Mavs Moneyball - Final: Dallas Mavericks 97, Denver Nuggets 89Rick Carlisle approved.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50869/mmb-fav.png2015-01-16T23:47:41-06:00http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/rss/stream/73200742015-01-16T23:47:41-06:002015-01-16T23:47:41-06:00"This is what I've come to expect from Dirk"
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<p>Dallas grabbed a win on the tail end of their home-and-home with Denver.</p> <h4>Dirk's shot rounds into form</h4>
<p><span>Tyson Chandler</span>: "This is what I've come to expect from Dirk. You know, he's always coasts along, for him coasting is always heads and shoulders above an average player. Later on in the season, he really gets his roll, especially when Holger's back in town."</p>
<p><span>Rick Carlisle</span>: "I don't notice when he's not in normal form. I don't necessarily look at whether every shot is going in. I'm looking at the bounce in his step, the quality of the looks and stuff like that. If you're looking for a slump story, I'm not going to feed it tonight."</p>
<p><span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>: "I dunno, I've missed a bunch of shots from 16-17 feet. Just easy turnarounds I got to make. I guess if I try to see the positive I made a couple of 3s, didn't miss a free throw. The in between game was garbage."</p>
<p><span>Chandler Parsons</span>: "Yeah, he looked good. He still was a little gassed out there but he can still score the ball, he's still shooting the ball well. You know, obviously not playing and resting [on Wednesday] and just getting some cardio was beneficial for him."</p>
<h4><a href="http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/articles/2015/1/16/7571911/watch-chandler-parsons-destroy-j-j-hickson-with-a-poster-dunk">Parsons posterizes Hickson</a></h4>
<p>Parsons: "No, not at all. They were switching a lot of pick and rolls so I had Lawson on me, so I was just going to post up and go off the block. I was able to get by him and I haven't been finishing great lately, so I wanted to make sure I finished that one, I wanted to score the basket hard and not leave it up to chance."</p>
<p>Parsons on the last time he threw one down like that: "My rookie year. I don't know. A long time ago. Glad I can still do it."</p>
<p>Parsons: "During a timeout coach saw <span>J.J. Hickson</span> in front of me, and was like, 'you gonna let him do that to you?' And I got him on the poster and tapped him on the butt. Wilson got Tyson bad, too, so I guess we're even."</p>
<h4>Everything else</h4>
<p>Dirk on the strategic off days: "I don't think we're going to do it as much as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> do, to be honest. Denver was a tough one, we got to the city around 3:30 [a.m.] or 4. I think Tyson and Rondo were a little banged up, so we gave them the night off. I was already a step slow with Sac so I think it was just a decision that made sense. I thought the boys did well, we competed all the way to the end."</p>
<p>Tyson Chandler on his rest: "It definitely helps. Legs felt lively. It gave my ankle a chance to feel better. I felt springy out there."</p>
<p>Rick Carlisle on the halfway point: "I don't count the games. I knew there was going to be a lot of, 'Hey, halfway point,' story questions. Whatever. It's just day to day in this league. We've got to build on the positive things we did toinght. The things we struggled with; we were hitting the 'No Smoking' signs with the ball and giving it to the other team -- we can't do that. That's where we've got to be a little more solid.</p>
<p>"Defensively, we're making some gradual gains. It's work, it's work. Tonight on the boards, we were even with them. Having Tyson [Chandler] back out there certainly is a huge factor -- him getting 16 boards. We had other guys who stepped up. Again, I thought Aminu was really a key guy in this game. Even though he didn't shoot the ball great, he got eight points nad five rebounds in limited minutes, and he defended well and he ran well. We're a collection of parts that has got to function well together. Everybody on the roster can bring something of value to the team. Everybody has got to stay ready."</p>
<p>Carlisle: "The important thing was that we got the win. We had a great start. In the first half, I thought we had some uncharacteristically bad turnovers that hurt us. We had a chance to really build a good lead, but they hung around and they made it difficult. It wasn't an easy game. We had a lot of guys who contributed. I thought Aminu tonight was a difference maker on the boards, activity, running, made big free throws during stretches where they were starting to make runs and stuff like that. We did have guys play well. There were some frustrating stretches but everybody played through it. The important thing was that we won a game, which we really needed coming off losing three of four. Happy to win."</p>
