PatAg said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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Wes is Wes. The most disappointing player, to me, was DSJ. His overall defensive effort (or lack thereof) was borderline alarming. He looked lost, disengaged, and almost appeared to willingly allow Suns to take uncontested 3s.

And then his shot selection...he needs to improve working within the flow of an offense and forcing up less shots.

Luka needs better conditioning. He disappeared after the first quarter. Other than that, he looked fine. The shots will drop; it was just one of those nights.

My man Powell and Kleber looked great. That's promising.

Desperately need Barnes back (both offensively and defensively).

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Disagree about Luka, maybe you are confused because he had to sit because of fouls for so long

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haha nah, i'm not confused. I think the foul trouble definitely impacted his early rhythm, but he was visibly winded on the court in the second half.

We have absolutely no shooting now which renders out playmaking and ball movement somewhat useless. Shooting should at least get better when Harrison and dirk come back. But it might be ugly until then.

Regarding Luka's shooting last night, Junior Miller on the Ticket made a point this AM which is also what I was thinking at the time, which is that Luka looked to be rushing his perimeter shot. I think we'll see that settle down quickly.

Yea I'm not too worried about Luka's shot. But even if he gets his shot going, we have very poor shooting without Harrison and dirk.

mavsfan4ever said:

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Yea I'm not too worried about Luka's shot. But even if he gets his shot going, we have very poor shooting without Harrison and dirk.

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Yea this offense needs the stabilizing forces of Barnes and Dirk. DSJ and Luka are just too young to carry the load. Barnes especially has a huge effect just in terms of roster rotations.

mavsfan4ever said:

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Yea I'm not too worried about Luka's shot. But even if he gets his shot going, we have very poor shooting without Harrison and dirk.

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Wes is actually an above average spot up shooter, he just needs to realize that is his role now. He isn't a ball handler or creator, and he may not be able to figure it out
Finney-Smith looks to have developed a legit shot from 3 in the offseason, he apparently worked on it. Looked good in the preseason and last night I feel like.

Minn is just on fire from 3. Mavs shooting bricks.

PooDoo said:

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Minn is just on fire from 3. Mavs shooting bricks.

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Seem to vulnerable to dribble drives, leading to open 3s

It's a bad sign when the D is atrocious and the 40 year old white guy isn't even playing yet.

I'm really torn. DSJ is supposed to be the future, but JJ Barea has been outplaying him...at some point we have to get real about winning games; and I think Barea gives us the best chance at that.

Luka loves the 2nd quarter. Idk if it's just pre-game jitters, or what, but once that guy settles down he flashes.

I love our bench. You can tell they have that chemistry that the starters are still trying to establish. Once Barnes gets back and DFS can go back to the second unit, they'll be even better.

Wes Matthews...I hope he stays in the lockerroom. I defended him for a long time...i can't anymore. He's washed. That technical was the last straw. His 'professionality' was the only thing he had going for him and he still let the team down in that. I'm looking forward to being off his contract.

Dwight Powell

Rose looks spry.

Dwight Powell is a player, too. But DJ is as advertised. Great game from Luka, and JJ with 11 dishes in 22 mins. But good DSJ won the game down the stretch. Survived 2010 Derrick Rose too.

140-136 Was this an all-star game?

Jordan 22 & 10 with 5 blocks! He is so active. Add to the handful of shot he changed or discouraged completely.

After watching the first 2 games,

I'll be glad when Mathews contract is up. They're just paying that guy way too much to clank wide open shots. The hustle plays, good attitude, and defense isn't enough to offset all of those misses. He usually doesn't get stops in crunch time anyway. I'm talking about his entire tenure here, it's a joke that the guy has a max contract.

Grapesoda2525 said:

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After watching the first 2 games,

I'll be glad when Mathews contract is up. They're just paying that guy way too much to clank wide open shots. The hustle plays, good attitude, and defense isn't enough to offset all of those misses. He usually doesn't get stops in crunch time anyway. I'm talking about his entire tenure here, it's a joke that the guy has a max contract.

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gagree

Post-game show on the Ticket stressed that Wes shouldn't play more than 25 minutes a game. Last night, Wes played the second-most minutes behind Luka. They also seemed resigned to it being a pattern that will continue, because for whatever reason Wes seems to be able to dictate how much he wants to play.

