Carlisle dartboard - All Things Rick

[Lord Cuban]

Well, i don't know if is the Luka effect or what but lately i'm seeing more bad things than good things on the Mavs... I started the Barnes topic because he is a scrub being paid like a top player... Now i'm starting this one...

I will start by saying that i'm a huge fan of rick and his job... My criticisms is only for what happening this season.

we all know what are the qualities and defects of RC But it has gotten worse this season...

- He's playing his bench squad to much time... I will not talk about the first two quarters of the game because to me the problem is in the 3rd and 4th quarter... He always gives a rest for the starters with about 4 or 5 minutes to the end of the 3rd quarter (That's not a problem) but he will give his bench mob about 7 minutes in the 4th while the starters will only play about 5 minutes... That's crazy and he refuses to adjust no matter what... Like other said it's like he's just looking at the clock...

- With his bench mob eating to much minutes.... We have other problem... It seems to me that he has not managed well the hot players... In countless moments we have seen Doncic, Harris or even Barnes on fire and RC just decide to make a sub... The only guy that's immune to this is Barea...

I know that the expectations for this team can not be high but this is the transition season and it seems to me that the RC is who has played a great D vs our guys.

[Lord Cuban]

Sorry for my poor English... i hope you can understand what i want to say with this topic...

[Absinthe]

Your English is fine. I understand you perfectly.

His rotations are wacky and I honestly think he plays too many players. Spoelstra does the same thing in Miami, but he is forced to because none of their players are a go to type of player now that D Wade is older. Doncic, Barnes, DSJ, DeAndre, Kleiber, JJ, Powell, Harris, Finney, and Dirk all got minutes and that was without Wes playing. This is a somewhat young team and constantly disrupting pacing by inserting older players is highly questionable. I would honestly like to see the rotation tightened to 9 players at the absolute most and that’s with the 9th player maybe putting in ten minutes.

[arkuo]

Rick has to learn to adjust to the times. I do understand he is trying to give DSJ his confidence back but it may cost us some games in the process. For the long term it may pay off if DSJ becomes somewhat of a Damian Lillard in 3 seasons. However he needs to balance it out. He's no Hubie Brown in terms of alienating young players, but he's no Greg Popovich either.

[Archx]

I'll never understand why RC is regarded as one of the top coaches ever? Or something like that. He did have quite a super team even when they won a championship....

But i do have to give him props, because i see that he is the type of coach, who will always force them to play sets. And that's superb. Look at HOU, a monkey could do the same job as Mike there. ISO Harden all day ( even if it works ), it's just stupid.

But my criticism towards him is basically "on the fly coaching"... He screwed up so many times this season already, i mean just go back and look how many close games they have lost. And you asked yourself in those losses, what the hell are they doing? Who called the play like that?

And i agree, his bench mob rotation is just too much. Sure, play players who are hot, i don't mind that, or play someone who can really help on defense aka Kleber. But sitting starters for almost 9 mins and then ask them to close the game, after they get cold, is kinda weird.
For example, Davis played 43 min, Gentry really wanted to win this game, he was playing Davis to his full potential and it paid off, Mavs best player usually plays only 32mpg per night, even when he is hot and making great plays. Those are small differences that you just can't overlook.

So all in all, i think he is a great coach for designing plays before the game and getting people involved, but on the fly coaching, at least this year, he is average at best to me.

[2011Champs]

Is Carlisle really a good coach if he can’t adjust to today’s game?
I see Carlisle’s main trait for success is that he isn’t a player’s coach and doesn’t allow for bs from his players. Other than that he has very questionable rotations and game plans.
For example, let’s say Barnes is having a super hot game and can’t miss a shot. Carlisle won’t ride that hot hand. He will still sub Barnes out at the exact time he has predetermined before the game. Carlisle’s rotations are set in stone before the game rather than making adjustments during the game.
Same can be said for the opposite. Let’s say Matthews is making bone headed plays trying to do more than he can? Carlisle won’t correct that either. If Jordan isn’t engaged defensively, Carlisle isn’t going to pull him and put Salah in for a bit. Carlisle’s predictable rotations are more important than what is actually happening in the game.
That being said, despite his stubbornness Carlisle is still better than the alternatives. The last thing Dallas needs is a coach like Jason Kidd.

[2011Champs]

Just one afterthought...I wonder if Carlisle is being told by ownership (Cuban) what his rotation should be? Maybe that is why he doesn’t deviate from his rotations at all, just to prove a point?

[arkuo]

Just one afterthought...I wonder if Carlisle is being told by ownership (Cuban) what his rotation should be? Maybe that is why he doesn’t deviate from his rotations at all, just to prove a point?

I do think its a good mix. Im sure Donnie has some inputs like allowing Powell to shoot more this year maybe to raise his trade/market value. It's still a business after all.

[Archx]

Just one afterthought...I wonder if Carlisle is being told by ownership (Cuban) what his rotation should be? Maybe that is why he doesn’t deviate from his rotations at all, just to prove a point?

I do think its a good mix. Im sure Donnie has some inputs like allowing Powell to shoot more this year maybe to raise his trade/market value. It's still a business after all.

C'mon guys, if you're trying to go for playoffs, you don't do that to your coach. Specially if you have high regards for him. But like "2011Champs" said, he should criticize his veterans more during the game. Saw quite often that he yelled at Luka for example, why not tell Barnes to freaking pass the ball to an open guy when he is stuck around 3 defenders, and still pulls up an impossible shot. Or tell DAJ to bring more effort on D or tell Powell to actually stop shooting like he was Ray Allen etc... Those "small" things are killing Mavs this year and if this continues, i am 100% sure they won't make PO.

