Mavs Moneyball - Gameday: Dallas Mavericks vs. Utah JazzRick Carlisle approved.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50869/mmb-fav.png2017-02-10T08:00:05-06:00http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/rss/stream/143240072017-02-10T08:00:05-06:002017-02-10T08:00:05-06:00Dirk Nowitzki still creating new memories
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<img alt="NBA: Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RudWz3MD3S01IikoEVrEhbCw4yM=/0x0:5184x3456/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53182701/usa_today_9868870.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Mavericks’ franchise cornerstone isn’t done being a stone-cold killer, and more notes.</p> <p id="ChwLGt">I close my eyes and listen.</p>
<p id="xis4ua"><em>“It’s short! But it falls to Dirk and he can...,” Mark Followill bellows from my TV, getting interrupted by greatness.</em></p>
<p id="TiUl8n"><em>The crowd erupts so violently, so loudly, you can’t make out the rest of Followill’s call. Dirk splashes in another clutch basket to send the game to overtime.</em></p>
<p id="Y5qu1H"><em>“DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRK,” the Mavs PA announcer screams.</em></p>
<p id="7HRw1Q">As I sit at my desk, pounding out this article, I’ve closed my eyes and listened to these words and sounds a hundred times on a loop. My heart beats a little bit faster each time I hear the snapping of the net.</p>
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<p id="xyE9qV">These are sounds I’ve heard in general for almost 20 years. I never get tired of it. I have a slice of my brain that’s just a memory bank of Dirk greatness stored for whenever I want — bad days at school, girl trouble, trying to find a job, learning how to adult. Eventually, I won’t be <em>adding</em> to that part of my brain. Eventually, the new sounds will stop.</p>
<p id="jKUuEI">I’m not sure what I’m going to do exactly when that happens. <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span> is a god damn treasure and his greatness has touched my life in ways that sound really stupid in the grand scheme of things but it matters. It helps.</p>
<p id="ulQC0L">Tomorrow I’ll wake up and it’ll be another day. It’ll be another day closer to when I stop collecting the new sounds for my memory bank. I’m sure in the next few days, weeks or months, I’ll feel like crap. When that happens, I’ll close my eyes and listen.</p>
<p id="qa6Yep"><em>“It’s short! But it falls to Dirk and he can...,”</em></p>
<p id="b5sroC">I’ll hear the crowd. My heart will start beating a little faster. And everything will be OK.</p>
<p id="KqvwRD">Onto the notes:</p>
<ul>
<li id="yoRASO">This ain’t <span>Harrison Barnes</span>’ team yet.</li>
<li id="RgJ42I">But it almost is. Barnes was incredible tonight with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He routinely attacked the rim in the fourth quarter and overtime, no matter who was guarding him. He took the NBA’s best rim protector, <span>Rudy Gobert</span>, to the rack and scored over him. He took <span>Derrick Favors</span> to the cup and scored over him, plus the foul. Barnes got calls tonight he hasn’t gotten all year and I can’t help but wonder if referees are finally used to him being a guy that doesn’t just stand in the corner and launch threes. Barnes had his moments of predictable mid-range stall outs, but he was miraculous in getting more than what the defense was giving him. It was a constant stream of drives against one of the better defensive teams in the league. Oh, and only one turnover too.</li>
<li id="dNNJkI">
<span>Dwight Powell</span> played seven minutes, scored zero points and was a minus-1 on the night. Statistically, he did almost nothing. Yet, I’m compelled to gush about him because finally, after weeks of me suggesting (complaining) about how the Mavs used Powell to guard the pick and roll, the Mavs have finally changed. The Mavs overall scheme to defend the pick and roll is conservative, with the big dropping back into the paint and letting the guard take an open jumper in hopes of walling off the rim. That never worked for Powell, because that let guards get a head start to the rim, where Powell is terrible at guarding. Powell’s greatest asset on defense is his speed and finally, the Mavs are trapping the pick and roll with Powell. Rick Carlisle has busted it out late in games, throwing teams off and causing turnovers and discombobulation. KEEP DOING THIS. Powell’s rim protection is equal to a broomstick with a bucket on the end of it. Using his speed has been a nice weapon to unleash on teams in these last couple games and I hope the coaching staff keeps employing it whenever Powell is on the floor.</li>
