RS 20/21 - Mavs @ Jazz (10PM EST)

[Pofukauskas]

This season is over boys. Even if by some miracle this team starts playing decent basketball in a month or so and somehow crawls into the playoffs via play in tournament they're getting dismantled by the likes of Lakers/Clippers/Jazz like children. Team in just too soft, untalented, and full of unreliable chuckers. Seems like every rotational player besides Luka is either not tall enough or underweight, therefore over reliant on chucking jumpshots and getting outrebounded by every decent team. And on top of that you have a coach that is in love with his 5 feet tall guards. Sometimes I think he's trolling when I watch a guard lineup of Brunson, Burke and Richardson on the floor together, that **** wouldn't even fly in G league.

So this team besides Luka and Maxi (let's cut him some slack since he was not a part of this recent **** show) is Pussingis - an underweight, no D playing, jumpshot chucking, low BBIQ, can't pass, inefficient, always injured stiff that is getting paid:
2020/2021 - $29,467,800
2021/2022 - $31,650,600
2022/2023 - $33,833,400
2023/2024 - $36,016,200 (PO) LOL

This chucker can't post up anyone, not even small guards if his life depended on it, and he can't defend anyone 1 on 1 - not guards, not forwards, and certainly not centers. On top of that he's a black hole on offense since he can't pass, and is completely reliant on chucking rushed jumpshots. He's a joke and the joke in on the Mavs for overpaying this rotational "big" assets and moneywise.

Then you have these clowns like Boban, Powell, WCS. They're a complete waste of salary cap money and roster spots, just pure trash. I can't wrap my head around the idea of (re)signing scrubs like that...for example Mavs got **** by McGee and Howard everytime they played the Lakers last season but they go and sign WCS for almost twice as much as Howard and for the same money as McGee. At least those guys don't get pushed around and play some D while WCS looks dumb as a rock and can't finish a dunk.

Next up are JRich and Hardaway...JRich is a glorified Delon Wright and Hardaway cannot be relied upon in any way - you get one good game from him and then a couple like these last two. They're also not stopping anyone on D due to their height/weight. And these guys are supposed to be signed multiyear deals at like 15 mil per year in the offseason...unbelievable.

DFS - I love the guy for his effort and on court attitude but this guy is a defensive stopper that doesn't really stop anyone, ever. You also can't rely on him on offense but at least he's getting paid like a flawed player, unlike Pussingis...

Brunson and Burke are to small, there should always be just one of them on the court at a time...they're both liability on D, and neither is a playmaker that gets teammates good looks.

Rookies look like trash, nothing to see there right now.

[GeorgeGervin]

Why is almost every big playing the Mavs suddenly looking like Olajuwon?
I mean Boogie who's been absolutely terrible this year just had 28 and 17 on terrific shooting. Gobert had 29 and 20, LaMarcus 26 and 9, Markannen 29 and 10.
We're supposed to have great inside defenders (KP and WCS) yet these guys are getting killed game and after game. And KP can't defend the P&R, how many 3's has he given yesterday when he was defending the P&R?
This might be the biggest Mavs' issue right now, even bigger than 3pt shooting.

And also, who is every guard/SF looking like Reggie Miller against us lately?

[BlueSan]

The last 4 games sucked, but I think people are getting carried away.
JRich/DFS are nowhere near their previous form, the teams 2 centers suck, really suck, so Kleber missing is very crucial, especially with KP struggling to find his groove.
I still think Drummond being cheap (in terms of assets needed) and expiring makes a lot of sense for the team, and the body language in these 2 games is very worrying and coach need to pick the players up, but it's also clear that the Mavs were planning on the next season to start contending, anything they can get now is a blessing.
I suggest people replay the games from 4 to 10 to see what this team is capable of.

Depends what you want? Do you want to patch up things and make it to the 8th 7th seed or eventually build a team capable of a title run? If the later Drummond and alike will fix nothing.