<p>Carlisle: "I thought Rondo scampered around there pretty good on Lawson. I thought everybody was. He's such a dangerous guy; he's lethal getting to the rim, he's shooting 3s great in recent games, he gets other guys involved and he hits guys on rolls to the basket. Your pick-and-roll coverage has got to have really tight gaps, otherwise he splits. If you're not close to him, he'll make shots. If you get too close, he'll blow by you. He's really a problem. Rondo, Barea, Harris all did a solid job on Lawson."</p>
<p>Dirk on the team's play (his decision to focus on the defense): "I thought our defense got us going early, jumping on a 10-point lead was good and set a tone for us the whole night. I thought our defense was solid. I think if we keep the ball out of the paint some like we tried with Lawson then we stay even on the rebounds, we hold a team under 90 points, that's a recipe for us to win at home or on the road. I thought we did a good job. I thought we tried to rotate for each other."</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/1/16/7577505/mavericks-nuggets-interview-locker-room-quotesTim Cato2015-01-16T22:28:14-06:002015-01-16T22:28:14-06:00Dirk knocks microphone away in a Parsons interview<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/Oje6AT0be9P/embed/simple" width="600" height="600"></iframe>
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>Oh, Dirk. Never ever ever change.</p></p></div>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/1/16/7575419/dirk-nowitzki-interrupts-chandler-parsons-postgame-interviewDrew Garrison2015-01-16T21:55:48-06:002015-01-16T21:55:48-06:00Mavs coast over Nuggets 97-89
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<p>In a home-and-home matchup with the Nuggets, Dallas beat Denver handily with the full starting lineup back active.</p> <p>In the second game of the home and home matchup with Denver, in which Dallas' 3 starters who sat out Wednesday returned, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> won handily, 97-89. Dirk finished the game looking awesome, with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 4-5 from three in 30 minutes of play. <span>Chandler Parsons</span> was Dallas' second highest leading scorer with 18 points and 6 rebounds and shooting 6-10 from the floor. Aaron Afflalo led the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/">Nuggets</a> with 16 points.</p>
<p>This game opened auspiciously. After struggling pretty seriously for well over a month now, Dirk opened the game by hitting a wide open three, a pair of free throws, and a jumper from the left elbow, and the Mavs went up 13-2 on the Nuggets in the first 3 minutes of the game. As of the first 3 minutes, Dirk was on pace for 160 points, and the Mavs were on pace for over 200.</p>
<p>The Mavericks didn't play poorly from there by any means, but the game did go downhill somewhat: after firebombing the Nuggets with three point shooting and transition dunks, the Mavericks' scheduled basketball brain farts hit when Dirk was taken out, and coupled with their trademark stretch of bad defense, it wasn't long before Denver was competitive again, especially behind this vicious <span>Wilson Chandler</span> dunk.</p>
<blockquote data-partner="tweetdeck" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Wilson Chandler just murdered <span>Tyson Chandler</span> on this dunk. <a href="https://t.co/n696KQnG1E">https://t.co/n696KQnG1E</a></p>
— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_Skits/status/556275529838788608">January 17, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
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<p>The Nuggets ended the first quarter trailing by only 5, 24-29.</p>
<p>The Mavericks were admittedly crafty when things got rough: Chandler Parsons and <span>Devin Harris</span> in particular were really good at finding ways to scramble the defense when spacing was tight, and either create shots or draw fouls. Not all of these resulted in tangible stats and results (<span>Al-Farouq Aminu</span> missed 3 WIDE open 3's in the first half alone) but they did a good job keeping the Mavs in it when the Nuggets tried to pull back.</p>
<p>Mostly though, the Mavs continued building big leads with versions of the Dirk-Rondo pairing on the court, and just struggled mightily to not lose those leads when the bench units were subbed in. This, probably, will be the story of the Mavs for the rest of the season.</p>
<p>The Mavericks ended up ahead of the Nuggets by 7 at halftime, 49-42, after a last second, very odd, corner "bounce" by Monta.</p>
