RS 20/21 - Mavs @ Hawks (Wed, 7:30PM EST)

[Dirk]

We will be good. Mark says.

[fuller4379]

We need to break this streak. Knicks fans are laughing at us for the KP deal now.

[dirkforpres]

Mark can shut the hell up till he gets someone new out there. Only one guy out there not ok with losing

[Archx]

Mark can shut the hell up till he gets someone new out there. Only one guy out there not ok with losing

Hawks are dangerous on offense, specially when Trae is getting those ticky tacky foul calls. So this is something Mavs will either have to avoid or live it. But they are also not some kind of defense juggernaut. So this would be a perfect time to get out of their collective shooting slump and start playing like a proper NBA team. Keep the same intensity on defense and start making shots, it's that simple. Just keep building chemistry and form up for the rest of the season.

[RHODEY]

We need to break this streak. Knicks fans are laughing at us for the KP deal now.

Thats true

[Captain_Obvious]

Time to win some games

[asas]

This team is not as bad as they look now but Cuban being positive isn't a good thing. They will get it together soon but the team still needs shooters. Good shooters.

Also my personal hot take on what's going on - Luka desperately needs a highly respected player in the locker room to make him a better player. Somebody that has the power to call him out - "stop complaining", "stop crying", "stop whining", "stop shooting 7 3's a game when you can't make anything".

[Archx]

This team is not as bad as they look now but Cuban being positive isn't a good thing. They will get it together soon but the team still needs shooters. Good shooters.

Also my personal hot take on what's going on - Luka desperately needs a highly respected player in the locker room to make him a better player. Somebody that has the power to call him out - "stop complaining", "stop crying", "stop whining", "stop shooting 7 3's a game when you can't make anything".

Well, Mavs are a better team than they look right now. They are just coming together. Against the Suns it was their first game AS A WHOLE unit. I bet it will be couple of games before they really gel. But for now, they simply have to start making shots, it's that simple.

About Luka, Barea is being missed a lot probably. I underestimated his leadership on and off the court. He could come in, have 6 or 7 assists in few minutes and carry bench a bit. He also provided great leadership for Luka (he said that himself). But anyway, he's 21yo and highly emotional player who absolutely hates losing. You are right about complaining but i would much rather have a guy on my team who would break his leg in order to win than someone who just wants to collect paychecks.

[Bob8]

This team is not as bad as they look now but Cuban being positive isn't a good thing. They will get it together soon but the team still needs shooters. Good shooters.

Also my personal hot take on what's going on - Luka desperately needs a highly respected player in the locker room to make him a better player. Somebody that has the power to call him out - "stop complaining", "stop crying", "stop whining", "stop shooting 7 3's a game when you can't make anything".

There is only one problem with Luka stop shooting those 3s, his teammates were shooting mostly open 3s with exactly the same success like Luka was shooting his unassisted 3s in January. So you're not profiting anything, if someone else is shooting those shots. Luka is first in driving, so he cannot drive a lot more and he cannot stop shooting 3s, because opponents will guard him differently. Having bad shooters around Luka, hurts his % too.

Luka's on/off is +6.4, KP has - 9.3 on/off. Even with all losing, Luka has 0 +/-. I believe it's more important to find Luka better teammates than respected player in the locker room. But I might be wrong and highly respected player will have positive influence on Mavs shooting %. It's for sure much easier to find respected player than good shooters.

[asas]

This team is not as bad as they look now but Cuban being positive isn't a good thing. They will get it together soon but the team still needs shooters. Good shooters.

Also my personal hot take on what's going on - Luka desperately needs a highly respected player in the locker room to make him a better player. Somebody that has the power to call him out - "stop complaining", "stop crying", "stop whining", "stop shooting 7 3's a game when you can't make anything".

There is only one problem with Luka stop shooting those 3s, his teammates were shooting mostly open 3s with exactly the same success like Luka was shooting his unassisted 3s in January. So you're not profiting anything, if someone else is shooting those shots. Luka is first in driving, so he cannot drive a lot more and he cannot stop shooting 3s, because opponents will guard him differently. Having bad shooters around Luka, hurts his % too.

Luka's on/off is +6.4, KP has - 9.3 on/off. Even with all losing, Luka has 0 +/-. I believe it's more important to find Luka better teammates than respected player in the locker room. But I might be wrong and highly respected player will have positive influence on Mavs shooting %. It's for sure much easier to find respected player than good shooters.

Yeah but for example 15 games later Richardson and the other guys will get closer to 40% and this argument doesn't work anymore, unless you don't believe they will. Luka can shoot and play however he wants but 7 attempts per game is too high for him, the era makes it look like not a big deal because a lot of guys do it but I think it's bad. Westbrook was clowned every single day for taking shots he can't make.

