2023 - 2024 Dallas Mavericks Season Thread - I'm watching, just like you guys

[crum 525]

Absolute stinker from Luka and still get the win. 14-6 in the past 20 (includes the Strus miracle and Luka missing vs OKC). not too shabby

[LurkingHorn 1066]

I wonder what our record is when we give up less than 115 points. It had to be pretty good. 

[Rex Kramer 1343]

4 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

I wonder what our record is when we give up less than 115 points. It had to be pretty good. 

24-3

[LurkingHorn 1066]

10 hours ago, Rex Kramer said:

24-3

So basically, if the Mavs play league-average defense, they are elite. 

[Rex Kramer 1343]

3 hours ago, LurkingHorn said:

So basically, if the Mavs play league-average defense, they are elite. 

I agree with your police work there, Lou. 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

Sac and NO both lose so Mavs move into the 6th seed and only 1.5 games out of the 5th. 

[idigTexas 2289]

I'm trying to figure out this stat.  Luka and Kyrie played the same number of minutes but with a huge discrepancy in +/-.  Luka's stats are all decent.  Our defense when he was on the court without Kyrie must have been nonexistent.  

 

[threesheets 1673]

 

 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

Really big 2-game stretch here against the Kings. I think if the Mavs can split them, they're in a really good spot to pass the Kings in the last few weeks. Kings still have LAC, NYK, BOS, OKC, NO, and PHO left.

Meanwhile, the Mavs only have one team after this that's in a playoff spot (Heat are in a play-in seed right now) and that's OKC the last game of the season. 

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

On 3/22/2024 at 7:56 AM, threesheets said:

 

 

the play that starts at 40 seconds is my favorite play of the season

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

[Pato del Muerto 52535]

Oops stars 

Edited March 27 by Pato del Muerto

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

The Mavs just absolutely assblasted the Kings tonight. Let’s run it back Friday night. 

Is 21/37 from 3 good?

[gsoda3 3274]

3pt shooting was amazing but our defense

[LurkingHorn 1066]

9 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

The Mavs just absolutely assblasted the Kings tonight. Let’s run it back Friday night. 

Is 21/37 from 3 good?

They had been shooting like ~30% from 3 even during this win streak. If they can get that back to league average, watch out. 

[wutang75 449]

Might be the second best team in the West right now. Playoffs are going to be fun I’m thinking.

[Rex Kramer 1343]

I find these odds fascinating.

Clearly a lot is driven on star power and past history. But Suns, Lakers and Warriors entirely too high. At this point 4 seed is on the table and we should take it. 

Odds to Win NBA Championship, 2024

TEAM	TITLE ODDS
Boston Celtics	+225
Denver Nuggets	+325
Los Angeles Clippers	+550
Milwaukee Bucks	+700
Oklahoma City Thunder	+1800
Phoenix Suns	+2000
Dallas Mavericks	+3000
Minnesota Timberwolves	+3000
Golden State Warriors	+3500
New York Knicks	+3500
Miami Heat	+3500
Los Angeles Lakers	+3500
Cleveland Cavaliers	+4000
Philadelphia 76ers	+4000
New Orleans Pelicans	+6600
Sacramento Kings	+6600
Indiana Pacers	+12500
Orlando Magic	+25000
Houston Rockets	+50000
Atlanta Hawks	+100000
Chicago Bulls	+100000
Utah Jazz	+100000
Brooklyn Nets	+100000
Toronto Raptors	+100000

[dcar00 14317]

Maybe Kidd has figured something out.  we will see where they end up.  from 4 seed to 8 seed is possible, which is better than the normal 6-8.

nugget win was big and most of this 5 game streak has been done without Good THJ.

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

Bang!

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

Lol wow

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

Thank you Luka. 

[crum 525]

what a game. lets go!

[gsoda3 3274]

Gutsy win. Man that was physical. Loved exum sticking with his shot. DLive played so well again on Sabonis.

[threesheets 1673]

 

 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

We’re going to go on an amazing run and end up the 5th seed only to match up with the damn clippers again. 

[ITHorn 801]

So it’s going to be one of those Luka games.. Never ceases to amaze me watching him go from GTD to dropping 22/8 in first quarter.

[dcar00 14317]

the rockets have won 11 in a row? holy moly.

[Drew 2500]

the rockets have won 11 in a row? holy moly.

And Mavs went to their place and destroyed them.

[gsoda3 3274]

Our interior defense is so good. I thought we'd have a noticeable defensive dropoff against the other team's primary ball handler when Josh Green went down but dj55 has done better than Josh. The way he gets around and through screens is one of those details you'll never notice unless you're looking for it. He's a master.

[Firemans4Horn 18118]

55 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

At this point the Mavs should be safe from a play-in game to rest. Luka will need it for a miracle playoff run.

I don’t think we’re a “miracle” team right now. We have two elite players (one is MVP caliber), an elite center rotation and some dudes that are starting to guard. If THJ can’t hit shots we’ll get exposed at SF but in a playoff series Luka and Kyrie can carry you pretty far. 

[ITHorn 801]

2 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

I don’t think we’re a “miracle” team right now. We have two elite players (one is MVP caliber), an elite center rotation and some dudes that are starting to guard. If THJ can’t hit shots we’ll get exposed at SF but in a playoff series Luka and Kyrie can carry you pretty far. 

Yep. Everything that was exposed against Golden State has either been addressed or is significantly improved.

[Hornius Emeritus 12479]

[LurkingHorn 1066]

10 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

Our interior defense is so good. I thought we'd have a noticeable defensive dropoff against the other team's primary ball handler when Josh Green went down but dj55 has done better than Josh. The way he gets around and through screens is one of those details you'll never notice unless you're looking for it. He's a master.

