Congratulations!

[Valid Atom 1.0] This is a valid Atom 1.0 feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

Source: https://mavsmoneyball.com/rss/index.xml

  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
  3.  <title>Mavs Moneyball -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>Rick Carlisle approved.</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50869/mmb-fav.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2024-05-20T12:00:00-05:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2024-05-20T12:00:00-05:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2024-05-20T12:00:00-05:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Mavs YouTube RoundUp: Thunder Downed Edition</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="Oklahoma City Thunder v Dallas Mavericks - Game Six" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xJ9w48Xeetz1m2cVX7KS9kRIDOI=/0x0:4043x2695/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73358893/2153623554.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;OKC will be back, but for now they can watch with the rest of us&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="ry4mOc"&gt;The Dallas Mavericks are in the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons. As you might imagine, YouTube is buzzing with reactions and the RoundUp is here to deliver like a PJ Washington clutch free throw, just at the right time.&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="s9mdq1"&gt;We begin with my new favorite channel. &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@DaCommishDude"&gt;Commissioner Dynamo&lt;/a&gt;. This channel is our rare gem find of the season. Great humor, great takes. Support this dude by subscribing if you are so inclined.&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;div id="fwTfEu"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BnD_PIKrnDc?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="cuHvWN"&gt;Instant Take from Funky Diabetic.&lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;div id="BC4AEf"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NzlYuDUNm70?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="qSAYRH"&gt;Kirk and Josh - fresh off Kirk’s birthday party - have fun breaking it all down.&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;div id="Lzp3hC"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-mTRVvgx0B4?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="097JSL"&gt;The series had a turning point for Luka Doncic.&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;div id="0y8Juu"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hpvN38syWG4?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="gPxqdg"&gt;Nerd Sesh lives up to the name but they are also worth a listen when the news is this good.&lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;div id="EGkHSG"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CVen0CL700g?rel=0&amp;amp;start=482" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  31. &lt;p id="hzLzPt"&gt;Post-game presser from some smiling Mavericks.&lt;/p&gt;
  32. &lt;div id="fp8E1L"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gCVbCU5wt4U?rel=0&amp;amp;start=1242" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  33. &lt;p id="vAHpOI"&gt;The throughline from strategic tanking and back to the WCF in a single season is confoundingly absurd but it happened. The Dallas front office crammed more amazing moves in a calendar year than the franchise had since the 2018 draft combined and it isn't close—the ultimate on-the-fly retooling.&lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;div id="6Ew00F"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lypIPskS4sI?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  35. &lt;p id="HElLSj"&gt;Locked On Mavs trio reports from the AAC just after the Game 6 thriller.&lt;/p&gt;
  36. &lt;div id="HUpGuB"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7oNpzwvFQm4?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  37. &lt;p id="8IJHpY"&gt;PJ in the corner was a huge difference in the series.&lt;/p&gt;
  38. &lt;div id="ni3JRw"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cUzV91sYzZI?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="EYxILa"&gt;More quick reaction, this time from MattyDubs.&lt;/p&gt;
  40. &lt;div id="q64pnY"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_FfQExkMSA?rel=0&amp;amp;start=81" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  41. &lt;p id="xk0ctD"&gt;Slightly Biased checks in to give his thoughts.&lt;/p&gt;
  42. &lt;div id="lbzStW"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iDEX8qdHGNc?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  43. &lt;p id="pcvnsw"&gt;Kenny has a huge channel and always delivers.&lt;/p&gt;
  44. &lt;div id="YBKR3H"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dxDI_VNOoPo?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  45. &lt;p id="zGmRRS"&gt;Jason breaks down the series and looks ahead.&lt;/p&gt;
  46. &lt;div id="WkuwIM"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GRQAUWk6Xj0?rel=0&amp;amp;start=507" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  47. &lt;p id="p2wF0O"&gt;This channel is tough to listen to but because he is highlighting why the Dallas backcourt is playing amazing defense - this one is worth a look, kinda.&lt;/p&gt;
  48. &lt;div id="3mStOV"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KXFet1njJWU?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  49. &lt;p id="fofSWI"&gt;Stephen A Smith had to duck out of the post-game segment. In the words of Ron Burgundy...Keep it classy, San Diego.&lt;/p&gt;
  50. &lt;div id="Oc44MI"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u0BOXCfXGi0?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  51. &lt;p id="CryUEt"&gt;Will Giddey return? His fate is questioned after being played off the floor by Kidd’s Mavs.&lt;/p&gt;
  52. &lt;div id="XzD8d6"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HlHY203tiy4?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  53. &lt;p id="Bz360g"&gt;This is an amazing journey of hope, bargaining, and acceptance. It is also a podcast devoid of beard-trimming skills.&lt;/p&gt;
  54. &lt;div id="i5s9eF"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Er8mtXCisfg?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  55. &lt;p id="B2sANZ"&gt;Shocking, I know. But the TNT guys are lined up behind Minnesota. Dallas gets to keep the underdog energy alive and well.&lt;/p&gt;
  56. &lt;div id="C2m2wf"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a69PQy-IVUE?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  57. &lt;p id="QcySkW"&gt;What a weird season. Could it turn out to be even more beautifully strange in the weeks ahead?&lt;/p&gt;
  58. &lt;div id="dby3a6"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YZqjM7j0bY0?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  59. &lt;p id="3MGAVY"&gt;If you have scrolled down this far, here is a nice treat. An early breakdown of the Conference Finals.&lt;/p&gt;
  60. &lt;div id="6t619N"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ue0f5moLQ5I?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  61. &lt;p id="OoKWz2"&gt;The Knicks ran out of healthy bodies. Rick’s strange magic is not to be taken lightly.&lt;/p&gt;
  62. &lt;div id="Qc519Z"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XBcenGW-RLw?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  63. &lt;p id="CB5Jn0"&gt;If ever asked to pick a number, don’t choose 7, make it 77.&lt;/p&gt;
  64. &lt;div id="JBf8j2"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hif5eI5pBxo?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  65.  
  66. </content>
  67.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160415/mavs-youtube-roundup-thunder-downed-edition"/>
  68.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160415/mavs-youtube-roundup-thunder-downed-edition</id>
  69.    <author>
  70.      <name>Brent Brooks</name>
  71.    </author>
  72.  </entry>
  73.  <entry>
  74.    <published>2024-05-20T07:59:50-05:00</published>
  75.    <updated>2024-05-20T07:59:50-05:00</updated>
  76.    <title>Can the Dallas Mavericks retain Derrick Jones, Jr.?</title>
  77.    <content type="html">  
  78.  
  79.    &lt;figure&gt;
  80.      &lt;img alt="2024 NBA Playoffs - Oklahoma City Thunder v Dallas Mavericks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yd1FbBMhcs56OjFMIXIKXRUNDnE=/0x0:8640x5760/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73358252/2153080130.0.jpg" /&gt;
  81.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  82.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  83.  
  84.  &lt;p&gt;Explaining the paths as to how the Dallas Mavericks might retain one of their best pick ups from the 2023 offseason&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="6ivtlG"&gt;Derrick Jones Jr has been an integral part of the Mavericks post-season success. He started all 12 playoff games and, more importantly, closes games on the court. He and PJ Washington take turns guarding the toughest perimeter player on the opposing team. He started 66 of the 76 games he played this season.  Look at what he did in the last 3 games of the Thunder series.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  85. &lt;div id="eGT8QE"&gt;
  86. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  87. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The three highest-scoring playoff games of Derrick Jones Jr.'s career:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;1. Game 6 vs. OKC (22 points)&lt;br&gt;2. Game 5 vs. OKC (19 points)&lt;br&gt;3. Game 4 vs. OKC (17 points)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;He'd never even reached double digits in any playoff game before this year.&lt;/p&gt;— Zach Kram (@zachkram) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/zachkram/status/1792024181191692572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 19, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  88. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  89. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  90.  
