RS 20/21 - Mavs @ Rockets (Wed. 8PM EST)

[Bob8]

That's like Luka having really bad game looks. Just awful. He's the main reason for this defeat. No need to mention Richardson, who was bad too, but with normal Luka Mavs would have easily win it. Looking defensive end, KP is really bad for what he could/should be.

[BlueSan]

No need to go into super hating and highs and lows guys.

Jazz similarly had a game in which they shot extremely bad and got hammered by Dallas. If it is just one game it is tough to swallow cause it is the Houston, but nights like this will happen.
If they bounce back all good. If they lose 3-4 in a row, we just have furthermore proof that they are far from a solid team.

And that is the difference between great and good/ok teams. Great ones, will have a game or two like this but in general do their thing.
Good ones will have swings up and down all season. Guess we will find out which one is Dallas, soon. Although my money is on the later or even less as I have been saying all season. But I hope they prove me wrong

[Bob8]

I have a feeling that preparation for this game was wrong too. KP back, they came in like they have already won it and they were back from the first minute. Interesting how Luka is having bad games mostly against bad teams and very rarely when he's on national TV. It looks like problems with motivation to me.

Like I said before. Luka's 3-point shooting and Brunson playing like Superman is probably not sustainable. And without those 2 things Mavs wouldn't have won so many games in last 2 months.

[Bob8]

Love is in the air.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[BlueSan]

Luka runs the plays.

So what you gona do Porzingis?

[Bob8]

Luka runs the plays.

So what you gona do Porzingis?

KP played much better than Luka, but interesting enough he was - 19 and Luka -7, meaning there were problems on the court even when KP was on the court without Luka, and we're back on D, Porzingis having far the worst defensive rating. Mavs playing better D without him is becoming a standard.

[arkuo]

Forget Lowry. Just sign Mike Conley Jr to a huge one year contract. That way you get a good playmaker AND still get cap space in 2022 for Beal.

[HMFFL]

David Hardisty: The Dallas Mavericks haven’t won a season series against the Rockets since 2012-13. The Rockets are one of the worst teams in the league this year and they still handled Dallas.

 

– via Twitter clutchfans



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[Jethrobodine123]

It would have helped if Doncic didn't take 26 shots and distributed the ball a bit more. He was off and he kept shooting instead of finding teammates. Passing doesn't seem to be as exciting to him anymore. Replace 6-8 of those Luka shots for shots by a player who was good and that's a win. Why take 26 shots when you are off and you are a great passer?

Brunson took 7 shots... and it was time for THJ to take more than 11 shots.

Luka's supposed to be good at manipulating the defense, but I didn't see any of it.

Luka has a tendency to want to play hero ball, the problem with that is he has a tendency to take bad shots while team mates are wide open. That is going to catch up with you eventually. What I don't like to see is when a player becomes infatuated with his numbers, which I see with Luka more and more. Over the long run, the main problem with playing in an almost James Harden style, which you totally dominate the ball and take every important shot is that many stars will not want to play with you, so you limit who will come to play for the Mavs. That's just reality.

Also, I do see a problem with Luka and Kp, it's obvious that Kp is being frozen out a lot of times and he's not happy about it. There's something going on between these two, no doubt in my mind. I would bet a lot of money that there's a trade coming in the off season.

That being said, the Mavs are playing much better lately and could make some noise in the playoffs. The ideal would be to avoid tournament play obviously because anything can happen in such play.

J

[Archx]

Also, I do see a problem with Luka and Kp, it's obvious that Kp is being frozen out a lot of times and he's not happy about it. There's something going on between these two, no doubt in my mind. I would bet a lot of money that there's a trade coming in the off season.

You do see some great plays from those two from time to time but not as nearly as much as we saw in the past. Luka also talks and jokes a lot on the court with DFS, THJ, Jrich, Maxi etc... But i never see him discussing anything with KP anymore. There must be something off with those two and people all over the internet are noticing that aswell because there is more and more chatter about it.

I personally think Luka is probably a bit frustrated with KP because he's missing so much time even though KP is a great team mate and always does what coaches ask from him.

[XTraderXL]

Yeah, Luka and KP cant play together. Something is going on there. Today in the first half KP was completely open, standing about 12 feet from Luka calling for the ball and Luka didnt even look at him. He dribbled the ball for 5s, took a contested stepback, missed it of course and KP slowly jogged back on defense. I believe they are fed up with each other. KP hasnt been playing great but they should really include him into the offense more. Thats on Carlisle and Luka more than on KP. If something doesnt change by the playoffs, I see a trade coming in the offseason. With KP playing like this as a second best player, the Mavs are destined to lose in the first round. Its a tough situation for them, it will definitely be interesting

[Bob8]

Yeah, Luka and KP cant play together. Something is going on there. Today in the first half KP was completely open, standing about 12 feet from Luka calling for the ball and Luka didnt even look at him. He dribbled the ball for 5s, took a contested stepback, missed it of course and KP slowly jogged back on defense. I believe they are fed up with each other. KP hasnt been playing great but they should really include him into the offense more. Thats on Carlisle and Luka more than on KP. If something doesnt change by the playoffs, I see a trade coming in the offseason. With KP playing like this as a second best player, the Mavs are destined to lose in the first round. Its a tough situation for them, it will definitely be interesting

I have to say it's bizarre situation. Yesterday Mavs supposedly were one of the best teams in Nba in last 2 months, playing with Luka dominating ball all the time and they didn't particularly miss KP. Afer bad night for Luka, if I understand right, they should change game stile and try to involve KP more? Why exactly?
Because they have lost 1 game with KP back?

Yesterday's game in numbers,

Luka had awful efficiency. KP very solid. We agree Luka should shoot lees and KP more. But when we look at advanced stats, something interesting comes out.

