RS 23/24 - Mavs @ Nuggets (9 PM EST)

[Bob8]

As good as Luka is, his style of play holds this team hostage. Limits others around him so he can play a pick and role game that is contingent on 3 point shots.

I mean... did you check Mavs roster lately or? Even when Kyrie is healthy and is doing his stuff, they play the same aswell. Did you notice that or no?
This game was a perfect example of two coaches having 2 different playstyles. One has motion offense and the other relies on two stars to do the work for him. Kyrie and Luka are basically taking turns 1v5 in the half court, it's just that Luka is better at it than anyone in the league.

Funny thing is, when this team is healthy they have top5 offense but they need better defense, so your complaining about offense makes ZERO sense to me because you're objectively wrong.
Defense on another hand, we saw again that it is completely reliant on an 19yo rookie center. This is where they would still need a serious upgrade. Either better coaching or better players.

We need both, there's no coach in the league that can do anything special with this roster. Sure many would be better than Kidd, but you can't turned that average roster in the contender.

[Dali]

I still love what DJJ has been providing the Mavs, especially considering he's a minimum contract guy. However, I believe in the last 5 or 6 games he's shooting 15 percent from three. That hurts, it really does. He's going to need to fix that.

[41Dirk41]

I still love what DJJ has been providing the Mavs, especially considering he's a minimum contract guy. However, I believe in the last 5 or 6 games he's shooting 15 percent from three. That hurts, it really does. He's going to need to fix that.

He is a vet min guy... We are using like a starter.

[Forbes]

We still sorely need to get Luka some real players. Cant be fun being depended on so heavily to get a win. Even with Kyrie, it hasn’t been that much easier because he’s been inconsistent.

It’s already hard because we don’t even have players other teams want but hopefully we are extremely active at the deadline. We absolutely need another big man that defends rebounds especially.

Luka ala James harden style of play is hard to play with unless you shoot 3s all day and set picks. The 3 point shooting is great when it goes down but it's anyone game when guys aren't making the shots. That style of play makes the team and the guys you put around him one dimension ala those Houston teams with James harden..

The numbers look good but luka isn't playing enough defense, still whining at the refs, and his numbers don't truly reflect how his style of play limits how the team plays and kills any chance at fast break points.

As good as Luka is, his style of play holds this team hostage. Limits others around him so he can play a pick and role game that is contingent on 3 point shots.

Luka needs to play faster and play the game 94 feet, play both ends, and start leading. Until he does that he just James harden 2.0 and forces everyone to play a one dimensional style that hasn't proven to work in the NBA when it comes to winning big. It also forces others to make up for his inefficiencies. Theres no reason to play at that slow pace or for him not to be better on defense.

For the record, I don't mind luka manipulating defenses the final 5 minutes of a quarter or game. However, he needs to be committed to pushing the ball the first 7 minutes of each quarter ala Jason kidd with the new jersey nets. We need to manufacturer offense for this team and develop some chemistry. We don't need to play this grind it out slow pace style for 48 minutes because it suits 1 guy. When you have no offense, pushing the ball is your offense. And you can always go to the Luka style when that isn't working. We can't just be this one trick pony because it serves one guys style.

For me the “Luka style of play” thing is always going to be brought up until we get starters who aren’t 100% bench players on other contenders.

The main problem with the Mavs is Luka got too good for us to build through the draft and we were giving too much money to players other teams would absolutely not give the same money to.

These are the starters or players who potentially step in as a starter

Luka - only issue is defense but it’s ok can’t expect every player on your team to be a good defender

Kyrie - been inconsistent so far, seems like nagging injuries. Also a defensive liability but not too much of a big deal if surrounded by defenders

Lively - big surprise with his production and impact on defense. Wish we could clone him and a have another coming off the bench.

Grant Williams - bench on a contender. We needed some type of defense. Turned out to be the best we can do. Wish he rebounded

DJJ - deep bench on a contender and having the time of his life right now getting so many minutes. Been solid knowing he had 0 expectations of him when signed. Been ok on defense

Josh Green - bench on a contender. Low IQ energy guy. Solid on Defense sometimes, doesn’t always make great decisions and plays wild.

Tim Hardaway Jr. - bench on a contender. Streaky shooter who’s bad on defense. Been here way too long but when he’s on his production from three along with Luka can get us a win. Cant get much value for him in a trade.

Seth Curry - bench on a contender. Looks like a shell of himself.

