GDT: game 17 (16?) - Rockets (5-9) at Mavs (8-7) 8:00pm FSSW/LP

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

The Dallas Mavericks have no excuse for that loss
It’s true the Mavericks are missing four rotation guys. It’s likely smart in a long season to rest Kristaps Porzingis with Dallas playing their fifth game in seven nights. Dallas played last night on the road. The start of this season has been unkind at times to the Dallas Mavericks, there’s no doubt about that.

But they have no excuse for their collective effort. The Houston Rockets experienced a season shifting trade recently. Against Dallas, they were missing three rotation players, two of which are arguably their best players in Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood. They’ve played five games in the last eight nights. They, too, played last night on the road.

And yet, their entire team played hard from the opening tip. Dallas, as a team, often played like a team taking a nap. It was gross to watch.

Tim Hardaway is too important to play that badly
It’s one thing for Hardaway to start the game 0-for-6, which he did, but where he crushed Dallas was everywhere else. The Rockets bullied him on the boards, he was tremendously unaware on defense, and he also couldn’t hit a shot for most of the game. He’s too valuable to be that inconsequential or ineffective.

Uh, 5th game in 7 nights without 3-4 starters means a loss is very likely no matter who they play.

This entire season is pretty much a joke so far with Covid ravaging rosters. I'm just happy we have basketball to watch.

[turin]

Originally Posted by sefant77

pssst, dont tell it to Dallas41 since he still thinks there are no excuses

Brunson, THJ, and Burke are either starters or top 8 rotation players. They are not our scrubs. They suck on defense when RC plays small ball with them. This isn't rocket science. Down 15, so instead of tightening up the D and maybe go big with a zone, we go smaller, give up rebounding, defense, and hope we can out chuck them? Yeah, that sounds like a plan for success. /sarc

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[turin]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

I must admit this is why I wanted the Mavs to give Boogie a shot this year because he was really cheap.

He could have really helped us this year

I've always been a Boogie fan. Can't teach size.

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[turin]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

THis game was under control with Boban and Wes and then RC pulled them soon as that lead got cut down

Sometimes you just got to ride the momentum man

Not RC. He never trusts a bigger lineup. Maybe he's just a gambling addict and prefers midget ball for the rush.

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[rimrocker]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Uh, 5th game in 7 nights without 3-4 starters means a loss is very likely no matter who they play.

This entire season is pretty much a joke so far with Covid ravaging rosters. I'm just happy we have basketball to watch.

Yeah, good teams can become average or bad quickly and vise versa with this thing.
Probably the reason nearly half the teams in the league are flirting with .500.

It's almost as if this season is more about which team can survive and manage the Covid situation more than it is about which team is the best at basketball.

[EricaLubarsky]

Wait, we played 5 games in 7 nights without a star, three starters, and a rotation guy and it’s Rick not playing Boban for 48 minutes that lost us the game?

You know with Boban, he’s on minute restrictions, right? Last night he played the most minutes he’s played this year. He really can’t play more than 20 a game on that frame.

I’d say the need for Boban is really about being down three centers (KP, Kleber, and to some extent Powell) but what do I know?

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by turin

Not RC. He never trusts a bigger lineup. Maybe he's just a gambling addict and prefers midget ball for the rush.

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He doesn’t trust a bigger lineup? Boban was capped at 20min. KP, Kleber, and Powell were not available. What move would you have had Rick do to make us bigger?

[FreshJive]

Originally Posted by turin

Brunson, THJ, and Burke are either starters or top 8 rotation players. They are not our scrubs. They suck on defense when RC plays small ball with them. This isn't rocket science. Down 15, so instead of tightening up the D and maybe go big with a zone, we go smaller, give up rebounding, defense, and hope we can out chuck them? Yeah, that sounds like a plan for success. /sarc

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They played a lot of zone this game. It didn’t work. The Rockets shot over 40% from three. Mavs couldn’t hit anything.