At least the story of last night was Luka having the most points, DeAndre doing what he does best on the boards and blocking the paint, and DSJ making the clutch points and plays when needed at the end.

So much good buzz in that arena last night. That crowd was hot for some action, and it was the perfect game to have for a home opener

Playoff like atmosphere at the AAC last night. Really fun game. I just hope we are good enough to be playing meaningful games in March and April. That's all I really want out of this season.

It's easy to see what the Doncic hype was about, he plays very under control. Once he gets more experience those turnovers should disappear. It isn't hard to imagine him becoming an efficient 22/6/6 type player in the next couple of years. I'm still not sure what DSJ is going to turn into the next couple of years, but he is ridiculously quick. I'm hoping it is more Kemba Walker, explosive scoring PG, than Monta Ellis, an inefficient volume scorer.

Is Barnes playing tonight? I saw him upgraded to questionable for tonight's game.

I just don't think Matthews is as bad as the rest of the city does. I think he's horrible at his price tag, and he's definitely not the explosive player that he was in Portland, but I really don't mind him. He's playing too much with Barnes out, sure, but he's still a good 3-point shooter and he's not awful in the post.

He's a bad 2nd or 3rd scoring option. But once Barnes is Back and Luka acclimates, he's a pretty solid 4th or 5th option behind those dudes, DSJ, and the DJ pick and roll.

MW03 said:

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I just don't think Matthews is as bad as the rest of the city does. I think he's horrible at his price tag, and he's definitely not the explosive player that he was in Portland, but I really don't mind him. He's playing too much with Barnes out, sure, but he's still a good 3-point shooter and he's not awful in the post.

He's a bad 2nd or 3rd scoring option. But once Barnes is Back and Luka acclimates, he's a pretty solid 4th or 5th option behind those dudes, DSJ, and the DJ pick and roll.

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He usually shoots 3 / 10 or 4/12 that's his average shooting line. It's depressing when you consider how much the guy gets paid.

Out next two games per RC

Matthews shooting much better so far tonight. Maybe that second half last game helped him click.

refs are jobbing Luka like he is some rookie straight out of college

Kleber-Powell show, not foreseen

I just don't think DSJ has the handles to be the primary ball handler. He's not bad by any means, just don't feel like he can regularly break someone down one on one

mavsfan4ever said:

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Not sure it's possible to love this team more than I do right now. So refreshing to have an exciting team to watch. And the whole team's effort and attitude is great.

I'm starting to get legitimately concerned about dsj. He's still very young so I'm not saying he can't improve. But we need to some some improvement this year and a big step next year. He's the clear weak link on this team. He can't shoot, he can't finish at the rim and he makes some terrible turnovers. Really ugly right now. At least he hit the shot against the twolves.

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I think a lot of our issues will be lessened when Barnes (hopefully) takes Matthews spot in the lineup

Barnes will be taking Finney-Smith's spot in the starting lineup when he comes back.

Another super-fun game tonight. But I totally agree with concerns about DSJ. He's settling too much for 3's, and it may be because he is having trouble in isolation for some reason- and it doesn't seem like someone is bailing him out

BTW- first time over 500 since April of 2016. Crazy

Yea, DSJs play was the only black spot on an otherwise great night. He needs to figure out a jump shot.

Lavine was amazing. Dude looked like he was on pace for 50 and between him and Parker just drilling contested shots, this game shoulda been a blowout in favor of the Mavs.

Dwight Powell makes my heart soar.
Deandre is feasting.
Maxi is cooking diner, serving food, and cleaning plates. Dude is really becoming an all around player.
Luka...Luka has my heart.


Wes...good game Wes.


Can't wait to see Barnes come back but I'm even more intrigued to see how this team plays on the road. They've elevated their play, clearly, since game 1 and now I'm eager to see if it will continue on th road. This will be a telling road trip (4 of the next 5 are on the road and all of them against expected playoff teams).

mavsfan4ever said:

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Not sure it's possible to love this team more than I do right now. So refreshing to have an exciting team to watch.

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Dude it really is fun AF to watch. DJ alone brings such a ****ing light to this team. I haven't had this much fun watching the Mavs in a long time. And this is just the start!

Yeah, I'm really getting a whiff of 1999-00 from this team. Fun to watch. Much improved, although probably not there yet from a playoff perspective. But things are buzzing.