around pumping up the crowd and after the scrimmage he went over to the stands and started high-fiving fans and signed a bunch of autographs.

Glad to have Seth back on the team. It really seems like Seth has grown since he was last on the Mavs. I got to say the Seth signing this offseason only got me mildly excited but watching him this scrimmage he seemed to be one of the few guys taking it seriously. His release is quick, his off-ball movement is great, and of course he's one of, if not the best, 3-pt shooter the Mavs have so I really think he will be a key part of the team this season. Honestly, if I'm RC I have a hard time justifying given Brunson minutes over Seth. I suppose you can argue Brunson is the more natural PG but it seemed to me Seth is better at every thing else (plus Luka will be our primary ball-handler).

Barea actually played pretty well considering he ruptured his Achilles less than a year ago. He seemed more or less like the same old Barea that we've come to know. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a NBA game this year.

Negatives

I was left a little perplexed about Delon's role on the team. I was very positive about the offseason signing of Delon (even more so than Seth) but he seemed to be kinda a non-factor out there. If Luka is going to be our primary ball-handler where does that leave Delon? I recall he hit one corner three in the scrimmage (and a scooping layup) but beyond that he was just kind of floating around the court. RC is going to have to find a way to integrate Delon into the offense if he and Luka are going to share the court a lot. One thing to consider though is that Delon has a tweaked hamstring so I guess he could have just been playing half-speed.

Boban seems really awkward out there in the court. He probably won't get a lot of playing time over Maxi or Powell (who I don't recall playing today) but Boban runs around the court like your stereotypical 7+ foot stiff. KP is basically Boban's height so I was really impressed with how well KP moves around. Some of that might be age - KP is still quite young but I think Boban is just one of these slow-plodding bigs.

Maxi out there chucking 3's again. Look, I don't mind Maxi shooting 3's if he can hit them - hopefully he can improve his 3-pt % and we can have multiple outside shooting threats. However it just seems to me that the Mavs have, for a long time, not been a good rebounding team. Powell, Maxi, and even KP aren't really "dominant" rebounders so this team needs to gang rebound. Hopefully this team can find a way next season to limit opposing teams to one possession and also manage to grab some offensive boards on the other end. BTW Maxi did throw down a pretty ferocious windmill dunk during the scrimmage.

THJ seemed more or less like the same as last season which was pretty meh. I still kind of have hopes that THJ can be this team's third option but if he is it will be through inefficient points.
He seems like another guy who should lose minutes to Seth although Seth's height still concerns me.

Neutral

Luka seemed to me to be half-assing it during the scrimmage. He wasn't bad but I don't think he was very sharp or attentive either. He had a number of lazy passes that either went out of bounds or were turnovers and he also had his pocket picked a few times. I don't doubt Luka will play hard during the season but he just kinda seemed to be joking around out there.
I remember in the Mavs draft day thread I predicted Luka's rookie statline would be 15/5/4 (lol) so, again, I'm not too concerned he didn't really take this scrimmage seriously.

Below are GIFs (click on them if they don't play).
KP gets the jumpball over Bobi


Luka/KP PnP


KP rejects Roby


Delon gets a scooping layup on the switch


That's pretty much it. Besides for the waiting it was fun. Did anyone else here attend the scrimmage? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

[bran muffin]

That's pretty much it. Besides for the waiting it was fun. Did anyone else here attend the scrimmage? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

To me, it didn't look like the players were taking the scrimmage seriously. Except for the fringe players on temp contracts. And Porzingis. KP came out to play, but the other mavs were lackadaisical. Nobody ran set plays, everyone running at half speed, making careless passes and usually taking the first shot available.

It felt like they were just putting on a show to entertain the fans. I think the preseason games this week will be more telling.

[Archx]

That's awesome that you were there .. Was watching the stream and right from the tip off i got the feeling that this scrimmage was just to showcase LD&KP combo and nothing else. Like you said, Luka was just jogging up and down, hit couple of 3pts and tried to do a lot of silly passes... well some of them worked

But i am seriously impressed with KP. He really reminded me of Dirk. Tall and agile PF who can shoot from literally anywhere on the court and can make those tough shots. The scary part is, KP is much better on defense and way more agile than Dirk, also taller. Can't wait to see him in some of the real games.

But yeah, couple of question marks. What role will THJ have, 3rd scoring option or just first guy off the bench, can Delon effectively play alongside Luka and help him out with good decision making, is Maxi's 3pt shot good enough for Rick to use him to stretch the floor etc...

All in all should be an interesting and fun season and we can say that a new era with LD & KP begins soon when they play vs OKC

[Ganji]

Watch on YouTube

[Darren]

Growing concern about the frontcourt depth? Boban not capable to adapt to all matchupes. This is expected issue, though. Maxi is still steaky on outside shot. I think the Mavs overpaid a bit. But the rotation is swallow. How's DFS playing frontcourt, then. Are there any frontcourt targets available before the opener? The Mavs should have interested. Amare? Dirk?

