Mavs Moneyball - Gameday: Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio SpursRick Carlisle approved.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50869/mmb-fav.png2016-11-22T10:10:10-06:00http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/rss/stream/134600452016-11-22T10:10:10-06:002016-11-22T10:10:10-06:003 things from the Mavericks’ narrow 96-91 loss to the Spurs
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<figcaption>Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Dallas played San Antonio until the final possession, but it still wasn’t enough for a win.</p> <p id="aepAhv">You can’t complain about Seth Curry’s shot — a three-pointer from the left wing as he curled around a screen. The shot would have tied the game at 94, giving the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> a chance to send it to overtime (where the team is 1-1 this season! .500!). But the shot clanked off the back iron despite Curry’s hot shooting all night, and the Mavericks fell to 2-11 on the year.</p>
<p id="SQCxNL">The Mavericks were without — hang on, lemme take a breath here — <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>, <span>Deron Williams</span>, <span>J.J. Barea</span>, <span>Devin Harris</span> and <span>Andrew Bogut</span> for Monday’s game, while the <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> sat <span>LaMarcus Aldridge</span> and Tony Parker. Jeez. It did feel a little like a scrimmage, or maybe a preseason matchup. But these Mavericks fought hard, pushed the Spurs until the end, and fell on a last-second shot.</p>
<p id="qjVJa8"><span>Gregg Popovich</span> was <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2016/11/22/13712152/gregg-popovich-spurs-angry-pathetic-mavs-video">pissed with his team’s effort.</a></p>
<blockquote><p id="bmxvJl">"That was a pathetic performance on the part of the Spurs. You know, they had some guys out, we had some guys out, but they had a lot more out than we did. I thought we showed a lack of humility, a lack of respect for the opponent, a very pathetic performance at both ends of the court, both in execution and in grunt, in fiber, in desire. It was an awful performance. Oh, and they deserved to win the basketball game. I forgot to say that."</p></blockquote>
<p id="hoTP0N">Sadly, there’s some truth there. Even resting a couple players, the Spurs didn’t play their best basketball, and that’s probably why the Mavericks even had a chance. Ultimately, <span>Kawhi Leonard</span> was just so damn good.</p>
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<p id="noCpsf">Here’s some things we learned.</p>
<h4 id="T3NfHD">The patchwork starting five acquitted themselves well</h4>
<p id="xWR13U">Four of the starting five had a positive plus-minus, and they all played well. <span>Harrison Barnes</span> put together a 20-point night despite the Spurs keying in him defensively. <span>Salah Mejri</span> picked up too many fouls, but was the best center on the court for either side. <span>Wesley Matthews</span> is slowly but surely hitting down a few more shots, ending up with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting and three triples. And Seth Curry led the team in scoring with 23 on 9-of-16 shooting and five longballs, tying the career high he set against the <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a> two weeks ago.</p>
<h4 id="vFfGpl">
<span>Justin Anderson</span> is a mess right now</h4>
<p id="GG49y4">The start of the season has been miserable for Anderson, and things didn’t get much better on Monday. The quick decision making is completely gone from his game — it feels like every time he touches it, he’s hanging onto it for at least three or four seconds. The one that stands out to me most is a possession in the second half where he caught it inside the three-point line, backed up outside of it, tried to pump fake <span>David Lee</span> off the ground and ended up committing a turnover with the shot clock running down.</p>
<p id="F5pxcg">Anderson is still making a play or two per game that makes your head spin. There was one pass into the post from San Antonio that Anderson just straight up snatched out of the air like it was nothing, which is the type of plays his athleticism allows him to make. But he has to get the fundamentals down or it’s not going to happen for him.</p>
<h4 id="8mLJIU">The Mavericks may not win another game this month</h4>
<p id="jd3H4D">There’s four left — the <a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a>, the <a href="https://www.fearthesword.com/">Cavaliers</a>, the <a href="https://www.thebirdwrites.com/">Pelicans</a> and the Spurs again.</p>
<p id="Hg2f7t">They’ll lose the first two. New Orleans has <span>Jrue Holiday</span> back and is playing much better with him in the roster — his drive-and-kick game was crucial for the team, and they’re shooting threes much better since he’s been back. And then there’s the Spurs again, who Popovich tore up for only winning by five and probably won’t rest Aldridge and Parker this time around.</p>
<p id="UPZK9w">2-15? 3-14? At some point, the actual record stops mattering.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/11/22/13714544/mavericks-final-score-spurs-loss-popovich-rantTim Cato2016-11-21T18:30:02-06:002016-11-21T18:30:02-06:00GAME THREAD: Mavericks at Spurs
