#Sean Nowitzki
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Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle: The dissolution of their relationship; what comes next for the Dallas Mavericks
by Tim McMahon
12/15/2021
Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle spent three seasons together in Dallas. The Mavericks failed to win a playoff series in any of them. Sean Berry/NBAE via Getty Images
Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr had become fast friends after the Dallas Mavericks selected the teenager from Slovenia third overall in the 2018 NBA draft.
Smith, whom the team had drafted ninth a year prior, had shown Doncic around the city and invited the new guy into his social circle. They lived in the same apartment building and had spent hours playing video games together.
If one was spotted during a Mavs road trip, chances are the other would be there too, along with young swingman Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Mavs were quick to market their new guard tandem. Doncic and Smith posed together during media day, smiling for pictures; they were promoted heavily on the team's website. Along with soon-to-retire legend Dirk Nowitzki, the young lottery picks were the players featured on billboards around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
While a friendship blossomed in Dallas' newly formed backcourt, coach Rick Carlisle and the front office were planning to blow it up, sources involved with the franchise's decision-making said, never really believing the duo had staying power.
The Mavs knew Doncic would need to be the primary ball handler to fulfill his immense potential, and they didn't believe Smith, who they had determined was a high-usage, ball-dominant guard with a suspect jumper, could complement him.
Carlisle, for his part, doubted Smith could be a productive NBA starter, team sources said. He had wanted the Mavs to draft guard Donovan Mitchell, and had completely soured on Smith midway through his rookie campaign.
Seven months later, Smith was traded to the New York Knicks, an afterthought in a deal that brought Kristaps Porzingis midway through Doncic's rookie season.
It might not have been a basketball fit, but Doncic and Smith had formed a bond. And Carlisle's apparent determination to make Smith miserable during their brief time as teammates was appalling to Doncic, several former players and staffers told ESPN.
Multiple players were shocked during one early-season team meeting when Carlisle accused Smith of being jealous of Doncic, sources said. The players considered it incredibly unfair to Smith, who wasn't playing well but was making an honest effort to mesh with Doncic on the court.
Doncic particularly resented what he perceived as Carlisle's attempt to pit him against his friend and teammate, team sources said.
It's an early chapter in the Luka Doncic story, an origin point for rising distrust and tension between the team's young star and his coach -- and an indication the relationship would have an expiration date.
"He brought a championship to Dallas," Doncic said after a win in Memphis on Dec. 8, "and everybody respects him."
Those are the most extensive comments Doncic, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has made about Carlisle since the coach's resignation from Dallas in June. Carlisle, now the Indiana Pacers' coach, missed Friday's Mavericks-Pacers game after testing positive for COVID-19.
New coach Jason Kidd and the Mavericks are 27 games into an effort to clear three seasons' worth of dysfunction, disillusionment and blowups that cracked the foundation of a franchise built around a superstar who has yet to win a playoff series.
FORMER MAVS CENTER Salah Mejri, a player whose fiery emotions often weren't appreciated by referees, picked up two quick technical fouls in the third quarter of a January 2018 win against the Washington Wizards. The second tech was a particularly quick whistle, and Mejri pleaded his case to Carlisle before leaving the court.
"You've got two f---ing points, get the f--- out of here!" Carlisle shouted at Mejri, pointing toward the tunnel to the locker room, an exchange caught by television cameras.
After practice the next day, Carlisle told reporters he had a talk with Mejri and "apologized to him for behavior that was really emotional, uncalled for and unprofessional on my part."
But people with the team didn't consider the behavior to be uncharacteristic for Carlisle. Several Mavericks team staffers, from members of the coaching staff to non-basketball employees, told ESPN they felt intimidated and disrespected by Carlisle, who they said could be abrasive and demanding. The coach also had contentious relationships with several Mavs players throughout his 13-year tenure.
Mejri felt belittled by Carlisle, a team source said, believing the coach targeted him with unnecessarily harsh criticism -- usually in front of the team.