I am not surprised about Luka and Delon floating around the court. The former is showing exactly the same in similar pick up games. We're too accustomed with Dirk. Let accept that Luka is completely different player. The latter is not an offensive force at all. It is expected to be malfunctioning fit. It's all about defense at this point. Being injuried is tough as a defender. PG takes time to adapt to a new system. I think Delon plays with the ball a lot for Memphis. It's likely Seth out there alongside Delon since Barea is capable to lead the 2nd unit even after this injury. I think the coach wants both Barea and Brunson to play at the expense of TH / JJ 2.0 playing time.

Or else, maybe benching Delon in favor of Seth; and starting DFS for defense. But then, the frontcourt depth is even more swallow. I don't expect Roby to be a candidate until garbage time. How's Justin working as PF then?

[Heezzi]

Growing concern about the frontcourt depth? Boban not capable to adapt to all matchupes. This is expected issue, though. Maxi is still steaky on outside shot. I think the Mavs overpaid a bit. But the rotation is swallow. How's DFS playing frontcourt, then. Are there any frontcourt targets available before the opener? The Mavs should have interested. Amare? Dirk?

I am not surprised about Luka and Delon floating around the court. The former is showing exactly the same in similar pick up games. We're too accustomed with Dirk. Let accept that Luka is completely different player. The latter is not an offensive force at all. It is expected to be malfunctioning fit. It's all about defense at this point. Being injuried is tough as a defender. PG takes time to adapt to a new system. I think Delon plays with the ball a lot for Memphis. It's likely Seth out there alongside Delon since Barea is capable to lead the 2nd unit even after this injury. I think the coach wants both Barea and Brunson to play at the expense of TH / JJ 2.0 playing time.

Or else, maybe benching Delon in favor of Seth; and starting DFS for defense. But then, the frontcourt depth is even more swallow. I don't expect Roby to be a candidate until garbage time. How's Justin working as PF then?

I think they need to bring Mejiri back. He would be able to be a better cover for bigger centers like the Aytons.

Here's how I would do the starting lineup

PG - Luka / Brunson / JJ
SG - Curry / Wright
SF - DFS / THJ / Jackson
PF - KP / Maxi / Kleber
C - Powell / Boban / Meriji

[Teffer10]

Growing concern about the frontcourt depth? Boban not capable to adapt to all matchupes. This is expected issue, though. Maxi is still steaky on outside shot. I think the Mavs overpaid a bit. But the rotation is swallow. How's DFS playing frontcourt, then. Are there any frontcourt targets available before the opener? The Mavs should have interested. Amare? Dirk?

I am not surprised about Luka and Delon floating around the court. The former is showing exactly the same in similar pick up games. We're too accustomed with Dirk. Let accept that Luka is completely different player. The latter is not an offensive force at all. It is expected to be malfunctioning fit. It's all about defense at this point. Being injuried is tough as a defender. PG takes time to adapt to a new system. I think Delon plays with the ball a lot for Memphis. It's likely Seth out there alongside Delon since Barea is capable to lead the 2nd unit even after this injury. I think the coach wants both Barea and Brunson to play at the expense of TH / JJ 2.0 playing time.

Or else, maybe benching Delon in favor of Seth; and starting DFS for defense. But then, the frontcourt depth is even more swallow. I don't expect Roby to be a candidate until garbage time. How's Justin working as PF then?

I think they need to bring Mejiri back. He would be able to be a better cover for bigger centers like the Aytons.

Here's how I would do the starting lineup

PG - Luka / Brunson / JJ
SG - Curry / Wright
SF - DFS / THJ / Jackson
PF - KP / Maxi / Kleber
C - Powell / Boban / Meriji

Yeah I never understood why we didn't re-sign Mejri….just makes too much sense considering how thin we are on legit bigs and the two true centers we have may be limited. He was the perfect insurance guy imo...so much so that he should be doing State Farm commercials with Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes

[Darren]

I think they need to bring Mejiri back. He would be able to be a better cover for bigger centers like the Aytons.

Mejri has returned to Europe already. There's no much option out there. Maybe Bogut, who's the only shot-blocker available. Or pure rebounder in Faried. Maybe energy player like Amir Johnson. Powell is said to be out for 2 games. Hopefully, it is not serious.

[Heezzi]

I think they need to bring Mejiri back. He would be able to be a better cover for bigger centers like the Aytons.

Mejri has returned to Europe already. There's no much option out there. Maybe Bogut, who's the only shot-blocker available. Or pure rebounder in Faried. Maybe energy player like Amir Johnson. Powell is said to be out for 2 games. Hopefully, it is not serious.

Mejiri is on a one month contract.

[suka2000]

Some thought I had from this practice scrimmage (and keep in mind it was only a practice).

Thanks for the write-up. Maybe once season starts more people will post...