Last night's game..

[Murphy3]

I've heard alot of negativity on the radio and on this site concerning last night's game. Yeah, it sucks for the Mavs to lose a game that they very easily could have won. However, I do believe that we can take alot of positives out of the game. The Mavs actually came to play. They busted their tails all night. They drove the ball to the rim. They played pretty good defense...They rebounded. If they play like that on most nights, they will be a 50+ win team with the ability to beat anyone in a series.... And they did this without Josh Howard and with Dirk struggling from the floor.

Just look at what was accomplished last night. It truly was the first time that I have seen life out of this team this year. Yeah, I know that they beat the Spurs, but the Spurs looked terrible. The Mavs primarily beat the Spurs by hitting jumpers. Last night, we saw the Mavs take the ball to the rim more. Last night, we saw the Mavs contest virtually everything. We saw the Mavs do a solid job on the glass. Yeah, they lost, but you could see hope.

I know alot of you do not like moral victories. But in an 82 game season, you're allowed to have 1 or 2. Last night was a kick in the nuts because the Mavs lost, but it was also a small victory of some sorts as well. Dirk called the team out and the team responded. That is huge. Now, life's a you know what.. If you're going to call your team out, you need to shoot much closer to 50%. This was the difference in the game. Dirk was the primary reason as to why the Mavs lost. But I'll take that in game 7 of the season. How many games will he lose because he has an exceptionally bad shooting second half? Very, very few. But, it will happen from him at times.. It'll also happen to the likes of Kobe..

So yes, I'm ok with last night. The Mavs showed me that they have a collective pair of balls. Green continued to show that he can play at a pretty decent level. Dampier was tenacious... Kidd was all over the place. Wright even contributed.

I can live with a loss to the lakers when the Mavs busted their ass. I'm ok with that. It will happen to all good teams. They will lose even when they leave it all out on the court. But that's the point... for one night, they left it all out on the court. They proved something to me. They looked better last night than they did at almost any time during the second half of last year (notice I said 'almost').. and once again, that is without Josh and with Dirk struggling. They looked like a team capable of contending.

So where do they go from here? That effort has to be duplicated. Yeah, some will say that the Mavs aren't going to get that type of play out of Dampier and Stackhouse every night. Nope, the Mavs won't. However, they will have Howard on the court... Dirk isn't likely to shoot that poorly in the second half again this season... So there is hope. For the first time this season, there is hope. The Mavs have to find the positives out of last night's game and make sure that it carries over into the rest of the season. Yeah, you can find a negative or two from last night, but the negatives are far outweighed by the positives.

For the first time this season, there is honestly a reason to hope.

[jthig32]

Amen. I tried to communicate some of this in the post game thread. I feel very much the same, and I haven't bothered to read or listen to any main stream media about the game because I knew what I was going to hear.

[LSMF]

Yes! There are still believers! On a serious note I thought we were gunna get destroyed last night but they showed me that they have heart, which I respect. Anytime a team plays with heart Im always pleased, I was really disappointed in Dirk. Dirk called them out and they responded, if he would played like his usual self and led the troops we win that game. But like you said Murph there are alot of positives in this game, we can build upon. +1

[LonghornDub]

Great post Murph. I agree.

We're 7 games into a year. I disagree with the general sentiment floating around that the WC is so strong at the middle that the Mavs won't make the playoffs if we lose a few too many games in November/December. Given that, I'm more interested in seeing improvement at this point than wins (though wins against the lesser teams are obviously a necessity).

[Murphy3]

Longsufferingmavsfan, personally, I'm not disappointed with anyone from last night's game. It's fine to have a bad game. It's going to happen. Players are going to go through rough stretches. It's an 82 game stretch. To me, that's not a reason to be 'disappointed' in a player. If it's over a full season, then yeah.. you could say that I'd be 'disappointed'.

I'm disappointed in players when the effort isn't there. I'm disapointed in players when they don't play smart basketball on a consistent basis. However, when a guy..any guy has a rough shooting game, that isn't a true cause to be disappointed in that player in my opinion. It happens.

With that being said, yes, Dirk was the main reason as to why the Mavs lost. It sucks for him because he did indeed call the team out. However, the response I'm looking for from Dirk and the rest of the team isn't a one game thing. If Dirk goes back to scoring 26 a games starting with the next game and the team builds off of what they did last night, then that is great... But if Dirk goes back to scoring 26 a game with the team playing with a poor energy level..then I would be disappointed.

The point is that the Mavs have to build off of what they did last night. Yes, it might be a bit easier to build off of a win. However, how they played isn't completely erased based upon what occurred in the W/L column. I'm smart enough to realize that. The front office is smart enough to realize that. The head coach is smart enough to realize that. Some of you are smart enough to realize that. Let's hope that the team is smart enough to realize that.

