2022-2023 Dallas Mavericks season thread: Luka's first MVP

[gsoda3 3274]

12 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

A discussion needs to be had about Luka. He is in worse shape as the season goes along. After the 1st qtr, his endurance takes a plunge. I don't think he takes it seriously. He knows he can hop off his couch and average what he does. But what is he doing to take his game to a higher level? We are now in year 5. And he's been a pro in Europe since he was a teen. He is considered a vet. Will it ever change? He is the anti Dirk as Dirk lived and breathed basketball. Luka doesn't. 

he basically didn't have an offseason as he played through the summer.  he's also picked up a few lower body knocks this season so it makes sense he looks worn down.  his mental and psychological weakness concerns me more.  the day after his coach calls him out about maturity he goes and gets Ted up.  luka's not listening to kidd.  i hope he listens to kyrie.  kidd needs to go if only for the fact that we need to have someone leading this team from the coach position b/c there is absolutely no one else on the team doing that.  

[Mitch Cumsteen 18550]

2 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

 luka's not listening to kidd.  i hope he listens to kyrie. 

When you are looking for Kyrie Irving for leadership, you may want to very seriously rethink how things are going. Is Kyrie going to tell him to put more effort in on defense in between discussions about the earth being flat? Yo Luka, let me tell you about how important staying in shape is and while we're at it, here is my scientific exposition on the safety and efficacy of new medical products. Maybe he could explain to Luka how the holocaust didn't happen just like the fouls he complains about not getting, didn't happen. Maybe as a final lesson, he can teach Luka how to get paid time off for "mental fatigue" and then demand a trade in the most franchise-debilitating way possible. That's pretty much the last dude you want somebody listening to about anything. 

I thought Kidd was an awful hire from the get go. He was bad with the Nets and terrible in Milwaukee. The Bucks were a .500 team when he coached them and then won 62 games the following year after he was fired with essentially the same roster. That said, I thought the Mavs showed a ton of improvement on defense last season and he deserved credit for it. Regardless, that roster is deeply flawed. I don't think it matters that much who is coaching it. I don't think Kidd is their biggest problem, but he's certainly not elevating them.

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Can't stand that Luka bitches every second of every game at the refs and doesn't get back on D a lot.

That said I still love watching his game and will still root for the kid after he leaves Dallas in a couple years.

[gsoda3 3274]

1 hour ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

When you are looking for Kyrie Irving for leadership, you may want to very seriously rethink how things are going. Is Kyrie going to tell him to put more effort in on defense in between discussions about the earth being flat? Yo Luka, let me tell you about how important staying in shape is and while we're at it, here is my scientific exposition on the safety and efficacy of new medical products. Maybe he could explain to Luka how the holocaust didn't happen just like the fouls he complains about not getting, didn't happen. Maybe as a final lesson, he can teach Luka how to get paid time off for "mental fatigue" and then demand a trade in the most franchise-debilitating way possible. That's pretty much the last dude you want somebody listening to about anything. 

I thought Kidd was an awful hire from the get go. He was bad with the Nets and terrible in Milwaukee. The Bucks were a .500 team when he coached them and then won 62 games the following year after he was fired with essentially the same roster. That said, I thought the Mavs showed a ton of improvement on defense last season and he deserved credit for it. Regardless, that roster is deeply flawed. I don't think it matters that much who is coaching it. I don't think Kidd is their biggest problem, but he's certainly not elevating them.

the guys in the league love him.  even his old teammates who we think he did wrong in boston etc don't speak poorly of him.  despite his off court reputation the players love him.  he brings a professional attitude every night and i hope he can get luka to emulate that.

 

i also thought kidd was an uninspired hire but then we got to the WCF.  that goodwill is all but gone though. 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

Took my almost 5-year-old to his first game tonight. Brought the good vibes back. Kiddo is 1-0. 

[Henry Hill 3156]

4 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

Took my almost 5-year-old to his first game tonight. Brought the good vibes back. Kiddo is 1-0. 

You and the kid have to go to every game now.

[Zeus 6108]

40 pts both guys first time ever

 

I hope we get Durant vs. Luka and Kyrie vs. Booker in the playoffs

[wutang75 449]

Please don’t let the Suns win it all this year. What a franchise of bitches.

[Burt 4089]

11 minutes ago, wutang75 said:

Please don’t let the Suns win it all this year. What a franchise of bitches.

Fortunately the Mavs have none of those, am I right?

[Pato del Muerto 52535]

3 minutes ago, Burt said:

Fortunately the Mavs have none of those, am I right?