  91. &lt;/div&gt;
  92. &lt;p id="43tYeF"&gt;This type of production means this 27-year-old will get a big raise from his current 1-year minimum salary.&lt;/p&gt;
  93. &lt;p id="Vf3tMZ"&gt;I’ve been asked for my analysis of this situation about 200 times. I want to give the full picture. As always, I’ll teach some on the CBA as I do this rather than just giving a bullet-point list. &lt;/p&gt;
  94. &lt;h3 id="I20n66"&gt;Extension-eligible?&lt;/h3&gt;
  95. &lt;p id="8lNCbT"&gt;A player on a 1-year contract is never eligible to sign an extension. The earliest a player can sign an extension is after the 2nd anniversary of signing the original contract. Therefore, players on a 1- or 2-year contract, like Jones Jr., cannot be extended.&lt;/p&gt;
  96. &lt;h3 id="iOZJU6"&gt;Derrick Jones Jr. will be a free agent, unless...&lt;/h3&gt;
  97. &lt;p id="4O7Al7"&gt;Yes, Jones Jr will be a free agent on July 1st. Well, technically at 6 pm EST on June 30th. At that point, he will be allowed to negotiate with other teams as a free agent. So, at 5 pm Dallas time on June 30th, interested teams will be calling Derrick Jones Jr’s agent Aaron Turner*.&lt;/p&gt;
  98. &lt;p id="nDZ1TI"&gt;However, the Mavs get to talk to him first! With the new CBA, NBA teams can negotiate with their free agents one day after the final game of the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba-finals"&gt;NBA Finals&lt;/a&gt;. The NBA Finals schedule has been released. Depending on if the Finals ends after 4, 5, 6, or 7 games, the Mavericks will be able to start negotiating with Derrick Jones Jr on June 15th, 18th, 21st, or 24th. &lt;/p&gt;
  99. &lt;p id="YgCeSj"&gt;What’s their pitch? Lets look at some historical comparisons. &lt;/p&gt;
  100. &lt;p id="GWniuk"&gt;Here are three similar situations that happened recently:&lt;/p&gt;
  101. &lt;ol&gt;
  102. &lt;li id="vZkoko"&gt;Nicholas Batum with the Clippers in 2021&lt;/li&gt;
  103. &lt;li id="b4s2ir"&gt;Bobby Portis with the Bucks in 2021&lt;/li&gt;
  104. &lt;li id="2WyF53"&gt;Bruce Brown with the Nuggets in 2023&lt;/li&gt;
  105. &lt;/ol&gt;
  106. &lt;p id="w1ETjo"&gt;Each situation involved &lt;/p&gt;
  107. &lt;ol&gt;
  108. &lt;li id="xxEgxL"&gt;A player on a minimum or low contract&lt;/li&gt;
  109. &lt;li id="M6AyZK"&gt;With only 1 season played on the contract&lt;/li&gt;
  110. &lt;li id="siYDO3"&gt;The team is above the salary cap enough that they can’t offer market value&lt;/li&gt;
  111. &lt;li id="lKC1nK"&gt;The player proved their worth in the playoffs&lt;/li&gt;
  112. &lt;/ol&gt;
  113. &lt;h3 id="U253pV"&gt;What are the paths the Mavericks could take with Jones?&lt;/h3&gt;
  114. &lt;h4 id="5FwR6B"&gt;Path 1: The Batum and Portis Path: Use Non-bird right for a 1+1&lt;/h4&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="IpehEc"&gt;Both Batum and Portis wanted to stay with their teams enough that they chose to take what their team COULD give on a 2-year contract with a player option on the 2nd year. &lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;p id="cpxTfB"&gt;Why do that?&lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;ul&gt;
  118. &lt;li id="Fjoysg"&gt;The difference between non-bird rights and early bird rights is huge. Getting the option to be a free agent with the incumbent team for a 2nd season means that you can be re-signed without cap space to a little less than the Full MLE figure. &lt;/li&gt;
  119. &lt;li id="UERbWj"&gt;Control for year 2 is given to the player so that if they regress heavily, at least they’d be guaranteed that amount of money.&lt;/li&gt;
  120. &lt;/ul&gt;
  121. &lt;p id="PDYk2R"&gt;Both Batum and Portis &lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;ol&gt;
  123. &lt;li id="gsmSIF"&gt;Signed in August 2021 (delayed off-season) for the max (non-Bird rights) of 20% more than they made in 2020-21 with a 2nd-year player option that had the max 5% raise. &lt;/li&gt;
  124. &lt;li id="ja3NBU"&gt;Performed well in the 2021-22 season.&lt;/li&gt;
  125. &lt;li id="9vHtbj"&gt;Opted out of the Player option for the 2022-23 season.&lt;/li&gt;
  126. &lt;li id="oG9aNt"&gt;Re-signed on July 6th, 2023, with the incumbent team using early bird rights for the most the team could offer for the 2022-23 season.&lt;/li&gt;
  127. &lt;/ol&gt;
  128. &lt;h4 id="g3G6xD"&gt;PATH 2: The Bruce Brown Path&lt;/h4&gt;
  129. &lt;p id="qpPLVg"&gt;Bruce Brown was offered substantially more money by the Indian Pacers than the Denver Nuggets could. It made the concept of doing a 1+1 on a Tax MLE untenable. Brown left the Nuggets for the Paces. We hope that the Mavericks don’t follow this path with Derrick Jones Jr.&lt;/p&gt;
  130. &lt;h3 id="JvwCka"&gt;What can the Mavericks offer in a 1+1?&lt;/h3&gt;
  131. &lt;p id="PjjLlB"&gt;Derrick Jones Jr could follow the Portis/Batum path and take the 1+1. How much can the Mavericks get that offer up to? &lt;/p&gt;
  132. &lt;h3 id="mWZRVC"&gt;Non-Bird Rights&lt;/h3&gt;
  133. &lt;p id="QGqkcU"&gt;Although my “cheat sheet” has Jones at $2,019,706, that’s not entirely accurate. That’s what the Mavericks are paying. When a player signs a minimum 1-year deal, the team can only pay up to the amount of a 2nd-year player’s minimum. The League office pays the remained of the amount. So, Derrick Jones Jr’s full salary is $2,709,849. Non-bird rights allow the team to offer a 20% increase on the first year of a new deal with 5% raises thereafter.&lt;/p&gt;
  134.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  135.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/egLJJ4Kctd76mi4kySwxz8qMz8s=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25456100/DJJ_Non_Bird.png"&gt;
  136.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  137. &lt;p id="bFQ4lN"&gt;The chances of this exact construction are &lt;strong&gt;LOW&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  138. &lt;h3 id="Bvm3cl"&gt;Using an Exception&lt;/h3&gt;
  139. &lt;h4 id="Ee5exJ"&gt;Tax MLE&lt;/h4&gt;
  140. &lt;p id="Ur8CnC"&gt;The Mavs are $3,497,198 below the 1st Tax Apron with only 13 players on the roster for 2024-25. Without substantial changes, the Mavericks would have use the Taxpayer MLE. This is projected to start at $5,183,000 million and can be 2 years with a 5% raise on the 2nd year.&lt;/p&gt;
  141.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  142.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wXENU39ltdNeMDRsKF1wT-x5NRE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25456102/DJJ_Tax_MLE.png"&gt;
  143.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  144. &lt;h4 id="IuxWlY"&gt;BAE (Bi-Annual Exception)&lt;/h4&gt;
  145. &lt;p id="R76zNc"&gt;Some have asked about using the Bi-Annual Exception to re-sign Jones Jr. The BAE is smaller than the Tax-MLE.  It also triggers the hard cap like the non-taxpayer MLE. To use it in this scenario doesn’t make any sense. I’ll share what that projected amount is anyway.&lt;/p&gt;
  146.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  147.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/u7cGe-NJC7Qn6Sn-oEqN-Nibsxc=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25456103/DJJ_BAE.png"&gt;
  148.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  149. &lt;h3 id="KUVSYP"&gt;What happens after the 1+1?&lt;/h3&gt;
  150. &lt;p id="XszUEv"&gt;All these 1+1 scenarios would mirror the Batum and Portia situations. Derrick Jones Jr would risk major regression, but if he maintained what he’s done then the Mavericks could reward him by using early bird rights. Jones Jr would opt out of his 2nd year by July 1st 2025. The Mavericks could offer him a lucrative deal. &lt;/p&gt;
  151.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  152.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MpSE9GCaT4gPuyYMk_v7bogPiT4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25456104/Screenshot_2024_05_20_at_3.53.58_PM.png"&gt;
  153.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  154. &lt;h3 id="vdP3Ik"&gt;What if Dallas skips the 1+1 and uses the Non-Taxpayer MLE now? &lt;/h3&gt;
  155. &lt;p id="PFBRmH"&gt;To use the non-taxpayer MLE on Derrick Jones Jr, the Mavericks would need to shed a good chunk of money. The Mavericks are $3,497,198 below the 1st Tax Apron with only 13 players on the roster. Let’s assume they will need room to sign a 15th player. We’d need to leave enough room for a 2nd-year minimum. That is projected to be around $2,093,637. Accounting for that salary, the Mavericks have only $1,403,561 in apron room. Hypothetically, if you could trade Tim Hardaway Jr ($16,193,183) and a 2nd into someone else’s cap space, you would create enough room to offer Jones Jr the entire non-taxpayer MLE. You’d be $19,690,381 below the Tax Apron but we’d need to include 2 spots for people making $2,093,637 to fill out the 15-man roster. That still leaves us with $15,503,107 in apron room to use the projected $12,859,000 non-taxpayer MLE. That can be offered up to 4 years with 5% raises. &lt;/p&gt;
  156.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  157.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vk27WrzFARzs2E2-KHHKp77D9Ek=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25456105/DJJ_Full_MLE.png"&gt;
