Last night's game..

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

I'm not buying the moral victory angle. I was a surprised as anyone to see us play the Lakers that close and to that end maybe it was a moral victory through three quarters. In the 4th quarter I saw the same thing we've been seeing.

Of course it doesn't matter what I think if the players carry it like a win. The Giants late season loss to the Patriots is probably the greatest moral victory of all time as they rode the confidence from that game to the Super Bowl. I'm not expecting any kind of historic run here but if it really was a moral victory it should be apparent tomorrow. If they come out with the swagger of a team that played the best team in the West to a virtual standoff then it's something to build on. OTOH if Dirk bounces back (which you have to think he will) but two other players regress and we look like we did over the weekend this game will have been nothing more than a nice diversion.

So if Damp and Stack regress back to their normal production it doesn't mean anything? That's not logical at all.

It's also not logical in the slightest to say that this game is only meaningful if they start playing at a higher level immediately after it.

It's a young season, things are new, and there are going to be ups and downs as everyone adjusts. Last night was a sign of what is possible when this team clicks (and it really didn't even click completely, obviously). Regardless of what happens tonight, that will still be true.

I'm going to continue to use the Rockets of last season as a logical example until someone gives me a reason not to.

Once again, I am only ok with people looking completely negatively at the Laker game if they also would only look completely positively at an ugly, close win over a terrible team. If you look negatively at both scenarios then I think you need to reassess your outlook on things.

[basketballgirl25]

from my point of view, the Mavericks are a team that is capable of winning games and being good, but they are just like how the Nets were, not the right players to win the finals. I'm not saying the Mavericks can't win the finals, but just not with the team right now they can't. If they can play well every game and not take a lot of night off they will win, but I don't think it is possible for this team to do that with the players they have, Dirk maybe, but he hasn't had some of the best games so far this season

[Zki41]

Originally Posted by basketballgirl25

from my point of view, the Mavericks are a team that is capable of winning games and being good, but they are just like how the Nets were, not the right players to win the finals. I'm not saying the Mavericks can't win the finals, but just not with the team right now they can't.

Well if you can beat the Lakers then you are capable of winning a championship. We do have potential.

Look at the Lakers Hornets game last night. Hornets are a team that is much further along than we are. Look at how they performed against the Lakers and look how we did. On paper there is not much different. We're just as good as anyone else if we choose to be.

[Dirkenstien]

I agree Zki41, we're definitely close to being a true contender. One thing is certain, our bigs gave the Lakers a ton of trouble in the paint and that's one reason New Orleans got killed by the Lakers in the game last night. It's unfortunate that we can't get significant offensive production out of them (outside of offensive rebounds and put backs) but I think we're closer to having a chance at winning than a lot of people realize.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

I'm not buying the moral victory angle. I was a surprised as anyone to see us play the Lakers that close and to that end maybe it was a moral victory through three quarters. In the 4th quarter I saw the same thing we've been seeing.

Of course it doesn't matter what I think if the players carry it like a win. The Giants late season loss to the Patriots is probably the greatest moral victory of all time as they rode the confidence from that game to the Super Bowl. I'm not expecting any kind of historic run here but if it really was a moral victory it should be apparent tomorrow. If they come out with the swagger of a team that played the best team in the West to a virtual standoff then it's something to build on. OTOH if Dirk bounces back (which you have to think he will) but two other players regress and we look like we did over the weekend this game will have been nothing more than a nice diversion.

I completely agree that the Lakers game means absolutely nothing if the effort isn't there going forward. We have no idea whether or not it was a moral victory. We have no idea as to whether or not the team figured something out. Perhaps it was the last bullet they had left... Or, perhaps they finally put forth a little effort...

Now, I'm disturbed that it took until game 7 of the season for this team to bust it's ass. However, they did.. for the first time. Will it carry over? I don't know. But, for the first time this season, I see a little hope. They played like a contender instead of like a chump.

Does it carry over? I have no freaking idea. But, it's at least reason enough to tune in to the next couple of games with just a little hope. To me, they showed that they can play with anyone. Now, are they pansies? Will they half ass it in their next game? Or, will they bust their asses again because that is what they're supposed to do?

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

I'm not dismissing that game because even though the Spurs were playing bad we dominated them. That's all you can do. For that matter Minn. has been competitive this year and he handled them fairly easily.

But lets also not forget that after the Kidd trade we had a chance to beat the Lakers three times and came up short three times. Playing with good teams for 40+ minutes is nothing new to us. Winning our share of those games would be.

When I say that the Mavs played their first game this season like they gave a damn..well, I didn't see this type of effort against anyone else. I didn't see it against the Spurs. I saw a Mavs team that never took the ball to the rim but happened to be hitting outside jumpers... And I saw them playing against one of the worst teams in the league that night. The Spurs played one of their worst games of the past decade that night against the Mavs... for one night, the Spurs were nothing more than the Mavs of the 90's.

[alby]

We looked good against the Lakers, but it's all about consistency. If we're going to get that effort once every 7 games, we're in trouble. As fans, as long as we see effort, what more can we ask for right?