<li id="nAbJ0C">
<span>Devin Harris</span> looked like 2006 Devin Harris and it was weird and awesome as hell. He was a defensive pest and a blur to the rim in transition and off screen and rolls. Harris’ size allowed the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> to defend better during their comeback. I love <span>Yogi Ferrell</span>, but he was just too short against a team as huge as Utah. Harris gave the Mavs backcourt the balance it desperately needed on defense while giving it the scoring punch it also needs (13 points) with no <span>J.J. Barea</span>.</li>
<li id="6XJeVo">The Mavs are still a well-under .500 team but their ability to cause turnovers (12 steals and 21 <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/">Jazz</a> turnovers) and protect the ball on their end (11 total turnovers) is a great equalizer. Dallas just doesn’t beat themselves on offense and almost always gets a shot up. It isn’t always a great shot, but it’s a shot nonetheless and for a team that’s starting Dirk at center, the fewer live-ball turnovers the better. Dallas is out-matched talent-wise in a lot of matchups but their ability to take care of the ball can level them with almost anyone in the league. It almost feels like they’re cheating the system, like counting cards at a blackjack table.</li>
<li id="9M5Pu4">Carlisle said after the game that it was <span>Justin Anderson</span> that swung it. The Mavs were down 21 when Carlisle dusted off the youngest player on his roster and rolled him out there to see what would stick. Anderson had one huge play, the putback slam on the missed free throw and energized the Mavs back into the game. He was a plus-16 in his 10 minutes and seemingly got the Mavs back on track. I don’t doubt Carlisle at all about Anderson’s impact, but damn if he doesn’t still do stuff that makes you want to rip your hair out.</li>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Watch Anderson. He owes Salah dinner after this. Amazing how aloof on defense he is right now. <a href="https://t.co/AgSOwRIYi6">pic.twitter.com/AgSOwRIYi6</a></p>— Josh Bowe (@Boweman55) <a href="https://twitter.com/Boweman55/status/829891790656385025">February 10, 2017</a>
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<p id="QTjwHv">Anderson has his back to the ball and he’s not even paying attention to his man! For every putback slam from Anderson, there’s one of these brain-farts. If he can ever cut out the mental boofs, he’s going to be special. Still, good on him for getting thrown into a game after inconsistent playing time and contributing in some way.</p>
<ul>
<li id="aaYL7q">
<span>Seth Curry</span> is so good now, he made Rudy Gobert look like Dwight Powell. Curry doesn’t have the handles like his brother, but he has the sweet hesitation game that lets him change gears on a dime and herky-jerky his way to the bucket. Curry had 16 points with just one made three and he continues to get better inside the arc.</li>
<li id="0qn8fe">The way the Mavs grind out possessions to get good shots is a thing of beauty. Neither of Dallas’ guards are great creators so the Mavs just keep passing, screening and rolling their way to get good looks. The amount of movement on select Mavs possessions is dizzying — Dirk is relentless with his screening, constantly setting picks till he gets the desired mismatch in the post, a clean look at a jumper or his guard gets a clear path to the bucket. It’s wonderful watching Dirk ply his craft in this area, as he refuses to let a defense snuff out the initial pick and roll and go to something else. If you’re gonna beat the Mavs pick and roll/pop game with Dirk, you’re going to have to stop it three to four times a possession. Dallas never lets you rest on that end and they wore down a tired Jazz team.</li>