  158.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  159. &lt;p id="WTLzLv"&gt;Of course, my trade of Tim Hardaway with a 2nd is completely hypothetical. The Mavericks and the other team would have to agree to do the trade. Hardaway is on an expiring that has descended, so he isn’t quite a distressed asset. However, he isn’t a positive value contract either. With the Mavericks motivated to move off him, teams might require more than marginal assets. We won’t know the cost until the off-season.&lt;/p&gt;
  160. &lt;h3 id="NhnW4q"&gt;So what’s it all mean? &lt;/h3&gt;
  161. &lt;p id="yg4XFh"&gt;For parts of the season, it seemed like the tax-MLE route was sufficient to retain Jones Jr, but that seems to have changed with his strong playoff performance. Derrick has expressed how much he enjoys being with the Mavericks. His agent spoke with the Athletic about Jones’ desire to re-sign the Mavericks. However, I think the Mavericks will likely need to open up the non-taxpayer MLE to retain him. The ability to negotiate with Jones Jr right after the season ends gives the Mavericks a substantial advantage. I could see the Mavericks using the draft as a place to find a way to trade Hardaway while agreeing to terms with Jones Jr. I predict the Mavericks will find a way to keep Derrick Jones Jr by moving off Hardaway and using the non-taxpayer MLE to give him a 4 year $55,293,700 deal.&lt;/p&gt;
  162. &lt;p id="VmZDA8"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  163.  
  164. </content>
  165.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160194/can-the-dallas-mavericks-retain-derrick-jones-jr"/>
  166.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160194/can-the-dallas-mavericks-retain-derrick-jones-jr</id>
  167.    <author>
  168.      <name>CBAMavs</name>
  169.    </author>
  170.  </entry>
  171.  <entry>
  172.    <published>2024-05-20T07:00:00-05:00</published>
  173.    <updated>2024-05-20T07:00:00-05:00</updated>
  174.    <title>The Contours of Success </title>
  175.    <content type="html">  
  176.  
  177.    &lt;figure&gt;
  178.      &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ICM7cMvOdAh0FBUvMn2R0ifYTQ8=/131x0:5018x3258/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73358148/usa_today_23317582.0.jpg" /&gt;
  179.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  180.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  181.  
  182.  &lt;p&gt;Luka Doncic is poised to silence his detractors&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="ef4o0L"&gt;Before Wednesday’s game 5 between the Mavericks and Thunder, I was trying to wrap up a little examination piece about Luka Doncic and his tumultuous relationship with the NBA referees. I couldn’t manage to complete my thoughts on it in time, which is fortunate because I was gifted with more time and more material to ruminate on. Four days later, Dallas has dispatched OKC and the Timberwolves sent the Nuggets home in a road Game 7. These next several paragraphs were written for an unused piece about Doncic’s acrimonious relationship with the referees of the NBA. They still work with what I wanted to explain further...&lt;/p&gt;
  183. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  184. &lt;p id="JABcak"&gt;It seems as if the time has come and gone for the Dallas organization, coaching staff, et al, to help its young star Luka Doncic understand that the dynamics between NBA players and NBA referees is such that his unceasing belligerence towards them during play could be increasingly detrimental to his team as they attempt to advance in the playoffs.&lt;/p&gt;
  185. &lt;p id="TsO0AU"&gt;Referees are humans, and although they’ve made a pledge to be professional and unbiased, there’s no doubt they struggle to remain disinterested when a young upstart (generational talent, though he may be) declaims profanity-laden accusations against their personal honor, waging a constant war – on live tv – to dispute their competence and credibility as workers of their trade, and doing so with such frequency as to regularly prompt even his biggest fans to raise their eyebrows at his need to instigate dramatics over even well-refereed plays. As an aside, we can discuss the frequent, dead-on accuracy of his assessment of their competence at another time. Right now, we’re talking about law and order (appearances). &lt;/p&gt;
  186. &lt;p id="xVWX7c"&gt;As mentioned by another Mavs Money Ball contributor in an insightful and thoughtful article about how Luka’s on-court behavior towards the referees is very in keeping with the sporting traditions seen in The Balkans, it must not be overlooked that, off the court, Doncic never strays from presenting himself with a maturity and composure more typically befitting of a person much older than himself. In almost every aspect, he exudes the personal self-discipline and good-natured energy of an Eagle Scout, and he often makes a point to display a reverence for the game’s traditions in the US and its specific history and achievements.&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;p id="fPjXpG"&gt;Like all athletes, however, what he wants more than anything is to win at the highest level; and like all humans, he has trouble controlling his emotions when his objective isn’t being realized. Doncic is 25 years old. Few of us, if any, upon attaining various levels of quasi-maturity gained in adulthood, can maintain that our decisions at 25 were informed more by the governance of reason than by hormones. Far fewer of us can boast that at that time in our lives we were so damn good at something that our ability was recognized as being one of the top 3 or so in the entire world. In a league where posturing has grown increasingly exaggerated and affected both on and off the court – which is not unaligned with popular culture and functions as entertainment – Doncic has always had a preference for utilizing referees as the unfortunate subjects for his particular brand of goading, occasionally putting them to use as his whipping boy when things aren’t going well (though typically only after they’ve made enough questionable calls to warrant it). Unfortunately, the disputes that he engages them in are too often excessive by the sheer fact that they are not beneficial to anyone. As a spectator and a fan, it pains me to see that Luka is generally the person who suffers the most as a result of his griping.  As the game wears on, the bitterness between him and the referees almost always appears to take a toll on his mental energy, not to mention the fact that it surely decreases the amount of pleasure he derives from playing the game. &lt;/p&gt;
  188. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  189. &lt;p id="PUGzTx"&gt;I didn’t finish in time, then the Mavericks won the series. &lt;/p&gt;
  190. &lt;p id="1mH6mi"&gt;That was only about half of what was written (the half that wasn’t total crap). Imagine my surprise when Doncic showed up to game 5 (and then 6) and played like he’d been visited by Clarence Odbody (or his Slovenian guardian angel), fully zeroed in on the game and displaying a checked impulse in his tendency to engage the referees. I can tell you with certainty that they missed calls during both games; he just didn’t let their performance as referees disturb his focus, mental stability, or love of the game. He played with poise, and he put on a show, taking his team first to a 3-2 series lead, and then the series clincher on Saturday as the Mavs are now set to compete in the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years. &lt;/p&gt;
  191. &lt;p id="BGT7Po"&gt;As a Dallas fan, it’s easy to see how fortunate their organization is to have such a rare, young talent. I also feel like Luka is constantly being unfairly scrutinized because somewhere deep in our collective Puritanical unconscious, we feel entitled to disparage and discredit behavior that doesn’t run parallel to our expectations. It’s everyone; the fans, the press. People are foaming at the mouth to discuss reasons why he isn’t good enough or how he is letting basketball take a back seat to theater. Somehow, I doubt it’s truly because they’d rather see him succeed. (It’s easy to dislike a player that routinely dismantles whatever team you happen to root for).&lt;/p&gt;
  192. &lt;p id="IRT1Vf"&gt;This feels like familiar territory. If any current player knows what it’s like to be hated for being himself, it’s probably Kyrie Irving. I didn’t develop an appreciation for his personality until the latter part of the regular season this year; his addresses to the media seem increasingly motivated by the demonstration of positivity. Like many young people that find themselves in the bright glare of the media spotlight, however, raw and arrogant, the press has had a hand in the thematic structure of his narrative, specifically in his more formative years when strong leadership and influence are absolutely vital for the validation of tact and composure in the minds of young men. Some of the more notorious media entanglements that caused so much public dissection of his character were partly – &lt;em&gt;most certainly not completely&lt;/em&gt; – the result of shrewd inquisitions, well equipped to provoke the irascibility of youth. I’m not saying that Kyrie hasn’t made mistakes, just like we all have. It’s just that, when the desire to cast judgment outweighs the inclination to seek to understand and guide each other, the capacity for shared progress decreases in equal proportion. The narrative of a successful and intelligent young man searching for his identity and struggling to find his own voice just doesn’t sound like a revenue generator. Lately, though, it seems as if he’s been successful on that journey, a fact which should be celebrated.&lt;/p&gt;
