What game. Best game of the season tonight. And a ton of highlight plays. Doncic back to back threes in the first. Doncic 40 foot first half buzzer beater. Two DSJ slams off the dribble. Devin on fire.

Officially are a playoff contender. And if I had to bet on it, I'd bet we make it in at this point.

True Anomaly said:

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Beat GSW (without Curry or Draymond)
Beat Jazz (healthy)
Beat Memphis (healthy)
Beat Celtics (without Hayward) <--Not a negative impact for boston
Beat Rockets (without CP or Gerald Green)

Qualify it all you want, but these are quality wins by this team. Incredible

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I would also add that the Mavs have been dealing with a rash of injuries as well. Before tonight, Powell, Devin, Wes, and DSJ had been limited or missed plenty of action and this team was able to adjust and win.

Great game.

My daughter's first ever game. When she told me she was going a few months ago, I said the Mavs would get killed. Now I think I may have a new Mavs fan. She was with all her classmates from HS academic club.

94chem said:

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My daughter's first ever game. When she told me she was going a few months ago, I said the Mavs would get killed. Now I think I may have a new Mavs fan. She was with all her classmates from HS academic club.

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Going to Mavs game(and Rangers games) in HS was always a lot of fun. Usually first time going to games without your parents taking you, or someone elses

Our bench has been beyond amazing. Our starters +- is not good at all, one of the worst in the league, probably because doncic and dsj don't pair well together. But the bench has been beyond amazing. They just run everyone off the floor.

I'm actually worried about dirk coming back because Kleber has been such a big part of the bench unit. The Powell Kleber combo is great, and Kleber's defense is awesome. He has 1-2 highlight blocks a game. If we go from Kleber's defense to Dirk's defense, the bench unit may not be so great anymore.

But dirk is the goat so he can do what he wants.

Kleber won't be the only one sacrificing minutes for Dirk (maybe some, but not most). It'll be a committee effort between DJ, Powell, and Kleber. Dirk will just carve out a few minutes from each of the big men. It's a good problem to have.

Right, but Dirk with any one of those 3 will be a huuuuuuge defensive downgrade compared to a combo of any 2 of those 3. Dirk is an upgrade offensively, but the bench unit hasn't been hurting to score. So I think it will likely be a downgrade overall. A big part of the bench unit's dominance is the athletic ability of the Powell/Kleber combo.

But like I said, I'm still pumped for Dirk to get back into action, and I think he should play even if it hurts the team a little. I would never take the position that he should be the 12th man or anything like that. And maybe his shooting will actually offset the downgrade on defense.

mavsfan4ever said:

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Right, but Dirk with any one of those 3 will be a huuuuuuge defensive downgrade compared to a combo of any 2 of those 3. Dirk is an upgrade offensively, but the bench unit hasn't been hurting to score. So I think it will likely be a downgrade overall. A big part of the bench unit's dominance is the athletic ability of the Powell/Kleber combo.

But like I said, I'm still pumped for Dirk to get back into action, and I think he should play even if it hurts the team a little. I would never take the position that he should be the 12th man or anything like that. And maybe his shooting will actually offset the downgrade on defense.

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Agree with this. No doubt Kleber is a hustler on defense, but his shooting is sporadic. Dirk will improve the shooting of the bench unit, while DoDo and Dwight can help contribute on defense.

mavsfan4ever said:

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Right, but Dirk with any one of those 3 will be a huuuuuuge defensive downgrade compared to a combo of any 2 of those 3. Dirk is an upgrade offensively, but the bench unit hasn't been hurting to score. So I think it will likely be a downgrade overall. A big part of the bench unit's dominance is the athletic ability of the Powell/Kleber combo.

But like I said, I'm still pumped for Dirk to get back into action, and I think he should play even if it hurts the team a little. I would never take the position that he should be the 12th man or anything like that. And maybe his shooting will actually offset the downgrade on defense.

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I think you'll see alot of lineups with Powell, Dirk AND Kleber on the court though too. I was just trying to illustrate that Kleber isn't going to be giving up all his minutes to dirk. It will be a collective effort.

I also think you'll see Dirk with the 1s in DJ's role. It'll be a slight downgrade defensively but i think his offensive attributes will overcome that deficiency, as you said.

Essentially Dirk will take the PF spot with the bench and will take the C spot with the starters. He'll rotate in and out in short spurts (increments of 4 min). It's another look and weapon for carlisle to utilize and I'm giddy thinking about it now that we actually have the defensive talent to surround Dirk with.

94chem said:

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Well, well, well... Dirk may have a bit of a team after all.

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This. I gotta think he's motivated knowing that they have something to play for when he comes back.

https://lukadoncic.com/

Luka's personal website just went live

Not a great game against the Lakers, especially when they coughed up a sizeable lead. And although Luka had a very off night, he did manage to block LeBron TWICE in one possession. So that didn't suck

https://streamable.com/7lyko

Insane amt of offensive fouls called on us after we took a big lead

2 questions

How come doncic didn't play tonight?

Why is this team so bipolar? They're great at home, but can't win on the road.

Good win tonight against a very strong opponent.

Thought I saw somewhere that he was injured

gomerschlep said:

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Thought I saw somewhere that he was injured

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Maybe Lebron messed him up on that charging hit.

wut

Grapesoda2525 said:

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2 questions

How come doncic didn't play tonight?