<li id="hBxKCo">Gobert fouling out before overtime was huge and swung the game — Barnes showed no fear going against Favors and Dirk was a bit more comfortable on defense. Favors is a really nice player, but Gobert has turned into like a go-go-gadget version of Tyson Chandler. He’s such a great two-way guy now.</li>
<li id="54dr3j">Not much from Yogi Ferrell tonight (nine points, five assists on 3-of-8 shooting in 26 minutes) but that’s OK — Utah is a bastard of a matchup for him, with the Jazz’s big backcourt and wing players. He’s still not embarrassing himself though or looking like he’s a flash in the pan. Even in those 26 minutes, Yogi had four steals. He’s an absolute pest when you can’t get a body on him when he’s guarding.</li>
<li id="AfYxYV">Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.</li>
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<img alt="NBA: Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/46SDfHjZgc0EObxAaspOOZIOxL8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7963111/usa_today_9868863.jpg">
<cite>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2017/2/10/14572930/dirk-nowitzki-still-creating-new-memories-dallas-mavericks-the-morning-afterJosh Bowe2017-02-09T22:21:42-06:002017-02-09T22:21:42-06:00Mavs complete huge comeback over Jazz in overtime, win 112-105
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<img alt="NBA: Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VfkaZLSWnAmcmrd_T1r0GXawQRU=/15x0:4442x2951/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53181807/usa_today_9868387.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>THAT. JUST. HAPPENED.</p> <p id="5VWaXQ">Wow. Where do I start? I was writing the post mortem, as Dallas was down 4 with 21 seconds left. I was frustratedly typing out how f**king close the Mavs got to pulling this off. </p>
<p id="36j1hJ">THEN THEY WENT AND DID THE DAMN THING.</p>
<p id="f8fHI3">That fourth quarter was pure insanity all the way through. Then the final 20 seconds was even more absurd. Then Dirk did the Dirk thing to force overtime and handed it off to Barnes to take the victory. I am so happy right now. Okay more celebratory thoughts in a minute, but first let’s walk through the events leading up to the fun.</p>
<p id="HUd5vz">You could tell right from the get go that Rudy Gobert was going to be a problem (as expected), but the Mavs held it together okay in the first quarter. The Mavs offense stalled a bit while Utah had some success running out of the Hayward-Gobert pick and roll, building a small lead on a steady diet of Hayward jumpers and Gobert screens. Early on, Barnes was the only Mav being aggressive on offense, but as the quarter progressed, the Mavs offense picked up. Devin Harris and Salah Mejri in particular were huge off the bench. Mejri’s first act off the bench was to promptly block Gordon Hayward, firing up the crowd. Once Gobert was off the floor, the Mavs seemed to click on both sides of the ball, and took a 19-18 lead on a Salah Mejri put-back dunk with a little over a minute left.</p>
<p id="onUAa1">The Mavs looked kinda great until Hayward and Gobert came back in. The Dallas defense looked really good, moving well, doubling at the right times, forcing a couple of steals, etc. I was really impressed with the ability of Dwight Powell and Harrison Barnes to cover constant screens by Rudy Gobert and Boris Diaw, even if Gordon Hayward being awesome sort of negated it. Speaking of Hayward, he came back in about halfway through the second quarter and ledUtah on a 10-0 run, flipping a Mavs 5-point lead to a 5-point deficit. The Mavs absolutely fell off a cliff in the back half of the quarter, and the Utah run expanded to 21-2. Our guys couldn’t hit a shot to hit their lives, while the Jazz just kept moving and passing until someone inevitably got open for a corner 3. Over and over. Dallas answered with a 7-0 run, but then Utah hit a couple of wide open 3s, and a fastbreak 2 for their own 8-0 run, until Yogi ended the half with a nifty long 3 to beat the buzzer. </p>