This is so weird to read this sentence and it be about the Mavericks. 

[gsoda3 3274]

i don't know that i've ever seen anyone with luka's basketball iq.  he slows everything down and is in complete control of the game to the point it looks boring.  i wish his emotional iq was higher-  i'm not asking for great, but average would be nice.  

[Rex Kramer 1343]

14 hours ago, BeardIP said:

At this point the Mavs should be safe from a play-in game to rest. Luka will need it for a miracle playoff run.

I disagree anyone needs rest. If we’re in a game where we’re up 18 to start the 4th, like yesterday, yeah, Luka only plays 35 minutes and that was probably too much.  We’ve been on awesome run but this team needs more time with each other, not less. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26510]

2 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

i don't know that i've ever seen anyone with luka's basketball iq.  he slows everything down and is in complete control of the game to the point it looks boring.  i wish his emotional iq was higher-  i'm not asking for great, but average would be nice.  

This is very well put. 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

So if we have a choice to play the Clippers or the Wolves, who are you choosing? I really would prefer to play someone besides the Clippers in the first round. At this point, ending with the 6th seed might not be terrible if you can give guys more rest and end up with a better matchup in the first round. 

[Rex Kramer 1343]

57 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

So if we have a choice to play the Clippers or the Wolves, who are you choosing? I really would prefer to play someone besides the Clippers in the first round. At this point, ending with the 6th seed might not be terrible if you can give guys more rest and end up with a better matchup in the first round. 

Was thinking the same thing, particularly since we have out Gafford and Lively rotation down. 

But it doesn’t matter because we’d beat either one of them. 

[TxTower 652]

So if we have a choice to play the Clippers or the Wolves, who are you choosing? I really would prefer to play someone besides the Clippers in the first round. At this point, ending with the 6th seed might not be terrible if you can give guys more rest and end up with a better matchup in the first round. 

Kinda feel like we owe the Clippers a good beat down.

[idigTexas 2289]

5 hours ago, BeardIP said:

I was talking about a rest from the all-out push of the final 1/4 of the season we've been seeing lately (up to and including the final 8 games-- for better seeding and better positioning of Luka's MVP chances) and before the playoffs begin in earnest. Being able to not be a party to the play-in game will give a breather from this sprint.

I'm not sure why you think a 2-game cushion with 8 games remaining justifies calling off the dogs.  I'm fine with not trying to catch the Clippers, as both teams have the same amount of success at home and on the road.  Not trying to win could easily result in us drawing Denver in the first round or falling into a play-in position.  No thanks.  Let's just win and protect our current seed, and if we can rest players while doing that, then do it.  Once we have clinched a top 6 with no chance of a Denver match-up, then I don't care what we do.     

[idigTexas 2289]

On 3/31/2024 at 7:28 PM, BeardIP said:

At this point the Mavs should be safe from a play-in game to rest. Luka will need it for a miracle playoff run.

 

19 hours ago, BeardIP said:

I was talking about a rest from the all-out push of the final 1/4 of the season we've been seeing lately (up to and including the final 8 games-- for better seeding and better positioning of Luka's MVP chances) and before the playoffs begin in earnest. Being able to not be a party to the play-in game will give a breather from this sprint.

 

11 hours ago, BeardIP said:

What are you talking about? I literally reiterated that the rest I was talking about was the rest all teams seeded 1-6 get by virtue of not having to play the first game(s) as a 7-10 seed. 

 

Your first post in this series very clearly indicates that the Mavs should start resting now.  Your second post attempts to walk that back a little bit, but it still indicates that rest is called for rather than continuing to push.  All you've really clarified is that you think the Mavs are safely out of the play-in games. 

I contend that they should continue playing hard until the possibility of a play-in game is mathematically eliminated.  Once that is secured, I don't really care.  I previously posted that I would like them to avoid the Clippers in the first round, but that was when LA was playing at a very high level.  At this point, I'd prefer to avoid Denver more than any other top-4 seed, but if they finish above 6th, they will have already exceeded my expectations for the season.      

[LurkingHorn 1066]

I think playing Luka and Kyrie on a back-to-back at this point would be foolish. Luka is already questionable every night it seems like. The problem for the teams chasing the Mavs is they have pretty rough schedules down the stretch. It's likely 5-3 in the last 8 clinches a top 6 seed since we have the tiebreaker on both Phoenix and NO. Sac could still catch up but would have to go 7-1 in that scenario against this schedule:

 

Here's NO's schedule for reference:

And Phoenix:

 

 

Heck, 4-4 probably still gets us a top 6 seed. 

[gsoda3 3274]

i'm against resting anyone.  i remember what happened in 2022.  i also remember what happened in 2007.  we go in hot.  everyone's dinged up at this point, let's roll.

[JohnnyRage 1617]

I think the word on the streets has been whatever seed keeps us away from Denver until the Conference Finals. Sure this presupposes that we fair better against the Timberwolves and Thunder...maybe we do?

[threesheets 1673]

Draymond already with a POS play. 

[dcar00 14317]

we look uh disorganized, disheveled.

[LurkingHorn 1066]

The Hardy, ThJ, and Kyrie lineup needs to die. 

[gsoda3 3274]

This lineup is the worst. Can't defend. Can't score. That's what happens when you're missing Josh and DLive though. Luka needs to stop treating this like a game at Gregory and protect the ball.

[gsoda3 3274]

Lazy on defensive boards not boxing out. Lazy setting up on defense letting GS run back screens off ball to get whatever match up they want. There's no excuse for that.

[dcar00 14317]

How do you miss that travel?