RS 21/22 - Mavs @ Jazz (Sat. 1030PM EST)

[Dirk]

Merry Christmas everyone

[HMFFL]

Mavs are a 12.5pt underdog tomorrow.


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[Darren]

I watch the replay and find something straight in Ntilikina's shot. For the ball goes in or out, the mechanics and rhythm is way different. The feet is not set right. So Frank shoots with pure arm power sometimes. That's the reason for the miss that is one ball short. However, even if it is on target, there's a tendency to go left a little more. Perhaps some sort of Kungfu or zen meditation can help. I still remember that's how Phil Jackson train up Kobe and Shaq.

[41Dirk41]

I watch the replay and find something straight in Ntilikina's shot. For the ball goes in or out, the mechanics and rhythm is way different. The feet is not set right. So Frank shoots with pure arm power sometimes. That's the reason for the miss that is one ball short. However, even if it is on target, there's a tendency to go left a little more. Perhaps some sort of Kungfu or zen meditation can help. I still remember that's how Phil Jackson train up Kobe and Shaq.

He remind me Rondo a lot...

[Darren]

No.20 and 94 are pretty awful. Why not playing Chriss or Boban? Where's DFS afterall?

[ejs78]

Instead of up 9 with Moses dunk they are only up 4 after the O'Neale 3.

Can't believe they're still in this game

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[Mr B]

It’s clear why Marquess Chriss hasn’t been on a team. Dude commits some of the dumbest fouls.

[Darren]

Moses Brown actually cover a lot of ground and not getting things easy even in pick-n-roll. Moses does alter a lot of shots in paint nd rebound well. I think Brown is one of those few pair well with KP on court. I like the energy Moses demonstrated on court. At least, Moses is better than Powell guarding players inside and outside the paint. But the decision making needs work. So is the finishing sometimes. The big time dunking miss costs Mavs the game. Still, great impact on the floor. I don't see a reason why Powell finish the game, though.

George King sucks. The Mavs should find a better piece even if it's for 10 days only. Overall, Chriss is a positive on court as well. Much better than Powell and WCS.

I think Kidd's substitution makes things easy to the Jazz. Letting the guard facing Powell in paint in clutch time. It is either a easy finish or easy putback dunks. Kidd is just way too bad in terms of substitution.

On the whole, things look great. The Mavs stay close the whole game without DFS. That's unthinkable. Ntilikina is a big reason. Pinson is also playing good defense. Brunson exceeds expectation again. Things are more difficult defended by Conley and Gobert. This Charley Brown doesn't look bad. Of course, I don't like what I see from King and Knight, though.

But things are not good for the Mavs who's on the edge of playoff elimination somewhat. Anyway, I don't see the Mavs getting out the first round with this roster. A major shakeup is needed. The addition of Chriss is still nice. That's how bad the Mavs frontcourt rotation looks.

In term of player development, there is some positive signs, especially for Moses Brown and Frank Ntilikina. Sterling Brown is pretty limited player on both end of the floor. A bit slow for a swingman. But Kidd put Brown at PF at times. I don't think it is a good decision afterall. The Mavs should have played more zone defense. Clearly, Utah struggles when the Mavs play zone defense. The newcomers show a lot of urgency in zone defense.

[Darren]

Maybe the Mavs should sign JJ, Tyson, Dirk on 10-day contract in place of Knight, King and Jones to save the season. If there's still a shortage of able body, Kidd should play as well.

[Darren]

Ntilikina improved a lot in 2 games. Keep up. Fixing one mistake from each game, Ntilikina could become a competent offensive player by the end of the season. Like the energy and effort defensively. But some fouls are still avoidable.

Watch on YouTube

[Mavrelous]

I did not expect this to be this close, starters have big +/- and the bench consists of only 10-day contract + Moses Brown.

[41Dirk41]

Funny game, at least it was a close one.

Frank is good, Mitchell had a tough game.
I'm pretty sure that Luka-Frank is a very impressive backcourt.

Chriss/KP paired up very well but Marqueese commits too many (stupid) fouls.

Brunson continues to improve but he is not a PG.

The others are scrubs, Brown made his 3s but was awful all game.
Powell terrible, i can't believe that i paid the LP for watching him. Cuban has to reimbursement me.

[HMFFL]

Points In The Paint:

Utah 52
Dallas 34

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[Darren]

Points In The Paint:

Utah 52
Dallas 34

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The difference maker is 4th quarter points in paint. This is Kidd's fault.

Actually, Jazz struggle the most when the Mavs is playing zone defense with both KP and Moses on the floor. Jazz is heavily relying on driving lanes. This scheme effectively takes away the driving lanes for Gobert and Mitchell in particular. And the number of wide open corner 3s is limited. That means Joe is also taken away from the equation. The Mavs is mainly playing against Conley and Clarkson.

But by the fourth quarter, Kidd decide to play Powell with a 3-PG lineup. That's the matchup problem the Mavs cannot resolve. This allow driving lanes to Gobert, Mitchell. Lots of putback and alley-op and opened 3s opportunities. I should say while the Mavs is shorthanded, Kidd costs the Mavs the game with poor decision making.

Until the Mavs improved the rotation frontcourt, the problem will appear repeatedly. The Mavs interior defense is non-existence, especially against elite teams in clutch time. Nearly all of the bigs couldn't get the defensive assignment done right. While the Mavs needs a 3, there's no countable shooters on the roster. That's a recipe of failure. The Mavs has been punished a lot this season due to these two issues. And the management and coach both couldn't find a way to fix it. Getting the highest paid players play is a repeat of the failure and making things easy to opposing teams. The Mavs is tanking even if it is unintentionally from the start of the season.

[fuller4379]

I like Chriss' energy, but he needs to play smarter. I know he is trying to play for his career, but he needs to avoid the dumb foul.