Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 4, 2010 under The Grapevine | 
- Ladies and gentlemen, the ever-quotable Dirk Nowitzki, in reference to Andre Miller’s 52-point night and Monta Ellis’ 46-point night: “That’s what we do. We get guys contract extensions.”
- I’m thrilled that guys like Coby Karl and Anthony Tolliver are being called up from the D-League, but they’re not exactly reppin’. Josh Howard went to work against Karl in the post time and time again with plenty of success, and neither Tolliver nor Karl could contribute much of anything in terms of points last night.
- The attendance goal for the All-Star Game: 100,000.
- Jeff “Skin” Wade can’t help but wonder if Rodrigue Beaubois is already actualizing a bit of his potential as a defensive difference-maker: “After the game Rick Carlisle mentioned that Rodrigue Beaubois is already developing into one of their better on-the-ball defenders out on the perimeter. There’s a need to have him on the floor because of the athleticism he brings to an older team, but with virtually all of his minutes outside of the New York game that Jason Kidd missed coming at the off-guard, he’d be eating into minutes where the Mavs have guys like Jason Terry and Josh Howard who need to be on the floor…Against the Warriors, he received all of the available backup point guard minutes in the second half. I’m fascinated to know what the plan had been had he not gotten hurt against Utah. As the Mavericks try to find ways to keep opposing guards from enjoying career nights against them, will Roddy B at point guard be a factor for his defensive spark as much as the potential for him to get some offense going coming off the bench?”
- Everything is A-OK with Dirk’s thumb.
- SLAM’s Holly MacKenzie checked in from Toronto with an important announcement from last night’s Nets-Raptors game: “It was fun to see former Raptor Kris Humphries have a double-double off of the bench. It was not fun having two women scream his name every single time he was even remotely near the Nets bench.” Miss you, buddy.
- Del Harris wants to return to work the Frisco-Dallas connection, though it’s not official as of yet whether or not he’ll slide right back in as GM in Frisco.
- Chad Ford (Insider) names Josh Howard as one of the 20 players most likely to be moved by the deadline. Here’s his blurb on Josh: “Howard, at age 29, is having the worst season of his career and has struggled to play alongside Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion. But other teams have interest because his contract has a team option for next year, which means a team can acquire him now and decide this summer whether to keep him as player, hold on to him as a 2011 expiring contract or decline the option and take the savings right away. The Raptors and Kings have been rumored to have the most interest.” Just as a note of interest, Caron Butler is listed at #4, Andre Iguodala #5, Kevin Martin #12, and Chris Bosh at #15.
- Dirk will participate in the “Shooting Stars” competition representing…well, the state of Texas. With no WNBA team in sight, “Team Texas” will borrow Nowitzki, San Antonio’s Becky Hammond, and former Rocket Kenny Smith.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 1, 2010 under Commentary |
Saturday’s game offered us a glimpse into an alternate dimension; it’s a freakish world where pass-first point guards can bend the laws of space and time with their drives to the basket, and recreate the laws of the game based on their every whim. Hence, y’know, the perfectly competent but hardly explosive Andre Miller dropping 52 points against what’s supposed to be a top-notch defensive squad.
The Mavs haven’t been performing well defensively of late, and Miller is simply the latest to take advantage. But here’s the bizarre thing: the Mavs didn’t defend Andre Miller well, but despite the incredible manner in which the Blazers put points on the board, the Mavs weren’t overwhelmingly miserable on defense.
There’s no excuse for what Andre Miller was able to do with Jason Kidd. Miller doesn’t have notable quickness or shooting ability, and Kidd’s knack for bothering ball-handlers should have helped his cause. But no Maverick guard — not Kidd, not J.J., not JET — had any hope of slowing Miller. The stars aligned and Andre Miller was resolved to destroy.
But Miller aside, the defense was surprisingly competent. I realize that omitting 52 points from the scoreboard is asking a bit much, but all I ask is that this not be considered a complete defensive breakdown. Even Miller was forced into plenty of tough shots, and though the Mavs did anything but stop him, I don’t consider the game to necessarily be a team-wide defensive failure. Miller’s explosion represents something far more singular. Though the Mavs had a hard time getting stops against Andre Miller on Saturday night, they actually did get their fair share of stops against the Portland Trailblazers.