[Darren]

I think RC surprise us by playing young players to key role. As much as the obsession with small ball, RC now goes big with Kleber even without a center. I think it's more short of talents caused the game. How many time the Mavs lose a game where opposing team attrack Jordan in clutch time? A lot. DJ can't jump nor can DJ guard the perimeter. This is a concern. I can understand DJ struggle to defend 3 point shooters but letting opponents to score at will in paint without even attempt to block shots? It's on Jordan. Even so, the Mavs is good enough to win this game. But they missed too many free throws. Of course, the final execution is pretty bad.

[agentofatlas]

I see the annual "RC sucks" crowd is alive again lol. I say he's been fine and adjusted accordingly. I mean you only have to compare to the games beginning of season to now. Instead of losing in blowouts on the road, the team is actually keeping it close. It's all fine tuning from here with the mindset of the development of not only Luka but DSJ as well.

As for the comment that the game passed him well I disagree. He actually runs very modern offensive sets (which features Luka a ton btw).

The one thing I agree is that he does tend to play the bench a little too much in the 4th. He needs to find minutes elsewhere or at least bring in Luka back earlier.

[agentofatlas]

Also free throws. The Mavs are actually 2nd in attempts per game but are 21st in percentage. That's the one aspect I can see where the team can improve and the wins will follow. I mean look at the Clips. The take a ton of free throws and make em at a 80% clip.

[Darren]

If GSW is the team to beat, then 2 shot blockers with 3 SFs lineup actually work. GSW can get easy buckets because they involve bigs in pick-n-roll and leave the paint unguarded. But with two shot blockers with light feet and excellent 3 point percentage, the mismatch might change completely. I think SF can learn to guard PG a little easier than a SF to guard C from time to time. SF has the size to guard perimeter shots close eventually. But this type of C/PF combo is rare. I hope the Mavs get 2 in 2 years and gather some second rounders to fill the roster with 3D players.

[burek3]

Lineup1, Lineup2 subs are understandable in hockey let's say, but it's utterly ridiculous to have hockey subs in basketball. 5 men out, 5 men in. Precisely on the clock.

Oh, Luka hits 7 3 pointers? Yeah, no, let DSJ dribble out the game (wtf was that anyways).

[Archx]

Lineup1, Lineup2 subs are understandable in hockey let's say, but it's utterly ridiculous to have hockey subs in basketball. 5 men out, 5 men in. Precisely on the clock.

Oh, Luka hits 7 3 pointers? Yeah, no, let DSJ dribble out the game (wtf was that anyways).

Haha .... Well in theory, it was actually a brilliant idea. Use Luka as a decoy, which instantly takes away NO's best defensive play (Jrue). But the execution was kinda bad. DSJ should have known how much time he has, but he took way too much time to get past Davis. And at the end, he even missed the layup.

[DJ_3_Ball]

Here's my 2 cents on the subject.

A) You can't do much about it because if you let Carlisle go you'll have a hell of a time finding a coach even half as good. And, Carlisle is an old man, a guy who has coached in this league for 2 decades, and you're not going to be able to convince him to change his mind about anything. So, we're in a just "have to live with it" situation.

B) I heard Followill on with the Hardline a few weeks ago, and they were talking about how many minutes Dirk would play when he comes back. Followill broke down the exact times in each quarter that Carlisle makes substitutions and by God if he doesn't make those substitutions at those EXACT minute markers in EVERY single game. That's beyond sub-optimal. The simple laws of probability would dictate there's a snowball's chance in hell the best time for substitutions would line up the exact same for every point during a 48 minute contest. There's just no chance that's right.

So, then you gotta ask yourself is Carlisle even watching the games? i.e. does he know what to do in order to make the right adjustments? Because I don't see any adjustments being made. I just see unit 1 being swapped out for unit 2 and vice versa. I mean, have Luka & Dirk played even a single second on the floor together, yet? I don't think so. I haven't seen it, and I've watched probably 5 or 6 games since Dirk has been back. How is that possible?

Even if Carlisle is correct with these substitutions (and he's not), God Damnit as a fan I wanna see Luka kick the ball to Dirk for a wide open 3! I wanna see that!! Sure, you can't force that in a tight game, but one of these games when the Mavs are up by double digits get those 2 on the floor together plz.

[Archx]

Dirk and Luka did actually play some seconds together, but not much more.

Call me crazy, but i think Dirk should have been on the floor for those last 4 seconds... That would have been another decoy RC could have used to free up someone. I really expected Dirk to be there. And maybe Luka or Dirk could have got themselves open for an easy 3.

[Pinkyring]

Only real issues are have are the bleeding the all bench lineups when the other teams are playing starters, also an issue is letting or encouraging Powell to shoot 3s

[Teffer10]

Dirk and Luka did actually play some seconds together, but not much more.

Call me crazy, but i think Dirk should have been on the floor for those last 4 seconds... That would have been another decoy RC could have used to free up someone. I really expected Dirk to be there. And maybe Luka or Dirk could have got themselves open for an easy 3.

Not crazy, I thought the same thing. Dirk, Barnes and Luka are all capable of taking that last shot with 4 seconds left.
Dirk seemed like the old Dirk last night in terms of shooting. They definitely would have had to account for him.

[Teffer10]

I think Rick is just out of his realm with this semi-rebuilding process. He is in his comfort zone when he has a core of vets and now he doesn't. I think that is why he over relies on guys like Wes and Barea to carry the team by giving them too large of roles.

He isn't the right coach for a rebuild process but if we ever do get back to the POs I want him as our coach.
I still think Cuban should hire Larry Brown as a player development consultant.