What an awful loss tonight. The Mavs had their chance to gain some ground in the standings. Poor coaching, poor rebounding, poor defense and horrible offense in the 4th quarter. Dirk was great in the 3rd but unfortunately was missing in the crucial 4th quarter. He must have been really tired after carrying the Mavs most of the game. JET had a poor game. He hasn't been shooting well since his injury. I hope his game picks up soon because the Mavs need him big time. Damp was great early on offensively but he was a no show in the latter parts of the game. Wright had another poor offensive game. I honestly hope he realizes that he isn't a good 3 point shooter. He has been missing them terribly these past few games. Kidd was okay. He was excellent in the 1st quarter but his game waned in the end. He also didn't shoot well tonight.
The 3 guard lineup killed the Mavs tonight. I don't understand why Carlisle stubbornly insists on using it. It may be good in brief moments, but not for extended minutes. As I've always said, JJB is good in brief moments. But relying on him too much will cost too much, specially defensively. He isn't a great floor general and more often than not, he looks to shoot before making a pass to an open teammate. JJB and JET couldn't guard anybody out there. Their defense was horrendous. Plus, the Mavs were getting killed on the boards the entire game. How do they expect to rebound when they have this 3 guard lineup out there? This 3 guard lineup is a nightmare defensively and rebounding wise. I hope Carlisle realizes that he is pretty much to blame for this loss.
Why no Hollins? I know he isn't the answer to all the problems tonight but he would have been good for brief moments, specially when the Mavs' bigs were in foul trouble. He has been rebounding well in the past few games. I was hoping to see him. The Mavs needed his energy and hustle tonight. I wonder why Carlisle refuses to play him when he has been doing well as of late?
I hope the Mavs play their heart out in the remaining games. They can't be too complacent. I know it will take a monumental collapse on their part and a great run on the Phoenix Suns' part for the Mavs to fall out of the playoffs but nothing is guaranteed. Sunday's game is huge.
I hope the Mavs win all their remaining home games. It will be tough as they are playing playoff teams. But I am hoping that their good showing at home will carry them through. More importantly, they need to win these games to try to move up. Its a slim chance, but hopefully, Utah loses some or most or all of their road games.
Overall, I think poor rebounding, poor defense (although some of the shots Memphis made were really "lucky" or "unbelievable" shots), poor substitutions killed the Mavs tonight. Oh well, on to the next game.
Also, great win for the Wolves. They really stepped up big time tonight.. against the Jazz in Utah!
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