Despite terrible shooting in the first half the Mavs were within a few points at the end of it. I said to my son, if Mavs shooting normalizes in the 2nd half they are going to boat race them. That is exactly what happened.
Klay and Hardy kept them in it in the first half. Luka got going in the 2nd. I liked the rotations from Kidd for the most part. It was nice to see Grimes as first man off the bench but he did not play well and did not come back in again for a while after his first shift. I’m hoping Kidd gives him time to settle in and get comfortable. Naji also looked tentative. Mavs are really going to need these two on D so they should try to get them a few shots to get going. Lively outplayed Gafford by a healthy margin… again. I am not sure what Kidd’s reasoning is with starting Gafford. All in all, it was a very competent start to the season by the Mavs.
I just wanted to throw some more Lively love out into the universe. It won't show up on the stat line, but the fact that DLive forced 3 traveling turnovers by moving his feet and not biting on the pumps is a big deal. Not as flashy, but every bit as good as a block or a steal. Kid is gonna be real real good.
I left that game feeling very positive about the offense. It never felt stagnant. Ball was popping. Everyone seems confident and competent. They also seemed to be playing much faster.
If this is game 1, my hope would be that once they get it dialed in, it could be special.
Hi Fred! Glimpses of what could be were there...in the 3rd quater when all three of Luka, Kyrie and Klay made a couple of shots it was automatic +15 run. But also, the Spurs are still bad...so let's see a couple of more games.
Despite terrible shooting in the first half the Mavs were within a few points at the end of it. I said to my son, if Mavs shooting normalizes in the 2nd half they are going to boat race them. That is exactly what happened.
Klay and Hardy kept them in it in the first half. Luka got going in the 2nd. I liked the rotations from Kidd for the most part. It was nice to see Grimes as first man off the bench but he did not play well and did not come back in again for a while after his first shift. I’m hoping Kidd gives him time to settle in and get comfortable. Naji also looked tentative. Mavs are really going to need these two on D so they should try to get them a few shots to get going. Lively outplayed Gafford by a healthy margin… again. I am not sure what Kidd’s reasoning is with starting Gafford. All in all, it was a very competent start to the season by the Mavs.
Agree on post points. Also, the Spurs are not really good, so next game against the Suns, we'll see even more.
I just wanted to throw some more Lively love out into the universe. It won't show up on the stat line, but the fact that DLive forced 3 traveling turnovers by moving his feet and not biting on the pumps is a big deal. Not as flashy, but every bit as good as a block or a steal. Kid is gonna be real real good.
Never too much Lively love on this space (although he had a rough game tonight vs big Nurk)
I left that game feeling very positive about the offense. It never felt stagnant. Ball was popping. Everyone seems confident and competent. They also seemed to be playing much faster.
If this is game 1, my hope would be that once they get it dialed in, it could be special.
Hi Fred! Glimpses of what could be were there...in the 3rd quater when all three of Luka, Kyrie and Klay made a couple of shots it was automatic +15 run. But also, the Spurs are still bad...so let's see a couple of more games.