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a day show let's get ahead of ourselves or the

1:42

mavs title contenders now people are shown to talk about

1:44

them like they are will talk about what makes you

1:47

title contender and if the maps are that one could

1:49

hold them back and what type of the mavs game

1:51

he gets the king's coming up on today's like i'm

1:53

am looking into doing this not don't know We

2:03

don't believe you shouldn't

2:05

be here. And welcome.

2:10

You are locked on

2:15

in the Dallas Mavericks. My

2:17

name is Nick Engsted, media member and NBA channel

2:20

manager for the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team

2:22

every day. Thanks for being part of the show

2:24

making locked on maps. You're first listen today on

2:26

any podcast platform. Apple, Spotify, all that.

2:28

Best way you can help us grow the show

2:30

is to listen every day, leave a five-star review,

2:32

like the video, and comment anything below. Let me

2:34

know in the comment section, do you believe the

2:36

Mavs are title contenders now? Today's

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Today, we'll preview the Mavs

2:52

game against the Kings coming up on

2:55

Friday. If you're listening to that on

2:57

Friday, a couple of thoughts

2:59

on that as I've been sitting here on them. But

3:01

today, I kind of want to talk about the Mavs are title

3:03

contenders. I'll listen to Tim Legler,

3:07

former NBA player, very smart guy on the

3:09

NBA. And he was like, he's

3:11

like really high on the Mavs. And

3:14

really thinks and really believes in what they can be. And

3:17

so let's really look through that and let's

3:19

decipher, can the Mavericks be an action title

3:22

contender? Can we consider them a title

3:24

contender now because of how they played recently? And

3:26

so we'll talk all about that. We'll talk about what

3:28

would hold them back from being title contenders. We'll talk

3:30

about how their ceiling changed. But let's

3:33

start here. Has

3:35

the Mav ceiling changed? And why has the

3:37

Mav ceiling changed? It can't be just as simple

3:39

as, well, they traded for PJ Washington

3:42

and they traded for Daniel Gafford. And so now

3:45

their ceiling has changed, right? That

3:48

seems too easy to me, right? It can't just

3:50

be that. It can't

3:52

just be, well, you know,

3:55

they got the Wizards center that they didn't

3:57

start for a long time and they finally

3:59

just started. They had one of their worst seasons ever when

4:01

they were starting him. And they

4:03

also added this wing that was coming off

4:05

the bench for one of the worst teams in the

4:07

NBA, the Charlotte Hornets, and now the Mavsertidal Contenders. It's

4:12

been a slow process. And

4:14

going back to last season, you

4:16

see the players that were around Luca, and now you see

4:18

the players that are around him now. They

4:21

bring in Kyrie. Doesn't really go

4:23

that well at the beginning. Get an off

4:25

season under your belt. He's hurt at

4:27

the beginning of the season a little bit. And then you

4:29

start to really see what it can really be lately. And

4:32

Kyrie has come on and been that second star that

4:34

they needed to fill in the gaps as

4:36

the second star that Luca needs. Then

4:39

you get the centers. The center spot was

4:42

such a hole for the Mavericks for so long. And

4:45

you look at what the Mavericks have done, and look at

4:47

what Nico Harrison has done with this group. You

4:51

tank the last two games, you keep the draft

4:53

pick, you draft Eric Lively. It ends up being,

4:56

I don't know. It's

4:59

at least the third best draft day trade of

5:01

all time for the Mavericks because one of them

5:03

got them Luca Nachos,

5:05

the other one got them Dirk Nowitzki.

5:07

So I don't know what the Derek

5:09

Lively draft day trade can ever be,

5:11

number one or number two on the list. It's

5:13

kind of hard to do. It's kind of

5:16

hard to do. It's just a random thing. But

5:18

the Mavs make another draft day trade. They've

5:20

been good at those. And they bring in Derek Lively, and he helped

5:22

kind of settle the ship a little

5:24

bit in terms of bringing in

5:27

somebody that can defend, rebound, block shots, do that

5:29

kind of stuff. Pick

5:31

and roll and catch lobs and all that. They

5:34

sign Derek Jones Jr. They

5:36

sign Dante Exum to these minimum

5:38

deals, taking a risk on Dante Exum when he

5:40

was not even in the NBA. And

5:43

so you kind of take a risk on a guy like that.