  193. &lt;p id="kmiy2C"&gt;While these two athletes are different people with different stories, it would seem that their experiences with the NBA have some striking similarities. Like Kyrie before him, many want to see Luka fail. They’re both cut from a different cloth than the average Joe, and their perceived differences, as such, are often exploited by people searching for the wrong story; and when that’s been told, everyone regurgitates the same critical opinion piece over and over until viewers are taught to dislike them, more than anything because they’ve been conditioned to feel that way. &lt;/p&gt;
  194. &lt;p id="9s23Lq"&gt;But I digress…&lt;/p&gt;
  195. &lt;p id="cvq5yH"&gt;Perhaps someone close to Luka said something to him before game 5 to draw his attention to the fact that he can only control what he can control. Maybe it was someone who understands what he’s going through. Whatever it was, it brought out the best in Doncic in the final two games of the series, helping to propel Dallas to the Western Conference Finals. With Luka locked in, the Mavericks seem to have a collective focus that is unprecedented for them, and formidable. The practice of commanding your attention onto what you love, rather than what you hate, is an indication of personal evolution. Luka has always found a way to evolve and advance his game upon meeting new challenges. If his latest advancement becomes a permanent addition to his repertoire, it could serve, in turn, to pacify the non-believers. &lt;/p&gt;
  196.  
  197. </content>
  198.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160434/the-contours-of-success"/>
  199.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160434/the-contours-of-success</id>
  200.    <author>
  201.      <name>JasonMWorley</name>
  202.    </author>
  203.  </entry>
  204.  <entry>
  205.    <published>2024-05-19T01:52:55-05:00</published>
  206.    <updated>2024-05-19T01:52:55-05:00</updated>
  207.    <title>Quote board: “We love fighting together”</title>
  208.    <content type="html">  
  209.  
  210.    &lt;figure&gt;
  211.      &lt;img alt="Oklahoma City Thunder v Dallas Mavericks - Game Six" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/soy00ptrywhPl1uDQF_Ay3l3Gh4=/0x0:4335x2890/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73356483/2153609111.0.jpg" /&gt;
  212.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  213.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  214.  
  215.  &lt;p&gt;Jason Kidd, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Derrick Jones Jr. talked to the media following the Mavericks eliminating the Thunder in Game 6&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="WecdlS"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com"&gt;Dallas Mavericks&lt;/a&gt; held on in a wild game to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of their Western Conference second-round playoff series. Dallas trailed by as many as 17 yet rallied to win by one point in the closing seconds off of P.J. Washington free-throws. &lt;/p&gt;
  216. &lt;p id="pGQDjA"&gt;Following the game, head coach Jason Kidd along with Maverick players Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Derrick Jones, Jr. took the time to speak to the media. Here’s what they had to say:&lt;/p&gt;
  217. &lt;h2 id="aM2m2r"&gt;Head Coach Jason Kidd&lt;/h2&gt;
  218. &lt;p id="bSITe3"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what this hard-fought series has meant to him and the team…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  219. &lt;p id="6TEnBA"&gt;“First, Oklahoma City is an incredible team from top to bottom. Great coach, great players. It was not an easy series. But for us, it was a really good series in the sense of staying together. I thought the trust was tested throughout this series – all six games. But I thought the maturity and trust for the group was high. Different guys stepped up at different points in the series. In tonight’s game it wasn’t Luka [Dončić] or Kai [Kyrie Irving] making the game winner, it was the trust that Luka had for P.J. [Washington]. P.J. made his free throws, and we found a way to win. But, for the coaching staff, they did an incredible job of getting these guys ready to play and the players trusted the game plan and executed the game plan. And we found a way to win the series.” &lt;/p&gt;
  220. &lt;p id="pFhQOZ"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what you said at halftime being down 16 points…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  221. &lt;p id="SCkNCW"&gt;“We talked about the turnovers. That was the first part. The second part was just the trust and that we had to play faster. We weren’t playing fast enough. Even if they scored, we needed to take the ball out and not look around and walk the ball up. I thought in the start of the third D. Jones [Derrick Jones Jr.] got us off to a great start. Then we worked the game, understanding that we weren’t going to get those 16 points back in two shots. I thought the group stayed together, trusted each other, and worked the game to get it down to seven points at the end of the third quarter. And then it was anybody’s ball game. Again, our zone created some missed shots and some turnovers, and we capitalized on the other end. At halftime it was kind of a cool thing because we just talked. I thought the group responded. Again, being down 16, we knew what we had to do, and we did that to start the third and for pretty much the whole second half.” &lt;/p&gt;
  222. &lt;p id="eUTeT9"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On P.J. Washington Jr.’s performance in the fourth quarter…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  223. &lt;p id="YZOrrv"&gt;“Yes, P.J. [Washington] was well rested. We need to talk about the fouling and hacking out there. But he picked up two quick fouls out there and so he was rested. But the beauty of P.J. is that his character is like no other. You would have thought he had 30 points tonight. He just plays. He never complains. He is guarding the best player on the other side. There are very few plays ran for him. He just does his job at a high level. We are very fortunate to have him. But yes, he didn’t have any points going into the fourth and then he knocked down some big shots and hit his free throws. The biggest play – that won’t go down as the biggest play – was to miss the free throw in the proper way. Sometimes we say miss the free throw and it just hits the backboard and they get the set up. We didn’t want them to be set up. They had no time outs. And so, we learned not to run away from the ball, but to press the ball, to make the ball go back, because we have lost the game that way before. A lot of the things we have learned along the way we were able to execute late in tonight’s game.”&lt;/p&gt;
  224. &lt;h2 id="FBGQvn"&gt;Luka Doncic&lt;/h2&gt;
  225. &lt;p id="w6ZDSq"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what makes this Mavericks group so resilient…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  226. &lt;p id="dAQuBk"&gt;“I think we just stick together. We always talk on the bench, stay together [and have] positive energy. Today, it was a pure example of it.” &lt;/p&gt;
  227. &lt;p id="VwBVqz"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II’s performance thus far in the playoffs and if he’s ever stopped impressing him…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  228. &lt;p id="z7wjVD"&gt;“No, it was amazing to see. [Him having] +26 in a playoff game is insane, and he’s been doing this being a rookie. He has unbelievable potential. I’m just glad the Mavs drafted him.” &lt;/p&gt;
  229. &lt;p id="UZM7Or"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On Mavericks forward P.J. Washington Jr.’s big offensive rebound and the 27 second-chance points the Mavericks scored tonight…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  230. &lt;p id="fFzlbp"&gt;“27 [second-chance points] is amazing. It means our passion and our energy was at a high level. Everybody was concentrated. We said at halftime ‘We’re not going to OKC.’ So that’s what we did. We stayed together, as I always say, and played with energy. That rebound P.J. [Washington Jr.] got, I remember and then I drove, and he hit the three. It was a huge moment in the game. It was a momentum change. It was very, very huge at the end of the game.” &lt;/p&gt;
  231. &lt;p id="BrKzhi"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what it means to win a series despite some struggles…)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  232. &lt;p id="OCJcK2"&gt;“We won the series. That’s what matters in the end. We didn’t have home [court] advantage, which is great. [It’s] great that we won. Struggles are going to come. You have to stay positive and keep hooping. You can impact the game in other ways, not just by shooting poorly.” &lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;p id="EPbeL2"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what it means to him to see the organization continue to add players to support him…)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="H5xEge"&gt;“Big time. This group has been together for like five months. We’re capable of more and more. Big-time trades and big-time adjustments. Keep bringing them.” &lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;p id="AG6K8N"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On how it feels to prove the doubters wrong…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  236. &lt;p id="BR1sSp"&gt;“I don’t think we care. We enjoy playing with each other. We enjoy playing with this team. We don’t really care what other people have to say.” &lt;/p&gt;