You're completely right, his shots are extremely difficult, it's all contested last second or step-back 3's. Solution is having more off the ball plays to get him some comfortable looks when he is struggling. Obviously Luka is not the most active player when he doesn't have the ball so that rarely happens.

[asas]

This team is not as bad as they look now but Cuban being positive isn't a good thing. They will get it together soon but the team still needs shooters. Good shooters.

Also my personal hot take on what's going on - Luka desperately needs a highly respected player in the locker room to make him a better player. Somebody that has the power to call him out - "stop complaining", "stop crying", "stop whining", "stop shooting 7 3's a game when you can't make anything".

Well, Mavs are a better team than they look right now. They are just coming together. Against the Suns it was their first game AS A WHOLE unit. I bet it will be couple of games before they really gel. But for now, they simply have to start making shots, it's that simple.

About Luka, Barea is being missed a lot probably. I underestimated his leadership on and off the court. He could come in, have 6 or 7 assists in few minutes and carry bench a bit. He also provided great leadership for Luka (he said that himself). But anyway, he's 21yo and highly emotional player who absolutely hates losing. You are right about complaining but i would much rather have a guy on my team who would break his leg in order to win than someone who just wants to collect paychecks.

Yeah Barea was tough and he was good for Luka. Maybe in a couple of years Dragic will fall-off and join just as a vet mentor. He's tough and a good player as well. I wonder if there is any actual past their prime stars we could get, for some reason I think Luka needs a great nba player that demands respect, not just a tough guy.

[Bob8]

This team is not as bad as they look now but Cuban being positive isn't a good thing. They will get it together soon but the team still needs shooters. Good shooters.

Also my personal hot take on what's going on - Luka desperately needs a highly respected player in the locker room to make him a better player. Somebody that has the power to call him out - "stop complaining", "stop crying", "stop whining", "stop shooting 7 3's a game when you can't make anything".

There is only one problem with Luka stop shooting those 3s, his teammates were shooting mostly open 3s with exactly the same success like Luka was shooting his unassisted 3s in January. So you're not profiting anything, if someone else is shooting those shots. Luka is first in driving, so he cannot drive a lot more and he cannot stop shooting 3s, because opponents will guard him differently. Having bad shooters around Luka, hurts his % too.

Luka's on/off is +6.4, KP has - 9.3 on/off. Even with all losing, Luka has 0 +/-. I believe it's more important to find Luka better teammates than respected player in the locker room. But I might be wrong and highly respected player will have positive influence on Mavs shooting %. It's for sure much easier to find respected player than good shooters.

Yeah but for example 15 games later Richardson and the other guys will get closer to 40% and this argument doesn't work anymore, unless you don't believe they will. Luka can shoot and play however he wants but 7 attempts per game is too high for him, the era makes it look like not a big deal because a lot of guys do it but I think it's bad. Westbrook was clowned every single day for taking shots he can't make.

You're completely right, his shots are extremely difficult, it's all contested last second or step-back 3's. Solution is having more off the ball plays to get him some comfortable looks when he is struggling. Obviously Luka is not the most active player when he doesn't have the ball so that rarely happens.

35% is much more likely than 40%.

Luka needs his 3s. Everything becomes much easier for him with hitting 3. It's not about stop taking it, but making it more.

About off ball, it's about RC. Luka played off ball pretty good in Europe, so I don't understand why he can't play like that in NBA. Main problem I see is, that Mavs are still the best, when he has the ball, not Richardson/Brunson.

[Apz]

Think jrich handled it decent last game for stretches when luka seemed injured

[Bob8]

Think jrich handled it decent last game for stretches when luka seemed injured

And not that decent in first 5 minutes of the 4th Q.

[Apz]

Think jrich handled it decent last game for stretches when luka seemed injured

And not that decent in first 5 minutes of the 4th Q.

Pretty sure luka didnt play those 5 min. Actually, wasnt brunson ballhandler until luka got on?

[Bob8]

Think jrich handled it decent last game for stretches when luka seemed injured

And not that decent in first 5 minutes of the 4th Q.

Pretty sure luka didnt play those 5 min. Actually, wasnt brunson ballhandler until luka got on?

Richardson looks much better with Luka on the court, because D is focused on Luka. He has got many easy layups in first Q. In last Q, without Luka, Mavs were without ideas. I would expect from Richardson/Brunson to be able to create something for others.

[fuller4379]

February 3, 2021 - The day the Mavericks season is going to turn around.

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[leolozon]

So Luka had an open layup and went for a floater... I don't even understand what went through his head.

I think I have to stop watching them. I missed the 1st 3 minutes and they scored 11, but then scored 4 points in almost 6 minutes while I was watching.

[Archx]

Mavs are trolling with all those missed shots. This looks like an NCAA team or something.. how is it possible to miss so many open shots AND layups?!