5:45

Derek Jones Jr. comes in and he's promised a bigger role than

5:47

he was probably promised on some other teams. You

5:50

still got Tim Hardaway Jr. You still have Josh

5:52

Green. You still have Maxi Kleba. You still have

5:54

NoDwightPowell. And

5:57

you take this team Into

5:59

this next stage. these were video you make

6:01

these trades. And. Now all of a

6:03

sudden this team has a they seem as a

6:05

couple things. They. Seem as an

6:07

identity. They. Have an identity. They know what

6:09

they are and when a look at odds it's

6:12

lead team has an identity. You

6:14

gotta watch out. And honestly, if I'm going

6:16

to say are they acted over that, are

6:18

Amadeu? Say yes Just because of that. Simply.

6:21

Because. I'll. Look it out.

6:24

His lead team with an identity is dangerous.

6:27

The. Star power is always there. You.

6:29

Look across or I who are the title contenders. This is

6:31

another thing I wanted to do. Who. Are the

6:33

title contenders the season. Usually.

6:35

You look back and you go okay. If

6:38

your top ten in office of rating and defensive

6:40

rating that makes you a title contender for the

6:42

whole sees yeah to prove it all season. prove

6:44

your top ten. And. Both. So.

6:48

Then that would be Boston, their first

6:50

and office third defense. Denver.

6:52

Seven that off as nice, a deep and that feels like

6:54

them. that feels like the final their bodies waiting for right

6:56

now. Then you also okay see

6:59

their fourth and off and six the defense their

7:01

top ten. Both are almost top five in those.

7:04

And then the other one is the next. Tent

7:06

it off and eight the de vivre. They've

7:09

had wilde injuries all over the place and

7:11

played ridiculous. Minutes. For some of

7:13

these guys challenged on Thibodeau. But.

7:15

Though the be the board teams are now. At

7:18

the that's normally what you think conventionally in

7:20

Alaska but young the of he go back

7:22

and they're only been a couple of exceptions

7:24

of teams that were not the top ten

7:26

in office of rating a defensive rating that

7:28

have been actual contenders and have actually gone

7:30

to the finals. But.

7:32

Honestly, you look at last two years.

7:35

Don't. Last two years, that trend has

7:37

completely been ruined. You.

7:39

Can blame a bunch of different stuff? But.

7:42

Denver was fifth it opens and

7:44

seventeenth in defense last year. When.

7:47

They won the title. The. Heat. Almost.

7:49

The opposite twenty fifth and often said he

7:52

was awful in the regular season at times.

7:54

Seventh. A difference for them. Gone.

7:58

states seven don't think in two thousand going to

8:00

17th in offense second in defense. And

8:04

Boston, when they played them in that, they were 10th in offense,

8:06

they were first in defense. So this top 10

8:08

in both has been completely thrown out the

8:10

window from the last two years. You

8:13

go back, even the bubble, go back to the bubble 2020, Lakers

8:16

were 10th in offense, fourth in defense, Miami was

8:18

7th in offense, 10th in defense. Like, they even

8:21

matched that in the bubble. What's

8:23

been going on the last couple of years is that you,

8:26

if you have a star that gets

8:28

hot, that can

8:30

go in and just murder

8:33

a defense, just completely pick you

8:35

apart. If you

8:37

have somebody like that, Jimmy Butler on the heat,

8:40

Yokech, Steph Curry, you know,

8:43

you get that guy that can

8:46

go in and just can make so many problems

8:48

for your team. What are we talking about with

8:50

Luca and talking about why he's a better player

8:52

than a Devin Booker, than a, you

8:54

know, than a, can I come

8:56

up with other names or else I'm just thinking

8:59

about Devin Booker. Why he's better

9:01

than, you know, as Shane Gilders Alexander, why he's better than some of

9:03

these other players is that he can pick

9:05

an offensive part with anything. He has any option in

9:07

front of him. Kyrie,

9:10

kind of the same thing. The passing is not as

9:12

there, but the dribble moves and the

9:14

one-on-one stuff with Kyrie, he's got almost every option in

9:16

front of him, but Luca has every option in front

9:18

of him. Make this pass,

9:21

post up, drive, kick out,

9:24

floater, mid-range, turnaround

9:27

jumper, the dark shot. He's got everything,

9:29

three-point shot, step back three, everything,

9:32

he's got everything in front of him. And

9:34

if you take a guy like that, put

9:36

him in a playoff setting where the other team says,

9:38

all right, you have at least four games to try

9:40

and figure this out. You

9:43

can't, you can't do it.