  237. &lt;p id="fwL9Qu"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving means to him…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="5Qy2Yg"&gt;“Big-time, man. When he came, [he’s been] nothing but supportive of everything I did, everything we did. He helped me mature a lot and realize to see the game in a different way. And, obviously, on the court it’s amazing to play with a guy like him. Just go out there and enjoy. The leader he’s been for us, not just for me, but for us, has been amazing. Always positive energy.”&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;p id="MfU0VP"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Kyrie Irving&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;p id="qQRPO8"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On how fun it was out there in tonight’s 117-116 win to advance to the Western Conference Finals…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  241. &lt;p id="TSD3LR"&gt;“I think it was fun once the game ended. So many high emotions going out there. Being down 17 in a close-out game isn’t a position you want to be in, but that’s where we found ourselves. We had to respond the way we’ve been responding all season, just playing hard on the basketball on the defensive end, getting out in transition, and just trusting that our pace will get us back in the pace. [It] definitely feels good to get the series done. Now we can reflect on it and see how we improved as players, as a team, coaching staff, and organization, so we’re appreciative of it.” &lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;p id="Gyd7xQ"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On his postgame interview with ESPN and that moment with his family and how special those moments are in his career…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  243. &lt;p id="jgzelj"&gt;“Just that whole walk-off: hugging my family and then going to hug some more of my family in the locker room, everybody cheering for each other. I had to make an impromptu speech and I was doing my best not to let some tears come down from my eyes because it feels like it’s been a long time coming. Just being back in this position, getting back to the [Western] Conference Finals. It was just a long way back. I’m grateful to have these guys beside me.” &lt;/p&gt;
  244. &lt;p id="EOTvRz"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On what Mavericks guard Luka Dončić means to him…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  245. &lt;p id="CUEN0d"&gt;“I think this guy has pushed me to continue to work on my game, continue to develop as a young leader. A big word we can both agree on is maturity. Coming into Dallas, I was dealing with a lot mentally, spiritually [and] emotionally. They embraced me with open arms. I don’t have a perfect journey, so coming into this environment I wasn’t sure how we were going to work out on the court. But, off the court, I knew eventually that I would get him to open up. This guy’s a big teddy bear at times off the court at times. [He’s] a big competitor. I’ll say [he is] a teddy bear that likes to compete. At times, I just have to sit back and marvel at his talent and his ability to get outside his comfort zone. I enjoy watching him be a father. I enjoy watching him develop as a person first and then the basketball stuff will take care of it. We all know how skilled he is, we all know his numbers and stuff like that, but I want to be a teammate and brother next to him that helps him grow like a man and helps him achieve the things that he wants to achieve. I know he feels the same way. The mission is still the same for us, and when we step on that court, we enjoy competing with each other.”&lt;/p&gt;
  246. &lt;h2 id="BDyqRV"&gt;Derrick Jones, Jr. &lt;/h2&gt;
  247. &lt;p id="JvESSE"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On his what it feels like getting to the Western Conference Finals…) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;p id="J7WBTT"&gt;“It’s good, it is my first time [going] to the Western Conference Finals. I have been to the Eastern Conference Finals. But in the West, it is stacked over there. You have to give it everything you got every night. It is a big accomplishment, but the job’s not finished. We’ve got to keep on going. We need eight more wins until we get what we want.” &lt;/p&gt;
  249. &lt;p id="nHA5ig"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On how he’s feeling about his 22-point performance in tonight’s win….) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  250. &lt;p id="tqDKHe"&gt;“I took 13 shots, and they are the same shots that I’ve taken all season. I work on my game, and I trust my game. My teammates trust me. They put me in situations where I can get a shot off or I can create for others.” &lt;/p&gt;
  251. &lt;p id="cy6BVj"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(On if he thought the Western Conference Finals were an expectation for this team at the beginning of the season….) &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  252. &lt;p id="lkLOlD"&gt;“Yeah, the team that we had at the beginning of the year was still special. I felt that we could do a lot of things. But we made a pivot. We got P.J. [Washington Jr.] and Gaff (Daniel Gafford) and that helped our team tremendously on defense. I feel like that was one thing we were lapsing on was the defensive end. I love the team that we’ve got. We love fighting together.”&lt;/p&gt;
  253. &lt;p id="LCKeTY"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can listen to &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/23eedgbdre2RHIGIJwtwOI?si=uH2b0jL6T4-HC3dhkmuI9A"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;our latest podcast episode&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast/id1365537266"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Apple&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ckzV6HkHYTgAx08y4hrcH"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spotify&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ibG9ndGFsa3JhZGlvLmNvbS9tYXZzbW9uZXliYWxsL3BvZGNhc3Q"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Google Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.pandora.com/podcast/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast/PC:1000056319"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pandora&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://pca.st/l3hY"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pocketcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pod_Maverick/streams"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YouTube&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pod_Maverick/podcasts"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YouTube Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2b0d1877-74bf-47b1-ae00-6e204b91812e/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast?ascsubtag=___sb__p_23921960__t_w__r_mavsmoneyball.com/mavericks-scores-results__d_D&amp;amp;ots=1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Amazon Music&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2025260?country=us"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Castbox&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  254. &lt;div id="5mwFbS"&gt;&lt;iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/23eedgbdre2RHIGIJwtwOI?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="oJmVED"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can check out our After Dark Recap podcasts, YouTube Live recordings, and guest shows on the Pod Maverick&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ckzV6HkHYTgAx08y4hrcH"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Podcast feed&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. Please subscribe, rate, and review.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;p id="yygwCn"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  257.  
  258. </content>
  259.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/19/24160067/quote-board-we-love-fighting-together"/>
  260.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/19/24160067/quote-board-we-love-fighting-together</id>
  261.    <author>
  262.      <name>Kirk Henderson</name>
  263.    </author>
  264.  </entry>
  265.  <entry>
  266.    <published>2024-05-19T00:00:00-05:00</published>
  267.    <updated>2024-05-19T00:00:00-05:00</updated>
  268.    <title>Stats Rundown: 3 numbers from a Dallas Mavericks win over the Oklahoma City Thunder</title>
  269.    <content type="html">  
  270.  
  271.    &lt;figure&gt;
  272.      &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GeaCnVRnU45EN7EKIfCCb_Ph_ZA=/5x0:3499x2329/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73356449/usa_today_23319771.0.jpg" /&gt;
  273.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  274.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  275.  