[Underdog]

Great words of encouragement, Murph!

(who says that nuns are only good for sexual fantasies?)

[BGMaverick9]

Great stuff...this is the forward thinking thread for sure.

I haven't ready any national reviews of the game either, it's not necessary. I saw the entire game and I know what I can take away from it. They need to build off this game though and not get down because of it. See that it is possible to stay up with the Lakers and you're right there. Don't think we played the best we could...b/c they didn't. You've gotta say, we know what we are capable of and even then...there is more you can do to get better. Just keep building forward.

They just need to win 2-3 close games in a row and build that confidence. I imagine it is creeping in their minds when it gets to that situation. It's not crippling and impossible to break through. They just need a few to happen...doesn't matter how it happens, just get the Ws and then you'll be able to gain confidence.

[fluid.forty.one]

I'm afraid to turn on Jim Rome because he's gonna burn us

[Murphy3]

And please know.. I'm not the type of guy that'll shoot sunshine rays up your ass just for the sake of doing so.. I'm not about false hope. I never have been. I don't think that I've ever been overly unrealistic. No, I don't expect many repeat performances from Dampier and Stack..but yeah, the Mavs can get more out of those two knuckleheads than what they've gotten out of them on average this year (for the record, I like Damp).

Do I expect the Mavs to be as good as the Lakers this year? No. But, do I think that the Mavs can get to a point to where they can beat them in a 7 game series if a couple of things break their way? Yes, I do. I have not seen that kind of effort out of a Mavs team in a long, long time. There is a certain amount of talent. Yeah, there are holes, but an emerging Green "MIGHT" be able to fill one of those holes...

[ghazi]

I can't help but agree. I thought I would be very depressed if the Mavs lost last night... and I probably would've been if they got blown out... but there were a few things to be optimistic about that the Mavs displayed last night, so I wasn't terribly vexed by the loss... with the aformentioned Dirk off night/absence of Jho. The effort and intensity was very pleasing. Green and Dampier in particular showed alot of emotion.

But, one thing that is vexing is a developing trend. runs by opposing teams in the late 3rd/early 4th. It's happened 3-4 times this season already... 3-4 times in 7 games? Bad luck/execution or something we're going to experience all season long? Hopefully it'll give Carlisle a better feel of what his rotations should be like to halt these kind of runs.

It happened a plethora of times last year as well. Hell, 2 times last year to the Lakers as well where we had 2nd half leads of 6+ squandered. I dunno if its due to personell, psychology, coaching, execution what have you... probably a mixture... shits gotta get fixed though PRONTO.

This was probably the best Mavs performance of the year so far though. SAS was just a hot jump shooting night. We played decent last night, but it wasn't a "hot jump shooting night".

I really hope we pull out a win @ Chicago tommorow. Eastern lottery team but definitely no gimme. Rose v Kidd will be interesting.

I think the 7 game homestand in early December is where we can find some momentum or ruin the season.

[vashjan]

they win the next 2 games and we will be 4-5. then the next 2 games after that is very win-able..we will be 6-5..we will be fine. we can possibly go 6-1 or 5-2 in the next 7 games..

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by ghazi

I can't help but agree. I thought I would be very depressed if the Mavs lost last night... and I probably would've been if they got blown out... but there were a few things to be optimistic about that the Mavs displayed last night, so I wasn't terribly vexed by the loss... with the aformentioned Dirk off night/absence of Jho. The effort and intensity was very pleasing. Green and Dampier in particular showed alot of emotion.

But, one thing that is vexing is a developing trend. runs by opposing teams in the late 3rd/early 4th. It's happened 3-4 times this season already... 3-4 times in 7 games? Bad luck/execution or something we're going to experience all season long? Hopefully it'll give Carlisle a better feel of what his rotations should be like to halt these kind of runs.

It happened a plethora of times last year as well. Hell, 2 times last year to the Lakers as well where we had 2nd half leads of 6+ squandered. I dunno if its due to personell, psychology, coaching, execution what have you... probably a mixture... shits gotta get fixed though PRONTO.

This was probably the best Mavs performance of the year so far though. SAS was just a hot jump shooting night. We played decent last night, but it wasn't a "hot jump shooting night".

I really hope we pull out a win @ Chicago tommorow. Eastern lottery team but definitely no gimme. Rose v Kidd will be interesting.

I think the 7 game homestand in early December is where we can find some momentum or ruin the season.

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.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Let us wait and see if the Mavs can put that same kind of effort two games in a row.

Damp and Jet. I'm soooooooo done with them if the next game they suck it up again.

[Murphy3]

Obviously, the effort has to continue at a high level. But, at least there's hope..realistic hope...

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Damp and Jet. I'm soooooooo done with them if the next game they suck it up again.