9:45

Couldn't do it against Jokic. Apparently you

9:48

couldn't do it against Jimmy Butler last year, he was

9:50

on another level. Couldn't do it against

9:52

Steph and the Warriors. The Mavs tried to do it, they couldn't

9:54

beat him that season. And

9:57

if you have that guy, and if you have that player,

10:00

And if you have the right stuff around them, that's

10:03

the that's the thing the maps have been missing They've

10:05

had the guy they've had the guy with the star

10:07

power and now they have the identity established around

10:09

him Where what are we

10:11

now? What are we the Dallas

10:13

Mavericks? What are we now? We are a big team with

10:16

wings that can defend and

10:19

a big thing that I noticed That that uh,

10:21

that Adam Morris brought up with with Tim Legler

10:23

great stuff great stuff on the Mavericks Both

10:26

very smart guys that obviously Adam Morris locked

10:28

on NBA locked on Nuggets also Dnbr He

10:32

said every single player on the Mavericks can

10:34

screen for Luca amazing point really great point

10:36

I was very jealous of it, but

10:39

every single player can screen for Luca to bring

10:41

Kyrie up for a screen Obviously the center's

10:43

gafford lively bring him up Derek Jones jr.

10:46

Bring him up PJ Washington I've

10:48

been calling for that a lot more this

10:50

season bring up PJ Washington for

10:52

a pick and roll Tim Hardaway

10:54

jr. He set screens for Luca sure Dante

10:57

xm. He set screens for Luca and Kyrie Absolutely,

11:01

and when that happens then all of a sudden the

11:04

player with all the options Already

11:07

has all the options of who to attack on the

11:09

other end and so Luca can

11:11

bring up all right let's say the worst offender is

11:13

guarding Tim Hardaway jr. Bring term Hardaway jr. Up for

11:15

a screen and When that

11:17

happens the recipe that the Mavericks have established

11:19

the identity They've got the star with all

11:21

the options and then they've got the offense

11:23

that can can find all the options in

11:25

it. I Think this

11:28

team ceiling has changed and

11:30

I think because the last couple of seasons

11:33

The trend of you've got to be top 10

11:35

and offensive defense have been bucked completely. I Think

11:38

this team could be a title contender because we

11:40

don't know what real title contenders are anymore a

11:43

Team can come out of nowhere like the

11:45

heat last the heat last season totally Threw

11:48

everybody off I think you can get

11:50

hot and if you can beat the teams in front of you you get

11:52

the right matchups and all of a Sudden you're right there Parity

11:55

is back in the NBA because

11:57

we have not had a dominating team in the

11:59

last five years, Golden State's made it twice,

12:03

Miami's made it twice, and that's it.

12:06

Out of five years. There's not

12:08

that parody anymore because there is that parody now,

12:10

there's not the dominating powers anymore. You just can't

12:12

do it because it's too hard. So

12:15

can the Mavericks be a title contender? Absolutely. Would I

12:17

pick them to win the title? Would I pick them

12:19

to be that? Would I go to FanDuel and be

12:21

like, all right, let's see who where they are? No,

12:23

I wouldn't do that. But I think they've

12:26

become title contenders now because they

12:28

had the one thing. You had the guy, you had

12:30

Luca. And if you've got that,

12:32

you're in a really good spot to start. Mavs

12:37

are plus 3,200 for the title right

12:39

now. Behind Minnesota, behind the Knicks, behind

12:41

the Suns. Coming

12:46

up, let's get into what would hold them back

12:48

and let's talk about what they, you know, let's

12:50

talk about what would hold the Mavericks back from

12:53

winning a title. Let's get into that and more

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Terms and conditions apply, need to hire, you

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need. Indeed. Uh-oh,

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guess what, David? Thanks for hanging

14:25

out with us on Lockdown Maps. Being part of the show, part

14:27

of the Raccoon Squad. I'm listening every day. We appreciate

14:29

each and every one of you for subscribing to the

14:31

show on Apple and Spotify and listening there on the

14:33

podcast. Had somebody ask me, how

14:35

do I listen to a podcast the other day?