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<p>The Mavs picked it up in the 3rd quarter though, breaking the cycle of "good stretch with starters, bad stretch with the bench," putting together a nice stretch early behind solid play by Dirk, Rondo, and Parsons, and coming out to as much as a 14 point lead through the quarter. The Mavs didn't make a ton of 3's in that stretch like they did early (despite 2 Dirk 3's in this quarter), but they got a lot of nice shots at the rim, including this murderous Parsons dunk.</p>
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<p>The Mavs built their lead out of moving the ball creatively, moving players around lots of screens, and playing solid defense. Given their mediocre shooting roster, you might imagine this is a formula Dallas will try to go to more often.</p>
<p>Dallas ended the quarter ahead by 8, 73-65, with Dallas shooting 48% to Denver's 37%.</p>
<p>The Mavs mostly coasted their way to the win from there, making smart plays, playing solid defense, and getting to the rim (or getting Dirk open) on way to a double digit victory over Denver.</p>
<h3>Random Notes</h3>
<ul>
<li>The story of this game is that Dirk appears to be back. After so long struggling, he came into the game and <i>immediately </i>hit 2 threes, and he would end the game with 4 made threes, and 8-18 from the floor.<b> </b>He hit a trademark and-1 off-balance jumper, too, which seemed to be a particular godsend in a season where Dirk hasn't seemed to be able to do anything requiring athleticism. We're all praying that this means he's the old Dirk again. We really need him to be the old Dirk again.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Al-Farouq Aminu was terrible in this game. Every time he was subbed in for Dirk, the offense came to a grinding halt as the Nuggets just decided to ignore him completely, and sink into the lane. Aminu pulled up without hesitation from 3 every time he got the ball in an absolutely infuriating manner, and the Nuggets got a bunch of free possessions out of him as a result. I want to like him really bad, but there's a reason Carlisle wasn't playing him. Aminu was a -4<b> </b>in a game where Dallas was ahead in all <b></b>of the game he played. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span><span>Dwight Powell</span> got lots of backup minutes for Tyson early, and he deserved every one of them. He's so good at doing the little things the Mavs need to win, and he makes so few mistakes. It's hard to believe he's a rookie. Aside from a couple smart, gorgeous passes, heady rolls to the rim, and killer pindown screens, I noticed the Mavs running sets where they were spotting him up in the corner. That guy is great to watch.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span><span>Jusuf Nurkic</span> -- the Croatian rookie to watch for Denver (and personal favorite of mine) -- was awesome as a rim protector and drive deterrent in Wednesday's game in Denver, but he really struggled tonight; he's not quick enough on his feet for someone like Tyson and not experienced enough to deal with Dirk's craftiness. The Mavs abused him all game, and it was a real testament to what makes the Dirk-Tyson combo so deadly.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Monta still looks really tired from Wednesday.<b> </b>Monta sad the second half of Wednesday's game for rest, but it really looks like he could just use a whole week. He really didn't do a much by his standards, even if he really picked it up in the 2nd half, and his defense was insanely lazy, giving Afflalo open threes all game. It might not be bad to just give him some time.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span>Now that Carlisle's inserted Dwight Powell into the lineup, he's trying a few new lineups to capitalize on Powell's shooting and passing. In particular, I noticed a JJ Barea, <span>Rajon Rondo</span>, <span>Richard Jefferson</span>, Powell, Dirk lineup that really caught my eye; it's a fun combination of shooting at every position, solid defense, atheleticism, and passing. I'd really like to see more of that. Did I mention that Powell is fun?</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span>I've been noting a lack of offensive variance lately as Dallas has eschewed pet play "flex" offense type stuff, but they ran a lot more of it this game, and I noticed way more pindown screens than I'm used to as well. It's hard to say why they stopped doing it, and then why they're doing more now, but I'm happy to see it.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span>Parsons has a completely reasonable stat line, but this was one of his better games as a Maverick. He seemed to do all his best work when the bench units were floundering, and he made a lot of nice plays in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. He played smart, didn't have any particularly awkward plays, and just looked really good overall.</span></li>
