GDT: Rockets @ Mavs - 7:30 p.m. CST

[bilease]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

GG

Also, we lost this one fair and square. All on Rick.

Ill have to disagree a bit. Yes, the Mavs didnt play that well in the 4th (or ever since they lost Parsons) but the refs did quite a lot to help Houston as well.

During that sequence where the refs called 4 fouls against the Mavs within as many seconds (thats what it felt like anyway, happened in one possession), at least 2 of those "fouls" were no fouls (could also say they were flops by Harden).

Shortly after that, Josh smith "saved" the ball with both feet out of bounds. Refs didnt call it, Houston gets two points the following possession. Directly after that, Harris gets called for an absolutely ridiculous offensive foul.

All that being said: Im annoyed that we lost tonight, but let's try to think positive: We still have the best chances in the playoffs against Houston, any win they get increases their chances of taking the 2nd seed from Memphis. Would rather have won, no question, just trying to see the silver lining here

Originally Posted by Murphy3

My argument isn't that Ellis shouldn't be one of the guys that you run possessions for in the fourth. He just shouldn't have nearly as much going through him. He's simply not good enough on this team to be that guy.

Ill have to agree with that. I like Ellis, but I dont like giving him the ball and letting him do whatever he wants the last minutes of the game. Its painful to watch at times, but I would blame Rick for that and not Monta.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by IgnoranceIsBliss

See my post in the Dirk thread. Ellis isn't a "closer" at all. He's an inefficient, high-volume shooter in the clutch (42%). Another loss on RC for riding fool's gold down the stretch.

Damn, Andrew -- you can cover your tracks, but you sure as hell can't cover your tone of voice... And you call yourself a writer!

[jleefilled]

I rarely question Rick for his rotations, but his deciding to sit Rondo for all but the first three minutes of the third, only to bring him back in to give Devin a breather in the fourth really perplexed me. Yeah, he brought Rondo back in after the Mavs were basically down 7 or so with a couple minutes to go in the game, but I thought that was way too late. I also don't agree with not keeping TC on the floor to close the game. I know Houston was going small, but TC isn't the type of big that gets exposed by guards that much.

I felt like Rondo was finally finding his way on this team the past couple of games, and I just hope this doesn't set back the chemistry of this team again. I really hope this isn't Rick playing mind games with Rondo and there is some other explanation.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Tough loss, but hardly a very surprising one. There are no B2Bs in the playoffs...thankfully.

[Underdog]

What's the word on Parsons?

[Murphy3]

Bryan, it's common for a guy with his back to the basket to pass it back out hoping that he can get slightly better position and receive another pass

[jleefilled]

Maybe Rick just wanted to face Houston so he pulled the plug on this game?

[Bryan_Wilson]

I'm not talking about a repost pass, I'm referring to when he threw it to the top of the key and then faced up at the wing clearly not trying to repost and then when he drove the lane to within 5 feet then threw it to the corner to aminu where he had a mid range shot. I dislike monta hero ball but I also would rather Dirk shoot a contested shot when everyone else is cold and Dirk seemed content to keep passing simply cuz Houston "forced" him to do so by running out on him.

[Oberon]

Well it's true that Dirk sometimes hesitates a little bit to take shots in the final quarter, but to me it also appears as if Dirk just is out of practice in being the go-to-guy. He has been used so many years in that role and really was one of the most outstanding clutch players in the history of basketball, but since Ellis came here the closing-role was subsequently shifted to Monta.

Nowadays Dirk seems to have fully accepted the fact that Rick wants Monta to be the man in close games. Even if Monta chucks, he still prefers to give him the ball instead of taking the shot himself. To be honest, maybe Dirk should have a word with Rick on that. You can't just totally ignore one of the greatest crunch time players of all time. Yes I know he isn't the same anymore that he used to be, but I still think he's a better shooter than Monta. I really want him to take more responsibility and be more aggressive in fourth quarters.