14:37

And I was just like, oh, you have asked

14:40

the right person. Download the Spotify

14:42

app, the Apple app. Castbox, I've been using

14:44

Castbox. I like that one. Somebody

14:46

came up to me the other day at a game.

14:48

Apologies, I don't remember your name, but said, hey, I

14:50

still have the Himalaya app on my phone. Shout

14:53

out to everybody that made us like the top

14:56

10 podcasts

14:58

on Himalaya. It was a

15:01

platform that we were supporting for a while, or that

15:03

was sponsoring us. They had everybody come

15:05

in and were like, all right, promote Himalaya. And

15:07

Lockdown Maps became like a top 10 podcast

15:10

on the whole app. It

15:12

was hilarious. Mavs,

15:14

are they a title contender? Tim Legler and smart people have been talking about

15:16

the Mavericks like they're dangerous. Nobody

15:18

wants to play the Mavs. I think it was Brian

15:20

Windhorst that said a bunch of executives and people have

15:22

said, man, have you looked at the Dallas Mavericks lately?

15:25

Have you seen what the Mavericks are doing?

15:27

Look at what this team is doing. They've rattled

15:29

off all these wins. What is it?

15:32

Nine and one in their last 10 games. The

15:34

Mavs are doing some stuff and they're making a statement. They made

15:36

a statement against the Kings. They beat

15:38

the Nuggets. They also had that win against

15:40

OKC when the trade first happened. They also have a win

15:42

against Phoenix in that time too. They

15:45

also have five very bad losses in the

15:48

middle of that, which is just, of course, this Mavericks team

15:50

would have that. But let's talk about what would

15:52

hold them back because I talked to all the glowing

15:54

things, talked to all the stuff, reasons why the Mavericks

15:56

would, could be a

15:59

title contender and should be. be considered a title contender.

16:01

What would hold them back? I

16:05

mentioned they had five really bad losses and at

16:07

the end of those losses many

16:09

of you heard me say that it's time

16:11

for kid to be done with the Mavericks. I

16:14

could have couched it I could have couched it and

16:17

said unless they changed these things and I probably should

16:19

have because they did change those things. They

16:21

changed the effort they changed the intensity they changed what

16:23

what they were doing their offense has become a little

16:26

bit better they've done a lot of the right things

16:28

to get to right the ship basically and

16:32

I've always believed that this Mavericks team

16:34

can win with Jason Kidd. It

16:36

was it just came down to there are times in the

16:39

regular season where it just feels like they let go of

16:41

the rope too easy. They just let it

16:43

go and then they lose and

16:45

they get their defense gets destroyed by the Pacers

16:47

in two games and they get

16:49

destroyed in the fourth quarter by the Cavs by streus

16:51

getting hot and the Mavs not adjusting at all to

16:53

it. They get destroyed by the or

16:56

they get beat by the Sixers without Joel and bead like

16:59

those losses were just brutal and it looked like

17:01

if that's the direction the Mavs were going they

17:03

can let go of the rope and I expected

17:05

the Mavericks to let go of the rope and

17:08

instead they grabbed it back they pulled it yanked

17:10

it they tied it up and they

17:12

have just completely like anchored themselves

17:14

now and so

17:16

can hope could coaching of hold them hold the Mavericks

17:19

back from winning a title. Kidd

17:22

has proven he can win playoff games. They

17:24

won against the best team in the NBA two years

17:26

ago against the Phoenix Suns. They

17:29

won against the Jazz who are a well coached team

17:31

with with Quinn

17:34

Snyder at the time and

17:36

when has shaky coaching whether you believe that Kidd

17:38

is a shaky coach or not this could be

17:40

either way. When

17:42

has shaky coaching held teams back before going to

17:44

the title? Listen to the coaches that have made

17:46

the title that have made the finals over the

17:48

last couple of years. Phoenix,

17:51

Monte Williams. Look at

17:53

him in Detroit right now. Not

17:55

looked at as one of the best coaches in the NBA. He's

17:57

not like even a top 15 coach probably right now. Milwaukee,

18:02

they had Mike Boudenhoser. They let

18:04

him go. They

18:06

let him go. Lost in the

18:08

first round. The

18:10

Lakers, when they won in 2020. Frank Vogel,

18:13

he's not coaching for them right now. He

18:15

got fired. Go

18:17

back to 2015. The Cavs,

18:19

the first time they made the finals, the, I

18:21

guess, the, the next time they, the first time

18:23

of the four in a row that they made

18:27

the finals, first Cavs Warriors.