And Mejri functioned as a big-brother figure for Doncic. Mejri had played for Real Madrid before signing with the Mavs in 2015. He looked out for Doncic when he was promoted to the Spanish club's top team as an adolescent. Doncic was so close with Mejri that he agreed to an interview with a local television station as a rookie on the condition that Mejri, a fringe rotation player, would also be part of the sit-down.
The public exchange between Carlisle and Mejri happened the season before Doncic was drafted, but it was indicative of the tense Mavs locker room when he arrived.
Early in Doncic's rookie season, the players were in near mutiny in the wake of an especially heated, confrontational team meeting, players and members of that staff said. Carlisle apologized to the team a couple of days later and gave assistant coach Jamahl Mosley, who was popular with the players, increased responsibilities regarding the managing of player and coaching-staff relationships. It was Mosley's voice that the players often heard from the coaching staff, sometimes more so than Carlisle's.
Mosley developed an especially close bond with Doncic. But over the next few years Carlisle came to consider Mosley a threat, team sources said, believing that Mosley was attempting to position himself to take Carlisle's job. Instead, Mosley became the coach of the Orlando Magic in July, a couple of weeks after the Mavs hired Kidd.
Seven months before, the team had lost another valuable liaison in veteran guard J.J. Barea, who often had served as connective tissue between Carlisle and Doncic, as well as other players, the previous two seasons. Sources said the Mavs' front office came to regret releasing Barea during the 2020-21 preseason.
Barea, a role player on the 2011 title team and a leader in the locker room even as his playing time decreased, helped bring Doncic and Porzingis together, playing cards with them on the team plane and facilitating communication between the franchise cornerstones.
That relationship began to erode last season, when the awkwardness that developed between them was so apparent that it was noteworthy when they exchanged high-fives. Sources noted that Carlisle wasn't positioned to manage it because he had poor relationships with both.
Porzingis was frustrated, feeling he was a strategic afterthought for a team that couldn't get out of the first round, often utilized primarily as a catch-and-shoot 3-point threat to space the floor for Doncic. That was spotlighted during the Mavs' seven-game playoff loss to the LA Clippers, when the 7-foot-3 Porzingis spent most of the series spotted up in the corner because Carlisle was convinced he was incapable of punishing LA's switching defense with post-ups.
As he entered the offseason, Porzingis was so disillusioned, sources said, that he privately hoped he would be traded.
CARLISLE ATTEMPTED TO patch his relationship with Doncic. The coach heaped praise on his star in the media, often comparing him to legends such as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and protected the Mavs' young face of the franchise from criticism, even if it required stretching logic to do so.
An example: Doncic reported to last year's training camp weighing more than 260 pounds, according to sources, and conditioning was clearly a factor in his slow start. Carlisle blamed the NBA's pandemic-disrupted schedule beginning earlier than originally anticipated for complicating Doncic's offseason routine.
But their relationship was too far gone, Doncic growing even more distant from his coach, and more defiant of him during the heat of games.
Kristaps Porzingis, center, whom the Mavericks traded for in February 2019, felt frustrated with his role in Rick Carlisle's offense. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Doncic questioned Carlisle's authority in front of the team on at least one occasion early in the 2020-21 season: "Who's in charge -- you or Bob?" Doncic barked on his way back to the bench during an early-season game. He was referring to then-Mavs director of quantitative research Haralabos "Bob" Voulgaris, whose rise in power played a role in Dallas' front-office dysfunction and who many players believed dictated lineups and rotation decisions to Carlisle. Carlisle relied heavily on Voulgaris' data but always had final say, team sources said.
In another instance, Doncic had just drawn his third foul midway through the third quarter of last season's playoff opener and was upset that Carlisle had opted to substitute for him. Carlisle ignored the superstar's gesture that indicated he wanted to play through foul trouble.
As Jalen Brunson checked in, Doncic briefly took his glare off Carlisle, dropping his head and clenching his fingers, squeezing the air as if he were crushing something in his hands. Doncic barked at Carlisle as he walked toward the Dallas bench, shaking his head along the way.