Why is this team so bipolar? They're great at home, but can't win on the road.

Good win tonight against a very strong opponent.

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Luka out with a sore hip. Nothing major.

Are you referring to the LA Lakers game? 1) It was a late tip west coast game. Didn't end until midnight central time. 2) the refs were literally the worst I've seen all year. The game flow was never established as a whistle was blown every 30 seconds. And Luka played his worst game (he's a rookie and bound to have some ups and downs).

Otherwise I think it's kinda overblown. The Mavs got off to such a poor start that it is anchoring their recent badass stretch. They still pummeled Hou and best OKC on the road during this crazy run so it's not like they're incapable of wining on the road. It's just early in the season and the trends are slow to reverse from that 2-7 start.

Another good win for the mavs...this bench unit is awesome. They play way better than the starters alot of the time

rsf0626 said:

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Another good win for the mavs...this bench unit is awesome. They play way better than the starters alot of the time

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I'm not sure they are better, but their chemistry is amazing and they all know their role. That's no small thing

Starters show flash of eliteness, but they are still figuring out who should do what at specific times

Team looking nice.


Luka is so fun to watch.

Mavs best team in Texas. All is right with the world.

This team has really turned it around defensively. Crazy to think this but if (when?) Luka and DSJ stop turning the ball over so much this team will be even better. I also like that DSJ is trying to fit his game to help the team. Very unselfish. His usage rate has gone down and defensive intensity has gone up. Just what the Mavs need. I'm still not sure he will be a great NBA player but I am becoming confident that his floor is a good NBA player. More importantly one that can fit next to Luka as a good defender/shooter/secondary ball handler.

Quick glance at the schedule and I think this might be the most important month+ for the Mavericks. The schedule through Jan. 5th it is pretty brutal. Ton of road games versus good teams. If the Mavs are still in a playoff position after that then they will have a great chance of keeping it.

100% if the Mavs can just get through December with a .500 record and healthy, I'll feel great about our chances down the stretch.

As for DSJ, I think he has all the attributes to be a top 5 PG in the league. We all see his physical tools are already elite. Now he just needs to learn the role. The thing that gives me confidence in his growth is the dude's work ethic and mentality. From everything I've heard/read, he WANTS to be better. He has a workman's attitude and actively strives to improve his game. We can already see that with his shot quality. His motion is much better and it's paying dividends beyond the arc. Don't get me wrong, I think we're still 3-4 years away from DSJ seeing his peak, that's just how PGs go in the NBA. But I have no doubt that DSJ will maximize whatever the best version of himself will be. The dude is just built with the right attitude.

Saw the second half last night. The bench pushing the lead from 9 to 19 in the 4th was great. Seeing them let it slip back to 9 not so much, but the fact is the bench held off the starters to even for 7 minutes of play.

Luka's step back 3 and passing late was brilliant.

That's pretty awesome for limiting minutes/rest.

M.C. Swag said:

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100% if the Mavs can just get through December with a .500 record and healthy, I'll feel great about our chances down the stretch.

As for DSJ, I think he has all the attributes to be a top 5 PG in the league. We all see his physical tools are already elite. Now he just needs to learn the role. The thing that gives me confidence in his growth is the dude's work ethic and mentality. From everything I've heard/read, he WANTS to be better. He has a workman's attitude and actively strives to improve his game. We can already see that with his shot quality. His motion is much better and it's paying dividends beyond the arc. Don't get me wrong, I think we're still 3-4 years away from DSJ seeing his peak, that's just how PGs go in the NBA. But I have no doubt that DSJ will maximize whatever the best version of himself will be. The dude is just built with the right attitude.

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Yea, especially the one's that come in after one year in college. He's basically actually learning to play PG, and he has a good coaching staff to do that. He's already starting to use his speed with control more effectively.

jeffdjohnson said:

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This team has really turned it around defensively. Crazy to think this but if (when?) Luka and DSJ stop turning the ball over so much this team will be even better. I also like that DSJ is trying to fit his game to help the team. Very unselfish. His usage rate has gone down and defensive intensity has gone up. Just what the Mavs need. I'm still not sure he will be a great NBA player but I am becoming confident that his floor is a good NBA player. More importantly one that can fit next to Luka as a good defender/shooter/secondary ball handler.

Quick glance at the schedule and I think this might be the most important month+ for the Mavericks. The schedule through Jan. 5th it is pretty brutal. Ton of road games versus good teams. If the Mavs are still in a playoff position after that then they will have a great chance of keeping it.

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I agree with DSJ being unselfish. I really like what I'm seeing from him in that regard. His handle still really worries me, as he can't really take anyone off the dribble. He seems to take "long" and "high" dribbles which prevents him from taking defenders off the dribble 1 on 1 in the half court. But with his unselfish play of late, he hasn't been forcing it, so it hasn't been much of a problem.

I don't see an all-nba type of future for him unless he can greatly improve his handle and driving and finishing ability at the rim. He's still young so that could possibly happen. But if he can just keep improving his shot, get out in transition, and keep improving his defense, he can be a good player (possibly very good). And that's the perfect type of player to fit next to Luka.

It felt like we didn't even play a great game last night, and we dominated Portland. This team is getting better and better.

This team is fun to watch

Not so much tonight.

Bill Simmons had a Luka-centric podcast today where he talked about the future of the Mavs. Check it out if you can stomach Simmons.