Official Game Thread: Mavericks at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“I… think… I… Cam… I think… I Cam… I think I Cam I think I Cam I…”

 

Ah, frenemies.

Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Southwest in DFW). Luka, Trae. We all know what this is. Even with no Luka, and no Kristaps on the floor again (rest and whatnot). We all know how it’s gonna go.

Someone’s team, by rule, is going to conclude the evening with a higher score than the other’s. That someone’s fans will then point to the results as confirmation of where they stand on Who Won/Lost The Trade.

The other’s fans will dig in their heels, maybe point to boxscores, plus/minus data, standings, accomplishments by age, playoff statuses. Both will squabble over whether Cam Reddish, who exited the last meeting between these teams with a concussion, makes that much of a difference.

But beyond all that kerfuffle, there’s a rivalry. One created by circumstance, ginned up by fans and skeptics of individual players and/or teams, puffed up by media outlets featuring writers and commentators with a prejudicial bent in one direction or another.

At the core of this rivalry… two uniquely talented and whip-smart young professionals, with the weight of franchises’ future hopes foisted squarely upon them. Two young pros, who also happen to be rather fond of one another.

Many of us are old enough to recall the days when players who were not teammates were not really allowed to openly appreciate each other’s game. Particularly, players of the same age cohort that are expected to enter and exit the league around the same time. Wilt and Russell, Bird and Magic, Chuck and Mailman, Hakeem and Ewing, Shaq and Admiral. But on the Olympic stage, guys like Arvydas Sabonis had no peer.

The Soviets and Yugos paid to whoop up on American amateurs twice their age, squashing all hope of a Miracle on Hardwood in the 1980s, forged a transformation of the way we staff our Olympians. Team USA needed long embittered NBA foes, some who had been at each other’s neck since grade school, to bond together for a golden, common cause.

The results elevated the global game and fattened these NBA stars’ wallets. Connections through super agents, the player’s union, social media, All-Star Weekend team events, offseason workout linkups, promotional basketball camps, and sneaker companies have further transformed the NBA’s competitive landscape.

Luka Doncic and Trae Young are among the spawn of our brave new banana boat world. Merciless, dog-eat-dog competition, from the moment the ref lobs the opening tip airborne until the final horn blows. The endless days in between? Mutual praise and likes on Twitter and the ‘Gram when one or the other has a standout performance, the occasional friendly barbs, daps and bro-hugs during breaks in the All-Star Weekend action.

“Back In My Day” Facebook hates to see it. But it’s the new normal. And a prosperous normal it could well become, in the specific case of these two emerging stars.

Think of the "rivalry" as Annie Oakley “versus” Frank Butler. Artfully, but assertively pushing each other to higher career heights than they might have ever attained without their 2018 draft-day linkage. Two guys, built different, raised different, developed different, but effectively in a situation where they are now each other’s spotter.

“No, you can’t!” “Yes, I can!” The first quote is more of a mockery of those who wanted to be so right about what they wouldn’t accomplish once they set foot in the league. He’ll be a bust, because Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric were oversold and under-delivered, and we all remember Darko. He’ll be a bust, because ESPN overhyped a guy who could barely carry a college team through the Big XII and into the First Four of the Big Dance. “No, they can’t!”

It’s sort of a “Him, Too!” movement for Doncic and Young, the latter named January’s Community Assist Award winner for NBA Cares. Both want to succeed in this league – championship contention, championship rings, Hall of Fame inductions – and their personal achievements will shine brighter if neither one fails. NBA fans recognize this potential for decades of tethered excellence, which is a big reason why both were voted into the All-Star Game, as starters for their respective conferences, after just one-and-a-half seasons.

Author of the most triple-doubles by an NBA player before age 21, Doncic dabbled with adding one more to his tally of 20 last night in Orlando (33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists). Dallas’ 122-106 victory over the Magic has the team already with more wins than they had in the prior three seasons of Dirk Nowitzki’s twilight.

Following their recent dip, owner Mark Cuban’s team is back above .500 as a franchise in their 40^th season. Dallas has been first-or-second in NBA attendance percentage throughout the 2010s, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, now with the keys handed over smoothly from Dirk to Luka. Coach Rick Carlisle’s club is on pace for 50 wins, likely back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, first-round homecourt still within sight. Everything is awesome. I do have questions, though.

While we wrangle here in the ATL with valid questions of “team-building” and “Core 5” contributors, I do wonder, was Cuban’s grand plan to get his “Core 2”, in Doncic and former Knick Porzingis (both DNP vs. ATL on Feb. 1, a 123-100 Mavs win; both DNPs tonight, also on the back end of a back-to-back) together, and then just have exec Donn Nelson figure the rest out as the team goes along?

Are Dwight Powell (out for season, Achilles surgery), Delon Wright, Maxi Kleber, Seth Curry, and Dorian Finney-Smith, true members of this “core”, too? The Mavs are locked down with them all, contracts guaranteed through 2021-22. Curry, Kleber, Powell and Wright will all cross over the age-30 plateau by then, Finney-Smith pushing 29. If not “core” members, are these fellows adequate bait to acquire another “core” talent – one not surnamed Wiggins – via trade?

