Game 15 November 28, 2008: Mavs @ Lakers

[JES12]

Did anyone really expect us to beat the Lakers with Howard (our 2nd best scorer, 2nd best rebounder & best wing defender) out and Dirk + Diop + Damp (our 1st, 3rd and 5th best rebounders) combine for 21 pts, 19 reb?

LA = 45 rebounds
Dal = 36 rebounds


Howard was definatley missed in this game.

[fazer86]

its a lil irritating that we didnt triple team Kobe in more i mean might as well make his teammates take long semi-contested shots late in the shot clock like they did us but hey it is what it is
I actually dont believe there is a HUGE gap between us and them and hopefully the guys in the maverick locker rooms believe they can beat LA as well
The big difference is we need Dirk to cancel out Kobe
Dirk never takes over in any point in time during a game against the lakers if he does its in the 1st quarter or somethin

[Teffer10]

I think there is a huge gap between the Lakers and us. Josh might have made a difference but the gap is more mental than physical in nature between the 2 teams. The Lakers went on a 21-2 run (or something like that) in a very short period of time. The Mavs seem to let up when they get what they feel is a comfortable lead. I think it was obvious when Kobe put it in his mind to take over late in the 3rd the game was virtually over...even when they were down by 7 or so.

Lakers are much more balanced than the Mavs (best player in the league, well coached, great bench, tremendous size with a balance of O and D, veteran leadership, confidence, and determination).

[JES12]

What do you suggest to get over theat "mental" hump Teffer?

I'm not going to sit here for one second and claim that is not an issue, but everything I was was physical..Longer arms to knock passes away. Longer arms for alley hoops. Longer arms of so many people surrounding Kobe when we double (forget about triple team fazer86, that would be suicide if we tripled Kobe). Longer arms to keep our offensive player from penetrating (except Barea and on an occassion Terry). Longer arms to outrebound us by 9. ALL OF THAT spells Howard's name.

We may have still loses this game and there is no way to know for sure, but I sure was missing everything that is Howard tonight.

[DDansby123]

There's a huge gap between these two teams. I thought the Mavs played about as well as they could and it still wasn't close down the stretch. At least they stepped up, took the challenge, and played really well.

[ppp000]

It's the same story with the mavs. They play hard for awhile against the good teams then collapse down the stretch.

I already knew how it would end!

And JHo was there the last two games against the Lakers last season/...still lost. Doesn't matter. We had to have Barea play out of his mind in the first half.

I'm tired of moral victories. This team is the same as last season. Good enough to beat up the average teams, but not good enough to make a difference against the good teams (the actual teams that they will be playing against in the playoffs).

That won't stop the excuses though. Call me a believer when this team beats good teams consistently, not always hovering around 7/8th seed.

[studcrackers]

There really isnt any poitn of having Jason kidd as your starting point guard if you have him as a spot up 3 pt shooter.

Dallas is lucky that Kidd has been hot behind the 3 lately. The team needs a high flyer to catch alleyhoops from kidd. Gerald Green should see at least 20 minutes a game while playing beside kidd.

then he's been hot ever since he got here, seriously he's an underrated shooter b/c teams leave him open all the time, u give him time he'll knock down the 3

as for tonight, the game changed when kobe dove for that loose ball and got it back and then gasol made the jumpshot the same possession, i knew if we didnt score the next possession or 2 they'd make a run and they did

[mavsfoty]

I'm not one to blame officiating and still won't put 100% of this loss on that. However 8 totals fouls on the Lakers is bit ridiculous.

[SpeedyG]

Tough loss, but this really wasn't something I thought the Mavs can win, especially without Howard. Barea caught fire early, but I thought Rick went with him for too long. It was obvious the Lakers adjusted to him in the 2nd half, and he really wasn't able to do anything from that point on.

I thought Dirk's shot selection was questionable especially late when the team needed him to carry the offense.

Again, it's the same thing we've sen all season long. When the shots are falling, this team can keep up with most teams in the league. When it stops to fall, is when this team struggles. They don't have a true post presence, a true slasher (i'd say Jet is the best slasher this team has, and even he is more of a jump shooter), and they don't play consistent defense enough to get out on the break and run with Kidd.

[JES12]

I'm not one to blame officiating and still won't put 100% of this loss on that. However 8 totals fouls on the Lakers is bit ridiculous.

That game for sure was not referee decided. I put all the blame on Deveon George with a little sprinkle on Dirk and whoever stepped on Howard's ankle.

[JES12]

Tough loss, but this really wasn't something I thought the Mavs can win, especially without Howard. Barea caught fire early, but I thought Rick went with him for too long. It was obvious the Lakers adjusted to him in the 2nd half, and he really wasn't able to do anything from that point on.

I thought Dirk's shot selection was questionable especially late when the team needed him to carry the offense.

Again, it's the same thing we've sen all season long. When the shots are falling, this team can keep up with most teams in the league. When it stops to fall, is when this team struggles. They don't have a true post presence, a true slasher (i'd say Jet is the best slasher this team has, and even he is more of a jump shooter), and they don't play consistent defense enough to get out on the break and run with Kidd.

WORD!

Barea = change of pace PG
Dirk needs to find his cajones that he had back in 2006 against the Spurs and the Suns.
And we need to stop jumpshooting the ball. We have players that can get to the basket anytime they want (Howard, Dirk, Terry. Barea....IDK about Kidd "everythime he wants") but they settle for freaking jumpers....urrr....infuriating.