We can’t expect too much with Luka carrying the team and going up against contenders with 4-5 LEGIT starters or would be legit starters on our team.

Gotta be extremely active at the deadline to see if we can make something happen. It’s been quiet other than Harden to the Clippers but we all expected that.

[41Dirk41]

Double

[41Dirk41]

We still sorely need to get Luka some real players. Cant be fun being depended on so heavily to get a win. Even with Kyrie, it hasn’t been that much easier because he’s been inconsistent.

It’s already hard because we don’t even have players other teams want but hopefully we are extremely active at the deadline. We absolutely need another big man that defends rebounds especially.

Luka ala James harden style of play is hard to play with unless you shoot 3s all day and set picks. The 3 point shooting is great when it goes down but it's anyone game when guys aren't making the shots. That style of play makes the team and the guys you put around him one dimension ala those Houston teams with James harden..

The numbers look good but luka isn't playing enough defense, still whining at the refs, and his numbers don't truly reflect how his style of play limits how the team plays and kills any chance at fast break points.

As good as Luka is, his style of play holds this team hostage. Limits others around him so he can play a pick and role game that is contingent on 3 point shots.

Luka needs to play faster and play the game 94 feet, play both ends, and start leading. Until he does that he just James harden 2.0 and forces everyone to play a one dimensional style that hasn't proven to work in the NBA when it comes to winning big. It also forces others to make up for his inefficiencies. Theres no reason to play at that slow pace or for him not to be better on defense.

For the record, I don't mind luka manipulating defenses the final 5 minutes of a quarter or game. However, he needs to be committed to pushing the ball the first 7 minutes of each quarter ala Jason kidd with the new jersey nets. We need to manufacturer offense for this team and develop some chemistry. We don't need to play this grind it out slow pace style for 48 minutes because it suits 1 guy. When you have no offense, pushing the ball is your offense. And you can always go to the Luka style when that isn't working. We can't just be this one trick pony because it serves one guys style.

For me the “Luka style of play” thing is always going to be brought up until we get starters who aren’t 100% bench players on other contenders.

The main problem with the Mavs is Luka got too good for us to build through the draft and we were giving too much money to players other teams would absolutely not give the same money to.

These are the starters or players who potentially step in as a starter

Luka - only issue is defense but it’s ok can’t expect every player on your team to be a good defender

Kyrie - been inconsistent so far, seems like nagging injuries. Also a defensive liability but not too much of a big deal if surrounded by defenders

Lively - big surprise with his production and impact on defense. Wish we could clone him and a have another coming off the bench.

Grant Williams - bench on a contender. We needed some type of defense. Turned out to be the best we can do. Wish he rebounded

DJJ - deep bench on a contender and having the time of his life right now getting so many minutes. Been solid knowing he had 0 expectations of him when signed. Been ok on defense

Josh Green - bench on a contender. Low IQ energy guy. Solid on Defense sometimes, doesn’t always make great decisions and plays wild.

Tim Hardaway Jr. - bench on a contender. Streaky shooter who’s bad on defense. Been here way too long but when he’s on his production from three along with Luka can get us a win. Cant get much value for him in a trade.

Seth Curry - bench on a contender. Looks like a shell of himself.

We can’t expect too much with Luka carrying the team and going up against contenders with 4-5 LEGIT starters or would be legit starters on our team.

Gotta be extremely active at the deadline to see if we can make something happen. It’s been quiet other than Harden to the Clippers but we all expected that.

They failed to build a contender around Luka when he was in rookie contract...What makes you think they can do it after his supermax?

[Forbes]

Luka ala James harden style of play is hard to play with unless you shoot 3s all day and set picks. The 3 point shooting is great when it goes down but it's anyone game when guys aren't making the shots. That style of play makes the team and the guys you put around him one dimension ala those Houston teams with James harden..

The numbers look good but luka isn't playing enough defense, still whining at the refs, and his numbers don't truly reflect how his style of play limits how the team plays and kills any chance at fast break points.

As good as Luka is, his style of play holds this team hostage. Limits others around him so he can play a pick and role game that is contingent on 3 point shots.

Luka needs to play faster and play the game 94 feet, play both ends, and start leading. Until he does that he just James harden 2.0 and forces everyone to play a one dimensional style that hasn't proven to work in the NBA when it comes to winning big. It also forces others to make up for his inefficiencies. Theres no reason to play at that slow pace or for him not to be better on defense.