Already, the Mavs are hovering close to luxury tax level, thanks largely to Porzingis’ deal. Massaging cap room to woo other stars, or another star, to play with The Don and The Unicorn will be a tall order in the near-term. There will be no salary cap maneuverability this offseason if Tim Hardaway, Jr. decides he’s better off being a booby-prize free agent in 2021 and opts in for next season. Cuban won’t be shy about luxury or even more punitive tax payments. But will he be willing to do so for a team that projects as first-round fodder that can be saved only by Luka’s brilliance?

Jalen Brunson (team-highs of 27 points, 8 assists vs. ATL on Feb. 1) is going to be nice. But are he and Wright going to be stuck with Jeff Teague and Brandon Goodwin-style minute-shares, watching Doncic (37.4 usage%, 2^nd in NBA behind only Giannis; Trae’s 35.1% ranks 4^th) dominate the ballhandling?

Porzingis (41.8 FG%) is finally steadying his on-court production (last 7 games: 27.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 51.7/40.4/87.7 shooting splits) to one worthy of a 7-foot-3 stretch, after mighty struggles to recover from 2018 ACL surgery. But he has already missed a baker’s dozen worth of games, and will sit tonight, to address soreness in his other knee.

Having the hyphenated Finney-Smith, Willie Cauley-Stein (out tonight, personal reasons) and now Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on board will help the Mavs’ frontcourt compensate somewhat for the loss of Powell (63.8 FG%, rest of team 45.4 FG%), and Boban Marjanovic is always entertaining for short spells. But can Porzinigs get sufficient rest, during this end-of-season chase, to be in fighting shape for this postseason? With the burly Doncic (29.0 PPG and 8.6 APG, just behind Young’s 30.1 and 9.2; 9.6 RPG) committed to creating backcourt mismatches, and Powell likely slow to return next season, is there a viable plan to beef up the “core” beyond 2020?

Carlisle has withstood the early Ben Wallace Pistons, the Malice at The Palace Pacers, and the peak-Dirk Mavericks already in his impressive head coaching tenure. He’s under a contract that has been extended through 2022-23. But are the Mavs certain he is willing to see this push for Western Conference contention through? If he extends the first-round bounces that Dallas experienced four times between the 2012 and 2016 playoffs, will Cuban grant him that choice?

We won’t see answers to these burning questions for a while. For them and the Hawks, there is just the game tonight, and some magic numbers to keep in mind. 105. When Dallas allows opponents to score less than that number, they’re a gaudy 15-0 (some garbage-time buckets by the Magic kept that mark from stretching to 16 last night).

That includes their win at the start of this month back home, when the Luka-less Mavs hassled Young into a 4-for-13 shooting night (1-for-6 3FGs) while keeping him off the free throw line (3-for-4 on FTs) and incapable of finding teammates to bail him out (1 assist, 4 TOs in 26 short-circuited minutes).

Conversely for the Mavs, there’s 115. Things get frosty as a Slurpee when Dallas (7-11) gives up that many points. As grand as the offense is (NBA-best 116.5 O-Rating, on pace for an NBA record; HOU’s 2^nd at 113.6), thanks to Doncic and an array of reliable shooters, team defense remains terribly inconsistent. In the last 10 games, Dallas allowed 106, 111, 100, 103, and 100 in victories, the opponents aside from backsliding Indiana all around lottery level. In the losses they’ve allowed 123, 119, 121, 128 and 133, including defeats at home against Phoenix and in Washington.

Opponents who push and control the tempo, don’t settle for engaging the Mavericks in a futile outside jump-shooting contest (9-2 when opponents take more than 40 3FGAs), and compel someone aside from Porzingis to make interior defensive plays (NBA-worst 10.7 opponent TO%; Wright’s 1.1 SPG is a team-high; 21-3 when opponents shoot less than 20 FTAs) get the upper hand. Kevin Huerter sunk 6 of 10 treys in Dallas earlier this month, but limited activity in other areas helped the Hawks play right into the shorthanded Mavericks’ hands.

De’Andre Hunter will be out for personal reasons, but his fellow Hawks rookie Reddish, dragged unwittingly into this eternal Who Won debate, will be eager to keep the answer elusive and filled with nuance. Atlanta seeks to go 9-9 with a second-consecutive win tonight, following a topsy-turvy 8-32 start to the season. The surging confidence exhibited by Reddish (last 12 appearances, incl. the brief stint @ DAL: 44.4 FG%, 42.4 3FG%, 82.1 FT%, 1.1 SPG) during this stretch has been a key to the brightening view at the end of Atlanta’s season-long tunnel.