18:29

Let me put it that way. First Cavs Warriors finals.

18:33

The head coach was not Ty Lue. It was

18:35

David Blatt and he got fired after that. Talk

18:38

about a shaky coach, even back in the NBA. OKC

18:41

made it in 2012 with Scott Brooks as the coach, who

18:44

then became the Wizards coach, who then was not good enough

18:46

to be the Wizards coach, who then became an assistant coach.

18:49

So if you think Jason Kidd

18:51

is a shaky coach, then that whole list should make

18:53

you feel really good about the Mavericks potentially being a

18:56

tough. And if you weren't worried about Jason Kidd

18:58

being a shaky coach, then

19:00

you're not worried about that. You're not worried about

19:02

coaching at all. But if you are worried about it, teams

19:05

with, you know, with teams

19:07

with coaches that were considered shaky have made the

19:09

finals before. I don't think that'll

19:11

hold the Mavs back. Shooting.

19:13

This will hold the Mavs back. Let

19:16

me go to an absolute one. The

19:18

thing with the Mavericks is, and has always been, can

19:20

they hit when it matters? You look

19:22

at that Kings game and yeah, they

19:25

completely like over, over

19:27

accounted for and completely like took all the

19:29

misses that they've made. Like they've missed the

19:31

first like couple weeks of this whole

19:34

experiment with the trades and they

19:36

just made up for it in one game. Twenty two

19:38

out of thirty nine against the Kings. They're not going

19:40

to shoot like that. But can they make it when

19:43

it matters? Remember the Lakers game earlier this season when

19:45

Dante XM hit like the five threes. Remember

19:48

Derek Jones Jr. has hit five threes in a

19:50

couple of games this season. Remember, you know, Tim

19:52

Hardaway scoring forty in that game when hitting a

19:54

bunch of threes. Can they make it when it

19:56

matters? That's going to

19:58

be the big thing. And if they don't. that will hold

20:00

them back, for sure. Because

20:02

teams are gonna allow guys to be

20:04

left wide open. It's gonna happen. They

20:08

can bring up PJ Washington for screens and tried and

20:10

figured out that way, but if PJ Washington doesn't hit

20:12

some of those threes, he hit three threes off of

20:14

pick and pops at the beginning of the Kings game.

20:16

If he doesn't hit those, what

20:19

does that change for the momentum of the Mavs? Maybe the

20:21

Kings going to run at the beginning? All

20:24

this stuff can be very fragile and very like, it

20:26

can change in an instant. I

20:28

think the shooting could really hold them back, but

20:31

they can shoot. That's the good thing about this,

20:33

is that it's not like they just don't

20:35

have shooting. They have it. I

20:37

think they have enough to go and make a

20:39

run here, but can they hit

20:41

what it matters? That's gonna be really big. The other thing, sadly

20:44

is injury. I'm looking at Luca and I'm trying to

20:46

figure out if Luca's gonna be 100% at any

20:49

point. And

20:53

you know, if you watched in 2011, Dirk was not 100%. Dirk

20:55

was dealing with the fever and finger

20:57

and all kinds of stuff on the

20:59

way to that title. And so you don't have to

21:02

be 100%, but I'm worried if Achilles'

21:04

soreness, Luca was questionable with Achilles' soreness

21:07

before the Kings game. Worried about that for

21:10

sure. Injuries will hold them back,

21:12

shooting will hold them back. Their defense, I think

21:14

their defense can still fall apart. That's

21:17

the last thing I'll talk about here with things that could hold

21:19

them back. Been

21:21

on a good run lately, played well against the

21:23

Kings, and I think they can play well. What

21:26

have I said for years? So

21:29

sick of saying this, but it's true. Their

21:31

defense is predicated on effort, communication, being

21:33

together, rotating to the right guy. If

21:36

they can do that, and they usually do ramp it

21:38

up when it matters. Go back to 2020, go

21:40

back to 2022. This team ramped

21:42

up the defense. They became a really good defensive team by the

21:45

end of the season. They were top 10 in defense by the

21:47

end of the season. They were on

21:49

a run and all of a sudden. And now this Mavericks team, in

21:51

the run that they've had, with

21:54

these new guys, they've

21:57

been incredibly good defensively. Go

21:59

back to February. fifth when the Mavs first started that

22:02

first win streak and

22:04

if you go back to there the Mavericks

22:06

defense is seventh. They've

22:10

proven they can be that type of defensive team.