For the record, I don't mind luka manipulating defenses the final 5 minutes of a quarter or game. However, he needs to be committed to pushing the ball the first 7 minutes of each quarter ala Jason kidd with the new jersey nets. We need to manufacturer offense for this team and develop some chemistry. We don't need to play this grind it out slow pace style for 48 minutes because it suits 1 guy. When you have no offense, pushing the ball is your offense. And you can always go to the Luka style when that isn't working. We can't just be this one trick pony because it serves one guys style.

For me the “Luka style of play” thing is always going to be brought up until we get starters who aren’t 100% bench players on other contenders.

The main problem with the Mavs is Luka got too good for us to build through the draft and we were giving too much money to players other teams would absolutely not give the same money to.

These are the starters or players who potentially step in as a starter

Luka - only issue is defense but it’s ok can’t expect every player on your team to be a good defender

Kyrie - been inconsistent so far, seems like nagging injuries. Also a defensive liability but not too much of a big deal if surrounded by defenders

Lively - big surprise with his production and impact on defense. Wish we could clone him and a have another coming off the bench.

Grant Williams - bench on a contender. We needed some type of defense. Turned out to be the best we can do. Wish he rebounded

DJJ - deep bench on a contender and having the time of his life right now getting so many minutes. Been solid knowing he had 0 expectations of him when signed. Been ok on defense

Josh Green - bench on a contender. Low IQ energy guy. Solid on Defense sometimes, doesn’t always make great decisions and plays wild.

Tim Hardaway Jr. - bench on a contender. Streaky shooter who’s bad on defense. Been here way too long but when he’s on his production from three along with Luka can get us a win. Cant get much value for him in a trade.

Seth Curry - bench on a contender. Looks like a shell of himself.

We can’t expect too much with Luka carrying the team and going up against contenders with 4-5 LEGIT starters or would be legit starters on our team.

Gotta be extremely active at the deadline to see if we can make something happen. It’s been quiet other than Harden to the Clippers but we all expected that.

They failed to build a contender around Luka when he was in rookie contract...What makes you think they can do it after his supermax?

I didn’t say they could. But we have no choice but to be extremely active at every opportunity to make trades. We just have nothing anyone wants. Nico has his work cut out for him.

[joesha1698]

I want to add one thing about Luka that needs to be said. The type of guys the front offense targets are guys that fit Luka ball. So we cant say these guys arent any good but purposely go after guys that fit his style. How many posters here complain about adding Kyrie because he doesnt fit Luka's style? 3 point shooters and floor spacer ala that Houston team with James Harden. We know Luka can manufacture offense in the half court and thats actually a huge advantage in the playoffs. My issue with Luka is that with his passing ability we make no effort to establish a transition game. We have a coach that led a team to back to back finals by pushing the ball with Kmart, Jefferson, and Kerry Kittles. Why can't we use a similar approach to maximize guys like Green, THJ, Lively and get them moving and getting easy points in transition. We can play Luka ball when we get bottled down in the half court - but we literally are disregarding the transition game for nor reason. It makes no sense. So people saying that our roster is only ''so good'' and cannot get better is not true. We basically use most of our players to set picks for Luka and stand around and shoot 3s....then we complain when the 3's dont go in while totally negating the transition game - which is something totally do able with this style.

If we just take a page from the old Nets ala Jason Kidd and Luka is actually willing to run the court and push the ball - it adds a whole another wrinkle to this team. We should be pushing that ball and playing 94 feet and using our bench and really playing at a higher speed.

Our motto should be run and score as many easy points as possible and when the game slows down - go into Luka ball in the half court and let Kyrie do his thing as well. But why we're not committed to a 94 feet game when you have a coach who perfected it? Its insane. Luka can do it and he'll be better for it. This team would be better for it.

[joesha1698]

I also want to add I'm watching Ja Morant in his first game back vs Pelicans. And the way he runs the point guard position is what i want to see from Luka. It will make this team so much better. This Memphis team is night and day better because pushes the pace and really gets the ball out of his hands and allows other to contribute. If Luka played more like this...instead of slowing the ball down as soon as he touches it - this dallas team would be a lot improved similar to the improvement that Ja makes for the Grizzles when hes on the floor. If someone thinks im making this up, watch the Grizzles with Ja Morant.