[FreshJive]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

The Dallas Mavericks have no excuse for that loss
It’s true the Mavericks are missing four rotation guys. It’s likely smart in a long season to rest Kristaps Porzingis with Dallas playing their fifth game in seven nights. Dallas played last night on the road. The start of this season has been unkind at times to the Dallas Mavericks, there’s no doubt about that.

But they have no excuse for their collective effort. The Houston Rockets experienced a season shifting trade recently. Against Dallas, they were missing three rotation players, two of which are arguably their best players in Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood. They’ve played five games in the last eight nights. They, too, played last night on the road.

And yet, their entire team played hard from the opening tip. Dallas, as a team, often played like a team taking a nap. It was gross to watch.

Tim Hardaway is too important to play that badly
It’s one thing for Hardaway to start the game 0-for-6, which he did, but where he crushed Dallas was everywhere else. The Rockets bullied him on the boards, he was tremendously unaware on defense, and he also couldn’t hit a shot for most of the game. He’s too valuable to be that inconsequential or ineffective.

kirkseriousface must have been big mad last night to write that.

[Dallas41]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Again, they're not "rotation guys." They're starters.

1st off it depends when you say starters because most people on here will say DFS, Powell and Kleber aren't starters when they want the narrative to fit under normal CIRCUMSTANCES.

2nd of all as the guy from mavsmoneyball mentioned in that game article Houston was playing their 5TH game in 8 days, which is why he pointed out they had played just as much as the Mavs and still played with GOOD EFFORT.

He didn't bring up talent or coaching for either side. He brought up EFFORT.

They were playing without both Oladipo and Woods which isn't exactly chump change those two guys would both start in Dallas over Kleber, DFS, Powell and Richardson.

So let's not minimize their absence because everyone on here would take those two guys in trade straight up for our borderline starters that were missing.

It's cool we all love the Mavs but trying to defend their effort especially on defense by saying they played 5 games in 7 days doesn't cut it because the guys that did suit up simply didn't match Houston's effort.

They got out worked by guy's like Nwamba, Kenyon Martin Jr, Sterling Brown and M.Jones.

Those are all bench players for Houston not starters.

The difference is they weren't just out there trying to shoot the ball they were out there trying to rebound and defend as well.

Can't say the same for a guy like THJ who has played 38 & 31 Minutes the last two games registering 0 assist, 0 steals, 0 blocks and just 4 rebounds.

So last night that reminded me that the Mavs still have too many guys on the roster that if they aren't shooting and making shots they pretty much bring you nothing else to the table.

[dirt_dobber]

agree with Dallas41 on the effort level
-BUT-
The Mavs are only 2 games out of the 4th seed with our 3 best defensive players missing the last 8 games and our 5 best players have never taken the floor together.
No team ahead of us has anywhere near the level of key players missing for as long as us and we’re still hanging in with them.
help is on the coming...

[turin]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

He doesn’t trust a bigger lineup? Boban was capped at 20min. KP, Kleber, and Powell were not available. What move would you have had Rick do to make us bigger?

RC played that out of necessity only. That was the point. It won't ever happen again unless a similar scenario comes up.

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[turin]

Originally Posted by FreshJive

They played a lot of zone this game. It didn’t work. The Rockets shot over 40% from three. Mavs couldn’t hit anything.

Yeah, they did. Short bench had more smallish ball lineups. I hope this doesn't discourage zone. Longer wing defenders who can get to the 3-pt line markedly increase its effectiveness. Just a crap night for the Mavs. Depressing after last game, but I knew Cousins was going to be a problem.

Damn covid rosters are making me feel bipolar. LOL

I know I can come off as overly critical of RC at times, but I really do feel for him having to coach under these conditions, and even though the Mavs have had some tough patches, I've seen more encouraging things out of RC than I expected. I'm so ready for a close to full roster.

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[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

1st off it depends when you say starters because most people on here will say DFS, Powell and Kleber aren't starters when they want the narrative to fit under normal CIRCUMSTANCES.

DFS, Richardson, Kleber, KP are the Mavs starters. It doesn't depend on anything. That's 4/5 of our starting lineup. The ONLY thing it could depend on is maybe when all those guys come back, Rick still has WCS starting, with KP at 4 and or DFS coming off the bench. But I doubt it.

