Rick’s New Year’s Resolution

by Toddy on Dec 31, 2008 9:08 PM CST Comment 6 comments

Stop becoming more and more like Avery.

Let’s forget the crazy rotations for now.

Is it so far fetched to say, that since the start of the season, Rick has the Mavs ever so gradually playing more like they did offensively last year under Avery?

Anyone noticing the increasingly number of ISO-Dirk, ISO—Josh plays than we want to admit? How many times a game is Kidd really “running the show” on offense, and how many times is Rick calling plays from the bench?

I honestly don’t have any sort of data to back any of this up, but after watching that performance last night, it has me wondering if it’s any coincidence that it happened when Rick left the game, and Kidd was REALLY allowed to run things. The show that we saw last night offensively, is what I expected to see from day one of this season, but really haven’t. Sure we have seen it at times… but never for a full game… nor a full half I’d argue prior to last night.

Has anyone else noticed this? Am I reading too much into last night, or do I have something here?

While we do run at times under Rick, we run the motion offense as well, and we FINALLY run some pick and roll plays, is what we have seen thus far this season offensively really the Jason Kidd Show? I think at the start of the season I thought because it wasn’t the Avery show, it was such a welcomed change and upgrade I assumed that it must be the Jason Kidd show. But watching the team over the past few weeks, it had me thinking that we still looked pretty stagnant and slow at times on offense. Then last night happened, and my eyes were opened to what I had hoped to see since the Kidd trade… vintage Nellie ball offense.

I’m now thinking that what we have been looking at so far this year on the offensive end is not necessarily the Avery show, just the Rick show. It’s definitely been an upgrade, I think we can all agree on that… but is it what Kidd was brought here for/what we were lead to believe was going to be the offensive game plan heading into this season?

Yeah the pick and roll is good, the ISO can be good a few times at the end of close games, and the motion stuff seems to works well when defenses fall asleep… but would someone outside of our Maverick circle here really call us a run and gun offensive powerhouse? We don’t even rank in the top 10 in points in the league.

I know defense wins championships, but offensively, I still feel Rick is holding us back like Avery did… same way in dictating the offense, though not as severely.

So, Rick, your new year's resolution: loosen the reigns on Kidd. Stop trying to run the Rick show, like Avery ran his, and just let that 20 million dollar floor leader do what he was brought here to do.

Do that, then we’ll talk about consistent rotations…

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rick is searching, not running his show. searching for working things...

-it didn’t work (good enough) early in the season.
-it worked against the timberwolves
-it works whenever the mavs get stops, rebounds and running players to recieve kidds passes – when they have to take the ball out of the basket, their half-court stuff is subpar, yet still effective

Suggestion: run whenever you can.
Problem: they can only run when they stop people.
Solution: stop, then run. Getting hit in the face first helps, too.

Seriously, Kidd is perfect for opencourt, transition, brokenplay situations. halfcourt not so perfect ( !=parker)

by DOH on Jan 1, 2009 7:35 AM CST reply actions

The motion offense just didn't work.

And to Rick’s credit, he adjusted. That alone puts him above Avery. There’s more to coaching than deciding on a particular offensive system. Rick is making in game adjustments that Avery could only dream of.

by jthig32 on Jan 1, 2009 9:10 AM CST reply actions

Honestly

This entire post just doesn’t make much sense to me. Carlisle is never, ever demanding a play be called when a fast break is available. The Mavs are still running whenever possible. The Minnesota game is a perfect example, they started getting stops in the second half and it fueled their break and thus their offense.

There’s no way Avery gives Barea the chance he’s had to contribute or the chance Singleton has had to contribute. There’s no way Avery has the balls to tell Stack he’s going to be inactive some nights.

I think it’s awfully simplistic to claim that Rick is holding this offense back somehow.

by jthig32 on Jan 1, 2009 11:13 AM CST reply actions

I will be the first to admit

this was not the finest post I have written in terms of making sense… but I stand by my point. I surely dont think Rick is as controlling as Avery, perhaps the avery comparison was a bit harsh.

I was under the impression though that who ever would be brought in this year as head coach, would come on with the understanding to let kidd lose offensively, by letting him run the show, but that the coach who was to brought in could not throw defense out the window like Nelllie and Mr. Pringles had in high octane offensive systems. While Rick has implemented some good things into the offense, I still dont think he has done what we (well, I at least) all thought he would in opening it up for Kidd.

Defensively, I think we have been OK. Not great, but better than average. It will always be something that this group of guys will need to work on, and is pretty much a given weakness of this team. Offensively I think, running and gunning on the fast break is something that this team seems to be built for. How many people would say Damp is someone who is built for a fast break team? Yet the other night we saw him running the floor catching passes and dunking on the break… something straight off the page of Amare Stoudamire or something. Even the 2nd unit of JJ, Bass, JET, Green and wright are all capable of coming in and continuing this play.

Just saying that offensively, I think we have a lot of potential that Rick could be holding the team back on with his play calling… Much like Avery did. Having brought it up now, I will surely be paying close attention to see how much Kidd is looking over to the bench for a play from Rick vs how much Kidd just picks apart the defense like he did the other night.

by Toddy on Jan 1, 2009 2:14 PM CST up reply actions

But...

…Kidd does not “pick apart defenses” except on the break. Kidd can’t beat his man off the dribble anymore, so fast breaks appear to be what you’re asking for.

And if that’s the case, the reality is you can not fast break nearly as well when you’re taking the ball out of the basket.

The first attempt to let Kidd flow in the offense was the motion offense, and it flat out didn’t work. It just didn’t.

I will admit it’s surprising to me that the Mavs are not generating many more offensive possessions than last season, but I stand by the point that Carlisle is simply not stopping fast breaks from happening. He’s not calling out plays and stopping quick scoring opportunities.

He DOES call out plenty of plays and sets during a half court offense, but all coaches do that. That was one area where Avery really got too much blame. He was TOO controlling, but people got to the point that they got upset anytime they heard Avery calling a play, and that just doesn’t make sense.

Again, Carlisle has show to be head and shoulders above Avery in several areas, imo. His adjustments come quicker, in bounds plays are more successful, and most importantly, the players don’t hate him.

by jthig32 on Jan 1, 2009 4:26 PM CST up reply actions

Totally agree with Jthig here

Avery’s playcalling was quite strong. There was a reason the Mavs were always in the top three on offense under Avery’s watch. But I also think that he WAS too controlling and that hurt in playoff series and eventually meant he lost the team. Carlisle is very different than Avery in that he calls plays be he is very adaptable to situations. He also clearly allows Kidd to run whenever he can.

Also, the motion offense didn’t work. You can’t blame Carlisle (or even Kidd) for that. That meant a move to pick and roll and set isolation plays. Carlisle is at least showing more flexibility in his play calling and a reliance on a wider variety of pick and rolls than Avery ever did.

Heck, I have no issue with Carlisle on offense at all. My issue with Carlisle is that he looks to be a much worse defensive coach than Avery was. Either that or the team isn’t responding to his call for tighter defense. Either way it’s a problem.

by Jakedfw on Jan 2, 2009 1:56 PM CST up reply actions