[agentofatlas]

I also want to add I'm watching Ja Morant in his first game back vs Pelicans. And the way he runs the point guard position is what i want to see from Luka. It will make this team so much better. This Memphis team is night and day better because pushes the pace and really gets the ball out of his hands and allows other to contribute. If Luka played more like this...instead of slowing the ball down as soon as he touches it - this dallas team would be a lot improved similar to the improvement that Ja makes for the Grizzles when hes on the floor. If someone thinks im making this up, watch the Grizzles with Ja Morant.

You Memphis fan?

[JWillTheFreak]

Mavs roster is just bad if they don't make 3s they pretty much lose every game, Williams been kinda bad besides few games, Hardy been bad all year long... Luka, Exum, Lively, Kyrie and THJ are the only bright spot. The Mavs need to sign few bigs because they have no back ups and they usually undersized vs every team.

[tleikheen]

And guys want the guy who brings the ball up with the best pace to come off the bench (Exum) so Grant Williams can continue in the starting lineup when his play doesnt warrant him starters minutes. We've seen Kyrie ,Exum and Luka together ,they were cooking.
This is a false narrative saying we need a ballhandler in the 2nd unit .Thats what staggering minutes is about to always keep continuity going for the Mavs .We know they dont all sit on the bench at the same time during the game .

[Maverick41]

Williams been kinda bad besides few games

GWill hasn't just been kinda bad, he's be VERY bad. Since starting off hot, the last 15 games he's averaging 7.3pts/3.4reb on 35/31/67 shooting splits. For comparison that's even worse then one of the most chastised players on the team last year. That player's averages for the year was 7.2pts/3.6 on 40/38/70 shooting splits. Guess who:

Spoiler:

Reggie Bullock

[joesha1698]

I also want to add I'm watching Ja Morant in his first game back vs Pelicans. And the way he runs the point guard position is what i want to see from Luka. It will make this team so much better. This Memphis team is night and day better because pushes the pace and really gets the ball out of his hands and allows other to contribute. If Luka played more like this...instead of slowing the ball down as soon as he touches it - this dallas team would be a lot improved similar to the improvement that Ja makes for the Grizzles when hes on the floor. If someone thinks im making this up, watch the Grizzles with Ja Morant.

You Memphis fan?

I'm a Dallas fan. However, I would like to see Luka play more like ja morant when it comes to pushing the pace. Luka ball is actually a system. Morant knows that Memphis needs to push the ball a lot because he's not as effective in the half court as Luka. I just wished Luka and the Mavs took a page out of the Grizzles playbook and committed to the fast pace transition style. Grizzles struggled mightly without morant and his first game back you can see how much his pushing the pace in transition transforms the play of Memphis.

This is no diss to luka or the Mavs. I think their pace and transition offense is a good case study for what I believe the Mavs can do in those areas.

[agentofatlas]

I also want to add I'm watching Ja Morant in his first game back vs Pelicans. And the way he runs the point guard position is what i want to see from Luka. It will make this team so much better. This Memphis team is night and day better because pushes the pace and really gets the ball out of his hands and allows other to contribute. If Luka played more like this...instead of slowing the ball down as soon as he touches it - this dallas team would be a lot improved similar to the improvement that Ja makes for the Grizzles when hes on the floor. If someone thinks im making this up, watch the Grizzles with Ja Morant.

You Memphis fan?

I'm a Dallas fan. However, I would like to see Luka play more like ja morant when it comes to pushing the pace. Luka ball is actually a system. Morant knows that Memphis needs to push the ball a lot because he's not as effective in the half court as Luka. I just wished Luka and the Mavs took a page out of the Grizzles playbook and committed to the fast pace transition style. Grizzles struggled mightly without morant and his first game back you can see how much his pushing the pace in transition transforms the play of Memphis.

This is no diss to luka or the Mavs. I think their pace and transition offense is a good case study for what I believe the Mavs can do in those areas.

With the current roster, injuries and minutes the Luka is logging. Running is probably not the answer.

I actually think we should slow it down a bit. Make it a playoff game pace. Less possessions.

The main concern right now more than anything is size. The team needs more. Luka cannot be our best rebounder out there.

[Maverick41]

I'm a Dallas fan. However, I would like to see Luka play more like ja morant when it comes to pushing the pace. Luka ball is actually a system. Morant knows that Memphis needs to push the ball a lot because he's not as effective in the half court as Luka. I just wished Luka and the Mavs took a page out of the Grizzles playbook and committed to the fast pace transition style. Grizzles struggled mightly without morant and his first game back you can see how much his pushing the pace in transition transforms the play of Memphis.

This is no diss to luka or the Mavs. I think their pace and transition offense is a good case study for what I believe the Mavs can do in those areas.