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<figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Mavericks take on the Spurs tonight in San Antonio.</p> <p><strong>WHO:</strong> <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dallas Mavericks</a> at <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">San Antonio Spurs</a></p>
<p><strong>WHAT:</strong> Doom, probably.</p>
<p><strong>WHERE:</strong> AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX</p>
<p><strong>WHEN:</strong> 7:30pm CT</p>
<p><strong>HOW:</strong> NBA TV or FSSW</p>
<p><strong>THE STORY:</strong> Tonight the Mavericks (on a five-game losing streak) will play the Spurs (on a five-game winning streak) in San Antonio. The Spurs will have essentially their entire roster available and relatively healthy. The Mavericks are relying heavily on a player who wasn't in the NBA last week. This is probably going to be a rough one for the Mavs, but the upside is that if the team does pull off a win (Michael Chang lays out how that could maybe actually happen in <a href="http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/11/21/13685450/dallas-mavericks-san-antonio-spurs-preview-game-time-channel">his amazing full preview</a>), it would be a really big one at a time when this team could really use it.</p>
<p>Let's go Mavs!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aopES6KCBQs" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/11/21/13708886/game-thread-dallas-mavericks-at-san-antonio-spursKate Crawford2016-11-21T00:00:01-06:002016-11-21T00:00:01-06:003 steps to beating the San Antonio Spurs
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<figcaption>“Tell me more about this bridge you’re selling, Mavericks blogger.” | Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Seriously, it can happen.</p> <p id="ZOwKMy">David vs Goliath. Bambi vs Godzilla. 2016 Mavericks vs 2016 Spurs. Which one of these are not like the other?</p>
<p id="prwR7A">None, suckers. They’re all the same thing.</p>
<p id="D3KmU8">In an infinite list of parallel universes, there are probably twelve where the Mavs win tomorrow. The Spurs are rolling in on a five-game winning streak featuring a potential MVP contender in Kawhi Leonard. The Mavericks are coming off a five-game losing streak where their best player is probably Harrison Barnes, but their best player at the moment is a guy who played his second game ever at the age of 29 (<em>anything is possible!</em>).</p>
<p id="6hWIeh">Here are the keys for the Mavericks as they seek get their third win of the year:</p>
<h4 id="eGFQ5q">
<s>Play with 6 players on the court</s> Someone puts in a cheat code</h4>
<p id="WgsG0W">If the Mavericks show up and play poorly, the good guys will get embarrassed.</p>
<p id="2sI05r">If the Mavericks show up and play to their averages, the good guys will lose.</p>
<p id="paVuC9">If a Maverick exceeds his average play by two standard deviations-plus, the bizarro universe is in play. We’re talking about 45 on 30 shots from Harrison Barnes. A double-digit threes made game from Matthews might qualify.</p>
<p id="XuqSLM">One fun unlikely source would be the Jonathan Gibson Experience. The JGE is off to a fantastic start. From 11 points in a twenty minute intro to 26 points in a starring role in game two, maintaining his current pace would fit the profile of "something incredible."</p>
<h4 id="Dgph8A">
<s>Sacrifice a goat to the </s><s>basketball gods</s> Do the one thing they do a lot well</h4>
<p id="saNUVH">The Mavericks are dead last in the NBA in rebounding. This isn’t getting better while Dirk is out and the Mavericks essentially play a three guard lineup for half the game.</p>
<p id="NyHE0z">The Mavericks are dead last in the NBA in free throw attempts. This isn’t getting better while Dirk is out and this cast of jump shooters.</p>
<p id="B78SPj">The Mavericks are dead last in the NBA in field goal percentage. This isn’t getting better with Dirk... yeah, just read the last paragraph again.</p>
<p id="Wg5xT7">What are two non-defensive categories where they are not dead-last?</p>
<p id="cn9JXY">Three-point attempts (top 10) and three-point percentage (not last!). So, we know they’re going to fire it up. If one of those random "bad volume-shooting teams gets hot" nights falls upon the Mavericks, it can happen.</p>
<h4 id="loaamT">
<s>Cuban unleashes secret cyro-freezed 2011 Dirk</s> Make it to overtime</h4>
<p id="7Wq7nB">Their overtime record is .500, which is a hell of a lot better than .167. Excuse my step-inside-a-step logical fallacy but I’m just sayin’.</p>
<p id="v24N5m">Really, at this point, the Mavericks are hoping to see growth and consistency from their young guys and avoid injuries to their point guards. A genuine fighting spirit will come back to the team eventually but for now, if they can stay within punching distance for the length of the game and not get destroyed in any one quarter, it will be a good showing against a contender quality opponent.</p>
<h4 id="IAeF7X">How to watch</h4>
<p id="iud4Mb">Fox Sports Southwest or NBA League Pass. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. CST.</p>
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https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2016/11/21/13685450/dallas-mavericks-san-antonio-spurs-preview-game-time-channelMichael Chang