<p id="KpJagt">If you’re hoping things got better in the second half, I’ve got bad news. It got worse. Gobert started driving and dishing assists and making Dirk look ancient. On top of that, the Mavs’ brains seemed to have fallen out of their heads, because everyone was suddenly sloppy as hell. Turnover after turnover after miscue led to another huge run by Utah. The lead ballooned to 21. And Utah kept hitting threes. So of course right when you’re ready to throw your hands up and watch cooking videos instead, the Mavs start chipping away. They got feisty, and whittled the lead away slowly, but never managing to get it to single digits.</p>
<p id="FvN7Z4">THEN THE FOURTH QUARTER HAPPENED. </p>
<p id="Jkkc4E">Side note - these kids were alright. Dorian Finney-Smith and Justin Anderson had a hell of a couple minutes there at the start of the fourth. DFS had a great drive into the paint on the first possession, and drew the foul. He hit the first, but missed the second BUT THEN HOLY CRAP THERE IS JUSTIN ANDERSON OUT OF NOWHERE TO FLY UP AND THROW DOWN THE PUT-BACK DUNK. Not to be shown up, Yogi Farrell stole the ball on a lazy dribble under basket after the inbounds, and drew a foul on an attempted layup. That could’ve been the highlight of the game, win or lose, but oh no, the Mavs weren’t nearly done with us yet.</p>
<p id="HjuhV0">The defense was suddenly feisty as hell. The offense was suddenly gutsy as hell. The Mavs got it into single digits, then narrowed it and narrowed it and narrowed it. </p>
<p id="4ZBdOj">None of this would’ve happened if the defense had amped up to eleven. Our guys just put it together, and forced Utah down into the mud. Then Dirk and Seth started lighting up the scoreboard. One of the most fun things was Seth Curry repeatedly driving on Gobert and making him look silly. The last of these tied the game at 96 with under two minutes left. Then a couple of silly, frustrating, inexcusably bad possessions led to two Rudy Gobert slams. </p>
<p id="nz8MX9">There was an inbounds pass with 21 seconds left. Gobert, the beautiful glorious helpful French man that he is, fouled Dirk before the inbounds pass from Seth. This was Gobert’s sixth foul, disqualifying him from further play. And because it happened before the inbounds pass, Dirk got a free throw plus possession. In violation of every known natural law, Dirk missed the free throw. All seemed lost.</p>
<p id="QcWF8M">But Harrison Barnes scored a quick dunk. Then Devin Harris got all over ... someone on Utah, not important, oh yeah it was Burks! Harris forced the ball out of Burks’s hand, out of bounds, and on review it was Dallas ball. </p>
<p id="46l8UN">The symbolism of what happened next blows my mind. Rick called up a play for the new star, Harrison Barnes. Barnes got the ball, and everyone cleared out. Barnes dribbled around, and then got some separation for a Dirk-esque mid-range jumper. My breath was held. The kid missed. Then Dirk, the great god of Dallas basketball, calmly grabbed the rebound, looked over to Barnes as if to say “it’s okay son, I’ve got this” and drilled the jumper to tie the game at 100 with 3 seconds left. And. We. All. Flipped. Shit.</p>
<p id="e9IOro">The game went to overtime, and Barnes (one would assume inspired as hell at seeing Dirk calmly do the damn thing) took over from there. The game was never in doubt from that point, and Barnes just scored effortlessly. It was beautiful.</p>
<p id="sPxTEO">Mavs win. 112-105. After having been down by 21 midway through the third quarter. That happened. You saw it. I saw it. <strong>WE</strong> saw it.</p>
<p id="5MXJ57">I’m not going to get into a bunch of specific thoughts at this point, as I’ve rambled on enough by now. Not the normal recap format, I know, but this wasn’t a normal game. I just want to take a minute and talk about my love for Dirk. This was some vintage Dirk awesomeness. Dirk had 20 points on 47% shooting, and his jumper looked as good as I’ve seen it this season. The thing that really made my heart soar was the left layup though. The one-legged fadeaway is the iconic shot, but Dirk’s little back them down, fiddle around in the paint, then spin into the lefty layup maneuver has always been my personal favorite. He used it three times in the fourth quarter, and scored or drew the foul each time. It was classic. It felt like Dirk of old. I’m tearing up a little just writing this. We probably don’t have very much Dirk left, but on this night, Dirk was as Dirk as he’s ever been. I hope everyone loved it, appreciated it, and enjoyed it. I know I did.</p>