This team has made a huge effort to try and run this season. We're 11th in pace and before Kyrie went down were between top 5-7. I don't disagree that I like the team running more but I'm not sure it's fair to expect Luka to push the ball all the time while Kyrie is out and he's playin 40+ mpg. He just can't do it physically.

[Dali]

I still love what DJJ has been providing the Mavs, especially considering he's a minimum contract guy. However, I believe in the last 5 or 6 games he's shooting 15 percent from three. That hurts, it really does. He's going to need to fix that.

He is a vet min guy... We are using like a starter.

of course, that's why I said I still like DJJ because he IS a vet min guy. I like his contributiion to the team still, and he has a bit of credit in the bank. But shooting 15 percent from 3 in the last 5 to 6 games isn't acceptable from anybody. If 28 percent from 3 wasn't acceptable from Dante, which it wasn't, then DJJ shooting 15 percent isn't acceptable either. We need to stay consistent with the criticism for all players.

Like i said, yes I like him, he's a vet min guy, but he needs to fix his shooting ASAP, if he wants to stay in the rotation with any sort of consistency in high minutes.

[Bob8]

I still love what DJJ has been providing the Mavs, especially considering he's a minimum contract guy. However, I believe in the last 5 or 6 games he's shooting 15 percent from three. That hurts, it really does. He's going to need to fix that.

He is a vet min guy... We are using like a starter.

of course, that's why I said I still like DJJ because he IS a vet min guy. I like his contributiion to the team still, and he has a bit of credit in the bank. But shooting 15 percent from 3 in the last 5 to 6 games isn't acceptable from anybody. If 28 percent from 3 wasn't acceptable from Dante, which it wasn't, then DJJ shooting 15 percent isn't acceptable either. We need to stay consistent with the criticism for all players.

Like i said, yes I like him, he's a vet min guy, but he needs to fix his shooting ASAP, if he wants to stay in the rotation with any sort of consistency in high minutes.

He's a bad shooter, that won't change. Exum's shot looks much better than his.

[41Dirk41]

He is a vet min guy... We are using like a starter.

of course, that's why I said I still like DJJ because he IS a vet min guy. I like his contributiion to the team still, and he has a bit of credit in the bank. But shooting 15 percent from 3 in the last 5 to 6 games isn't acceptable from anybody. If 28 percent from 3 wasn't acceptable from Dante, which it wasn't, then DJJ shooting 15 percent isn't acceptable either. We need to stay consistent with the criticism for all players.

Like i said, yes I like him, he's a vet min guy, but he needs to fix his shooting ASAP, if he wants to stay in the rotation with any sort of consistency in high minutes.

He's a bad shooter, that won't change. Exum's shot looks much better than his.

Yes, he averages career high in all stats probably, he can't do much better.

[Dali]

of course, that's why I said I still like DJJ because he IS a vet min guy. I like his contributiion to the team still, and he has a bit of credit in the bank. But shooting 15 percent from 3 in the last 5 to 6 games isn't acceptable from anybody. If 28 percent from 3 wasn't acceptable from Dante, which it wasn't, then DJJ shooting 15 percent isn't acceptable either. We need to stay consistent with the criticism for all players.

Like i said, yes I like him, he's a vet min guy, but he needs to fix his shooting ASAP, if he wants to stay in the rotation with any sort of consistency in high minutes.

He's a bad shooter, that won't change. Exum's shot looks much better than his.

Yes, he averages career high in all stats probably, he can't do much better.

Dante has been classified as a bad shooter and when he was shooting sub 30 percent he deserved the criticism that he got because it's not acceptable.

I don't care whether we think DJJ is a good or bad shooter, he's shooting 15 percent from 3 in his last 5 or 6 and that is truly unacceptable for a guy who shoots them at a decently high number per game. Lets keep the same energy in our criticism with players on this team. There is no excuse for shooting that awful percentage even for a guy who who probably averages slightly over 30 percent for his career.

With Exum the consensus was 'he's not shooting well from 3 and he will need to shoot better to stay in the rotation'. Now with DJJ it's 'oh well, he cant do much better, so its fine'. I don't accept this hypocracy.

We were unanimous when we said Exum's 3 points shooting is unacceptable when he only shot 28 percent, so lets not be hypocrits and lets be unanimous with DJJ too and agree that 15 percent isn't acceptable. He has credit in the bank though and I'm more than willing to see if he can get himself out of this shooting slump.