Miller’s shot volume (31 FGAs for the night, plus eight FTAs) for the night was pretty incredible. And his efficiency (22 of those 31 FGAs were makes) with that volume had a lot to do with the Blazers shooting 53.5% for the evening. But the rest of the Blazers shot just 43.6% from the field, which is more than passable. Andre Miller was able to do something completely fantastic, but that doesn’t mean that the Mavs weren’t playing effective defense in other areas. Obviously, the on-ball defense of Kidd and Barea, in particular, needs work. Erick Dampier’s bum knee didn’t help him protect the basket. And Rick Carlisle’s too little, too late decision to switch Shawn Marion onto Andre Miller in overtime was absurdly tardy. But in between, the Mavs forced the Blazers into plenty of bad shots, a handful of turnovers, and a few shot clock violations. Portland’s journey to 114 was hardly a parade, and though the final defensive numbers for the Mavs (111.8 points/100 possessions, 55.2% eFG allowed, opponent turnover rate of just 11.8) are decidedly subpar, I feel like this really is a case where the stats and the headlines don’t tell the whole story.
Having an opponent explode for 52 points is, from a defensive standpoint, unacceptable for a team like the Mavs. That alone is reason enough to worry about the defense. But don’t overstate the significance of Miller’s performance. Now, if you’d like to point out that the Mavs have allowed 117.5 points per 100 possessions over the last three games as evidence of a defensive fall-off, that starts to look like the beginnings of a bonafide trend.
But it’s possible you’d be wrong. Recall to the first game of that three-game stretch, a 108-107 Mavs’ win over the Bucks. Here’s what Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie had to say following the “shootout”:
This is not a case of reputation taking precedence over play, both the Mavericks and Bucks got after it defensively. They are very good defensive teams that just happened to come through with a pair of knockout efforts offensively, in what made for the best game of the night.
Dallas just screens and screens and doesn’t stop moving, even if it isn’t running all that much. Milwaukee still loves that screen and roll start, but once penetration is achieved the Bucks keep defenses on its heels by spreading the floor and always looking for that baseline three-pointer.
The result was a fantastic game.
You have to evaluate defenses based on results. I get that. But to ask a solid defensive team to perform at a high level every night is ludicrous. Some nights an opponent will waltz into the arena and make everything look easy, regardless of the defensive presence. It’s the kind of thing we’ve seen Dirk do to opponents time and time again, regardless of the prestige of an opposing team defense or individual defender.
The Mavs’ defense is far from perfect, which is a given considering this weekend’s events. But the flaws are hardly as deep-seeded or significant as one might think. The Mavs are still playing with effort and intensity on D (with a few exceptions), even if there are significant errors in their execution. Over the course of the regular season, it’s important that a playoff team do two things: demonstrate that they’re capable of playing quality defense and maintain a high level of effort, even if not execution. Teams can tweak and tech against particular opponents in a seven game series, but if the issues are motivational? Well, that’s a bit more complex. Come April, I’d much rather that the Mavs’ greatest defensive hurdles be in the film room than in their own heads.
Advanced box score values from HoopData.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under The Grapevine |
If Andre Miller has been haunting your dreams over the last few days, you might just want to skip on down to the second set of bullets.
- Kelly Dwyer took a moment to reflect on Andre Miller’s monster night: “It was quite the show. Jason Kidd, Jose Juan Barea and Jason Terry just could not cut off Miller from penetrating into the lane for a series of stretched-out lay-ups. Absolutely could not stop the guy. Shawn Marion, a fantastic defender even in his advancing years, defended Miller ably but still failed to keep him from tossing in shots. Miller just drove, drove and drove toward those 52…And, for someone who essentially had the ball in his hands in every Portland possession, Miller’s two turnovers in 42 minutes of play might be more impressive than the 52 he gave Kidd, et al. “Might be.” Those 52 points, as a guard who has bounced around, working for a new team that has involved him in trade discussions for the last month and a half, for a player who will turn 34 in two months, against a team that prides itself on its sound defense? This was a bit of a jaw-dropper.”