  276.  &lt;p&gt;The Mavericks are headed back to the Western Conference Finals after a win over the Thunder.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="Dxzltx"&gt; For the second time in three years, the &lt;a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com"&gt;Dallas Mavericks&lt;/a&gt; will be advancing to the Western Conference Finals after a &lt;a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159370/mavericks-thunder-final-score-117-116-game-6-recap-dallas-oklahoma-city-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving"&gt;win over the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116.&lt;/a&gt; They dispatched a very young, very talented Thunder squad with a Game 6 victory in Dallas in what was a match for the ages.&lt;/p&gt;
  277. &lt;p id="2lW05j"&gt;Dallas trailed 64-48 at the half but came out in the second unflinchingly determined to put this series to bed. Luka Doncic, though hobbled with multiple injuries, has looked like the version of himself that everyone knows and loves for the second game in a row. Kyrie Irving, too, would put his signature second-half explosion stamp onto this game to help lift the Mavs to a win. &lt;/p&gt;
  278. &lt;p id="QwRadv"&gt;The story of this series, though, has been trust and defense as Dallas is looking like the best version of themselves. Here are three key numbers from the Game 6 win as the Mavs look to get some much-needed rest as they await the outcome of Game 7 between Denver and Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;
  279. &lt;h2 id="UQ5pq6"&gt;Luka triple-double: 29-10-10&lt;/h2&gt;
  280. &lt;p id="KVNoqZ"&gt;Doncic again looks to be playing more like himself the past two games after being hampered by knee and ankle injuries since early on in the Clippers series. Luka put together another gritty performance with a hard-nosed triple-double, sinking 9 of his 15 shots. It’s been said by pretty much every spectator with an interest in this series that Dallas can’t win without a healthy Doncic. And while he might not be healthy, he’s somehow made it work, looking more determined than ever over the past two games. No one is taking on a bigger load and playing through more physical defense than Luka right now.&lt;/p&gt;
  281. &lt;p id="K6mp4z"&gt;For much of this series, Thunder forward Lu Dort guarded Doncic like you’d guard a bull if you really wanted to keep it from scoring. He did an admirable job, but did seem to get away with an awful lot of excess physicality. Luka reigned in his proclivity to question foul calls, and for the past two games did most of his speaking with his field goal percentage. He played a whopping 45 minutes in this one. That knee has gotta be ready for a break.&lt;/p&gt;
  282. &lt;h2 id="XtWMyH"&gt;Rebound edge: Dallas 47, Thunder 31&lt;/h2&gt;
  283. &lt;p id="rW7sZX"&gt;As is always a big factor in the outcome of a game, the rebound total was lopsided, favoring Dallas by double digits. By that mark, it would seem as if the Thunder were lucky to be as close in this one as they were, not to mention the fact that they had a comfortable lead during a good portion of the second half. Dereck Lively II brought down 15, while Doncic grabbed 10 as mentioned above. The tandem of Lively and Daniel Gafford has given Dallas an edge they’ve never had before, being able to deploy a quality big man across all 48 minutes of game time without overworking anyone with unreasonable minutes. Defense plays a big role in establishing a strong rebounding presence, and the Mavericks’ defensive performance over the past two series has made quite an impression.&lt;/p&gt;
  284. &lt;h2 id="zclTqi"&gt;Three Point Percentage: Dallas 16/34, Thunder 15/41&lt;/h2&gt;
  285. &lt;p id="ptxg5Y"&gt;There might not be a clearer picture of the way that Dallas’s defense seared its brand onto this game. The Thunder took 41 three-point shots in this one. Much of the reason for that is the fact that Dallas has been increasingly effective with their paint defense. Of course, you’ve got to account for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who came away with 36 on 14 of 25 shooting; and obviously his mid-range shot is nearly unstoppable, always a key element for the Thunder, this series being no exception. And while Chet Holmgren did his best to support Shai by putting up 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, the team otherwise put up a very high volume of threes and just struggled to convert. They took 27 threes in the last game they won in the series, back in game 4. Add onto this the fact that Dallas was 47% from deep tonight, and the win starts to make sense from a statistical standpoint. &lt;/p&gt;
  286. &lt;p id="LCKeTY"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can listen to &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/23eedgbdre2RHIGIJwtwOI?si=uH2b0jL6T4-HC3dhkmuI9A"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;our latest podcast episode&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast/id1365537266"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Apple&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ckzV6HkHYTgAx08y4hrcH"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spotify&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ibG9ndGFsa3JhZGlvLmNvbS9tYXZzbW9uZXliYWxsL3BvZGNhc3Q"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Google Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.pandora.com/podcast/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast/PC:1000056319"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pandora&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://pca.st/l3hY"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pocketcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pod_Maverick/streams"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YouTube&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pod_Maverick/podcasts"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YouTube Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2b0d1877-74bf-47b1-ae00-6e204b91812e/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast?ascsubtag=___sb__p_23921960__t_w__r_mavsmoneyball.com/mavericks-scores-results__d_D&amp;amp;ots=1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Amazon Music&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2025260?country=us"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Castbox&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  287. &lt;div id="5mwFbS"&gt;&lt;iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/23eedgbdre2RHIGIJwtwOI?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  288. &lt;p id="oJmVED"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can check out our After Dark Recap podcasts, YouTube Live recordings, and guest shows on the Pod Maverick&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ckzV6HkHYTgAx08y4hrcH"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Podcast feed&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. Please subscribe, rate, and review.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  289. &lt;p id="OX3bwp"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  290.  
  291. </content>
  292.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/19/24160041/stats-rundown-3-numbers-from-dallas-mavericks-win-over-the-oklahoma-city-thunder-result"/>
  293.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/19/24160041/stats-rundown-3-numbers-from-dallas-mavericks-win-over-the-oklahoma-city-thunder-result</id>
  294.    <author>
  295.      <name>JasonMWorley</name>
  296.    </author>
  297.  </entry>
  298.  <entry>
  299.    <published>2024-05-18T22:33:45-05:00</published>
  300.    <updated>2024-05-18T22:33:45-05:00</updated>
  301.    <title>2 thoughts after the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-116</title>
  302.    <content type="html">  
  303.  
  304.    &lt;figure&gt;
  305.      &lt;img alt="NBA: Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AuNCOBHPY3y1LmOUSCpabFNXADc=/0x357:3049x2390/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73356415/usa_today_21850295.0.jpg" /&gt;
  306.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  307.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  308.  