I wish to add Leroy Stackhouse to that list.

I know LA is freakishly athletic and long, but if we could have secured some of their put-back dunks with better boxing out, that would have helped our cushion. Also, we still seem to have trouble executing when we absolutely need a bucket or a good look. That seems like it will just take some more time.

[Dirkenstien]

One thing I have noticed about Damp is that he really does seem to be playing with more passion this season. I can't help but notice how he gets emotionally involved in the games now as opposed to the constant zombie-like expressions of before.

[Bayliss]

Moral victories isn't what is going to have the guys get in the playoffs. Sure, they showed life. But that isn't enough.

Results is all that matters.

[Murphy3]

No crap.. really? I thought for sure they added up the number of moral victories at the end of the season to see who got into the playoffs. Wow, thank you for clearing that up Bayliss. Damn, I've been mistake all this time... So, the Mavs actually had 67 wins a few seasons ago and not 67 moral victories? Damn, this entire time I had thought that they went 0-82 with 67 moral victories... Silly me. I never would have actually figured out this whole standings and win/loss thing if it wasn't for your help Bayliss. Your assitance is truly appreciated.

[Bayliss]

No crap.. really? I thought for sure they added up the number of moral victories at the end of the season to see who got into the playoffs. Wow, thank you for clearing that up Bayliss. Damn, I've been mistake all this time... So, the Mavs actually had 67 wins a few seasons ago and not 67 moral victories? Damn, this entire time I had thought that they went 0-82 with 67 moral victories... Silly me. I never would have actually figured out this whole standings and win/loss thing if it wasn't for your help Bayliss. Your assitance is truly appreciated.

You're welcome.

[xraided199]

WORD UP MURPHY!!! great post, and i have to say that i did feel a little less pain and sadness at this loss knowing that AT LEAST we outrebounded them, Kidd STILL is playing amazingly, and DAMP JUST JAMMED UP that stat sheet with boards. he was insane.

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

One thing I have noticed about Damp is that he really does seem to be playing with more passion this season. I can't help but notice how he gets emotionally involved in the games now as opposed to the constant zombie-like expressions of before.

Ditto. I loved his mini-strut after he tipped in a tough rebound.

[Windmill360]

The real question is... why don't they play like that on most nights?

[quietsavant]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I've heard alot of negativity on the radio and on this site concerning last night's game. Yeah, it sucks for the Mavs to lose a game that they very easily could have won. However, I do believe that we can take alot of positives out of the game. The Mavs actually came to play. They busted their tails all night. They drove the ball to the rim. They played pretty good defense...They rebounded. If they play like that on most nights, they will be a 50+ win team with the ability to beat anyone in a series.... And they did this without Josh Howard and with Dirk struggling from the floor.

Just look at what was accomplished last night. It truly was the first time that I have seen life out of this team this year. Yeah, I know that they beat the Spurs, but the Spurs looked terrible. The Mavs primarily beat the Spurs by hitting jumpers. Last night, we saw the Mavs take the ball to the rim more. Last night, we saw the Mavs contest virtually everything. We saw the Mavs do a solid job on the glass. Yeah, they lost, but you could see hope.

I know alot of you do not like moral victories. But in an 82 game season, you're allowed to have 1 or 2. Last night was a kick in the nuts because the Mavs lost, but it was also a small victory of some sorts as well. Dirk called the team out and the team responded. That is huge. Now, life's a you know what.. If you're going to call your team out, you need to shoot much closer to 50%. This was the difference in the game. Dirk was the primary reason as to why the Mavs lost. But I'll take that in game 7 of the season. How many games will he lose because he has an exceptionally bad shooting second half? Very, very few. But, it will happen from him at times.. It'll also happen to the likes of Kobe..

So yes, I'm ok with last night. The Mavs showed me that they have a collective pair of balls. Green continued to show that he can play at a pretty decent level. Dampier was tenacious... Kidd was all over the place. Wright even contributed.

I can live with a loss to the lakers when the Mavs busted their ass. I'm ok with that. It will happen to all good teams. They will lose even when they leave it all out on the court. But that's the point... for one night, they left it all out on the court. They proved something to me. They looked better last night than they did at almost any time during the second half of last year (notice I said 'almost').. and once again, that is without Josh and with Dirk struggling. They looked like a team capable of contending.

So where do they go from here? That effort has to be duplicated. Yeah, some will say that the Mavs aren't going to get that type of play out of Dampier and Stackhouse every night. Nope, the Mavs won't. However, they will have Howard on the court... Dirk isn't likely to shoot that poorly in the second half again this season... So there is hope. For the first time this season, there is hope. The Mavs have to find the positives out of last night's game and make sure that it carries over into the rest of the season. Yeah, you can find a negative or two from last night, but the negatives are far outweighed by the positives.

