Idk what you've seen from him the past 2-3 seasons to think he can give anything positive in the west finals. Hes at the end of his career and frankly shouldn't be in the league. Putting in a guy who hasn't played any meaningfully minutes in years is a move of desperation.

Powell gets a lot of **** because of his physical limitations, but he knows how to operate in this offense, is physically ready to go, and frankly has earned the "next man up" minutes.

But thankfully all of this is moot if Maxi is a "go" as reports seem to indicate.

Everything you said in the first paragraph also applies to Powell plus with getting hit in the face a lot.

lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I agree they would have to play differently than how they have played almost every minute since the trade deadline. But that is sometimes required when you lose 2 of your top 3 big men. It would also pull Rudy away from the basket, which we haven't done yet at all this series.

But Powell is terrible. He's a bad rebounder and his finishing around the rim is comically bad. Those two shots he had the other day were so easy and of course he missed them because he's Dwight Powell and he has done that his whole career. He's decent operating out of the short role and that's about it.

I think watching Gafford and Lively the past few months has made you forget how truly awful the past several years have been at center.

shack009 said:

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PatAg said:

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Im not sure I would put playing Powell over Morris in the confusing category

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They were clearly trying to stick to a gameplan of always having one true center on the court. Powell is just so bad, that I'm fine with scheming any ways to keep him out of the game. The two missed shots he had were just vintage Powell. A great reminder of how truly bad we have had it at the center position before this season. Gafford is having a tough enough time as it is, we just can't have Powell playing any significant minutes.

It's weird because Kidd has played smallish against Gobert before with Maxi at the 5 in the Utah series. Not sure why he was allergic to putting Markieff in for some small ball minutes. Or at least to give PJ some more rest. Morris at least does some different things. Mavs clearly wanted to stick to a strict gameplan.

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100%

M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

zgolfz85 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

---

I'm not a fan, Im just bucking at the absurdity of playing the out shape, 14th man. Y'all are doing the classic "backup QB"/how bad could he be?" trope. Morris is legit the worst player on this roster.

Lol and how is it on the coaching staff that a 12 yr vet can't stay in shape? Like you accuse me of being a Powell fan but you sound like a Morris relative.

Like I'm sorry but Powell actually has some vertical spacing and can functionally operate in a switch defense. Can he crash the boards and bang with Gobert? No, of course not. But Morris takes far more than he gives and is only on the team because of his representation.

M.C. Swag said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

---

I'm not a fan, Im just bucking at the absurdity of playing the out shape, 14th man. Y'all are doing the classic "backup QB"/how bad could he be?" trope. Morris is legit the worst player on this roster.

Lol and how is it on the coaching staff that a 12 yr vet can't stay in shape? Like you accuse me of being a Powell fan but you sound like a Morris relative.

Like I'm sorry but Powell actually has some vertical spacing and can functionally operate in a switch defense. Can he crash the boards and bang with Gobert? No, of course not. But Morris takes far more than he gives and is only on the team because of his representation.

---

You don't have to be in shape to play a few minutes here and there. I'm also saying it's just something that could be a different look. It could pull Rudy away from the basket. He could handle the ball better and maybe shoot from the short roll.

We are in a rough spot because we are having to have a Morris v Powell debate. We just have to find ways to steal the non-Gafford minutes. Which is already rough because we were trying to steal the Gafford, non-Lively minutes before.

shack009 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

---

I'm not a fan, Im just bucking at the absurdity of playing the out shape, 14th man. Y'all are doing the classic "backup QB"/how bad could he be?" trope. Morris is legit the worst player on this roster.

Lol and how is it on the coaching staff that a 12 yr vet can't stay in shape? Like you accuse me of being a Powell fan but you sound like a Morris relative.

Like I'm sorry but Powell actually has some vertical spacing and can functionally operate in a switch defense. Can he crash the boards and bang with Gobert? No, of course not. But Morris takes far more than he gives and is only on the team because of his representation.