No, but they don’t have much of a change to win it all so it isn’t relevant. 

[Guest]

They don’t have much of a chance with Luka playing that way. He was not good today, at all. Josh Green needs to do something offensively more consistently.  And Kidd needs to pull his head out of his ass and play Wood at least half of Powell’s minutes. I do not know what he is thinking. 

There is nobody to root for on the Suns. Nobody. 

[gsoda3 3274]

Kidd's decided wood's minutes will go as his defensive play goes. He did well today. I hope he we pair wood and maxi together on the floor more.

Luka's defense today was disappointing. His lack of closeouts lead to the last two 3 pointers for the suns. He also got lucky they missed all those open 3s in the first three quarters on his late closeouts. Other than that our team defense was the best I've seen in a while.

Overall an encouraging game but we can't keep losing. The way we're playing now I'm not confident we make it thru the play in games.

[RexWilson 1348]

Booker is such a bitch. Wish if the first challenge was successful, you got another. Several bad calls in the suns favor today. 

[Majorcholas 508]

3 hours ago, Porterhouse said:

They don’t have much of a chance with Luka playing that way. He was not good today, at all. Josh Green needs to do something offensively more consistently.  And Kidd needs to pull his head out of his ass and play Wood at least half of Powell’s minutes. I do not know what he is thinking. 

There is nobody to root for on the Suns. Nobody. 

Yeah, definitely not the best basketball player to ever wear the burnt orange.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Majorcholas said:

Yeah, definitely not the best basketball player to ever wear the burnt orange.

Definitely not. I’ve long ago forgotten about the one season he played for us and we got bounced in the 2nd round. He’s a thin-skinned bitch and what is a top 10 talent of all time will be more remembered for that than his greatness. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, gsoda3 said:

Kidd's decided wood's minutes will go as his defensive play goes. He did well today. I hope he we pair wood and maxi together on the floor more.

Luka's defense today was disappointing. His lack of closeouts lead to the last two 3 pointers for the suns. He also got lucky they missed all those open 3s in the first three quarters on his late closeouts. Other than that our team defense was the best I've seen in a while.

Overall an encouraging game but we can't keep losing. The way we're playing now I'm not confident we make it thru the play in games.

The way we played for 90% plus of the game was very encouraging. The loss makes ALL of that moot. Kidd’s decision is retarded because Dwight Powell sucks on both ends of the court. 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

This team is an absolute embarrassment on defense. The Jazz have maybe 2 players I’ve ever heard of playing tonight and they are scoring at will. Is there seriously nobody on the street better than this? 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

Well, a win is a win but man this team is flawed. Yet now they are up to the 5th seed after going 3-3 on this home stand. What a strange year. 

[gsoda3 3274]

i hope you enjoyed that game because that's about as good as our defense is going to be this year with the personnel we have.

[LurkingHorn 1066]

6 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

i hope you enjoyed that game because that's about as good as our defense is going to be this year with the personnel we have.

I just can't believe how easily a team like Utah, who was missing multiple starters tonight, absolutely torched us. I actually felt better after the loss to Phoenix than I did after the win last night. I have no idea what to expect from them tonight against NO. 

[SilasCoade 2622]

Luka has to be better. That's it. If he gives effort on defense and stops wasting time whining to the refs when he's getting to the line 20 times a game, the defense will improve. This season is a wash and was a wash before the Kyrie deal.

Luka needs a better offseason to get his body right. He's carrying 15 pounds of bad weight, at least. The Mavs offensive efficiency is decent but they are nearly last in pace. That has to change and Luka needs to be in shape to lead that change.

The 2023-2024 team should bear little resemblance to the current roster. Basically keep Luka, Maxi, and Josh Green. They need to dump THJ and Bertans for younger 3 and D guys. Use Kyrie and Wood in sign and trade deals to bring in complementary stars who are not allergic to defense. Dejounte Murray or Mikal Bridges would be the model, though neither is likely to be available. Let all the other UFAs on the roster walk (I mean specifically do not under any circumstances re-sign Dwight Powell). Thybulle is going to be RFA from Portland that would be a decent pickup. Bringing back Seth Curry as a FA would be nice as well. Yuta Watanabe would be a good FA pickup for the right price. The Bulls might be sellers, so Caruso, Vucevic, and even Lonzo might be worth kicking the tires.

Maybe none of the above specific transactions occur, but the current team is constructed haphazardly and goes only as far as the superstar with the dad bod at age 23 can carry them. Good luck with that.