Luka Netrtg - 5.4
KP Netrtg - 28.9

This for sure doesn't mean that KP was worse than Luka, he wasn't, but shows that KP is much worse without Luka on court. That shows that Luka is not only KP's problem. Maybe 7'3 player should not play like SF.
Additionally looking only at Defrtg, KP 119.4, the worse in the team and KP should be leader in D, shows that KP is the biggest Mavs problem in D.

1 game is small sample size, but looking at those numbers, Mavs would be yesterday better off without KP. KP is not used properly in offense and is big liability in D.
And this is not only Luka's fault, because KP is even worse without Luka. It's on RC to find better role for KP and persuade him to play better D. or team needs to trade him.

Disclaimer,

Only one to be blamed for this loss is Luka, at least offensively.

[JD45]

Again, I think this game could have easily swung the other way with average 3pt shooting by both. So its not giving us any real information about the team, just like the Jazz game didn't.

But overall, I think the Mavs are not any better this year than last. And that should not be the case with Luka having a more experience and KP being healthier (and at least better offensively) than last year.

Luka is clearly the best player on the team, and certainly a better and more valuable player than KP. But Luka dominates the ball and is the main on-court decision maker. So if the team offense is having breakdowns, his role should get more heavily scrutinized. Even if he doesn't like KP, his role running the offense is to get the best scoring opportunity. Playing hero ball or intentionally freezing out the team's best scoring option is a basketball failure, not a personality issue. If that is what is really going on, the coaches have to address it. (I suspect the seemingly forced scoring opportunities for Melli, when he is so far completely ineffective is a symptom of this problem of letting interpersonal relations drive basketball play)

[Bob8]

Again, I think this game could have easily swung the other way with average 3pt shooting by both. So its not giving us any real information about the team, just like the Jazz game didn't.

But overall, I think the Mavs are not any better this year than last. And that should not be the case with Luka having a more experience and KP being healthier (and at least better offensively) than last year.

Luka is clearly the best player on the team, and certainly a better and more valuable player than KP. But Luka dominates the ball and is the main on-court decision maker. So if the team offense is having breakdowns, his role should get more heavily scrutinized. Even if he doesn't like KP, his role running the offense is to get the best scoring opportunity. Playing hero ball or intentionally freezing out the team's best scoring option is a basketball failure, not a personality issue. If that is what is really going on, the coaches have to address it. (I suspect the seemingly forced scoring opportunities for Melli, when he is so far completely ineffective is a symptom of this problem of letting interpersonal relations drive basketball play)

You're really believe Luka has some special relationship with Melli?

[JD45]

You're really believe Luka has some special relationship with Melli?

Lots of ways to interpret "special." But Luka does seem to be really trying to get him the ball in scoring opportunities. And Melli seems completely unable to capitalize on them, especially under the basket. Meli (wisely) doesn't even try to score against any defender in the paint, yet gets the ball under the basket multiple times.

[Bob8]

You're really believe Luka has some special relationship with Melli?

Lots of ways to interpret "special." But Luka does seem to be really trying to get him the ball in scoring opportunities. And Melli seems completely unable to capitalize on them, especially under the basket. Meli (wisely) doesn't even try to score against any defender in the paint, yet gets the ball under the basket multiple times.

Maybe Luka likes to pass under the basket and some other player(s) should be there more.

[Archx]

You're really believe Luka has some special relationship with Melli?

Lots of ways to interpret "special." But Luka does seem to be really trying to get him the ball in scoring opportunities. And Melli seems completely unable to capitalize on them, especially under the basket. Meli (wisely) doesn't even try to score against any defender in the paint, yet gets the ball under the basket multiple times.

You're talking about the sequence when Melli, Powell, Brunson and Green were on the floor with him. Who is he suppose to pass the ball to when the only other option is Brunson who is standing on the perimeter being closely guarded? Blame Rick for having such ridiculous rotations sometimes.

We said this before, but KP does very little to get himself open or demand the ball in the post. Anyone can stand at the logo and ask for a ball and then complain after the game that he didn't get the pass.

[JD45]

Maybe Luka likes to pass under the basket and some other player(s) should be there more.

I agree with that 100%.

[JD45]

You're talking about the sequence when Melli, Powell, Brunson and Green were on the floor with him. Who is he suppose to pass the ball to when the only other option is Brunson who is standing on the perimeter being closely guarded? Blame Rick for having such ridiculous rotations sometimes.

We said this before, but KP does very little to get himself open or demand the ball in the post. Anyone can stand at the logo and ask for a ball and then complain after the game that he didn't get the pass.

Anywhere in the paint, I would much prefer Powell get the ball than Melli. Anywhere out side the paint, I would prefer anybody but Powell. I don't hate Melli. I think he moves well, hustles and seems to play smart. He just can't seem to score efficiently or defend effectively at the NBA level. I really think he is trying hard, but just can't get it done.

And don't take my comments as saying KP played perfectly. I am disappointed in his play in the paint and especially against smaller defenders. But last night, Houston wasn't having much success in stopping him, while so many other Mavs were struggling. So it would seem to have been natural to continue to go to KP when the Mavs were having trouble scoring in the 4th.

[SOUNDCHASER]

hat is the consensus on Willie getting back on track. I was pretty excited about his potential and his time off has made me wonder what it is that is keeping him from developing.

I would rather get Boban out there than use Powell because he does nothing for me on D and at least Boban can score and rebound well.

WCS looked like he could play earlier in the season so when is he going to get back and get on track.

OR

Are we done with him and waiting to trade him in the off season? I have no inside contacts so its all a mystery to me.

I think KP needs a more complimentary piece to play with that is big and able to do the job inside.