22:12

They've also had games where they just completely let go of

22:14

the rope in it so hopefully they've worked some of those

22:17

out those kinks out and maybe this is

22:19

a different defensive Mavs team that we've been used to

22:21

and that would be awesome because if they can

22:23

hold up that defense and Luca and Kyrie can make enough

22:25

things happen and the shooters can make enough shots

22:30

team can be a title contender team can make a run. Can't

22:33

believe we're back. I

22:39

was down so bad after those losses in the

22:41

middle there. Oh my god we're

22:43

back but coming up let's talk about this Kings game let's

22:45

do a preview on what the Mavs need to do to

22:48

win this next game in it does this game matter

22:50

as much as the first game we'll talk about that

22:52

and more coming up. Oh today's episode is

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Oh, guess what day it is?

24:49

Guess what day it is? Huh?

24:51

Anybody? Okay. All

24:55

right, Isaac, let's get into Babs

24:57

versus Kings. We had a great episode

24:59

with Matt George, really

25:01

knowledgeable about the Kings. There may not be anybody out

25:04

there that knows more about the Kings than Matt George. So

25:06

go listen to that episode yesterday. If you didn't listen to that

25:08

one, great stuff on there. just talk about a

25:10

couple of things, couple of key things I think the Mavs need to

25:13

do to beat the Kings again. So

25:15

two of my things from the preview

25:17

before the first game still hold up. Contain

25:19

the paint and contains the bonus. Huge

25:22

thing for the Mavericks. Kings are

25:24

4 and 6, this is stat I'm gonna say

25:26

a million times. They're 4 and 16 when

25:29

the Kings make under

25:31

45 points in the paint. When

25:34

they score under 45 points in the paint they

25:37

are 4 and 16 and Mavs

25:39

are one of those losses. Kings

25:42

38 points in the paint. Contain the paint,

25:44

contains the bonus. Lively did an

25:46

excellent job. In the watch back I

25:48

went back and watched the third quarter for subtext, subscribe to

25:50

subtext if you want. Text straight to your phone. There's the

25:52

number right there on the screen. I

25:55

went back and I was like alright was Lively's defense as good

25:57

as I thought it was because on first watch I was like

26:00

Man, I was really impressed. And I was completely

26:02

impressed. Again, the second time, there were three

26:04

or four times where Sabonis was like, all right, it's

26:06

time. I gotta call my number. I'm an All-Star, I'm

26:08

an All-NBA type player. Let me go

26:10

score on Lively. And Lively was like, I

26:13

don't think so. I'm gonna

26:15

stay right here. My feet are gonna be planted. I've

26:17

got, I'm taller than you, I'm longer

26:19

than you. That 7-7 Winx man came

26:22

in so handy against Sabonis Sabonis. And

26:25

Sabonis put up some numbers, but only 12 points. He

26:29

got 11 boards, 10 of them were on the defensive end.

26:31

Nine assists, a lot of them were handoffs. Like, it was

26:33

just not an impressive game for a player like him. And

26:36

so can they do it again? Gafford got

26:38

in foul trouble a little bit early too. Do

26:40

they play Lively more this time? Cause Lively did

26:42

really well against him. I

26:44

actually, I actually would like that. Play

26:47

Lively a little bit more. He played 22 minutes. Gafford

26:49

played, they actually almost played the exact same amount of

26:51

time. But lately, Gafford's

26:53

been playing more than Lively. I would keep it about the

26:55

same or play Lively a little more because

26:58

I thought he did a great job on Sabonis. Contain

27:01

the paint, that's the first thing. Limit De'Aaron Fox,

27:03

that worked. It worked

27:05

the first time. Limit what De'Aaron Fox

27:07

can do. Derek Jones Jr., great job.