<p id="kaBgJh">And finally, screw tanking—games like this are why we are fans. This is sports. This is fun. This is everything. Let’s do the we believe thing and make the damn playoffs. </p>
<p id="DOUNzO">For Dirk.</p>
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https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2017/2/9/14571830/mavs-complete-huge-comeback-over-jazz-in-overtime-win-112-105Bailey Grey2017-02-09T07:58:32-06:002017-02-09T07:58:32-06:003 things to watch as Dallas hosts Jazz
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<img alt="NBA: Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GyxBwgKy6cACYagntyHIGU4DDQU=/0x670:1644x1766/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53163045/usa_today_9826737.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Can the Mavs stop red hot Utah?</p> <p id="o052z3">The <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> playoffs-or-bust bandwagon took a couple of bumps earlier this week, as back-to-back losses to the <a href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/">Nuggets</a> and Blazers widened the gap between the Mavs and the eighth seed.</p>
<p id="nyRd9O">With the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/">Utah Jazz</a> coming to town, it won’t get easier.</p>
<h4 id="TjaSNi"><strong>Jazz clicking and looking for sweep </strong></h4>
<p id="9y2Nhe">The Utah Jazz have won five straight, including blowout wins against Atlanta on Monday and the <a href="https://www.thebirdwrites.com/">Pelicans</a> Wednesday. They’ve already dispatched Dallas three times this season, the last pair of meetings being closer than the early November thumping. Even with <span>Rodney Hood</span> still out with a knee injury, the Jazz have been dominant of late, with <span>Joe Johnson</span> assuming a lot of the ball-handling/spot-up duties in Hood’s absence. <span>Gordon Hayward</span> continues a career year as well, having increased his scoring average in each of his seven seasons(!).</p>
<h4 id="UKxoIT"><strong>D-Will done til after the All-Star break? </strong></h4>
<p id="jTHis3">While Deron Williams hasn’t yet been officially ruled out of tonight’s matchup, there has been chatter that the injury-plagued point guard might not return until after the All-Star break later this month, meaning the <span>Yogi Ferrell</span> show might continue for some time.</p>
<p id="Xyfml3">Williams has unfortunately seen this plot before: small nagging injuries tend to linger for extended periods of time. Ferrell has had thrilling moments in D-Will’s absence, but you do see the undrafted rookie occasionally get into bad spots on the floor, either when he leaves his feet on a drive or gets stuck behind a defender he can’t effectively see over. A veteran presence may be needed after all if Dallas is going to pull off the improbable run to the postseason.</p>
<h4 id="4OfYsU"><strong>Will Dirk have an encore? </strong></h4>
<p id="hpQojo">Perhaps the biggest story from Tuesday’s heartbreaking loss to the Blazers was that it spoiled a clutch performance from <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>, who hadn’t reached double digits in points in several games. Was this a one-game aberration or a sign of the 38-year-old finally getting into the kind of groove we’re used to seeing? He has had some spectacular games against Utah in the past, so count me as hopeful it’s the latter. Nowitzki may get a serious test against <span>Rudy Gobert</span>, if <span>Rick Carlisle</span> decides to stick with his small-ball, five-out lineup.</p>
<h4 id="iLt7l0">How to watch</h4>
<p id="0PJPE4">Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm Central on Fox Sports Southwest or via your League Pass account. Enjoy!</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2017/2/9/14558828/dallas-mavericks-utah-jazz-keys-to-the-game-how-to-watchIan_Miller