---

You don't have to be in shape to play a few minutes here and there. I'm also saying it's just something that could be a different look. It could pull Rudy away from the basket. He could handle the ball better and maybe shoot from the short roll.

We are in a rough spot because we are having to have a Morris v Powell debate. We just have to find ways to steal the non-Gafford minutes. Which is already rough because we were trying to steal the Gafford, non-Lively minutes before.

---

Powell was a -1 in 7 minutes of game 3 despite the misses. Mavs have a far greater likelihood of surviving with him on the court than Morris.

M.C. Swag said:

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shack009 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

---

I'm not a fan, Im just bucking at the absurdity of playing the out shape, 14th man. Y'all are doing the classic "backup QB"/how bad could he be?" trope. Morris is legit the worst player on this roster.

Lol and how is it on the coaching staff that a 12 yr vet can't stay in shape? Like you accuse me of being a Powell fan but you sound like a Morris relative.

Like I'm sorry but Powell actually has some vertical spacing and can functionally operate in a switch defense. Can he crash the boards and bang with Gobert? No, of course not. But Morris takes far more than he gives and is only on the team because of his representation.

---

You don't have to be in shape to play a few minutes here and there. I'm also saying it's just something that could be a different look. It could pull Rudy away from the basket. He could handle the ball better and maybe shoot from the short roll.

We are in a rough spot because we are having to have a Morris v Powell debate. We just have to find ways to steal the non-Gafford minutes. Which is already rough because we were trying to steal the Gafford, non-Lively minutes before.

---

Powell was a -1 in 7 minutes of game 3 despite the misses. Mavs have a far greater likelihood of surviving with him on the court than Morris.

---

Everything negative there is to stay about Powell is true, but a lot of it is from the mindset from when we were starting him and playing him heavy minutes.
Hes about the best you can expect from your 3rd string Center you rarely, if ever, play.
Hes athletic, understands the offense and defense, adn will always play hard.
There is a reason Morris hasn't played much this season.

I also dont think its ridiculous to want to at least run him out for 3-4 minutes and see, and I actually thought we might see him in the game 3 after the injury.
I just don't see playing Powell in the specific scenario we are in as a mistake by Kidd. I've also long been a Powell hater, if you can even call it hating to not like seeing him get minutes for my team, lol.

I want to see what Kidd has planned to account for Gaffords issues playing against bigger players, namely defensive rebounding and just post presence in general.
May be as simple as the team committing to boxing out and going for every rebound harder as a team. Luka starting to be healthier helps, but he still looks to be struggling with reacting to weird bounces off the rim.

PatAg said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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shack009 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

---

I'm not a fan, Im just bucking at the absurdity of playing the out shape, 14th man. Y'all are doing the classic "backup QB"/how bad could he be?" trope. Morris is legit the worst player on this roster.

Lol and how is it on the coaching staff that a 12 yr vet can't stay in shape? Like you accuse me of being a Powell fan but you sound like a Morris relative.

Like I'm sorry but Powell actually has some vertical spacing and can functionally operate in a switch defense. Can he crash the boards and bang with Gobert? No, of course not. But Morris takes far more than he gives and is only on the team because of his representation.

---

You don't have to be in shape to play a few minutes here and there. I'm also saying it's just something that could be a different look. It could pull Rudy away from the basket. He could handle the ball better and maybe shoot from the short roll.

We are in a rough spot because we are having to have a Morris v Powell debate. We just have to find ways to steal the non-Gafford minutes. Which is already rough because we were trying to steal the Gafford, non-Lively minutes before.

---

Powell was a -1 in 7 minutes of game 3 despite the misses. Mavs have a far greater likelihood of surviving with him on the court than Morris.

