About last night...

 The Clippers ended the Mavericks season yesterday as they won Game 6 111-97. Kawhi and Luka dueled all game, both of them putting up over 30 points each. The difference was the players around each star. With Kristaps Porzingis out due to a torn meniscus, there wasn't much help for the young Doncic. The Clippers were able to shut down the rest of the Mav unit. For the game, Dallas shot only 29% from three. The number one rated offense has looked anything but in the last two games, primarily due to health but also due to the defensive adjustments the Clippers have made. Even so, these losses have further emphasized the need for: Playmakers outside of Luka, Consistent scorers/shooters, someone to bang down low (enforcer) and most of all (in my eyes) a veteran presence.  In the end, it's hard to be upset or disappointed with this elimination. Luka had an incredible playoff debut; something that will someday be put in a Jordan-esque documentary series about him. Although there are...

 The Mavericks got steamrolled last night 154-111. The highs of game 4 will not be forgotten, but game 5 did it's best to damper Mav fan's expectations. The Clippers shot a scorching 63% from the field and 62.9% from three. It was their night for sure. The Mavericks couldn't match their 3 pointers, shooting a putrid 32.4%. The game got out of hand midway through the first; the Clippers went on a 19-0 run that featured a lot of dumb turnovers by Dallas. As much as it was the Clippers night it was very much NOT the Mavericks night.  Paul George finally found his rhythm in game 5. He got going early with two buckets that came from him stiff-arming Mavs defenders. He finished with a game-high 35 points and shot 67% from the field. He had a good game, all I've gotta say is... Front runner.  Luka and co. were without KP for a second straight night. Last time the held it down, this time... couldn't be done. The Clippers threw out some key defensive switches to confuse the ...

  We were all witness to history last night as Luka and the Mavs downed the Clippers 135-133 in OT. In a game where the Mavs were short-handed (KP game-time scratch with a sore knee), Luka was asked to drag Dallas to a win on a bad ankle. He did just that. Doncic dropped 43 points, grabbed 17 boards, and dished 13 assists. A stat line only Charles Barkley and the great Oscar Robertson have come close to. Not only that, but he spearheaded the charge after going down 21. That marks the largest Maverick postseason comeback ever. Doncic capped off his incredible night with a 30-foot stepback to win the game as the clock expired. Luka Magic.  With KP out, Luka hurt, and Dallas in a 21 point hole, many were counting the Mavs out. Questioning why he would even be out there. I myself was cynical, making fun of myself for being excited about cutting the lead to 12 points. That 13 point deficit turned to 8, then to a 12 point LEAD. The Mavs didn't step off the gas. Trey Burke finished w...

 Last night Luka, Porzingis, and the Mavs grabbed their first postseason win in a Game 2 against the Clippers. The first playoff victory for the Mavs since that 2016 game against the Thunder, and the first of KP & Luka's career. Expect a lot more of those. This 127-114 win came in dominating fashion as Dallas never let the Clippers take a lead all game. Even with Luka sidelined due to foul trouble, the rest of the team was able to hold it down. "This is how we are going to have to win games," Carlisle stated. "Our depth is going to be a big part of it."  Carlisle echoed what I had pointed out in a Bubble preview a few weeks ago. It was something along the lines of "If Luka & KP are on we are tough to beat... If you add Seth and THJ scoring well to that, we can beat anybody." That's exactly what happened last night. Porzingis and Luka combined for 51 and Seth and THJ combined for 32. Perfect. Additionally, Boban and Trey Burke were incredibl...

 Last night the Dallas Mavericks lost to the LA Clippers in Game 1, falling 118-110. Kawhi and PG scored like they did against the Mavs back in the seeding games. Kawhi scored a team high 29 and looked unstoppable from midrange, PG added 27 but didn't look that impressive overall. Luka carried the load for the Mavericks as he scored a playoff debut record 42 points. (This also ties his career high) Though disheartening to not win the game there were a lot of positives that can be taken away.  The Mavericks had a nightmare start to the game. It was filled with turnovers and hot shooting by the Clippers, as the Mavericks went down 10-0. Eventually the Clippers held a 16 point lead, Luka was out getting his ankle taped up, and shots weren't falling. Hope was dwindling. Then THJ, KP and Seth started hitting their shots. Luka returned. The Mavs led by 4 after one, then went on an insanely fun and impressive 48-18 run in the second. Eventually the Clippers responded cutting the Mavs...

  The Mavs matched with the desperate Blazers in primetime last night, falling 134-131 as Dame dropped 61 on our heads. (tying his career high) The Blazers NEEDED that win to gain ground on securing that 8 spot or else they would fall down to #11 in the west. Now they must win Thursday. After the loss, the Mavericks have secured the 7 seed, with no chance to move up or down. We wait to see if Denver can move into 2, but most likely the Mavericks will wind up playing the 2 seeded Clippers.  Last night's game was as close to a playoff atmosphere the mavericks could experience, as both sides were getting chippy down the stretch. The Blazers clawed their way back and hung around after KP put on a scoring clinic showing exactly why people call him the unicorn. Dame Lillard was able to exploit every single P&R action for a three or a foul. Melo was feasting on Justin Jackson and DFS in the post and the refs were calling anything and everything in the fourth. The Mavericks had a ...

 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 do...

