2024 NBA Season and Playoffs

[RJ87]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

A 36% usage rate without even an attempt at playing passable defense?

He's a James Harden redux and we see how many titles that's led to.

[Moranis]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

Um, the Mavs were in the conference finals. Neither Brunson or Porzingis has been there post Dallas (and Zinger wasn't on the WCF team).

And Dallas hasn’t been there post Brunson. Mav’s were 52-30 the year they made it to the WCF with Jaylen. Then he left and the following season Dallas finished 38-44.

I was commenting on the post that said Luka could not win with them.  I highlighted it since apparently you missed it. He in fact made the WCF with Brunson.  That is winning is it not?

[green_bballers13]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

Um, the Mavs were in the conference finals. Neither Brunson or Porzingis has been there post Dallas (and Zinger wasn't on the WCF team).

And Dallas hasn’t been there post Brunson. Mav’s were 52-30 the year they made it to the WCF with Jaylen. Then he left and the following season Dallas finished 38-44.

I was commenting on the post that said Luka could not win with them.  I highlighted it since apparently you missed it. He in fact made the WCF with Brunson.  That is winning is it not?

Luka doesn't play defense. It is a massive red flag. What other "top players" don't play D? I don't count Harden or Trae Young as such.

[Moranis]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

Um, the Mavs were in the conference finals. Neither Brunson or Porzingis has been there post Dallas (and Zinger wasn't on the WCF team).

And Dallas hasn’t been there post Brunson. Mav’s were 52-30 the year they made it to the WCF with Jaylen. Then he left and the following season Dallas finished 38-44.

I was commenting on the post that said Luka could not win with them.  I highlighted it since apparently you missed it. He in fact made the WCF with Brunson.  That is winning is it not?

Luka doesn't play defense. It is a massive red flag. What other "top players" don't play D? I don't count Harden or Trae Young as such.

What does that have to do with my post?

[green_bballers13]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

Um, the Mavs were in the conference finals. Neither Brunson or Porzingis has been there post Dallas (and Zinger wasn't on the WCF team).

And Dallas hasn’t been there post Brunson. Mav’s were 52-30 the year they made it to the WCF with Jaylen. Then he left and the following season Dallas finished 38-44.

I was commenting on the post that said Luka could not win with them.  I highlighted it since apparently you missed it. He in fact made the WCF with Brunson.  That is winning is it not?

Luka doesn't play defense. It is a massive red flag. What other "top players" don't play D? I don't count Harden or Trae Young as such.

What does that have to do with my post?

I was making the point that Luka isn't a guy you want to hitch your wagon to if you're trying to win a championship.

[Goldstar88]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

Um, the Mavs were in the conference finals. Neither Brunson or Porzingis has been there post Dallas (and Zinger wasn't on the WCF team).

And Dallas hasn’t been there post Brunson. Mav’s were 52-30 the year they made it to the WCF with Jaylen. Then he left and the following season Dallas finished 38-44.

I was commenting on the post that said Luka could not win with them.  I highlighted it since apparently you missed it. He in fact made the WCF with Brunson.  That is winning is it not?

And I was commenting on the above since apparently you missed it. 

[Moranis]

Epic fail by Mark Cuban… 

Tommy Beer: Jalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas. (via @allthesmokeprod)

https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod/status/1760375325395997167

They hit a home run getting Luka but haven't done very well building around him.

They've done a poor job for sure. We also have to wonder though, how much of this is on Luka? He's had teammates like Porzingis and Brunson who he could not win with but have each gone on to perform much better without him.

Um, the Mavs were in the conference finals. Neither Brunson or Porzingis has been there post Dallas (and Zinger wasn't on the WCF team).

And Dallas hasn’t been there post Brunson. Mav’s were 52-30 the year they made it to the WCF with Jaylen. Then he left and the following season Dallas finished 38-44.

I was commenting on the post that said Luka could not win with them.  I highlighted it since apparently you missed it. He in fact made the WCF with Brunson.  That is winning is it not?