---

Everything negative there is to stay about Powell is true, but a lot of it is from the mindset from when we were starting him and playing him heavy minutes.
Hes about the best you can expect from your 3rd string Center you rarely, if ever, play.
Hes athletic, understands the offense and defense, adn will always play hard.
There is a reason Morris hasn't played much this season.

I also dont think its ridiculous to want to at least run him out for 3-4 minutes and see, and I actually thought we might see him in the game 3 after the injury.
I just don't see playing Powell in the specific scenario we are in as a mistake by Kidd.

---

For the record, I don't think it was a "mistake." That's putting it a bit harshly. I understand why he played in Game 3. The Mavs wanted to stick to their plan.

But most teams that are down to having to play their third center will also change the way they play when those minutes need to be eaten. That's all I'm saying. The staff only wanted to play one way in G3, and that only leads to Powell playing.

Even if Maxi plays tonight, we will have to play differently than we have been playing. He can't play all his minutes at the 4 alongside Powell and Gafford. Maxi-Powell minutes would be brutal. There will have to be times where Maxi plays the 5 with PJ at the 4.

There aren't many good third string options at Center, so it just is what it is. He does play hard. Would the current washed up version of JaVale McGee or DeAndre Jordan be better? (that's not rhetorical, I'm actually asking)

Rookie center Lively's +/- numbers are insanely good. He does everything a little better than Gafford, and I came into the playoff thinking Gafford was the major X-factor for the Mavs, that their past Mavs teams lacked unlike 2011 title run with center Tyson Chandler.

Gafford should not be allowed to dribble the ball ever. He's a turnover every time. Draymond Green advised Gafford on the TNT postgame set to help Gafford in that situation after last game, and Gafford seemed receptive to it.

"I don't have a question, I just wanna give you something."

Draymond Green didn't hesitate to put Daniel Gafford on game 💯

(via @NBAonTNT)
pic.twitter.com/ys6nzflccX

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 27, 2024

PatAg said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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shack009 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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lol not even close. Powell is a decent backup C and a great 3rd string C. Hes a consummate pro and functions on this offense. Morris is out of shape, 0 lateral mobility, and doesn't do anything this mavs team relies from the C position.

---

I think we found the last remaining dwight powell fan. the dude is comedically bad. he missed 2 point blank layups...at 6'11". he has stones for hands.

if Morris is out of shape, that's on the coaches. If you're on the active playoff roster, you have to be ready to be plugged in, even the last dude on the bench. His highest value might be a sidelines cheerleader and veteran voice, but who knows. I just know I have a hard time believing morris minutes are worse than DP minutes.

I equate it to that game where we brought in Javale McGee after months of bench-riding and dude scored a quick 10 with 5 rebs and a couple of blocks in 10 quick mins. I still just fail to see how it could be worse than DP.

---

I'm not a fan, Im just bucking at the absurdity of playing the out shape, 14th man. Y'all are doing the classic "backup QB"/how bad could he be?" trope. Morris is legit the worst player on this roster.

Lol and how is it on the coaching staff that a 12 yr vet can't stay in shape? Like you accuse me of being a Powell fan but you sound like a Morris relative.

Like I'm sorry but Powell actually has some vertical spacing and can functionally operate in a switch defense. Can he crash the boards and bang with Gobert? No, of course not. But Morris takes far more than he gives and is only on the team because of his representation.

---

You don't have to be in shape to play a few minutes here and there. I'm also saying it's just something that could be a different look. It could pull Rudy away from the basket. He could handle the ball better and maybe shoot from the short roll.

We are in a rough spot because we are having to have a Morris v Powell debate. We just have to find ways to steal the non-Gafford minutes. Which is already rough because we were trying to steal the Gafford, non-Lively minutes before.

---

Powell was a -1 in 7 minutes of game 3 despite the misses. Mavs have a far greater likelihood of surviving with him on the court than Morris.

---

Everything negative there is to stay about Powell is true, but a lot of it is from the mindset from when we were starting him and playing him heavy minutes.
Hes about the best you can expect from your 3rd string Center you rarely, if ever, play.
Hes athletic, understands the offense and defense, adn will always play hard.
There is a reason Morris hasn't played much this season.