[Murphy3]

Doubtful, but... Not the worst idea in the world.... Macs need to secure the 7th seed first

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

I'm not talking about a repost pass, I'm referring to when he threw it to the top of the key and then faced up at the wing clearly not trying to repost and then when he drove the lane to within 5 feet then threw it to the corner to aminu where he had a mid range shot. I dislike monta hero ball but I also would rather Dirk shoot a contested shot when everyone else is cold and Dirk seemed content to keep passing simply cuz Houston "forced" him to do so by running out on him.

Sometimes you make the pass because you think you're creating a look for someone else by drawing the defense to that. Remember, when you draw the defense to you in the lane, it's often the second pass that results in a wide open look.

[jleefilled]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Doubtful, but... Not the worst idea in the world.... Macs need to secure the 7th seed first

The Rockets looked horrible, and that's partly the reason why I can't believe they lost this game. I agree with all of the people that have been saying that the Mavs would have a better chance against Houston than Memphis -- and it's not even close. Maybe I don't respect Houston enough, but they just looked very beatable today.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Sometimes you make the pass because you think you're creating a look for someone else by drawing the defense to that. Remember, when you draw the defense to you in the lane, it's often the second pass that results in a wide open look.

Right, I'm not disputing it as a smart basketball play. But if we are upset for Monta shooting a wide open 3 off that smart basketball play by Dirk then I'm not sure where monta is at fault for doing what Dirk wanted him to do? Don't get me wrong those mid range pull ups drive me nuts but Monta had some good looks there at the end and with CP out JJ off, Devin off Houston forcing ball out of Dirk's hands, Did we want Rondo shooting those shots? We are not a good half court offense and without our most consistent 3pt shooter in parsons we had almost no threat outside of Dirk in those final minutes. We lost the game much earlier IMO with the 2nd chance points and poor FT shooting. We also lost all kinds of momentum with that wtf sequence where we had 4 fouls in 35 seconds.

[Murphy3]

Obviously I'm fine with Ellis taking certain open looks... But, this isn't a 1 game issue. Too much of the late offense is ran through Ellis....

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Obviously I'm fine with Ellis taking certain open looks... But, this isn't a 1 game issue. Too much of the late offense is ran through Ellis....

We split the late-game load between Ellis and Parsons against OKC to much success... I was hoping to see that again tonight, but Parsons wasn't on hand.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Obviously I'm fine with Ellis taking certain open looks... But, this isn't a 1 game issue. Too much of the late offense is ran through Ellis....

I agree with that, especially when I recall the Suns game not long ago. Monta's Usage rate in comparison to CP is absurd. This instance just feels slightly different to me when CP is out is all and we had no hot hand other than Dirk and Houston had the mindset of "anyone but Dirk".

Speaking of CP is there any further news? The report I read said "limped badly to the locker room" "Was ruled out within minutes of being in the locker room". Which does not sound good.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

Speaking of CP is there any further news? The report I read said "limped badly to the locker room" "Was ruled out within minute of being in the locker room". Which does not sound good.

Hoping we'll get some news once BG posts his quote board... What is it with Parsons getting injured twice against Houston this season? Is that part of McHale's game plan or something?

[jleefilled]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

Speaking of CP is there any further news? The report I read said "limped badly to the locker room" "Was ruled out within minutes of being in the locker room". Which does not sound good.

Rick said that there wasn't really that much pain, but that there was swelling in his knee so they "pulled the plug." I hope it's not serious.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Hoping we'll get some news once BG posts his quote board... What is it with Parsons getting injured twice against Houston this season? Is that part of McHale's game plan or something?

I'm assuming he was injured on the back to back sequence of him getting run over by Harden with a no call either way and then when Josh Smith ran through him on a 3 pt attempt again a no call and he found himself on the floor for the second time in less than a minute? I think he got hurt last game vs houston being run into. I rly wish mavs would just attack Houston with more fervor because they like to play tight and aggressive D and are susceptible to fouls but we played right into that to close this game out and coming out soft to open the 3rd.

