Early start time tomorrow and I'm already a couple glasses of wine in so let's get cracking!
The Kings come into Dallas with a 3-2 record and as winners of two road games in a row. The Mavs also sit at 3-2 with both losses to teams over .500 and all three wins over teams that could be considered "less than good."
In other words, this is the benchmark game! If the Kings win this, they're good! If they lose, they officially suck! No pressure!
Awards Time
Tony Delk Memorial Award - Herb Jones. We talked about it before the game and it happened! Herb Jones had a career high!
Cory Joseph Award- Maurice Harkless. I guess he wasn't terrible per se but 24 minutes and not points and barely any other counting stats is a total CoJo move.
Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner - Terence Davis. 'Nuff said.
WTF Moment of the Game - Luke burns his challenge on an obvious call mid-way through the third quarter, burns himself when there are two bad calls he could have overturned late in the 4th quarter.
+++Game 6+++
Kings @ Mavericks
@American Airlines Center
It's our first early matinee game of the season! Both teams come into this game with equal records but extremely different narratives. We all know the Kings' current ho-hum attempt to finally get to the postseason but the Dallas Mavericks are in the rare position of being over .500 early in the season and being in complete disarray.
Jason Kidd, in addition to being a trash human being, may be the worst coach in a league full of bad coaches. Be it absolutely bonkers rotations that make no sense whatsoever, an offensive system that emphasizes post-ups and mid-range contested jumpers, or a strange desire to play one of the best on-ball creators in the league off-ball, the Hall of Famer's Dallas tenure has already been a lively one and he hasn't even driven a guy into a mental breakdown yet!
The Mavs do, of course, still have Luka, who is still damn good at basketball even if he's still rounding into basketball shape (seriously, how do you get out of shape in the month and a half between the end of the Olympics and the start of training camp?). They did however waste their last year of having cap space for the foreseeable future on re-signing Tim Hardaway Jr. and bring in Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown on free agent deals, leaving them with pretty much the exact same roster as last season only with a guy who thinks spilling a drink on the court to slow down the game is a viable strategy as their head coach.
The Kings matched up with the Mavericks pretty well last season and Porzingis is injured (when is he not?) and might miss the game, which would honestly probably help their chances, seeing as Kidd has pretty much been using him in a manner diametrically opposed to winning basketball in the 21st century all year. If Luke doesn't get caught up in a questionable coaching choices cold war with Jason Kidd, the Kings stand a good chance at winning this game.
Matchups
Richaun Holmes vs. Dwight Powell - Advantage: Holmes
Harrison Barnes vs. Kristaps Porzingis - Advantage: Barnes
Maurice Harkless vs. Dorian Finney-Smith - Advantage: DFS
Tyrese Haliburton vs. Tim Hardaway Jr. - Advantage: Tyrese if THJ isn't insanely hot.
De'Aaron Fox vs. Luka Doncic - Advantage: Luka
Final Predictions
The Mavs are a big team and play big as well, with not much in terms of quickness. With Kidd's determination to use that size in the most old-fashioned way possible, there should be quite a few points scored in the paint tonight. At the same time, it is hard to picture the Mavs big guys staying in front of the Kings' guards once they get downhill. If the Kings can not let Luka drop 50 on them, I think they should win this game. I'm probably just drunk though.
Kings 115, Mavs 108
The Kings come into Dallas with a 3-2 record and as winners of two road games in a row. The Mavs also sit at 3-2 with both losses to teams over .500 and all three wins over teams that could be considered "less than good."
In other words, this is the benchmark game! If the Kings win this, they're good! If they lose, they officially suck! No pressure!
Awards Time
Tony Delk Memorial Award - Herb Jones. We talked about it before the game and it happened! Herb Jones had a career high!
Cory Joseph Award- Maurice Harkless. I guess he wasn't terrible per se but 24 minutes and not points and barely any other counting stats is a total CoJo move.
Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner - Terence Davis. 'Nuff said.
WTF Moment of the Game - Luke burns his challenge on an obvious call mid-way through the third quarter, burns himself when there are two bad calls he could have overturned late in the 4th quarter.
+++Game 6+++
Kings @ Mavericks
@American Airlines Center
It's our first early matinee game of the season! Both teams come into this game with equal records but extremely different narratives. We all know the Kings' current ho-hum attempt to finally get to the postseason but the Dallas Mavericks are in the rare position of being over .500 early in the season and being in complete disarray.
Jason Kidd, in addition to being a trash human being, may be the worst coach in a league full of bad coaches. Be it absolutely bonkers rotations that make no sense whatsoever, an offensive system that emphasizes post-ups and mid-range contested jumpers, or a strange desire to play one of the best on-ball creators in the league off-ball, the Hall of Famer's Dallas tenure has already been a lively one and he hasn't even driven a guy into a mental breakdown yet!
The Mavs do, of course, still have Luka, who is still damn good at basketball even if he's still rounding into basketball shape (seriously, how do you get out of shape in the month and a half between the end of the Olympics and the start of training camp?). They did however waste their last year of having cap space for the foreseeable future on re-signing Tim Hardaway Jr. and bring in Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown on free agent deals, leaving them with pretty much the exact same roster as last season only with a guy who thinks spilling a drink on the court to slow down the game is a viable strategy as their head coach.
The Kings matched up with the Mavericks pretty well last season and Porzingis is injured (when is he not?) and might miss the game, which would honestly probably help their chances, seeing as Kidd has pretty much been using him in a manner diametrically opposed to winning basketball in the 21st century all year. If Luke doesn't get caught up in a questionable coaching choices cold war with Jason Kidd, the Kings stand a good chance at winning this game.
Matchups
Richaun Holmes vs. Dwight Powell - Advantage: Holmes
Harrison Barnes vs. Kristaps Porzingis - Advantage: Barnes
Maurice Harkless vs. Dorian Finney-Smith - Advantage: DFS
Tyrese Haliburton vs. Tim Hardaway Jr. - Advantage: Tyrese if THJ isn't insanely hot.
De'Aaron Fox vs. Luka Doncic - Advantage: Luka
Final Predictions
The Mavs are a big team and play big as well, with not much in terms of quickness. With Kidd's determination to use that size in the most old-fashioned way possible, there should be quite a few points scored in the paint tonight. At the same time, it is hard to picture the Mavs big guys staying in front of the Kings' guards once they get downhill. If the Kings can not let Luka drop 50 on them, I think they should win this game. I'm probably just drunk though.
Kings 115, Mavs 108