[Murphy3]

That's the problem. The effort hasn't been there until the Lakers game. It's discouraging that we know that this team is capable of turning it off at any point.. But, hopefully they've realized that they're capable of playing some good ball when the effort is there.

Yeah, they're not going to always win... but, as long as the effort is there, I'm confident that this team will win 50+ games this season. If the effort is not there, then the Mavs will be in the lottery.

[pepe]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

The Mavs are still having difficulty with what they're going to do with the bench. Right now, if you look at the benches for both teams in the Mavs games, the Mavs are getting hammered. The Mavs tend to give up pretty good runs when some of the starters rest. What do they do about it? Well, get Howard back for one. If you get Howard back and move Green to the 6th man spot, that could definitely help. It gives you another offensive option to have on the court at all times. Heck, you don't even have to move Green to the bench. You just alter your rotations so that there's always a couple of scoring options on the court at all times.

I agree 100%, I might be crazy but I believe that our starting five, insert either Terry or Green at the 2 is as good as anyother starting 5 in the league, Now our bench is mediocre, they get outrebound, outscore, outhustle and is a major liability in the defensive end, I don't think they are bad ballplayers but the parts dont seem to fix.

IMO if the MAVS fix this area, they wil surprise a lot of pundits.

So get ir done Cuban.

GO MAVS

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by jthig32

So if Damp and Stack regress back to their normal production it doesn't mean anything? That's not logical at all.

It's also not logical in the slightest to say that this game is only meaningful if they start playing at a higher level immediately after it.

It's a young season, things are new, and there are going to be ups and downs as everyone adjusts. Last night was a sign of what is possible when this team clicks (and it really didn't even click completely, obviously). Regardless of what happens tonight, that will still be true.

All I'm saying is if there are any positive psychological effects from last nights game it will be apparent immediately. I could be wrong since I'm speculating about the mind state of a group of people I don't know but I don't see how it's illogical.

If we continue to play .500 ball I think that a month from now this game will be more of a blip on the radar than an example of what they’re capable of. They’ve been playing elite close since the trade so I’m not sure that they ever doubted their ability to do that even when we did.

[Murphy3]

Dirno is hitting on an important point.... Listen to what he's saying. He's saying that the psychological impact should be apparent immediately if indeed there is a positive psychological impact from the Lakers game... He's not saying that the team should be clicking on all cylinders starting right now...

Players are going to have their ups and downs.. but the effort and the psychological lift need to be apparent immediately. Bad shooting nights will happen. Losses will happen even if the team does have that psychological lift that we've been talking about. But, is the effort there.. is the thought there.. the thought that this team can compete at a high level again.

[jthig32]

I guess maybe I was focusing too much on his statement of "one or two players regressing".

Obviously if they come out and lay a complete egg tonight and look uninspired, that's troubling. But if they come out tonight and certain players struggle that just does not nullify the progress from Tuesday, in my opinion. It's not going to be all uphill from here. Tuesday does not have to be a singular turning point for the season.

There will still be dips along the way. The point is to see the peaks as well, and hope that together they trend upwards. That's all I'm saying.

[Murphy3]

I agree.. I'm not looking for Dampier or Stack to duplicate what they did the other night every game as far as stats go... But I do look for the team bust their ass. That's what I'm looking for on a game by game basis.... If they bust their ass, the talent will win out enough to where they end up with 50+ wins.

Effort is what I'm looking for. The execution will be a work in progress at this point. They are only 7 games into the season with a new coach. But, with the proper effort, the wins will come.

[Zki41]

Actually it would be pretty nice for Stack to justify his shooting as opposed to going 1-13 again... but other than that we can't expect a high calibur performance from everyone like Murph was saying, just morale.

[bernardos70]

I do think there's a certain psychological effect here, which is kind of reverse of when we won 67 games. That year, if the game was close, you could count on a Mavs win, the players had a swagger about them, and the fans could see that the players knew they were gonna pull it off. This year's reverse. It's been reverse since last year. I am all for blowing out a team, but I think a close game win is what's gonna start instilling the same sort of confidence into the players, and by implication, the fans.

[alby]

Originally Posted by bernardos70

I do think there's a certain psychological effect here, which is kind of reverse of when we won 67 games. That year, if the game was close, you could count on a Mavs win, the players had a swagger about them, and the fans could see that the players knew they were gonna pull it off. This year's reverse. It's been reverse since last year. I am all for blowing out a team, but I think a close game win is what's gonna start instilling the same sort of confidence into the players, and by implication, the fans.

Sucks how we lost years worth of swagger in one f'ing game (Game 1 vs. Warriors)

F avery johnson. seriously.

[Windmill360]

50 win team eh?

wealp c ya later

[horse900703]

so disappointed..

[ghazi]

A close win wouldn't really change much. I remember when we made the 4th quarter comeback against the Suns last year I thought that would be a "turning point"... within the next week we blew a 4th quarter lead against a Lakers... then after that lost to the Sonics/Blazers despite close 4th quarters.