NBA 2024 to 2025- Inconsistency plagues the Mavericks

Life is full of ironies. Girl you like loves you, but only as a friend. You own a sleek sports car with all the bells and whistles, but without a functioning engine. Your own a high-end wallet. An empty one. No cards, no cash. Nada.

This season's Mavs are another strange case. The squad finds itself in the top five in league defense as of this article's writing, despite presumably giving up perimeter D in losing Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green and acquiring Klay Thompson. Offensively, they've been average, with an offensive rating of around 114. That comes in spite of Luka, Ky, Klay, and the ultra-efficient Lively/Gafford duo.

So what gives?

In the few games I have seen this year, I've noticed that Doncic has actually bogged down a number of offensive sets. He is a gifted scorer, but he also tends to take bad shots. He creates opportunities for his teammates with his incredible court vision, but also tends to lose focus especially when he doesn't get calls. He chews out refs over the smallest things sometimes. Because of all this, there are instances when the other Mavs are caught ball watching. Shot clocks are run down a little more than one would like. When all else fails, the offense becomes one dimensional. Give the ball to Luka. Or Kai. Iso to death.

Then there's the injury bug. PJ Washington, DLive, and Maxi Kleber have been hurt, and this hasn't done favors for the Mavs' perimeter D. Their top five ranking is a bit of a mirage, with closer inspection showing Dallas having a tough time containing midrange forays by versatile bigs (Durant, Myles Turner) or athletic wings (Jalen Green, Bradley Beal, Tyrese Haliburton). PJ Washington - not Gafford nor Lively - leads the team in blocks at 1.6 per game. Luka's never been a lockdown defender, but his body language hasn't screamed "engaged" so far.

Now at 5 wins and 4 defeats in a ridiculously competitive Western Conference, the Mavs need an awful lot more consistency to keep their heads above water. They have depth and they have perhaps the most dynamic backcourt duo in the league, but it almost feels as if they are still feeling each other out. It's early in the season, but it's never a bad thing to get early wins in preparation for when you're black and blue during the latter parts of the regular season.

Also, I've never been the biggest fan of ultra isoball. Usage rates need to be balanced out as much as possible.

Sports is full of ironies, and with his year's Dallas Mavericks thus far, the clarity that comes with consistency has stood them up more than once. Only time will tell whether this "date" will end well, or with regret.

MC

UAAP Season 87- Of realizations and comebacks

It's been a long time since I have done any intense sportswriting. Chalk the lull up to life getting in the way- work, plus all the stuff the comes with it, along with a general sense of question why I'd write in the first place. So now I am back and I am happy to be back. 

First off, some commentary on UAAP Men's Basketball, particularly on the Ateneo Blue Eagles. 

Season 87 has been an exercise in patience for the Hail Mary squad. The team is made up mostly of role players and newbies, and whenever you have mixture of elements, what you get is a cocktail that leaves much to be desired. Shawn Tuano is a workhorse whose offensive game reminds me a little of Jeron Teng's (the part that involves barrelling to the hoop on a consistent basis) but whose ballhandling and decision-making remains suspect. Jared Bahay is a budding star that, ironically, is held back by Tab Baldwin's pass first, weave heavy, system. Andrew Bongo is a smooth perimeter sniper, and little else at this point. Victor Balogun has the athletic tools but lacks the instinct to consistently make smart defensive choices (he shows out too much). Lazaro, Quitevis, and Koon are 6th, 7th, and 8th men thrust into starting spots. Kristian Porter has promise but needs to work on his crooked jumper, and is certainly undersized as a center.

As much as I am a fan of the Blue Eagles, I know a reality check when I see it. Having watched so much UAAP hoops in the last two decades and seen Ateneo dominate a lot of the time, this stings, but I can't say I didn't see this coming.

Every time has its peaks and valleys. Chicago had to go through the ignomity that was the period from 1999 to 2003. The Golden State Warriors went through droughts after Klay got hurt and Durant skipped town for Brooklyn. Locally, the UP Fighting Maroons went nearly two decades without a UAAP Final Four appearance. Look at them now. 

Ateneo's in a deep basketball valley right now. Remaining Season 87 games should be used to develop players who will be back, pay tribute to those graduating, and playing hard no matter what the stat sheet says.

In closing, I'd like to share yet another NBA anecdote from my nerdy sports mind. 

As of October 2024, the Boston Celtics have the most number of NBA championships with 18. On March 1, 2000, then Celtics coach Rick Pitino shared his brand of "expectation setting" with the world through this impassioned speech. 

"Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they’re going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hardworking, and we’re going to improve." 

Talk about a striking parallelism. Ange Kouame isn't walking through that door, and neither are Thirdy and Kiefer Ravena.

Larry Fo and Enrico Villanueva's best days are behind them. The Nieto twins are doing their thing in the PBA. Long story short, there are no shortcuts to winning. Until Ateneo's day comes, all its followers can do is wait, hope, and pray.

MC