[gsoda3 3274]

1 hour ago, LurkingHorn said:

I just can't believe how easily a team like Utah, who was missing multiple starters tonight, absolutely torched us. I actually felt better after the loss to Phoenix than I did after the win last night. I have no idea what to expect from them tonight against NO. 

it wasn't too bad.  lauri's going to get his from everywhere on the floor and we did well enough to not let anyone else beat us.  our defensive rating for the game was a 104.x which is the best defensive rating we've had since the kyrie trade.  obviously like you said it was affected by kessler being out but i think it interesting we played so well on defense without reggie bullock for most of the game.  further proof he's not the defender he was last year.  luka had a very good game on defense last night.  as did christian (sign him now please) and justin holiday.  holiday's surprised me with how much he disrupts the offense as an off-ball defender.  i expected him to be a good 1 on 1 guy (which he is) but i hadn't heard how good he was anticipating movement.

[SilasCoade 2622]

4 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

luka had a very good game on defense last night.

Jesus, fuck, no he did not. In a span of like 10 minutes in the second half there were at least three times where he just completely ignored his man leading to an open look or a scramble as guys tried to cover up for his lapse.

[gsoda3 3274]

7 minutes ago, SilasCoade said:

Luka has to be better. That's it. If he gives effort on defense and stops wasting time whining to the refs when he's getting to the line 20 times a game, the defense will improve. This season is a wash and was a wash before the Kyrie deal.

Luka needs a better offseason to get his body right. He's carrying 15 pounds of bad weight, at least. The Mavs offensive efficiency is decent but they are nearly last in pace. That has to change and Luka needs to be in shape to lead that change.

The 2023-2024 team should bear little resemblance to the current roster. Basically keep Luka, Maxi, and Josh Green. They need to dump THJ and Bertans for younger 3 and D guys. Use Kyrie and Wood in sign and trade deals to bring in complementary stars who are not allergic to defense. Dejounte Murray or Mikal Bridges would be the model, though neither is likely to be available. Let all the other UFAs on the roster walk (I mean specifically do not under any circumstances re-sign Dwight Powell). Thybulle is going to be RFA from Portland that would be a decent pickup. Bringing back Seth Curry as a FA would be nice as well. Yuta Watanabe would be a good FA pickup for the right price. The Bulls might be sellers, so Caruso, Vucevic, and even Lonzo might be worth kicking the tires.

Maybe none of the above specific transactions occur, but the current team is constructed haphazardly and goes only as far as the superstar with the dad bod at age 23 can carry them. Good luck with that.

i think we need to see what happens in the playoffs before blowing up the team.  as it is, our best 3 defensive players (josh green, maxi, reggie) have played something like 120 minutes together.  that's for the entire season.  we got a taste last night of what a competent defensive team effort looks like and it's not bad.  we still have a major hole in the front court that needs to be addressed but if we play every night like we did last night i'm feeling good about this team.  

 

if we don't blow it up (i don't think we can get anything for bertans or hardaway, we tried to move them at the deadline and no one bit) i think we just need to add another defensive wing and an interior defensive presence.  one of the best things about our team is how deep our bench is.  we have one of the best benches in the league and it's carried us to a W many nights the past two seasons.  

[gsoda3 3274]

3 minutes ago, SilasCoade said:

Jesus, fuck, no he did not. In a span of like 10 minutes in the second half there were at least three times where he just completely ignored his man leading to an open look or a scramble as guys tried to cover up for his lapse.

i don't know what you're referencing but i suspect you saw our rotations off doubling lauri markkanen.  i didn't see any egregious errors on his part, unlike last game, and he was actually engaged and affective.  he scored 5 pointes less than his average but was still a +2 on the night.  his defensive rating was a 102 which was good for second best on the team (justin holiday was best with a 99 which is no surprise).  and just for kicks cwood was a 103, good for third best.  both luka and christian wood average a 113 defensive rating this year so yes they played much much better defense last night.    

[SilasCoade 2622]

Not referencing botched switches or rotations on doubles. Just Luka drifting into the paint with his eye on the ball handler at the top of the arc while his man slides to open space in the corner and on the wing. It's possible they were in some sort of zone, but if so it was the shittiest zone of all time.

And performing better than his typical terrible defense is still not "a very good game on defense."

Edited March 8, 2023 by SilasCoade

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Going to be about finding players that can help cover Kyrie and Lukas weaknesses before the ripcord is pulled.