A physical post-oriented game from John Collins (26 points, 5 O-Rebs, 6 D-Rebs @ DAL on Feb. 1; 1 foul in 33 minutes) will result in a statline tonight worthy of his considerable fullcourt energy. His Hawks’ cause will be aided if he (3.7 personals per game), Dewayne Dedmon (4.3 personals per game w/ ATL) and Bruno Fernando can stay vertical while defending, force opponents to shoot over height, and secure rebounds without piling up fouls that give the Mavs’ sweeter-shooting supporting cast members restful trips to the free throw line.

From there, Young and Atlanta ballhandlers Jeff Teague and Brandon Goodwin (combined 13 bench assists and 2 TOs vs. DAL) can attack on the break (DAL opponents’ 16.4 fastbreak points per-48 are an NBA-high), getting and creating quality looks in the paint early and often. The Hawks are 4^th in the league with 49.8 paint points per-48, and they’ll need to exceed that volume tonight to make the most of their relative rest advantage and build momentum from Thursday’s thriller at State Farm Arena against Miami.

For Young, tonight is about continuing to learn how best to lead a team stacked with growing, meshing contributors, and not getting egged into trying to impress his frenemy watching from the sideline. Everything Trae already does, and does well, he can do better. Whether Luka can do anything better than Trae is a matter only Luka’s fans and Trae’s detractors need to worry about, not the players themselves. No, he can’t? Yes, he can!

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

We won't be able to DA'B on them folk tonight, either.

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

 

[Buzzard]

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

 

 

Brunson, Finney-Smith, Kleber gave us fits last game. Seth Curry killed it from three going 5 of 7. WCS did to with his defense as well. WCS may be crap on the offensive end but he is a rangy pain in the ass defender.

Cam, Dedmon, Teague, maybe Goodwin need to step up and help with the match ups. Trae needs to be Trae and I think Huerter will get his.

 

[Spud2nique]

Nice preview as usual lw3! They have truly become our rivals by circumstance. Magic/Bird Magic/Zeke  and now Trae/Luka. The debates will never end so now I just enjoy them .

Original line was Mavs -6, now Mavs -1.

With Luka and Porzingis out I thought we would be fav at home. 
 

Go Hawks!!!

[Buzzard]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

Nice preview as usual lw3! They have truly become our rivals by circumstance. Magic/Bird Magic/Zeke  and now Trae/Luka. The debates will never end so now I just enjoy them .

Original line was Mavs -6, now Mavs -1.

With Luka and Porzingis out I thought we would be fav at home. 
 

Go Hawks!!!

Dallas Coach, defense, plus they won the last meeting by 23 without Zinger and Luka; that gives them the line.

[JayBirdHawk]

4 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

Brunson, Finney-Smith, Kleber gave us fits last game. Seth Curry killed it from three going 5 of 7. WCS did to with his defense as well. WCS may be crap on the offensive end but he is a rangy pain in the ass defender.

Cam, Dedmon, Teague, maybe Goodwin need to step up and help with the match ups. Trae needs to be Trae and I think Huerter will get his.

 

Hopefully we are more prepared. Hopefully, we cam bottle some of what we had against the Heat for this one.

Jones played 30 minutes last game, that won't be the case this time. 

[Spud2nique]

24 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

we cam bottle some of what we had against the Heat for this one.

cam

[NBASupes]

Bummer that Luka/KP/Seth/and WCS aren't playing either, especially Luka. Oh well, let's start a winning streak

[benhillboy]

Damn Luka and his ankle.  Seemed fine last night.  Silver lining Trae will probably play a better all-around game without trying to match shots.  

[lethalweapon3]

Lou Williams and Alex Len jawing with each other right now, Kent Bazemore running in to separate everybody. Bless you, League Pass free preview.

 

~lw3

[Dnice]

Nothing wrong with your ankle!, Luke..get yo ass out there..lol

 

 

[Thomas]

Trae and Luka are such a big part of the future of this league (including the media rivalry they have created by default) but they don't actually face each other on the floor this season?? Pretty surprising and disappointing. Am embracing them being healthy and facing off moving forward. Game of the week stuff. 

[Marvin24Williams]

Luka Dodgecic

[GameTime]

12 minutes ago, Marvin24Williams said:

Luka Dodgecic

Edited February 22, 2020 by GameTime

[JayBirdHawk]

32 minutes ago, Marvin24Williams said:

Luka Dodgecic

You sir....have won the Post o' The Day!.  

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, Marvin24Williams said:

Luka Dodgecic

1 hour ago, Marvin24Williams said:

Luka Dodgecic

-  (hate him and Derek Niwinski)

  

Edited February 23, 2020 by Spud2nique

[Spud2nique]

Started out:

Mavs -6

No Luka Porz

Mav -1

Public bet heavy on Hawks

Hawks -1.5 = current line 

Let’s do this!!!!!

Game time folks! Let’s eat! ATL ATL ATL!

[Dnice]

Hawks having a letdown already. 

[Plainview1981]

f***ing typical. Let a bum like Tim Hardaway Jr destroy you.