27:09

All the guards switching, everybody. Luca

27:11

Kyrie, even PJ Washington, even

27:14

Tim Hardaway Jr., great job just containing and

27:17

making sure that De'Aaron Fox took 18 shots and

27:20

only scored 18 points. That's a bad game for

27:22

a star. Limit

27:25

De'Aaron Fox. Last

27:27

time the Mavs played him, he scored 34, 30 points and

27:29

they won. So

27:32

I'll just, I'll leave it simply as that. It's

27:34

just contain De'Aaron Fox. It's the two stars, paint

27:37

and Fox. And all they like to do is drive into the

27:39

paint, kick out for threes or dump it down to Sabonis and

27:42

kick out to threes. If you contain both those things, then

27:45

it's only about the threes. The

27:48

other thing I think the Mavs need to do is win in the trenches.

27:51

Points in the paint, Mavs won 44 to 38. Fast

27:53

break points, Mavs won 18 to eight. Turnovers,

27:55

Mavs had less, nine to 13. And

27:58

bench points, this was surprising to me. Mavs bench

28:00

has not been like lighting it up

28:02

lately, but 48 to 32 against Malik Monk. And

28:08

I guess I don't have Kevin Herder, so I guess that messes

28:10

with some of their bench depth for

28:13

the Kings. But win in the trenches, win in

28:15

those other areas, because I think that's something that the

28:17

Mavs, if they can win in

28:19

those little areas on the fringes, they didn't win

28:21

an offensive rebound. Kings had 11 offensive rebounds, but

28:24

they only had 10 second chance points. So

28:27

they're only scoring on half of those, which you're

28:29

fine with. Like, hey, maybe they got,

28:31

you know, you get a couple offensive rebounds in one

28:34

possession and that number can be really inflated. Is

28:38

this game as important as the first one? Yes.

28:42

They made the statement, but if they can get the tiebreaker

28:44

or if they can like tie it up,

28:46

this is huge. Because this is

28:48

like a double-wombie game, because

28:51

you get the tiebreaker and then also you get the,

28:55

you'll get another conference win and the Kings

28:57

will have a conference loss. And

28:59

that matters with standings too with tiebreakers as well, because they'll be

29:01

tied two to two if the Mavs win this game on Friday.

29:04

They'll be tied two to two. And then it

29:06

goes, it goes head to head. If

29:09

the team is winning the division, and then

29:11

they'll go conference, win and loss. And

29:16

if, and right now in the, in the conference, since

29:18

Mavs and Kings are not in the same division, you

29:20

go to conference. I think I messed that up last

29:22

week, but that's okay. If

29:24

you go to conference, the Kings are 27 and 18, the

29:27

Mavs are 27 and 19. So the Kings

29:29

have that advantage by a half game, one loss right

29:32

now. Mavs have one more Western Conference

29:34

loss than the Kings do. And so

29:36

huge tiebreaker and then

29:38

conference tiebreaker right there. That'd

29:40

be massive. The other reason why it's a huge game

29:43

and as big as the first one is because everybody

29:46

is winning all the time. Mavs

29:50

are only a half game ahead of the Suns,

29:52

technically like a whole game because of the tiebreaker,

29:54

but they're only half game ahead of

29:56

the Suns. They're one game back from the Pelicans. They're two

29:58

games still back from the Clippers. They're only

30:00

one game ahead of the Kings you lose to the Kings and

30:03

all of a sudden you go back down that

30:05

what do You go back down to eighth Go

30:07

back down to seven go back down to eight And

30:10

man and the Lakers they keep winning to Mavs

30:13

are only two and a half games ahead of them, which seems like a

30:15

lot but it's not a ton So this game

30:17

is very important and the statement has

30:19

been made But you got to get the win for

30:22

the win column for the conference for the tiebreaker for

30:24

all that stuff We've got to get it and I'm

30:26

very curious how the Kings look when they're not dead

30:29

tired after playing five games and seven

30:31

nights They got two days

30:33

off Mavs had two days off there.

30:36

And so we'll see what happens. There you go Let

30:38

me know in the comment section if you think

30:40

the Mavs are title contenders and I'm curious

30:42

what you guys have to say about That we'll

30:44

be back tomorrow me and slightly will have you

30:46

covered for the post game show whether we win

30:48

or lose We'll have that covered for you guys.

30:50

Thanks for listening to locked on Mavs. Peace out.

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