Non-all stars can even drop 40 against good defensive teams like the Celtics these days. Mavs are definitely bad on defense but the league has also changed.

[gsoda3 3274]

2 hours ago, SilasCoade said:

Not referencing botched switches or rotations on doubles. Just Luka drifting into the paint with his eye on the ball handler at the top of the arc while his man slides to open space in the corner and on the wing. It's possible they were in some sort of zone, but if so it was the shittiest zone of all time.

i'm not a fan of it but luka's doing what kidd drew up.  luka (or cwood or dwight or whomever is down low) slides over to prevent the direct drive to the basket b/c our perimeter guys can't keep people in front of them while the remaining perimeter defender on that side of the floor closes out on the corner.  

 

Quote

And performing better than his typical terrible defense is still not "a very good game on defense."

a 102 defensive rating is really good in this modern nba.   

[Zeus 6108]

Damnit I bet on the Mavs and it's a Scott Foster game. 

[Zeus 6108]

The woman ref doing all the heavy lifting lol

Horrible "charge" call and then calls a T on Luka (his 16th) for talking to her.

Yikes

[Gucci_Suit 2653]

That is some weak ass officiating. 

[Zeus 6108]

1 minute ago, Gucci_Suit said:

That is some weak ass officiating. 

 

Scott Foster

Natalie Sago

Ashley Moyer-Gleich

Dream team

[Zeus 6108]

Looking fucking rough on the back end of back to back.

Maybe they make a run in the second half. CJ McCollum going off

[conVINCEd 21469]

Luka will miss the rest of the game with a hangnail.

[Zeus 6108]

Oof 

[Bigpoppapump 532]

That was hard to watch.

[gsoda3 3274]

grant asfath asked jason kidd why christian wood had seen reduced minutes recently and jason kidd said we had too much front court depth.  ok.  

[wutang75 449]

I thought Hardy getting 19 points was the easiest money ever. So I did a parlay for $50 for 19/5/4 and 4 3 pointers. FML - he’s almost got it in the first half. Except the 5 assists is going to F me. Anyone else jump on this Hardy play?

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Frustrating 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

It’s a shame we farted away the whole season not taking advantage of teams with depleted rosters. It’s also a shame we completely whiffed on two big men over the off-season—or at least didn’t get two big men the coach likes. Either way, if we miss the playoffs, Kidd should be fired. You don’t have a MVP candidate and miss the playoffs. I don’t care about last year. 

[gsoda3 3274]

I don't believe for a second Christian wood really has a sore foot.

[LurkingHorn 1066]

This guy is a clown. 

[Vic Mackey 47093]

18 hours ago, LurkingHorn said:

This guy is a clown. 

Cowboys wasted so much time with Garrett. Mavs are doing the same every year this clown is a head coach. This quote reminds me of when Romo said "if that's the worst thing to happen to me, well then my life is ok". Deflecting on their terrible performance and taking zero accountability. I thought Avery Johnson was bad but Kidd makes him look like Phil Jackson. 

This season is starting to spiral out of control and there looks to be no light at the end of the tunnel. We are not replicating what we did last year. Going into the playoffs, I don't even know how many teams we are better than. 

We look to be the Atlanta Hawks from a few years ago. They overachieved to an ECF and were disposed quickly and hasn't came close to matching that. Both teams have a player that is regarded to be very damn good but after 5 seasons in their careers, just hasn't amounted to much. 

So far we are 0 for 2 in trying to pair Luka with another star. KP and now Kyrie. Just didn't work. I kept hearing how so many more players are going to want to come here to play with Luka as opposed to Dirk but when will that come to fruition? I

[gsoda3 3274]

Going into the playoffs...

Yeah about that....

I get home and see we're losing to the spurs?!

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Mavs talent level is embarrassing for a team actually trying at this point in the season.

[Saint Austin 745]

Is anyone else’s Bally Sports feed glitchy AF?

[bluto 4934]

Be happy it is glitching so you hopefully didn’t have to see maxi be a fucking idiot

[gsoda3 3274]

must be nice having a coach who can draw a last possession inbound play that's not two screens and then luka at the top of the 3 point line.

[JohnnyRage 1617]

Turned it on with two minutes to play in regulation. That was nuts.

[LurkingHorn 1066]

Those last three plays by Maxi might be the worst stretch of plays I’ve ever seen to close a game. And he’s supposed to be our calm veteran. 
 

Still amazing to me that Hardy couldn’t find any minutes earlier in the year and that Javale can’t even find significant minutes against a G-Leauge team. At least nobody died.