RS 20/21 - Mavs vs Clippers part II (Wed, 9:30PM EST ESPN)

[Bob8]

Such a great start to the 3rd, but then everything went south with bad possessions after bad possessions. What was it 4 or 5 in a row?

The one where Luka kept dribbling around the CLippers and it looked like the Mavs just stood around, until he just went back to the 3pt line and tried another stepback 3... I just don't get it. I'm pretty sure there should have been some better opportunities in that possession.

I can’t tell if Luka has bad shot selection or if he has to take dumb shots because his teammates don’t know how to move without the ball. Maybe it’s a mixture of the two.

Yeah, a little bit of both. He had a really great game for sure, so you can't complain, but near the end, he dribbled the ball for 15 seconds, never getting past the 3pt line, never trying to do anything, and then just took a stepback 3 from 30 feet. What was that?

EDIT:I see a 3pt attempt at nearly 4min in the play by play and I thought it happened later in the game. The game was still within reach.

He just have a feeling he can hit everything yesterday, he exaggerated few times because of that.

Very interesting stat is that Mavs are 10-2 when Luka is shooting 10 3-pointers or more. And they're 3-4 when Luka is shooting 5 or less 3-pointers. Luka shooting a lot of 3s is good for Mavs. 3-pointers are essential for him, he averaged only 20 points, when he has taken 5 or less 3-pointers.

[Dirk]

Great win, considering the Mavs were robbed pretty much all game. Wth was this one...

Ball don't lie. 4 point play.

Spoiler:

Revenge!
Clips are favored by 2.5 points. .

It was a four point play!

JRichardson has been getting better and better..

Spoiler:

And...

[Jethrobodine123]

Great win last night for the Mavs. Luka was incredible, when he's on, he is something else, his defence has improved quite a bit lately, that's good to see. He's never going to be a defensive player of the year but he has to be adequate to make the Mavs a contender. The good news is that KP is looking like his old self on the defensive side of the ball, he was always an elite defensive player prior to this year so if he's back healthy and in shape this team could surprise in the playoffs.

J

[Dundalis]

Rick Carlisle is such a f*cking idiot. It’s like he learned nothing keeping Porzingis and Doncic out in the OKC game last week, yet we are supposed to be surprised when the lead shrinks back down to nothing while they’re out in this game

To be fair, Rick has had one of the leagues best benches for like the last 3 or so seasons now. All of a sudden thats no longer the case.

[dirkforpres]

Rick Carlisle is such a f*cking idiot. It’s like he learned nothing keeping Porzingis and Doncic out in the OKC game last week, yet we are supposed to be surprised when the lead shrinks back down to nothing while they’re out in this game

To be fair, Rick has had one of the leagues best benches for like the last 3 or so seasons now. All of a sudden thats no longer the case.

I agree, but there lies the problem with the front office allegedly not being aggressive on the trade market. The front office owes it to Luka to maximize the roster around him instead of keeping the inferior talent as currently assembled. It makes no sense that a team with a supposedly top tier coach, player, and front office in as big of a market as Dallas is, only be an 8th seed that can’t even beat the tanking Thunder or Rockets while resting anyone

[JD45]

I agree, but there lies the problem with the front office allegedly not being aggressive on the trade market. The front office owes it to Luka to maximize the roster around him instead of keeping the inferior talent as currently assembled. It makes no sense that a team with a supposedly top tier coach, player, and front office in as big of a market as Dallas is, only be an 8th seed that can’t even beat the tanking Thunder or Rockets while resting anyone

I want the Mavs to make a good trade and still hope they will. But of course it is always subject to who is willing to trade with them. Luka is 22 and likely has more than 10 years left in his career. Even KP should have more than 5. The worst case scenario would be to trade young players or future draft picks for an aging player who would not make them championship contenders. I would much rather they traded away some of their veteran players for future assets, even if it meant missing the playoffs this year. That is likely the best opportunity this year if it really is a sellers market.

But, I expect them to do nothing. Not stupid enough to compromise the future for marginal improvement this year, but not aggressive enough to give up the playoff this year for future gain. There just doesn't seem to be a good market for them to do what they want and are willing to do.