I Was Wrong About The Dallas Mavericks

I Was Wrong About The Dallas Mavericks

What’s the word y’all amazing night of Hoops man the LA Lakers make the Milwaukee Bucks look like fools again for the second time this month because the Lakers were down people in both games and somehow snuck out of there with wins the Pelicans clawed their way

Back to a game against the OKC Thunder and OKC closed it out on a 120 run but the game I want to talk about is a blowout win that the Dallas Mavericks had over the Sacramento Kings this game is significant because these two teams are are fighting to stay above the

Playin and they play again in a couple days so we’ll see if the Kings get their Revenge but because tonight they have a one game difference between the six seed and the Seven seed and I’m be honest with you if between these teams cuz I

Guess wow it’s not that crazy to say oh my God the Clippers have been struggling so much that they’re like there’s a possibility a low possibility they end up up a playing Team potentially potentially anyway the last thing you want to do in these teams in this range

Between basically the fourth seed to the 11 seed because again we see you Houston Rockets we talked about you yesterday the last thing you want to do was actually be a playing team now again at least four of these teams will be a playing team but like I think we in our

Mind see a team like the Kings the Suns the Lakers and awards and we say like yeah being in the playing sucks but like we trust these teams to win the game or these two games but like I always look back a couple years ago the gold to say

Warriors were a playing team they were either the seventh or the eighth seed and they lost two games to miss it completely and it can happen now the best thing about that Warriors fans we know what you did the year after that you went out and win that damn

Championship but still just even though it is is a one win to get in thing anything can happen so you don’t want to be in that spot and the Mavericks after this win have a full game difference between them and the Kings again they play against each other in a couple days

But this was a full out dominant performance from the Dallas Mavericks I mean I what if they shoot 60% from three hit 20 plus threes the first game Tim Hardway Jr has had in the last month or so where I was really excited to watch but things are amazing they’re N9 and

One in their last 10 and I have to admit that I was wrong yeah it is very important in this this world that I’m watching basketball giving my opinions to be able to admit when I’m wrong and I was wrong about the Dallas Mavericks now

I have had a lot of high highs with the Mavericks like right after the trade at L it went against OKC and dominated that team like oh boy this team’s going to be scary and they won a couple games after that and then they went through like a

Five game stretch where I was all and I’m not even a fan of this team I was like almost pulling out my own hair watching it was crazy but now again I’m back up there now the the part that I was wrong about right the part that I

Was wrong about is the idea that you going to be able to build not just a competent defensive team but a really good defensive team around the two stars up top and for what it’s worth Luca dones has been locked in defensively as much as we’ve ever seen in his career so

I’m giving him credit there Carrie Irving even tell you himself like when he needs to lock in he can but I look at those two players and I look at the sample size that we had basically post trade that line last season and then what 11-ish games they played together

And then the first half of this season I thought to myself just building a really good defense around these dudes is going to be tough but the Dallas Mavericks have successfully done it I can say I think we had enough sampleid to say that they’ve been successful in doing that

Now a couple years ago when they made it to the conference fins of 2021 2022 season they had the eighth ranked defense in all of basketball that was their identity they were a slow methodical team with one of the best players in the league and on the

Defensive side of the ball they were going to get out there at the rate and they were the eighth rank defense but the gap between them at eighth and the third best team was like one point per possession so they were really in a mix for a top three defensive team that was

Their identity when they made that Conference Final Run and since then it has not been that way now it’s kind of turning a little bit their identity has shifted and I love when like I guess the perception of a team or a player has to be changed and that’s a re between the

Opening day of the season and the trade atline the Dallas Mavericks had the 21st rank defense and a 21st rank defense I don’t care who you is in most cases if you’re a 21st rank defense you are not a contender right you are not a contender

I mean I know there has been outliers but for the most part you need to have a top 10 in defense right well since the deadline guess where they at they’re sitting at number 10 and if we look just at the last 10 games again if you’re

Nine and one of course your Advanced stats are going to say you’re nine and one but they are top five defense in that time frame and they have one specific lineup That is locking up now now they have a few lineups doing this but one and and every time I look at