I also dont think its ridiculous to want to at least run him out for 3-4 minutes and see, and I actually thought we might see him in the game 3 after the injury.
I just don't see playing Powell in the specific scenario we are in as a mistake by Kidd. I've also long been a Powell hater, if you can even call it hating to not like seeing him get minutes for my team, lol.

---

I too don't think it's a mistake to play DP, but I do question whether it's overthinking to not give Morris a few quick mins. Most on here said legit hardy mins in this series was laughable…and yet we saw some heroic mins from him last game. This deep into the season, everyone is banged up and you've got a perennial bruiser sitting there cheerleading, when it seems like he'd be good for a few mins at the very least to give any pause in trying to play series hero by driving the lane, a guy to maybe catch a couple rebounds and to at least offset Rudy's enforcer role just a tad.

Close this out tonight. I feel like the stars rangers and mavs are all feeding off of each other.

As for the cowboys:

Ag1188 said:

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Gafford should not be allowed to dribble the ball ever. He's a turnover every time. Draymond Green advised Gafford on the TNT postgame set to help Gafford in that situation after last game, and Gafford seemed receptive to it.

"I don't have a question, I just wanna give you something."

Draymond Green didn't hesitate to put Daniel Gafford on game 💯

(via @NBAonTNT)
pic.twitter.com/ys6nzflccX

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 27, 2024

---

It's weird to me because I hated the warriors for years because of draymonds antics on the court and klay Thompson just looks like the biggest chad / ****** ever.

It almost seems like draymond likes the mavs or is pulling for us tho. He's had pretty good insight in the postgame shows.

Grapesoda2525 said:

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Ag1188 said:

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Gafford should not be allowed to dribble the ball ever. He's a turnover every time. Draymond Green advised Gafford on the TNT postgame set to help Gafford in that situation after last game, and Gafford seemed receptive to it.

"I don't have a question, I just wanna give you something."

Draymond Green didn't hesitate to put Daniel Gafford on game 💯

(via @NBAonTNT)
pic.twitter.com/ys6nzflccX

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 27, 2024

---

It's weird to me because I hated the warriors for years because of draymonds antics on the court and klay Thompson just looks like the biggest chad / ****** ever.

It almost seems like draymond likes the mavs or is pulling for us tho. He's had pretty good insight in the postgame shows.

---

He is pretty insightful if you watch his podcast.

He hates Rudy Gobert, so that may play into the Mavs love.

Yeah he's really good as an analyst.

But he also hates Rudy Gobert. Remember he choked Rudy in a game. He definitely is rooting for the Mavs. He gave advice to the guy going against Rudy.

Letting Minnesota be really physical

They've just plowed through 3 Gafford screens with no call so far

Luka in good form early

Luka looking good. Few Kyrie turnovers but good energy.

Imagine watching Powell punch the ball out of bounds and thinking that's a guy worth playing.

Luka passed up a couple chances to get to the basket too. Luckily he's made a couple threes. The turnovers to start are so frustrating.

Why can we not just be completely focused from the jump and put them out of their misery…

shack009 said:

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Imagine watching Powell punch the ball out of bounds and thinking that's a guy worth playing.

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But did you see that pass?

It's only getting worse somehow

Real talk, Powell is definitely not good, but guys...move off the ball. You know his limitations

Ok enough Dwight. Markieff time

What do we do instead? Do we just try to go fully small ball, and try to match them scoring whenever we don't have gafford in?

I would rather that than Powell play. Seriously.

Minnesota has thrown caution to the wind since they have nothing to lose and they're going to dare the refs to call a foul every time down the court.

Brutal missed layup by Hardy there followed by a Edwards 3

Kidd needs to sit Luka for a minute and put someone in his ear. He's too frustrated.