Doncic didn't stop at his seat at the end of the bench, stomping another 10 steps until he reached the short wall at the bottom of the arena's lower bowl. He leaned against the wall, rested his head on top of his arms, turned his back to the floor and remained there for most of the Clippers' ensuing possession. When he returned to the bench, Doncic stood and again shouted in Carlisle's direction before finally taking his seat.
Nobody on the Dallas bench blinked. Players, staffers and coaches had become accustomed to Doncic cursing out Carlisle, the dynamic between the generational star and championship-proven coach deteriorating with each passing clash.
After Doncic cooled off, Carlisle subbed him back into the game. He finished with a 31-point triple-double, leading the Mavs to the Game 1 win. The blowup was business as usual.
Carlisle privately joked he had developed selective hearing, choosing to tune out Doncic yelling at him during games. Doncic was often bombastic in his disagreements with coaching decisions on the court, but refrained from sharing those criticisms of Carlisle in media availability.
"If we talk, we're going to talk," Doncic said following a close loss last season in Milwaukee, during which he angrily gestured that he thought Carlisle should have called a last-minute timeout. "It's not going to be in the media. It's between us."
But, for all of the friction, the partnership between Doncic and Carlisle wasn't fruitless.
Carlisle quickly gave Doncic, who many scouts and executives around the league doubted could play point guard due to his limited speed and quickness, the keys to the Mavs' offense. The former Mavs coach spread the floor as much as possible and gave Doncic more creative freedom than he ever allowed any point guard, including Hall of Famer Kidd, who had won a title with Carlisle in 2011.
And Doncic thrived, winning Rookie of the Year and joining Kevin Durant as the only players over the past five decades with a pair of first-team All-NBA selections before turning 23.
DALLAS' ORIGINAL PLAN was for Carlisle to return for the 2021-22 season, but it had become clear the coach would have been on the hot seat from the start.
After last season's opening-round Game 7 loss, there were legitimate questions about Carlisle's job security. For the first time, people in the organization weren't sure Carlisle would be back, and Mark Cuban's lukewarm vote of confidence shortly after the final buzzer confirmed the coach was on shaky ground.
"Let me tell you how I look at coaching," Cuban told ESPN that day, after Doncic had 46 points and 14 assists, but the Mavs were blown out inside Staples Center. "You don't make a change to make a change. Unless you have someone that you know is much, much, much better, the grass is rarely greener on the other side."
Carlisle had intended to travel to Doncic's native country several days later in June to observe the Slovenian national team's camp and spend time with the Mavs' star. Those plans, however, were canceled at Doncic's request, sources said. Doncic, particularly in the wake of Cuban firing longtime Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, wanted no distractions as he prepared for the qualifying tournament in which Slovenia clinched the program's first Olympic bid.
Carlisle, who had two seasons remaining on his contract, broached the subject of an extension with Cuban around that time, sources said. Cuban shot down the idea, confirming Carlisle's suspicion his job status was tenuous.
Later that week, the winningest coach in franchise history informed Cuban he was resigning.
Doncic, who hasn't yet exercised his superstar privilege of influencing personnel decisions, never called for Carlisle to go, sources said. He ultimately didn't have to.
"You never want to get to a point where you ever feel like you're overstaying your welcome," Carlisle told ESPN this summer, "and I just felt like this is the right time."
Carlisle decided that he'd determine the right time -- when he could immediately land another job. A week later he agreed to a four-year, $29 million deal with the Pacers.
"I have extreme gratitude for my 13 years with Mark Cuban and the Mavericks," Carlisle told ESPN this week. "I cherish the memory of our 2011 title run and all I learned there as a coach. It's been an honor to work with generational players like Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic, and to see a long list of players develop with the Mavs organization.
"It was a privilege to witness Luka's genius for three years," Carlisle continued. "He does and will continue to do amazing things every night. I am excited and appreciative for the opportunity to coach in Indiana and wish the Mavs organization all the best."