  309.  &lt;p&gt;The Mavericks avoided a potential Game 7 on the road and closed out the series against the Thunder&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="cxTQe5"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com"&gt;Dallas Mavericks&lt;/a&gt; defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-116 on Saturday night in Dallas. The win secured a spot in the Western Conference Finals for the Mavericks. It was a hard-fought game with more twists and turns than an F1 track.&lt;/p&gt;
  310. &lt;p id="FqSNJ9"&gt;For the Mavericks, they were led by Luka Doncic’s team high 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving, after scoring just four points in the first half, ended with 22 points. It was P.J. Washington, however, that stole the show. he finished with just nine points, but they may be the most important points he scores in his career.&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;p id="wUiMta"&gt;For the young and upcoming Thunder, they were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 36 points, three rebounds, and eight assists. The Mavericks struggled to contain Gilgeous-Alexander, and his ability to bend the Maverick’s defense to his will created opportunities for Jalen Williams and Chet Williams, who scored 22 and 21 points respectively.&lt;/p&gt;
  312. &lt;p id="3iBa8t"&gt;For the Mavericks, there were plenty of moments where a Game 7 on the road seemed inevitable. Their grit, mental toughness, and timely shot making allowed them to pull off an improbable comeback and advance to the Western Conference Finals. &lt;/p&gt;
  313. &lt;p id="8EEXaA"&gt;The Thunder started the game by scoring seconds after the tip-off and were in complete control of the game to start. Lu Dort in particular was a menace on both ends of the floor. He got caught on Luka’s hip and ran into him to put Luka on the line but his relentless defending the pick and roll led to two consecutive turnovers. On offense, he caught Washington with his hand in the cookie jar and got himself to the free throw line. Minutes later he nailed two three pointers and helped put the Mavericks on their heels.&lt;/p&gt;
  314. &lt;p id="9bTYjz"&gt;For the Mavs, it was once again Doncic who helped stop the bleeding and kept the game from getting out of hand early after a couple of step back 3’s. With 4:30 seconds left in the quarter, Doncic ran off to the locker room and in came Jaden Hardy. Hardy had a nice dish to Dereck Lively that led to an easy dunk for the rookie big man. Hardy ended the quarter with a nice finish in the paint, but his subsequent missed free throw led to a buzzer beating heave by Jalen Williams. After one quarter, the Mavs were down 30-23. More importantly, however, Kyrie finished the quarter with just two points on two field goal attempts. &lt;/p&gt;
  315. &lt;p id="RAHlMV"&gt;The second quarter was a game of runs for most of it. The Mavs had a 10-0 run to give them their first lead of the game. The Thunder then had two 7-0 runs that sandwiched a Daniel Gafford alley-oop dunk. Earlier, we mentioned Irving was on a milk carton in the first quarter. He popped up just long enough to score his only field goal of the quarter and second of the game. Jason Kidd was so desperate for offense he ended the quarter with a Luka/Kyrie/Hardy/Green/Gafford lineup. To the surprise of no one except Kidd himself, the lineup proved to be disastrous. They got torn to shreds by SGA and the rest of the Thunder who knocked down open three after open three to end the quarter. Led by SGA’s 21 points and 5 assists, the Thunder went into halftime up 64-48.&lt;/p&gt;
  316. &lt;p id="je1Qq0"&gt;The third quarter can be summed up quite easily. To start, it was the Luka Doncic show. Midway through, it turned into the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander show. A Derrick Jones Jr. 3-pointer at the end of the quarter made it a seven-point game with the Thunder up 90-83. Despite seven turnovers by Doncic, poor play from his supporting cast, and a collective inability to credibly defend SGA, the Mavs were fortunate to find themselves down just seven with the game still in the balance. &lt;/p&gt;
  317. &lt;p id="f0OAs3"&gt;The key stretch in the fourth quarter came around the six-minute mark. The Mavericks had found a way to tie the game and had opportunities to take the lead, but mental mistakes and defensive lapses allowed the Thunder to regain control of the game. On 3 straight defensive possessions you could see Mavs players looking at each other in frustration because someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be. The Thunder were getting into the teeth of the defense and finding Chet Holmgren for easy lobs. Players were getting drove by without the requisite help there to help cut off access to the rim. That stretch could have easily led to a loss but give the Mavericks credit for finding a way to bounce back in the last few minutes. &lt;/p&gt;
  318. &lt;p id="uXuy9U"&gt;The last three minutes were an absolute blur. Lively hit an insane shot. Washington, after being silent for most of the game, made his impact felt in a major way. Luka was Luka. Most teams find a way to lose when SGA is playing the way he was. This Mavericks team showed resiliency and mental toughness and now find themselves in the Western Conference Finals. And now, some quick thoughts about an insane series ending comeback win. &lt;/p&gt;
  319. &lt;h2 id="phUmJG"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PJ Washington was/is incredible&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  320. &lt;p id="i1hi2c"&gt;Let’s put something to bed this instant—the trade for Washington was a win. If the past week and half turn out to be the peak of his career in Dallas, that statement will still be true. In a series where Kidd was desperate to find ways to get Doncic help, Washington stepped up and was huge reason for why this team finds themselves in the Western Conference Finals. In Games 2 through 5, he averaged 25 points per game.&lt;/p&gt;
  321. &lt;p id="9lHVIz"&gt;More important that his scoring output, was his defensive effort. His length and athleticism helped anchor a Mavericks defense that slowed down the Thunder offense and made them a one man team. There isn’t a player on the planet that can single handedly shut down SGA, but with the game on the line there was one man tasked with making things difficult for him and that man was PJ Washington. Washington is truly a cult hero amongst Mavericks fans and his legend continues to grow. &lt;/p&gt;
  322. &lt;h2 id="BbMiG9"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kyrie Irving needs to be better&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  323. &lt;p id="8pCjXj"&gt;Irving had one of the more frustrating halves to watch as fan. Let’s start with his defense. On one particular play where Jalen Williams nailed a three, you could see Kyrie jog with the intensity of someone pretending to hurry up while someone holds the door open for them. That sort of effort is flat out unacceptable. &lt;/p&gt;
  324. &lt;p id="3QmpMe"&gt;Speaking of effort, there was another play where after crossing half court, he gave the ball up to Luka and immediately put his hands on his knees. There were two more passes made and his hands never left his knees. Was that his version of a silent protest? Was he upset he was getting enough touches? One would hope not when you watch his lack of movement off ball. If you want the ball, go and get it.&lt;/p&gt;
  325. &lt;p id="aJhCQZ"&gt;He is one of the most skilled players to ever touch a basketball. He can get to any spot on the floor he wants. Two made baskets in a half is simply not enough. His point totals by game were 20, 9, 22, 9, and 12 through the first five games. That’s not good enough.&lt;/p&gt;
  326. &lt;p id="LdzcVT"&gt;He had a much better second half which makes the first half look that much worse. Irving fought and competed down the stretch of this game. That is the version of Kyrie this team traded for. That is the version of Kyrie this team needs if it has any chance of making the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba-finals"&gt;NBA Finals&lt;/a&gt;. Irving is so dynamic that he can affect a game without actually scoring points. It’s not his shooting percentages that worried me, but his lack of field goal attempts. Kyrie has been labeled as mercurial and with reason. He plays with his emotions on his sleeve. A few seconds is all you need to see to know if he is engaged or simply going through the motions. For his sake, and the team’s, I hope we never see him look as uninterested as he did in that first half. &lt;/p&gt;
  327. &lt;p id="LCKeTY"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can listen to &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/23eedgbdre2RHIGIJwtwOI?si=uH2b0jL6T4-HC3dhkmuI9A"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;our latest podcast episode&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast/id1365537266"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Apple&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ckzV6HkHYTgAx08y4hrcH"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spotify&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ibG9ndGFsa3JhZGlvLmNvbS9tYXZzbW9uZXliYWxsL3BvZGNhc3Q"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Google Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.pandora.com/podcast/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast/PC:1000056319"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pandora&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://pca.st/l3hY"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pocketcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pod_Maverick/streams"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YouTube&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pod_Maverick/podcasts"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YouTube Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;,&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2b0d1877-74bf-47b1-ae00-6e204b91812e/pod-maverick-a-dallas-mavericks-podcast?ascsubtag=___sb__p_23921960__t_w__r_mavsmoneyball.com/mavericks-scores-results__d_D&amp;amp;ots=1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Amazon Music&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/id2025260?country=us"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Castbox&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  328. &lt;div id="5mwFbS"&gt;&lt;iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/23eedgbdre2RHIGIJwtwOI?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  329. &lt;p id="oJmVED"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;You can check out our After Dark Recap podcasts, YouTube Live recordings, and guest shows on the Pod Maverick&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6ckzV6HkHYTgAx08y4hrcH"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Podcast feed&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. Please subscribe, rate, and review.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  330. &lt;p id="sZBTeU"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  331. &lt;p id="CXqpvl"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  332. &lt;p id="7qRImU"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  333. &lt;p id="jCOmhI"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  334. &lt;p id="tnYb0i"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  335. &lt;p id="wroBIX"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  336. &lt;p id="MbKQsh"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  337. &lt;p id="8PrS8E"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  338. &lt;p id="SRS3k5"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  339.  
  340. </content>
  341.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159370/mavericks-thunder-final-score-117-116-game-6-recap-dallas-oklahoma-city-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving"/>
  342.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159370/mavericks-thunder-final-score-117-116-game-6-recap-dallas-oklahoma-city-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving</id>
  343.    <author>
  344.      <name>Xavier Santos</name>
  345.    </author>
  346.  </entry>
  347.  <entry>
  348.    <published>2024-05-18T18:00:00-05:00</published>
  349.    <updated>2024-05-18T18:00:00-05:00</updated>
  350.    <title>Mavericks vs Thunder Game 6 Preview and Game Thread: Time to finish the job </title>
  351.    <content type="html">  
  352.  
