About last night... Win vs Jazz

 The Mavericks took on the Utah Jazz in the bubble yesterday afternoon. In a game where the Mavs sat KP, Luka, and DFS for "injury recovery" or load management or rest. Whatever you wanna call it, they sat and there weren't a lot of expectations for the rest of the Mavs; even with Jazz star Donovan Mitchell sitting out.

Despite the horrendous three point shooting, the Mavs hung in there till the half, where they trailed by 13. Once the third started it looked like everyone was right to bail on watching the game, as the Mavericks trailed the Second unit (Snyder benched his starters for the remainder of the game) by 22 points. Incredibly, the Mavericks started playing smart, unselfish basketball on offense and made life difficult for the Jazz on defense. After the three point barrage by the Jazz in the first half, this was much needed. 

After the largest comeback for the Mavs in 4 years, Rick Carlile added that " I love winning for the feeling that our guys get from doing something together." Obviously happy that his team found a way to win without their star players, especially in such a large comeback. 

Tim Hardaway Jr. & Seth Curry 

THJ and Curry combined for 49 points and were 7-12 from behind the arc. This was a MUCH needed game for both of them, as they haven't been able to get into a rhythm since the seeding games began. Hardaway Jr. looked intense for the first time and they both found their deep ball again. It's hard for players to take months off, come back into a new environment and not get a lot of in game shots up. For Curry, it was the longest time he has ever gone without touching a basketball. (so he says.) Just like when Luka was out for that stretch, KP had those incredible wins and found his confidence; Curry and Hardaway jr. had a chance to show their leadership and get into a groove again being the focal point. This game will mean alot going forward. Hopefully those guys can each average 15+ over the rest of the seeding and playoff games. They're both capable of it. 

MKG

I will admit, I have been a MKG supporter for longer than I should have. I add him to all of my 2k teams, always think he's gonna be a defensive star. Yesterday, in his first extended minutes since the restart, he proved he has a place on this team. MKG was a team high +21 without taking a shot all game. Watching him, he looked like a defensive technician, who is going to help immediately come playoff time. I look forward to sticking him on players like Harrell or one of Denver's many wings they have at their disposal. He was made for this. 

Again, Justin Jackson and Delon Wright... Cmon guys. Delon is the most frustrating, still. We've SEEN him play good. Mavs twitter was begging for him to get MORE minutes at one point in the season. Justin Jackson... This was your time man... you really don't deserve those minutes yet. I wish I had justin jackson's 6'7 frame man. 

The Mavericks play a desperate Blazers team tonight, looking to move up to the 6 spot. A win allows the Mavericks to have a chance to move to 6, but also (if everything falls into place) gives the Mavericks a chance to move to the 5 seed. Winning however, could move the Mavs to 6 and the Nuggets could move to 2... Meaning we face the clippers anyways.  Here are the scenarios