Carlisle, whose Pacers are 12-17, declined to comment further for this story.
Less than three weeks after Carlisle's departure, the Mavs hired Kidd, who sources said was the only candidate seriously considered.
Doncic has not had any public outbursts toward Kidd, who has prioritized communication with his players, appointing Doncic, Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. to serve as a three-man leadership council. At the council's suggestion, Kidd played all 15 players in their home-opening win against the Houston Rockets, a rarity meant to highlight the Mavs' improved camaraderie and connection to the coaching staff.
"The more you talk, the better," Doncic said that night. "Talking solves things, so I think it's a good idea."
Jason Kidd is 14-13 in his first year as Mavericks head coach. Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
While Kidd has been generally upbeat and positive -- an attempt to correct the cultural flaws from Carlisle's tenure -- he has publicly challenged Doncic throughout the season.
During the preseason, Kidd pushed Doncic to "trust his teammates." After a recent loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Kidd said Doncic needed to be more selective with complaining to officials, noting that the griping often prevented Doncic from getting back in transition.
Porzingis has felt refreshed after Carlisle's resignation, team sources said. Kidd has made a point of giving Porzingis the green light to take the kind of shots Carlisle wanted to eliminate from his arsenal.
Porzingis' overall offensive numbers are similar to last season -- he has been more effective on post-ups but has slumped from 3-point range -- but he's noticeably happier. His chemistry with Doncic has improved, as both were eager to start the new season, part of the better "vibe" several Mavs have cited under Kidd.
"If you're not having fun, then it's tough to play and give your all," Porzingis said after a recent win over the Clippers. "I feel like this year we have that kind of environment."
But while the team culture seems to have improved, at least through a third of the season, the performance on the court has not.
Dallas, like last season, has gotten off to a disappointing start as Doncic again plays his way into shape. The Mavs (14-13) have lost nine of their past 14 games, a slump that started when Doncic missed three games with a sprained left ankle, which hasn't healed. Doncic, who turned the ankle again in Friday's loss to the Pacers, will miss a third consecutive game Wednesday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Mavs (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
For the season, the Mavs are 17th in the league in offensive efficiency (108.4), a steep drop-off from ranking first and eighth, respectively, the last two seasons.
Kidd has referred to the Mavs, who didn't make any major offseason additions, as a team that "isn't built to play defense" and "a jump-shooting team that isn't making jump shots" after recent losses. He has repeatedly noted that the Mavs tend to "hang our heads" when shots aren't falling, publicly pushing his team to be more mature and mentally tough.
"We've got to stick together," Doncic said after a lopsided home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. "This is what real teams do in tough times, is stick together. It's easy to stay together when it's all good, you know? The tough times, that's when you have to stay together."
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The 5 saddest NBA title defenses of the last 20 years
Dwyane Wade and Shaq had a lifeless title defense for the Miami Heat.
These are the NBA title defenses that never got off the ground floor.
At the onset of Mike Prada’s incredible and emotionally wrought plan to crown the best team in NBA history that never won a championship, several clubs that fell short of raising a banner were disqualified based on the exercise’s criteria. Specifically, teams coming off their own title run, only to have their defense cut short by inexplicable disappointment, bouts of bad luck, or some combination of both.
So while you peruse Prada’s list of 64 teams over the next two weeks, here’s a look at the five saddest title defenses of the last 20 years. For some teams, sadness emanates from fans who look back wondering what could have been, either thanks to a heartbreaking injury, the rapid and unexpected effect of age on a key player, or even an organization-wide arrogance that seizes everyone who just took a champagne bath.
Insecurities revolve around money and minutes. Pecking orders and hierarchical scoring options are called into question. Sometimes, for reasons that remain a mystery to this day, the team’s championship heart just stops beating, or a rival competitor simply “wants it more.” Who knows.
For the purpose of keeping this as concise as possible, no organization appears twice on this list, and anyone eliminated in the Finals or conference finals didn’t make the cut because losing that far along is less sad than never advancing there in the first place.
