RS 24/25 - Mavs @ Thunder (Tuesd 930PM EST)

[joesha1698]

I think Luka disected OKC defense really well, and team got open shots in the 1st half, scheme wise Dallas outplayed OKC.
What happened in 1st quarter, and was magnified in the 3rd is carelessness, and lackluster effort.

Rebounds snatched from the hands of Lively and Luka
Silly outlet passes, vet like Luka shkukd know better than throw outlets against this team, and it happened multiple times.
Steals in the backcourt on carless passes, by everyone.
When the 3rd qaurter hit, the effirt went to 0, lazy closeout and lazy rebounding, one team was energized the other like Zombies.
It wasn't the IHart minutes that killed the Mavs, it was the small lineups.
This game looked much more like the Rockets game than what I expected.

I wondered out loud how much of this was due to the schedule? I think some of it was. I also think they didnt want to do more traveling (sub consciously)... But I love what I seen out of Prosper. He's getting better. And this game solidified my belief that he should be getting Maxi's time. We should also be willing to move Hardy and Maxi for another 3-D guy. Our team needs a little more toughness (and another game changer on defense) and I think we can manage without Hardy and Maxi to get that guy.

[joesha1698]

Hopefully they'll take care of business against GSW/Hou. Though if it's Golden State, I fear Klay's going to try to go one-up everyone and play like garbage, especially on D. If it's Houston, it's just a flat-out outcoaching risk between Udoka and Kidd.

We owe both of them a good ole fashion butt kicking so it don't matter..bring'em on.

[Mavrelous]

I think Luka disected OKC defense really well, and team got open shots in the 1st half, scheme wise Dallas outplayed OKC.
What happened in 1st quarter, and was magnified in the 3rd is carelessness, and lackluster effort.

Rebounds snatched from the hands of Lively and Luka
Silly outlet passes, vet like Luka shkukd know better than throw outlets against this team, and it happened multiple times.
Steals in the backcourt on carless passes, by everyone.
When the 3rd qaurter hit, the effirt went to 0, lazy closeout and lazy rebounding, one team was energized the other like Zombies.
It wasn't the IHart minutes that killed the Mavs, it was the small lineups.
This game looked much more like the Rockets game than what I expected.

I wondered out loud how much of this was due to the schedule? I think some of it was. I also think they didnt want to do more traveling (sub consciously)... But I love what I seen out of Prosper. He's getting better. And this game solidified my belief that he should be getting Maxi's time. We should also be willing to move Hardy and Maxi for another 3-D guy. Our team needs a little more toughness (and another game changer on defense) and I think we can manage without Hardy and Maxi to get that guy.

Schedule definitely played part, but also lack.of scouting report.
Hopefully Mavs go for DFS...

[Michaellam1987]

Not too upset about this. We're not going to sweep OKC, and this in-season tourney was one of many stupid Adam SIlver ideas. I'm fine with the guys getting some rest.

But some points still stand. Luka is still off and inconsistent way too much for a star of his caliber. Whenever Klay looks for his stats and has a good boxscore game, this team loses. It's almost automatic.

It's much worse than you think. They won't get a rest, they're playing on Sunday against loser of the game between Warriors and Rockets. Big win against Pelicans basically brought them OKC and Warriors/Rockets. Suns, who lost cup wildcard to Mavs, because of points difference, got Utah and Portland instead.

if the ultimate goal is to win the championship, it does not matter we will face GSW/HOU or UTAH/POR, we should still remains competitive all the time.

[BliscoSantos]

I think Luka disected OKC defense really well, and team got open shots in the 1st half, scheme wise Dallas outplayed OKC.
What happened in 1st quarter, and was magnified in the 3rd is carelessness, and lackluster effort.

Rebounds snatched from the hands of Lively and Luka
Silly outlet passes, vet like Luka shkukd know better than throw outlets against this team, and it happened multiple times.
Steals in the backcourt on carless passes, by everyone.
When the 3rd qaurter hit, the effirt went to 0, lazy closeout and lazy rebounding, one team was energized the other like Zombies.
It wasn't the IHart minutes that killed the Mavs, it was the small lineups.
This game looked much more like the Rockets game than what I expected.

I wondered out loud how much of this was due to the schedule? I think some of it was. I also think they didnt want to do more traveling (sub consciously)... But I love what I seen out of Prosper. He's getting better. And this game solidified my belief that he should be getting Maxi's time. We should also be willing to move Hardy and Maxi for another 3-D guy. Our team needs a little more toughness (and another game changer on defense) and I think we can manage without Hardy and Maxi to get that guy.

Schedule definitely played part, but also lack.of scouting report.
Hopefully Mavs go for DFS...

BKN wants a first for him and he's not worth it...stay away from Dodo if the price is a first rounder

[Michaellam1987]

SGA has been killing us for like 10 consecutive time already, yet we still can't find out a method to at least slow down him to his average performance level

[Mavrelous]

SGA has been killing us for like 10 consecutive time already, yet we still can't find out a method to at least slow down him to his average performance level

You don't need to, it took heroic performance and choke job for them to win game 4, to beat them, let SGA feast and limit:
1. 2nd chance points
2. Transition points

The exact opposite of what the Mavs did, people focus on Luka's scoring, it wasn't the problem, he got his team good shots, it was rebounding and careless TOs, it wasn't half court defense that caused the bad TOs.
Luka and Kyrie generated good shots in half court sets compared to the expectation against such an elite team, they just passes the ball to them 10+ times like a bunch of rookies and had disgraceful effort on the defensive glass.

[Bob8]

Not too upset about this. We're not going to sweep OKC, and this in-season tourney was one of many stupid Adam SIlver ideas. I'm fine with the guys getting some rest.

But some points still stand. Luka is still off and inconsistent way too much for a star of his caliber. Whenever Klay looks for his stats and has a good boxscore game, this team loses. It's almost automatic.

It's much worse than you think. They won't get a rest, they're playing on Sunday against loser of the game between Warriors and Rockets. Big win against Pelicans basically brought them OKC and Warriors/Rockets. Suns, who lost cup wildcard to Mavs, because of points difference, got Utah and Portland instead.

if the ultimate goal is to win the championship, it does not matter we will face GSW/HOU or UTAH/POR, we should still remains competitive all the time.

It could matter, if teams that didn't play cup quarterfinals, for example Suns, ends in front of Mavs for a game or 2, because they played 2 games against opponents in the bottom of the league. At the moment the difference between 5th and 11 place is 2 games and it's very likely that West will be very close in the end too. I would say that playing home against Portland and away against Utah will very likely bring you 2 wins, on the other hand 2 away games against OKC and Warriors could easily mean 2 defeats, we're halfway there already. So it's not about competitiveness but about standings implications. 2 wins more is huge in that regard.