Well, hopefully the lottery goes better this time around than it did last time. Gonna have to wait a long time to find out and the best they can do is a 40% chance of keeping their pick (in all likelihood anyway).

Iowaggie said:

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Sounds like a Woody Harelson line from White Men Can't Jump.

fightinags2013 said:

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Zion COULD wind up being a slightly more versatile Julius Randle, which would be a good player, but not what you'd want from a #1 pick.

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Yea that's a good comp.

"I'm going to predict the next play call. Harden one-on-one, then another step-back three."

"Whoa slow down, Tony Romo."

Never mind, I just saw the replay. He was triple teamed lol

This why I never wanted to fully embrace team tank

Yup, those guys don't care about draft picks. It's a year of their career going down the drain and going down slow.

Tied for 6th in the win column now.

M.C. Swag said:

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This why I never wanted to fully embrace team tank

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Exactly. They're not tanking. You can't watch that game last night and think the team has decided to tank. They played their balls off.

Look, if we wind up with the first overall pick, fine. But if you're intentionally trying to tank, you don't put forth the same effort against a top-tier team like they did last night

Some of you were misunderstanding my point. I was simply saying 'I dont like seeing Luka sad.' <--that's it

True Anomaly said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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This why I never wanted to fully embrace team tank

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Exactly. They're not tanking. You can't watch that game last night and think the team has decided to tank. They played their balls off.

Look, if we wind up with the first overall pick, fine. But if you're intentionally trying to tank, you don't put forth the same effort against a top-tier team like they did last night

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100% they are not tanking. This team has a serious lack of shooters now. Luckily next year they have Porzingis + $30M worth of new players to bring in to fix the issue. That $30M should net 2 NBA starters, maybe 3 depending on how the money is allocated. That is up to 4 new starters to pair with a 2nd year Luka. Not to mention the approaching 10% chance of Zion. Let's see it play out, but at this point the only thing worth watching is Dirk's last home game and the game he passes Wilt. Still a very successful season and I have enjoyed watching (most of) it, although I haven't been tuning in as much lately. The Mavs had no clear path forward even 10 months ago. Now they have Luka/Porzingis + $30M cap space and a 10% chance at Zion for good measure. Going 1-9 in the last 10 games is the price the Mavs have to pay for all of this.

Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope

Seven Costanza said:

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Just think, if Atlanta had decided not to do that trade, the Mavs' future right now would be Dennis Smith Jr. + Wendell Carter or Mohammed Bamba.

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Plus a top 3 pick this year.

Yeah...no thanks.

Wow... rough game from Luka... great game from Brunson

fightinags2013 said:

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Wow... rough game from Luka... great game from Brunson

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"Rough game" is putting it nicely. At least the new Mavs saw some energy from the crowd.

Brunson was excellent though.

Gotta love the kid

etxag18 said:

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Gotta love the kid

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Didn't see the game but the box score is surprising. A 70%+ FT shooter going 1-9 from the line is mental. Sometimes Doncic looks like he gets a little moody when things aren't going well. He probably rage quits Fortnite when things are going bad. Sucks to lose but this is the kind of game that he will remember this summer when he is hanging out in Madrid.

He looked frustrated all night. Carlisle said he played him too many minutes, his knee must've been bothering him

Not only the free throws, but he had 9 turnovers due to forcing bad passes. These are his two main playing issues that need fixing

even better
http://www.kesn1033.com/2019/03/15/mavs-highlights-luka-doncics-spectacular-and-1-dunk-with-5-seconds-remaining/

Seven Costanza said:

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Washington just won. Dallas moves into sole possession of 6th place. The Wizards and Grizzlies are doing a terrible job of tanking.

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The Southeast division is so bad, the Wizards still have a chance for playoffs.

Memphis is trying to give Boston their pick this year so they don't have to give up their better pick in next two years, when they really will probably be the worst in West.

Ah, good to know.

Bill Simmons brought up the Mavs as a potential team that could trade for and buyout JR Smith's contract (using Courtney Lee's contract), which would open up even more cap space this summer. Something to look at.

Zion was 13-13 from the floor last night with 14 rebounds. I'm very interested in seeing what kind of player he will be in the NBA. He doesn't seem like he'd fit in today's game as a #1 guy on a good team.

Luka was once again 1 assist shy of a triple-double.

It was his third game this season to be one assist short of a triple-double.

So he'd almost have double the number of triple-doubles if his teammates would've made their shots. Crazy

I hope mavs fans are watching the game. Dirks away from passing Wilt with 6:53 left in the fourth

Got lower-bowl tix to the game tomorrow

2020 draft is widely considered much deeper and easier to get a quality player.

Should be either Zion or bust for the mavs. They owe 3 first rounders to teams. The mavs very well could get a better player in 2020 even with a later pick because the draft is higher quality. Too many people are thinking "instant gratification". This isn't the NFL guys.