  353.    &lt;figure&gt;
  354.      &lt;img alt="2024 NBA Playoffs - Dallas Mavericks v Oklahoma City Thunder" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AP9i9YtTxa52CwoSk2GJAHMcIMs=/0x345:1826x1562/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73356107/2152709515.0.jpg" /&gt;
  355.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Jim Poorten/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  356.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  357.  
  358.  &lt;p&gt;Dallas can close out OKC on their home court&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="k2NVED"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com"&gt;Dallas Mavericks&lt;/a&gt; can close out their second round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a win at home tonight in Dallas. It’s the sixth game of their series with Dallas ahead 3-2. The game starts at 7:00 pm and will be broadcast on ABC. Dallas won the last game in Oklahoma, 104-92. Let’s get to the key pieces of information:&lt;/p&gt;
  359. &lt;ul&gt;
  360. &lt;li id="rtLgjs"&gt;
  361. &lt;strong&gt;WHO: &lt;/strong&gt;Dallas Mavericks vs Oklahoma City Thunder&lt;/li&gt;
  362. &lt;li id="EXJfdQ"&gt;
  363. &lt;strong&gt;WHAT&lt;/strong&gt;: Game 6 of the second-round NBA playoff series &lt;/li&gt;
  364. &lt;li id="iWbcHo"&gt;
  365. &lt;strong&gt;WHERE: &lt;/strong&gt;American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX&lt;/li&gt;
  366. &lt;li id="GpBzqp"&gt;
  367. &lt;strong&gt;WHEN: &lt;/strong&gt;7:00&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;p.m. CST&lt;/li&gt;
  368. &lt;li id="vsJ9Ir"&gt;
  369. &lt;strong&gt;HOW&lt;/strong&gt;: ABC&lt;/li&gt;
  370. &lt;/ul&gt;
  371. &lt;p id="FbJylY"&gt;The injury report is the same as it’s been all series. Luka Dončić is probable but banged up. Maxi Kleber is still hurt (but is making progress) and O-Max is hurt. Meanwhile the Thunder continue being the healthiest team in the playoffs. &lt;/p&gt;
  372. &lt;p id="kgW9VR"&gt;I don’t have other stuff to add. I need the Mavs to win. I’m busy tonight and watching at an event. Let’s hope the Mavericks have their stuff together and come ready to play.&lt;/p&gt;
  373. &lt;p id="Gzxu2t"&gt;Xavier is on the recap, we’ll get other stuff up post game! Please win Mavs! Let’s go Mavs!&lt;/p&gt;
  374.  
  375. </content>
  376.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159844/mavericks-vs-thunder-game-6-preview-time-to-finish-the-job"/>
  377.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159844/mavericks-vs-thunder-game-6-preview-time-to-finish-the-job</id>
  378.    <author>
  379.      <name>Kirk Henderson</name>
  380.    </author>
  381.  </entry>
  382.  <entry>
  383.    <published>2024-05-18T13:04:23-05:00</published>
  384.    <updated>2024-05-18T13:04:23-05:00</updated>
  385.    <title>Maverick Odds: How to Bet Thunder vs Mavericks Game 6</title>
  386.    <content type="html">  
  387.  
  388.    &lt;figure&gt;
  389.      &lt;img alt="Dallas Mavericks v Oklahoma City Thunder - Game Five" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G-icmXWCvrZ34Y2T6-BdFvMhxGo=/2x0:3227x2150/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73355830/2153170930.0.jpg" /&gt;
  390.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  391.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  392.  
  393.  &lt;p&gt;It is once again time to wear all black.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="oBMxaO"&gt;Fans of the Dallas Mavericks were treated to a great performance from wounded warrior Luka Doncic in Game 5. Battling past injuries and frustrations, Doncic reminded the NBA world he can still take over a game on the road in the playoffs - even when hobbled. The Mavs return home with a chance to close out the series. Will they take care of business or will the series shift back to Oklahoma City for a deciding Game 7? Just as importantly, can we find a bet worth making in the slate for Game 6?&lt;/p&gt;
  394. &lt;div id="psz4TV"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7vQbdytia_A?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  395. &lt;h2 id="RcbdE0"&gt;Game Details&lt;/h2&gt;
  396. &lt;p id="6de2Au"&gt;Fixture: Oklahoma City Thunder vs &lt;a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com"&gt;Dallas Mavericks&lt;/a&gt; | May 18th, 2024, 7:00 PM CST&lt;/p&gt;
  397. &lt;p id="iT3hDh"&gt;Venue: American Airlines Center | Dallas, TX&lt;/p&gt;
  398. &lt;h2 id="6yE612"&gt;Outcome Odds&lt;/h2&gt;
  399. &lt;ul&gt;
  400. &lt;li id="HO2Y2z"&gt;Spread: Mavericks -3.5 (-110)&lt;/li&gt;
  401. &lt;li id="HR4ueb"&gt;O/U 209&lt;/li&gt;
  402. &lt;li id="VGLtiy"&gt;Mavs ML: -180&lt;/li&gt;
  403. &lt;/ul&gt;
  404. &lt;p id="hh5H3q"&gt;&lt;a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/event/okc-thunder-%40-dal-mavericks/30593845"&gt;Odds up to date as of 11:20 AM CST from DraftKings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  405. &lt;h2 id="GP2tf6"&gt;Player Props&lt;/h2&gt;
  406. &lt;ul&gt;
  407. &lt;li id="Jmug1P"&gt;Derrick Jones Jr over 12.5 points + rebounds (-118)&lt;/li&gt;
  408. &lt;li id="JsamHv"&gt;Jaylin Williams under 0.5 3-pointers made (-135)&lt;/li&gt;
  409. &lt;li id="nrCHVI"&gt;Kyrie Irving over 5.5 PRA (assists) (-130)&lt;/li&gt;
  410. &lt;/ul&gt;
  411. &lt;p id="vuBDrL"&gt;Jones has been on a heater the last two games. Many of the wide-open looks going to Washington earlier in the series have started flowing to Jones. The perception around the league is that these two forwards can be left alone in the playoffs - Washington proved that notion incorrect in Games 2 and 3. Jones has issued a similar statement in Games 4 and 5. We ride Jones to get to 13 points and boards.&lt;/p&gt;
  412. &lt;p id="zXyurQ"&gt;Jaylin Williams took 2 shots beyond the arc in Games 3 and 4 while visiting the AAC and missed them both. This prop is a solid value for a young player on the road who is not an accomplished shooter.&lt;/p&gt;
  413. &lt;p id="3Ph3Lh"&gt;Kyrie Irving has been dishing all series. While that production dipped in Game 5 to just four assists, expect the return home to boost his assist total back over this line of 5.5 as the Maverick shooters and big men propel him to win this prop for us.&lt;/p&gt;
  414. &lt;h2 id="DBJeP5"&gt;Play of the Day&lt;/h2&gt;
  415. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li id="LyQ0CU"&gt;Single Game Parlay = &lt;br&gt;Dallas Mavericks Moneyline + Luka Doncic over 2.5 3-pointers made (+138)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  416. &lt;p id="G9rvjL"&gt;Luka Doncic will take a high volume of three-pointers in this game. Even if he is not sinking them at the same rate as Game 5, getting to three hits from deep feels like solid ground to stand on in this two-leg parlay. Counting on Dallas to end this series in six games is also a smart bet. Go Mavs!&lt;/p&gt;
  417. &lt;div id="j77fDh"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u04YFjwdNhg?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  418. &lt;p id="8ptXUL"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  419.  
  420. </content>
  421.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159738/maverick-odds-how-to-bet-thunder-vs-mavericks-game-6"/>
  422.    <id>https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/18/24159738/maverick-odds-how-to-bet-thunder-vs-mavericks-game-6</id>
  423.    <author>
  424.      <name>Brent Brooks</name>
  425.    </author>
  426.  </entry>
  427. </feed>
  428.  

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

  1. Download the "valid Atom 1.0" banner.

  2. Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)

  3. Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//mavsmoneyball.com/rss/index.xml

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms

 
Copyright © 2002-9 Sam Ruby, Mark Pilgrim, Joseph Walton, and Phil Ringnalda