So last night that reminded me that the Mavs still have too many guys on the roster that if they aren't shooting and making shots they pretty much bring you nothing else to the table.

The Mavs are not that good. I think most people would agree with that.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

It's cool we all love the Mavs but trying to defend their effort especially on defense by saying they played 5 games in 7 days doesn't cut it because the guys that did suit up simply didn't match Houston's effort

Just to be clear, not once did I ever defend or even mention "effort." This has absolutely nothing to do with me loving the mavs.

I was merely taking issue with you and the Mavs Money Ball guy called the missing players "rotation guys." Richardson, DFS, and Kleber and some guy named Kristaps Porzingis. That's four out of five starters. Not "rotation guys." Maybe this is just an issue of semantics, but I think of a "rotation guy" as, well, not a starter. I think of bench guy that plays a handful of minutes a game. Boban is a rotation guy. Iwundu, Johnson, Green... rotation guys. And so on.

So fine, the Mavs gave a bad effort last night. I'm not even disagreeing. But I'm looking forward to seeing what a lineup of Luka/Richardson/DFS/Kleber/KP will actually be like together more than I'm lamenting the effort of a completely decimated roster.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Just to be clear, not once did I ever defend or even mention "effort." This has absolutely nothing to do with me loving the mavs.

I was merely taking issue with you and the Mavs Money Ball guy called the missing players "rotation guys." Richardson, DFS, and Kleber and some guy named Kristaps Porzingis. That's four out of five starters. Not "rotation guys." Maybe this is just an issue of semantics, but I think of a "rotation guy" as, well, not a starter. I think of bench guy that plays a handful of minutes a game. Boban is a rotation guy. Iwundu, Johnson, Green... rotation guys. And so on.

So fine, the Mavs gave a bad effort last night. I'm not even disagreeing. But I'm looking forward to seeing what a lineup of Luka/Richardson/DFS/Kleber/KP will actually be like together more than I'm lamenting the effort of a completely decimated roster.

Must spread rep

[Dallas41]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

I'm not even disagreeing. But I'm looking forward to seeing what a lineup of Luka/Richardson/DFS/Kleber/KP will actually be like together more than I'm lamenting the effort of a completely decimated roster.

You and me both

Any lineup that put's THJ back on the bench where he belongs is just fine by me.

Still can't believe for a guy that touches the ball so much he hasn't recorded a single assist in the last two games (Ball Hog)

[Dallas41]

Dallas Mavericks Report Card: Games 11-16

Grade: C
It’s never easy to play six games in nine days, but when you play without 4 potential starters the task becomes that much more daunting. Although shorthanded, double-digit losses to the sub .500 Bulls, Raptors, and Rockets are still unacceptable if you are trying to contend for a championship. The Mavericks have been wildly inconsistent and seemingly take on one of two identities: a defensive powerhouse that has sky-is-the-limit potential on offense, or an uninterested group of guys that can’t hit a shot or grab a rebound and Luka. There is no in-between.

You can look at the four losses the Mavericks suffered over this stretch and make the excuse that “they were missing four key players so you can’t hold these losses against them.” While that is true, they beat two teams with the same roster, which begs the question: where does the root of inconsistency lie? The most likely answer is that Dallas is disregarding opponents they deem “not worthy,” leading to them getting burnt by teams they should not lose to. The bottom line is when you have two superstar players healthy and on the court, you simply cannot lose to teams that are out of the playoffs.

Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 0-for-12 in one of the worst shooting games in NBA history against Toronto, two games later shot 8-for-12 from the floor, and then followed that up with a 4-for-13 shooting performance. If Dallas wants to take the next step, Hardaway Jr. has to have a consistent middle ground, and not two extremes. I praised him in the last report card, but he gets no love from me this time.

With all of that being said, you should not overreact too much because I have faith that the Mavericks will figure it out when everyone is available to play. It was a tough stretch of games with two great wins, and the Mavericks maintain a passing grade… barely.