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https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/1/16/7562401/recap-mavsHal Brown2015-01-16T21:18:27-06:002015-01-16T21:18:27-06:00Watch Parsons posterize Hickson
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<p>BANG.</p> <p> </p>
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<p>Chandler Parsons has tried a few of these this season. He hammered this one with some authority, though.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/1/16/7567971/wilson-chandler-betrays-last-name-smashes-on-tyson-chandler/in/7324412">Wilson Chandler had a poster of his own earlier</a>, but we prefer Parsons' for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>Here's video so you can relive it with Mark Followill's always glorious commentary.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SFxEM-K69Tk" height="360" width="640"></iframe></p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/articles/2015/1/16/7571911/watch-chandler-parsons-destroy-j-j-hickson-with-a-poster-dunkTim Cato2015-01-16T20:22:01-06:002015-01-16T20:22:01-06:00Current Maverick Win Total Pace Better Than Championship season<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/KirkSeriousFace/status/556273698777600000">Current Maverick Win Total Pace Better Than Championship&nbsp;season</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Pretty incredible for a group of guys still getting used to each other</p></p></div>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/1/16/7569705/current-maverick-win-total-pace-better-than-championship-seasonKirk Henderson2015-01-16T08:00:04-06:002015-01-16T08:00:04-06:004 adjustments for the rematch with Denver
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<figcaption>Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Dallas played in Denver on Wednesday and now host the Nuggets in a home-and-home series.</p> <h4>Is Dwight Powell the next coming of Hakeem Olajuwon?</h4>
<p>Not quite, but Powell played really well in the first leg of the Mavs-<a href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Nuggets</a> matchup. Powell had 11 points on 5-8 shooting and wasn't a complete train wreck on defense.</p>
<p>The absence of <span>Brandan Wright</span> left a huge hole behind behind <span>Tyson Chandler</span>. Greg Smith has filled the role, but his performance leaves more to be desired. Powell brought the energy and athleticism that Smith lacks.</p>
<p>Nothing Powell did against the Nuggets appeared to be unsustainable, which is a promising sign. There's a lot to be said about a rookie who knows where to be on both ends and plays hard. '</p>
<h4>How will starters who rested the previous game affect this game?</h4>
<p><span>Rajon Rondo</span>, <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>, and Tyson Chandler were all held out in the first meeting with the Nuggets due to rest.<span>Kenneth Faried</span> was a nuisance on the boards all night with 23. Tyson should negates Faried's energy and close the 11 rebound deficit the Mavs had.</p>
<p>When Faried wasn't crashing the boards, <span>Ty Lawson</span> was dicing up anyone the Mavs put in front of him. Lawson had 29 points and 12 assists on 9-13 from the field. He stymied the Mavs repeated comeback attempts with layups and cagey stepback jumpers. Rondo's on-ball defense should go a long way in negating Lawson's effectiveness. Rondo's length should bother Lawson who stands only at 5'11.</p>
<p>Although Dirk has struggled with his jumper recently, his presence should restore order to the Mavs offense. Dirk's gravity provides driving lanes for the Mavs' brigade of attacking guards. Without Dirk, the Mavs' have to rely more on set plays instead of their usual flow offense.</p>
<h4>How much all will Monta have?</h4>
<p>Monta had his worse statistical game of the season on Wednesday with 5 points on 1-11 shooting. Carlisle admitted after the game that he should have rested Monta with the rest of the starters; he looked completely exhausted.</p>
<p>Denver's interior defense was shaky for long stretches of the first matchup. Monta should be able to generate clean looks at the basket. Since the Rondo trade, Monta has been a 38 percent three point shooter. Look for him to get a couple looks from beyond the arc against this disjointed Nuggets defense.</p>
<h4>Can Antoine Wright ruin this game?</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-YEP7hrI7Y">No.</a></p>
<p><b>Game info: </b>7:30 p.m. CT at the American Airlines Center on Fox Sports Southwest</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/1/16/7554831/dallas-mavericks-denver-nuggets-preview-time-channelAustin Ngaruiya