[twelli]

The positives I take from this game:

- Dirk is getting into playoff mode. Maybe his weight training is starting to pay off?
- The Mavs are right in the mix and as of now we would face these Rockets in the first round.
- We can stop Harden, almost.
- Aminu, as usual

What I didn't like to see:
- Rondos stat line hardly changed from halftime to end of game. The thing I will remember from the second half is his sneaky arm pulling of Harden, one of several Mavs fouls that got us in foul trouble
- Ellis long-range attempts

[BGMaverick9]

Quote Board:
http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2015/04/...uston-game-76/

[blessednegr0]

I know I am preaching to the choir... But Rondo needs to get more burn. It is tough to watch Ellis control the ball with no success at the end of the 4th. Rondo played his ass off in the 1st half and gets yanked 3 minutes into the 3rd?

He did a damn good job on Harden, and even played well offensively.

I do not know what is going on with Rick's substitutions.

[Kante]

Rondo was pulled, don't know why. The refs in the 4th, especially at the start were horrible, helping the Rockets to get in the bonus quickly.

Still, Mavs went icecold on offense.

[Sportstudi]

Monta should shoot less 3's. He averages 3.7 per game, but converts them only at a 29.2 % rate. That's pretty bad. Dirk for instance takes 3.6 per game, but makes them at a 38.5 % rate. Parsons takes 5.3 a game, but makes 38.0 %. The list goes on. Monta should concentrate more on driving to the basket instead of jacking up 3's.

[Murphy3]

I really do hate that the team feels that Ellis is the "go to guy". He's just not good enough of a player to be the "go to guy". There's nothing wrong with having multiple options..but without an outside shot and without much ability to get to the line, well..again, he's just not good enough on this Mavs team to be the guy that has the majority of the offense ran through him late in games. Yes, it'll work beautifully at times, but there are options that are just as good or better.

[MavzMan]

Well that game is the perfect example of why i'd rather face Memphis over Houston. Harden will single-handedly (plus the refs) take an entire team out with his signature move of drive the basket, get a foul. Yes, the Mavs didn't play well down the stretch and yes, RC made some crazy rotations. But holy crap, this is totally 2006 Heat/DWade all over again.

I'm perfectly fine losing to a better team. I cannot stand losing to damn ref whistles for their favorite NBA player.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by MavzMan

Well that game is the perfect example of why i'd rather face Memphis over Houston. Harden will single-handedly (plus the refs) take an entire team out with his signature move of drive the basket, get a foul. Yes, the Mavs didn't play well down the stretch and yes, RC made some crazy rotations. But holy crap, this is totally 2006 Heat/DWade all over again.

I'm perfectly fine losing to a better team. I cannot stand losing to damn ref whistles for their favorite NBA player.

I agree. I voted for Memphis in poll thread.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by Kante

Rondo was pulled, don't know why. The refs in the 4th, especially at the start were horrible, helping the Rockets to get in the bonus quickly.

Still, Mavs went icecold on offense.

I guess because Parsons got injuried and RC wnated to have another scorer/shooter on the floor and thats why he went with Harris over Rondo.

Harris is starting to really piss me off. Everytime he hits a shot you can count that a moronic heat check is incoming. Yesterday the same after his lucky prayer three.

The dude thinks he is Jason Terry or Ray Allen. And right now he is shooting 41% from the field and 34% from downtown

[Kante]

Originally Posted by sefant77

I guess because Parsons got injuried and RC wnated to have another scorer/shooter on the floor and thats why he went with Harris over Rondo.

Harris is starting to really piss me off. Everytime he hits a shot you can count that a moronic heat check is incoming. Yesterday the same after his lucky prayer three.

The dude thinks he is Jason Terry or Ray Allen. And right now he is shooting 41% from the field and 34% from downtown

Came down to earth as expected, he needs to realize this.

[Melonhead]

Harris is that one guy I wouldn't cry over if he wasn't back. He's a good guy but his shooting drives me nuts with the heat check and the 2 for 1s. He does play hard.