For the first time this season, there is honestly a reason to hope.

And With the 1st pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, YOUR Dallas Mavericks select(_________)
OK jK MFFL but seriously last nights game was hard to take. It took everything in me not to Crank the fLAKER fan sitting behind my seat in that Arena, yelling "Our house, everytime we come into town"

[basketballgirl25]

Originally Posted by quietsavant

And With the 1st pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, YOUR Dallas Mavericks select(_________)
OK jK MFFL but seriously last nights game was hard to take. It took everything in me not to Crank the fLAKER fan sitting behind my seat in that Arena, yelling "Our house, everytime we come into town"

I hate fans of other teams at every game I go too, they are all so annoying. So I know what you mean about that. I've never been to a Mavericks game in Dallas. But I go to Net games since they are my favorite team and fans I sit behind of so annoying. I was always wondering who they are at Dallas games, because the worst fan I was sitting in front of was a Raptors fan and didn't shut up the whole game. I think Raptor fans are worse in NJ then Kobe, Dirk and Lebron fans put together

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Let us wait and see if the Mavs can put that same kind of effort two games in a row.

Damp and Jet. I'm soooooooo done with them if the next game they suck it up again.

Was it the Lakers that brought this out, or has some of the 2nd tier guys behind Kidd and Dirk turned the corner in terms of effort, we shall see Thursday night. Derrick Rose put up a 26-6-10 last night.

[GermanDunk]

Good post Murphy ! I hope you are right. Though i am not an expert as you guys are, but i saw improvement and heart. And this is the 1st you need in a ballgame. It´ll be hard work and concentration in the next 5--7 games and 3rd place in the division is definitely possible up to this point.

[ghazi]

1st place in the division is possible up to this point!

Hell, 1st place in the CONFERENCE is .

MAVS!

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Bayliss

Results is all that matters.

This are smart.

[Re-Dirk-ulous]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

This are smart.

THIS.

[GermanDunk]

Originally Posted by quietsavant

And With the 1st pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, YOUR Dallas Mavericks select(_________)
OK jK MFFL but seriously last nights game was hard to take. It took everything in me not to Crank the fLAKER fan sitting behind my seat in that Arena, yelling "Our house, everytime we come into town"

Uhg. Why didn´t you beat him up ?

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Bayliss

You're welcome.

Awesome

[craggmac]

Emergency Panic Button, still concealed.

[ghazi]

I do sometimes wonder though, perhaps my optimism in the team is based on what I've seen in the past, rather than what I think I can see in the future.

If we have Dirk, Jho, and Terry playing consistently at the level they were in '05-'06, along with Kidd playing at the level he's been playing so far, we'd be a very very good team even in a more competitive west. If we shot the 3 ball as efficiently as we did that year, we would be a very good team as well. But the slight declines in quality from those 3 players, along with a 3-4% drop in perimeter shooting arguably is the difference between 6-8 wins or losses in a year. 6-8 wins of course, especially when we look at last year, is huge.

But, it just hasn't worked like that. Some nights 1-2 of the 3 play well, and the others bad... and vice versa... it seems very hard to get all 3 clicking at once, and that turnsa lot of wins into losses. Also, the PER of Terry, Jho, and even Dirk has dropped since '05-'06 (if you take that statistic into consideration).

But this bothers me. Look at the Lakers, they won tonight with Odom going 1-6 and Kobe having a poor shooting night himself. They're good enough to win even when some of their better players have poor games. It appears we're not, and that's what makes them, along with a handful of other teams, better than us.


I dunno if any of that made sense though, just rambling :P.

The last game I recall where we had a complete game was the final matchup v Golden State last year. Great games from Kidd, Terry, Howard, Dirk. Solid defense, and a 25 point victory as a result.

[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.

[LonghornDub]

We played a pretty dang complete game against the Spurs last week. I understand that Manu was missing, and that the Spurs aren't particularly good, but people seem to be writing off that win as "the jumpers were falling."

Well, I was at the game, and that's not all it was. We had a great defensive effort, outrebounded the hell out of them, didn't turn the ball over, and generally played with a lot of composure. And, our jumpers fell because we ran actual plays that got our shooters open, including in the 4th quarter.

Bottom line, this team is capable even THIS YEAR of playing a complete game. The question is--can they do it consistently?

[ghazi]

That's what separates the good from the great I guess. The great teams can do it consistently, the good teams inconsistently. Which are we? TUNE IN TONIGHT TO FIND OUT!

[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.

[LonghornDub]

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.

Sorry dirno, that actually wasn't directed at you. I wrote it before I saw your post.

[alby]

Mavs played extremely well with Josh Howard not on the floor. That should tell you something.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by alby

Mavs played extremely well with Josh Howard not on the floor. That should tell you something.

You need to get over this. Josh is playing very well.