- In the least surprising bit of news all season, Rick Carlisle was none too impressed with the Mavs’ defense against Portland (via Eddie Sefko): “We’ve gotten very soft defensively as a team…We were a tough-minded team the first quarter of the year, and that’s gone by the wayside...It’s an attitude adjustment that we’re going to have to make to get it back.”
- Andre Miller had averaged 5.0 points on 4 of 25 shooting in his previous three games.
- After the game, Miller was completely unphased by his own feat. Whether that’s measured as complacency or serenity is almost purely based on circumstance. Take it away, Ziller: “Jason Quick of The Oregonian heard from Miller’s teammates just how little the fitty-plus performance changed Dre’s M.O. Martell Webster said Miller walked into the locker room after the finish as if nothing had ever happened. LaMarcus Aldridge said Miller was stoked for the win — which came almost entirely because of Miller — but had no time to celebrate the personal achievement. And this is Miller, basically. When things weren’t going well between Dre and coach Nate McMillan earlier this season, Miller’s quiet confidence was seen as disruptive aloofness, as if the reserved and perturbed Miller upset the team’s once marvelous chemistry. Now? It’s egoless contentment, and no doubt Miller would be fine with 10 FGAs in the next game. Amazing how circumstances change perception.”
- Dave from Blazers Edge qualifies Miller’s night with a bit of perspective: “Had this been Jerryd Bayless people would have been screaming to the highest heavens that he is the next Superstar of the League and Portland should start him now and always and so on and so forth. Miller had 52 points in this game and he’s none of those things (except the starter part), never has been, and never will be. In fact he had 7 and 2 points in the two prior games. Good players can have fantastic games. You ride them and celebrate them but in the end you judge a guy on what he does night in and night out and not what he did in one or two games.”
- There’s reason enough to question the “hot hand” theory, but Shawn Marion is completely subscribed to the idea; by the time the Mavs made the defensive switch to put Marion on Miller, it may have been too late.
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming:
Posted by Rob Mahoney on December 22, 2009 under Previews |
For a team with a bright future, things in Portland are certainly dim. Greg Oden’s injury puts a damper on what could have been a successful season, and the point guard situation is far from resolved. They have an All-Star shooting guard and bright, young talent at virtually every position, yet the chemistry and rotation have become unexpected problems. The worst of it is this: regardless of what has worked for other teams in the past, there is no blueprint for team-building. There is no generic solution for the Blazers’ uniquely talented players, and though it sure beats being a lottery team, being rich with talent often presents its own new problems.
The Portland Trailblazers are an interesting case study on multiple levels, but particularly because their fortunes have been all over the place. Brandon Roy is clearly the star of the show, and rightfully so. He’s an incredibly talented offensive player who can produce without stymieing the greater team-wide vision. In fact, with a player of Roy’s particular talents and tendencies, you could go as far as to say that he excels within a team framework. There are certain NBA players who were born to win one-on-one tournaments. And for what it’s worth, Roy probably wouldn’t do too badly. That said, the true beauty of his game comes in how he controls the flow of the offense and manages space. He works the pick-and-roll beautifully, he draws extra defenders and finds the open man, and above all, Roy isn’t just capable of making the pass, but completely willing to. He’s humble. He’s a consummate professional. He’s hungry. And despite everything that has gone right for the Blazers in amassing their stable of young talent, it’s possible that they still haven’t figured out what kind of players are best-suited to flank Roy (and LaMarcus Aldridge, and whoever else is deemed part of the core).
It’s not as simple as taking a franchise model and plugging in Roy. His style is very much his own, and despite the temptation to assume that he would work the same in any number of systems with a precedent of talented shooting guards, that’s not the way it works. Just because the Bulls of the 90s, the Lakers of the early 2000s, and the current incarnation all run some version of the triangle offense, the personnel put their mark on the system. In those cases, you can hold the coach and the system constant, but that doesn’t make Luc Longley and Shaquille O’Neal one in the same. Players will always shape a system to make it unique, and great players typically have a more profound influence than is easily recognizable. As much as Roy is to be part of McMillan’s system, the system and the rotation must adjust to the specificities of Roy’s game.
Read my piece on Brandon Roy and the Blazers in its entirety at Hardwood Paroxysm.