Luka needs to as absurd as it sounds go to an even higher level, Porzingis needs to be the player they expect him to be at the minimum, the rest of the pieces need to work their ass off every single game and then you build it up from there. If anyone is not at that level, you scrap him...

I was saying all along that this team is not as good as some people think. First of all cause of KP questions and finally even if almost everyone is healthy they are still away from being true contenders. In the end most of it IS up to Luka and he needs to play literally at the all time great level to drag an average team to wins.
But if the team cant even play average basketball no matter who you are you cannot produce those Wins and any team having a good night will sweep the floor with you.

You think it is a conincidence they keep mentioning the effort is not there? That is a concern. Shot not falling... you live with that. Effort not being there = PROBLEMS in the locker room. Who knows if Luka is not responsible for those... who knows

[leolozon]

Was 16 points, get a run and uts doable. But they failed and put the rookies in instead

Yeah sure, 16 points in 6 minutes was doable with the way the team had played...

[Torgeir Bryn]

Carlisle may not be perfect. But to criticize him for not playing Boban more, against a team that spams the high pick and roll more than any other in the NBA and plays four good 3-point shooters, is pretty wild.

[JD45]

Seth Curry was a solid player for the Mavs last year. He produced 12 points a game in 25 minutes while shooting 45% from 3. That's terrific. But he was a defensive liability. But even assuming it was a talent downgrade to trade for JRich, it is still only a small decrease from an overall team perspective.

But the Mavs seem much worse now. Defense is no better and the offense is much worse. I think the problem goes far beyond Curry. If the players are mostly the same and the team is worse, its got to be a coaching problem. Maybe the Silas loss? Maybe the coaching staff just hasn't been able to adjust to COVID precautions? Its hard for a casual fan to look that far behind the scenes. But something is wrong with the way the team is organized and lead and its too systematic to blame individual players.

[arkuo]

I think the problem goes far beyond Curry.

Actually up until the end of Dallas' playoff run last year, there was no problem to immediately address. They could have easily just run in back with the same team given the great chemistry between everybody. The problem was when Cuban started dreaming of Giannis signing in Dallas so he has to ship Curry out for RIchardson (he was certain he was to opt out of his player option for a new contract) and dump Delon Wright and Justin Jackson for James Johnson (expiring contract). Along with THJ's expiring that would have been more than enough to sign Giannis to whatever amount legally possible. But it seems like he didnt have a Plan B.

So in short, he blew up the 2011 team for a shot at Dwight Howard, and he blew up last year's team for a shot at Giannis. Both seem to have ended with his **** in his hands. Unfortunately making him and Donnie bridesmaids yet again.

[HMFFL]

Luka Doncic needed only one word to describe the state of the Dallas Mavericks after their seventh loss in nine games. “Terrible,” Doncic said Friday night after the Utah Jazz extended their winning streak to 11 games with a 120-101 rout of the visiting Mavs.

 

– via Tim MacMahon @ ESPN



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[BlueSan]

yeah locker room problems

[Mr B]

yeah locker room problems

Do you think there is a specific person that is not clicking with Luka? I know I did not like KP’s body language last night. Carlisle had a quick trigger too when pulling him out of the game. I wonder if that’s who it is?




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[BlueSan]

I dont know, you tell me why he is missing the press conferences lately...

[Bob8]

I dont know, you tell me why he is missing the press conferences lately...

KP is the last person with right to complain.

[ejs78]

Effort is much better to start... maybe it will lead to something good.

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[fuller4379]

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[Apz]

2nd game vs jazz I can swear I heard jrich shout at KP "cmon man" when 4 of the guys got together at one point, think it was at an out of bounds or freethrows abd KP walked away. Thought it strange at the time that KP walked away, but I havent watched interviews and such last week or 2 so didnt know KP didnt do them. Makes me feel its something more now then I tgought at the time. A team that lived by team cohesion last year, its not good if so.

Also something to think about for those shoutibg for trades all the time