And I was commenting on the above since apparently you missed it. 

ah but that was in response to the rest of the post about them performing much better without Luka. I wasn't arguing the Mavs were better without Brunson, was just commenting directly to the post I quoted.  Zinger and Brunson didn't advance farther without Luka so is that performing better? and frankly it just isn't true individually with Zinger at all (he has been basically the same player for years) and is arguable with Brunson. Brunson has a much greater volume now as the lead ball handler, but plenty of his stats are in line with his time on the Mavs. 

The Mavs have basically the same record as the Knicks this year,  and the Knicks have a deeper and better roster than the Mavs on the whole.  I'd take Luka over Brunson every single time. It isn't close.  It wasn't an either or for the Mavs though, they should have kept Brunson. Even if it was just to trade him, they should have kept him. Poor roster management from the Mavs. 

[Who]

Brunson and Doncic both need the ball in their hands, a lot. They both dominate the ball. There is no doubt that DAL missed badly not signing Brunson, if they had the chance. But I suspect they would have had to trade him.

There is no way they could have had the same individual success together as they have done apart. Two of the most ball dominant players in the league.

Brunson = 35.9mpg 85.4 touches (7th) 8.3 time on ball (3rd in league) 5.85 sec per touch (1st) 5.58 dribbles per touch (1st)

Doncic = 37.4mpg 92.1 touches (1st), 8.6 time on ball (1st) 5.59 secs per touch (6th) 5.00 dribbles per touch (6th)

As ball dominant as they come.

[Who]

Another issue for them when they were teammates but is no longer an issue is Brunson's three point shot. He was a limited three point shooter in Dallas. Very hesitant to take them. He would only take them when wide open and had little alternative. An option of last resort. He shot a good percentage but that was only because he was so selective.

He only took 3 threes per game in about 30 minutes in Dallas. He has doubled that to 6 attempts per game in NY and hitting 41% of them. He can now shoot off the dribble from 3 much better. A well rounded three point shooter. He has improved his outside shooting tremendously.

So they would play a lot better alongside one another today than they did back when they played together because Brunson has improved his outside game so much since then.

--------------------------------

That was one of the big reasons why their court time was limited together. Why they preferred Brunson as a backup PG to a starter for a long period. Because he could not play well off the ball. He could not spread the floor well enough. Eventually they decided he could do enough other things to play him anyway but that was a big hold up.

Another reason was they were both bad defenders.

His main attribute was that Brunson could take over when Luka went to the bench. A bit like a young Sam Cassell on those Rockets teams before becoming a star in New Jersey, Milwaukee, Minnesota and the LA Clippers. The Rockets would turn the offense over to Cassell when Hakeem or Drexler went to the bench but they didn't like him as a starter because his main attribute was one-on-one play and they wanted the offense to run through Drexler & Olajuwon instead.

[Goldstar88]

Guess Luka is making up for not taking enough shots in the ASG. Halfway through the 3rd and he’s had 21 attempts.

[SparzWizard]

Orlando beat Cleveland while Knicks pushes 76ers farther away from having home-court advantage in the first-rounds

[SHAQATTACK]

If Embiid has the Timelord injury, Philly ain’t going nowhere this season.

They may end up tanking if he can’t get 100% next season

[Goldstar88]

Worst contract in the NBA? 

Wizards coach Brian Keefe says Jordan Poole will be coming off the bench tonight. Said the decision was made in the best interest of the team. – via Twitter VBenedetto

[Atzar]

Worst contract in the NBA? 

Wizards coach Brian Keefe says Jordan Poole will be coming off the bench tonight. Said the decision was made in the best interest of the team. – via Twitter VBenedetto

"Best interest of the team" my ass, lol.  They suddenly decide to try to win almost two thirds of the way through the season?

They're better off letting him keep driving the tank.  It's the one thing he's good at.

[ozgod]

Worst contract in the NBA? 

Wizards coach Brian Keefe says Jordan Poole will be coming off the bench tonight. Said the decision was made in the best interest of the team. – via Twitter VBenedetto

"Best interest of the team" my ass, lol.  They suddenly decide to try to win almost two thirds of the way through the season?

They're better off letting him keep driving the tank.  It's the one thing he's good at.

I'm guessing an offseason trade won't be too far away. Though if that were the case you'd think they would want to showcase him.

Something tells me this is an attitude issue.