 THE Dallas Mavericks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, holders of the best record in the NBA, last night 136-132 in OT. They did it despite shooting a measly 32% from three, having to rely on drives against the best defense in the NBA. They did it in the clutch, even after trailing by as much as 11 points in the game. I'll say it, the Mavs have found their groove in the Bubble.  Luka wowed in primetime, scoring 36 points and a career high 19 assists as he notched his league leading 17th triple double. What impressed me most was that he scored the final 7 points to force overtime against the Bucks, two of those 7 came at the free-throw line, where Doncic has been inconsistent all year. He swished em both. Tie ballgame, lets go to OT. Luka is carrying himself differently, earning respect from stars around the league. He's chirping back when he bodies someone in the paint, and he's playing hard defense on the other end. As rick said, "he's getting better by the hour...

 The Mavericks took on the Clippers last night, in what is probably a first round preview. It was going very well for the Mavs until it came time to close out the game. Of course. KP and Luka were doin their thing. DFS is back! He looked tough and was active all night long, going for 12-8-3 in his 37 minutes. He shot 5-9 and knocked down a couple threes. Exactly what the Mavs needed to see from him after his last game.  The Mavs ended up losing 126-111 despite Luka and KP scoring 29 and 30 points respectively. Although the final score shows a 15 point loss, it was far closer than the score indicates. Boban started, scored, and promptly left the game. I thought this was part of Carlisle's master plan to eliminate Zubac as a threat, but no such luck. Zubac carved the Mavercks up, scoring 21 points and gathering 15 boards without missing a shot from the field, it was annoying to say the least. The Clippers lead Dallas by 12 points in the third until KP and the Mavs  soared b...

FINALLY the Mavericks get a win in the bubble! It wasn't a pretty one, but at this point I'll take it. Luka was dominant offensively and clamped up on defense on multiple possessions including a key defensive stop on Fox as he tried to knock down the game winner. As for the other Mavericks... combined they shot 32 % for the game; not ideal. One thing that skewed that number was KP's dreadful night from the three point line, so the other role players weren't 32% bad, but they still stunk it up shooting wise as the Mavs grab the win in OT shooting under 40% from the field and 22% from three. Curry was out this game with a sore leg, so instead JJ (??????) got the start in his place. He was not good. I don't know why Rick gave him minutes after his starting stint, Father Time has clearly caught up to him and guarding one of the fastest players in the league in Fox was not going to mask that. There was no chance, in that position, for JJ to succeed.  The kings started ou...

Woooohooooo!!! The Dallas Mavericks have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016!!! Everyone celebrate... or not. Thanks to the Spurs for beating up on the Grizzlies. Mavs have done nothing so far in Orlando to sure up their spot, it doesn't feel earned at this point. Especially with a loss on the same night. Don't get me wrong, the Dallas Mavericks deserve to be in the playoffs. It's just such a lousy way to hit that goal. Let's get into it.  This game was a snooze fest from the jump. Mavs were running away with it. Getting wherever they wanted on the court, drawing fouls on anybody and everybody that stood their way. Still, they kept the door open for a comeback by Phoenix. It never felt like we were dominating them, even though being up by 13 at half.  The third quarter was the time to strike! Mavs were still holding off a comeback by Booker and the Suns. Trading buckets up and down the floor, then BOTH Booker and Ayton left early on due to havi...

The Mavericks started off the Orlando seeding games with a heartbreaking loss in an overtime shootout vs the Rockets. There was no defense played whatsoever, both offenses thrived. The Mavericks lead with under a minute left, all that sharpshooter Seth Curry needed to do was nail both of his free throws to all but seal the win by putting the Mavericks up 4 with 5.2 seconds remaining. He missed his first and we all knew how the rest of the game was going to play out. Mav fans are all too familiar with clutch game woes. I was hoping that the time off would change something, I was wrong. The Mavericks fouled harden instead of letting him shoot a 3 to tie the game at 139. He nailed the first free throw, then missed the second. GAME! No. Robert Covington slipped around Maxi Kleber and behind KP, who was tangled up with Pj Tucker down low. Covington easily high pointed the missed free throw and tipped the ball in. Tie game. Box out. With 3.3 seconds left the Mavericks had a fighting chance. ...

Last night's scrimmage was a thrilling overtime win against the 76ers. It started off great for the Mavs. Philly had struggled to muster up 8 points, while the Mavs were rolling with KP contributing 8 out of the teams 15 points so far. The first quarter ended with Philadelphia only scoring 13 points total. Then it came to a screeching halt, after half both clubs were shooting below 40% from the field and you could tell that both the Mavs and 76ers just wanted to play some meaningful hoops again. But still Tobias Harris was leading the charge back for the 76ers, dominating the Mavs in the third quarter. Eventually the Mavs bench fired back in the fourth and overtime to seal the win. 118-115. Here are the main points I took away from the scrimmage.  KP  Porzingis hasn't been able to show his stuff at all these scrimmage games. Having racked up 5 fouls early vs LA and missing his Covid test vs the Pacers, it was refreshing to see him get a lot of minutes last night. What he showe...

Yesterday afternoon's scrimmage was... weird. It showed the highs of a run and gun, free flowing, watch Luka go to work offense and then the lows that I had forgotten about over this hiatus. Lazy defending, bad shot selection, relying on a foul call. Ultimately these things cost the Mavs the game. Not to mention KP missing his COVID test (what???)  Here are my key Takeaways from yesterday's loss.  Defense  After the game, Rick Carlisle had this to say about the Mavs defensive effort; "We know we can score, but we have to have the same type of emphasis getting better defensively." He is completely correct. Talented teams in this format don't put up duds very often. If you allow their scorers to get easy buckets, your lead is never safe, no matter how well you shoot. This is what happened with Indy, they just kept coming back at the Mavericks after every bucket. They waited for the Mavs to take the foot off the gas and get cold, and never gave that lead back. Condit...