Besides, the mavs have the worst luck with the lottery EVER. In the end, I think the mavs are just going to make Atlanta happy by handing off a higher pick then expected.

Grapesoda2525 said:

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2020 draft is widely considered much deeper and easier to get a quality player.

Should be either Zion or bust for the mavs. They owe 3 first rounders to teams. The mavs very well could get a better player in 2020 even with a later pick because the draft is higher quality. Too many people are thinking "instant gratification". This isn't the NFL guys.

Besides, the mavs have the worst luck with the lottery EVER. In the end, I think the mavs are just going to make Atlanta happy by handing off a higher pick then expected.

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One of the reasons I am ambivalent about tanking is that the Mavs will be statistically unlikely to keep their pick regardless of how many games they win or lose. Having said that, I still hope they end up keeping their pick even if it is numbered 2-4. The Mavs are going to have a pick this year or next year either way. Someone like Morant or Barrett would be a better prospect than whoever the Mavs end up with next year after a full season of Luka + KP + 30M cap space. Plus, in terms of an asset a 2-4 pick would carry significant trade value if the Mavs don't love the fit.

What is really wild to consider is what happens if the Mavs land #1. The easy option is just to keep Zion and see what happens. I don't think they would be title contenders next year, but that team would be fun as hell and setup for the next decade. That's probably what I would do. But they could also flip Zion + the THJ/Lee contracts for Anthony Davis. Depending on what Powell does they could have Luka + AD + KP + up to 35M cap space. That is pretty insane and a straightforward scenario if they actually did get the #1 pick. They could then grab Kemba + a 3D wing and be instantly among the title favorites next year.

jeffdjohnson said:

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Grapesoda2525 said:

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2020 draft is widely considered much deeper and easier to get a quality player.

Should be either Zion or bust for the mavs. They owe 3 first rounders to teams. The mavs very well could get a better player in 2020 even with a later pick because the draft is higher quality. Too many people are thinking "instant gratification". This isn't the NFL guys.

Besides, the mavs have the worst luck with the lottery EVER. In the end, I think the mavs are just going to make Atlanta happy by handing off a higher pick then expected.

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One of the reasons I am ambivalent about tanking is that the Mavs will be statistically unlikely to keep their pick regardless of how many games they win or lose. Having said that, I still hope they end up keeping their pick even if it is numbered 2-4. The Mavs are going to have a pick this year or next year either way. Someone like Morant or Barrett would be a better prospect than whoever the Mavs end up with next year after a full season of Luka + KP + 30M cap space. Plus, in terms of an asset a 2-4 pick would carry significant trade value if the Mavs don't love the fit.

What is really wild to consider is what happens if the Mavs land #1. The easy option is just to keep Zion and see what happens. I don't think they would be title contenders next year, but that team would be fun as hell and setup for the next decade. That's probably what I would do. But they could also flip Zion + the THJ/Lee contracts for Anthony Davis. Depending on what Powell does they could have Luka + AD + KP + up to 35M cap space. That is pretty insane and a straightforward scenario if they actually did get the #1 pick. They could then grab Kemba + a 3D wing and be instantly among the title favorites next year.

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You make a good point.

The flip side is we actually win some games and have both doncic / porzingis go into the offseason not thinking we're a bunch of hopeless losers after dropping 18 out of the last 20 or so to end the year. Atlanta gets the pick around 10-15 in a very weak draft so we hopefully don't have to watch them maybe get a stud at #6 and make us regret not winning more. We draft in 2020 for sure, the team can plan for it and research guys projected at the last 10 slots or so way ahead of time to maximize the picks value. It's probably easier to convince a free agent to join your team if your record isn't near the bottom of the league.

We still have doncic, porzingis, and 30 million in cap space for the summer. Doesn't sound so bad to me.

1. The team isn't trying to lose. They just aren't very good and the schedule the rest of the way is tough. The only chance of true tanking that we might see is against Memphis right at the end of the season. You give Kostas some minutes in that game and just let it go to hell. Doncic and KP know this isn't the team they'll have next year, so I don't think it matters.

2. What any of us hope for has no bearing on the outcome.

3. The pick is likely going to Atlanta regardless of whether we finish 6-10th in the standings.

4. I would rather have a top 4 this year and give Atlanta the 15-18th pick next year than give Atlanta a 6-9th pick this year and keep a 15-18th next year. But I don't get to choose what the ping pong balls do.

So the team isn't tanking and there is minimal downside even if it did, even though it most likely won't matter since the pick is probably going to Atlanta. But there is some upside to continuing to lose since Zion has the potential to change the franchise's future either as a talent or a trade piece.

I don't actually think this team is missing that many pieces to take the next step.

So excited for tonight! Can't wait to see Dirk pass Wilt!!

M.C. Swag said:

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So excited for tonight! Can't wait to see Dirk pass Wilt!!

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Me too. We haven't seen Dirk move into the 6th all-time scoring spot in over 3 years!