Lineup data I’m always kind of iffy about it because of course sample size really matters right if a if a lineup is only played 100 minutes and it says it’s dominant is it really dominant or did they just those 100 minutes were just the perfect case scenario you know what

I’m saying now this sample size is not amazing right it’s about 200 minutes Luca dones Carrie Irvin darl Jones Jr PJ Watson and Daniel Gafford about 200 minutes they have a 120 offensive rating and that’s points per 100 possessions and the defensive rating they are really clamping up and in 93 percentile

Defensively in this time frame and it’s been a joy to watch it’s definitely been a joy to watch I think the stats say that when LCA donic and Daniel Gafford are playing together they are undefeated when they’re both starting not playing together when they’re both starting I

Think it’s like 11 and0 and Daniel Gafford is is one of the most efficient players in the history of basketball like he’s like number three in efficiency and it’s just been a joy to see because for the last couple years I don’t mean this as a shot but hey we

Being candid we talk Hoops around here to see the difference between having Derek and having Daniel Gafford as your big rotation versus having Dwight power play goddamn 30 minutes a game for you multiple Seasons I might ex I don’t know how many minutes per game he was playing

But like there is night and day in the production and everything just to have a true big core and it’s just has changed a lot that’s all and I think even when I was saying to myself they will be almost impossible whatever the words were I was saying about them defensively um I

Always said that this team is not a team you want to in the postseason whether it be one game elimination seven game elimination you got that killer LCA dones on your team and oh my God his his I guess he’s Robin of quing to him but he’s got a sidekick and Carrie Irving

Who hit the clutchest shot in the history of basketball like this team is going to be a tough tough out because LCA donic is one of the players that and I think what makes a player a superstar is being able to elevate his play Come playoff time Luca Don has done that

Every year of his career that he’s had a playoff appearance right um so I don’t I didn’t think any team wanted to see them but if their defense is going to look this good I don’t know what to tell you I don’t know what you’re going to do

Right imagine you are as of right now in the Minnesota Tim wolves you have the second second greatest season in your franchise history only behind kg’s mvpc I think you made it to the Conference Finals right you have the second greatest regular season of your team’s history and the reward for you doing

That is seeing Luca Don in the first round I don’t I don’t know who I would pick in that series I would have to really think about that like like it’s got to the point where we be the top seat the only thing that benefits it is

That you if there is a game seven it’s at home right that’s that’s really it every single one of these teams is kind of dangerous and you don’t want to you know what I’m saying you don’t want to see the Dallas Maverick now they’re still without Josh Green so I don’t know

Exactly what their rotation is going to look like when they’re completely healthy because every time somebody does get healthy somebody else goes out like Dante exam Miss some time and then that’s when Josh Green got a bunch of burn now Dante X was back now Josh Green

Is out so it’s just it’s a a lot going on so I don’t really know what the rotation is going to look like but it’s just cool to kind of see them putting it together in real time because there are some teams across the association that

Are kind of limping to the Finish Line you don’t want to be that team and again it is it is very very possible possible not maybe not likely but very very possible that this is not where you stop at the six se right according to tanon the Dallas Mavericks had the 23rd

Hardest easiest schedule left just know there they they have an easy schedule right they got OKC once Sacramento again in a couple days they got the heat the Warriors twice the Rockets twice um and then they got a few games against really bad teams in these last 10 while some of

The people they’re competing against like the Clippers have a tough schedule and they are not looking good right the Kings have a really tough schedule they are they’ve been okay I almost said they’re not looking good right now they didn’t look good tonight but they’ve

Been okay um and then the suns are are don’t have any easy games they by far have the hardest schedule as these are the teams that you competing with for your seating New Orleans Pelicans that just beat my ass the New Orleans Pelicans and there 10 games left they

Don’t have a easy schedule either so like you have the easiest schedule of everybody you’re competing with and you’re clicking at the right time I don’t know how everything is going to go but I’m excited to really see I’m I like this these series that end up being two

Games and like three nights so I’m excited to see how the Kings retaliate because it makes me feel like it feels like playoff environment that second night you know what I’m saying when you go against the team again so let me know what you think about the Dallas

Mavericks I was wrong and I’m willing to accept that I’m excited to see what can happen these last 10 games of the season for them

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