5) 2011 Los Angeles Lakers
Regular season record: 57-25
Key losses: Jordan Farmar
Key additions: Matt Barnes, Steve Blake
Everyone remembers how this team went out. Near the end of a blowout, Andrew Bynum was ejected for trying to murder a defenseless, airborne J.J. Barea. Anytime violence occurs on a basketball court it’s shocking; this particular incident felt more like the foreseeable release of a sharp frustration that had been bubbling for weeks.
When they dropped their very first game of the playoffs against Chris Paul’s New Orleans Hornets, Kobe Bryant didn’t mince words: “He’s not naturally aggressive,” Bryant said about Pau Gasol, who made two baskets in the whole game. “Even if I’m tired, I’m naturally aggressive.”
Then, earlier in that series against Dallas, Bynum all but confirmed LA’s locker room drama. “It’s obvious we have trust issues,” he said. “Unless we come out and discuss it, then nothing is going to really change.”
Winning one championship is hard. Winning two in a row — as these Lakers did — is a Rubik’s Cube. Three-peats are a first-class ticket to immortality. But for this particular team, one full of championship experience and Hall of Fame talent, to fall short without any tangible explanation ... it almost diminishes the impressiveness of that entire era.
I remember the end of Game 1 against Dallas, watching Bryant back rim a three at the buzzer that would’ve put the Lakers up 1-0 and thinking LA would shake off the cobwebs and win in five or maybe six. When the series ended, I kept going back to Bryant’s three that never was, how it couldn’t have missed by more than an inch, and what would’ve happened from that point on if it went in.
Several factors decide whether a talented team will surge or fizzle at various inflection points on any given playoff run. The psychological momentum held in that one fading three was immense. Had it gone in, the Mavs could have overcome its devastating toll and still won it all, but to do so before earning the collective confidence every champion must acquire would’ve been next to impossible. The Lakers were so close yet so far away.
Their collapse then led to the Dwight Howard-Steve Nash apocalypse, while simultaneously cheating us of a possible Lakers-Heat showdown in that year’s Finals. What a shame.
4) 2000 San Antonio Spurs
Regular season record: 53-29
Key losses: None
Key additions: Terry Porter
San Antonio’s first title defense ended before it began when 23-year-old Tim Duncan tore the lateral meniscus in his left knee during Game 78 of his third season. The Spurs limped into the playoffs as a 53-win, No. 4 seed, where they were swiftly handled by a Phoenix Suns team that didn’t have their own best player (Jason Kidd) for the first three games, thanks to a broken ankle.
Looking back, though, all that really matters are the circumstances that surrounded Duncan’s knee. It’s an overlooked what-if moment in NBA history, full of incredible foresight and head-shaking details that make the whole thing seem avoidable if the Spurs knew then what we know now.
On one hand, Duncan averaged 42.5 minutes in the 10 games before he was shut down, including 48 (!!) in his season finale against Sacramento — a six-point overtime win in which Duncan finished 6-for-22 from the field and was not subbed out at all in the first and third quarters. (To put this in context, Giannis Antetokounmpo has crossed the 40-minute mark twice in the last two seasons.)
On the other hand, Gregg Popovich was wise enough to put Duncan on ice. Who knows how his knee/career would’ve been affected had he played, or even if that year’s champion — the first of three straight for Kobe Bryant’s and Shaquille O’Neal’s Lakers — would’ve been too much for them to handle.
San Antonio swept LA from the playoffs the previous year. The Lakers were talented but unproven, nearly falling against Sacramento in the first round after a 67-win regular season. Eventually they needed a Trail Blazers collapse in Game 7 of the conference finals to finally break through; it’s fair to wonder how any of this would’ve gone down had the Spurs let Duncan loose.
”I don’t know if it was right or wrong,” Popovich said over a decade later. “But we did it.”
Looking back on it, the Spurs had 34-year-old David Robinson (who was still an all-star/monster) and Sean Elliot rounding into shape after a kidney transplant forced him to miss the first three quarters of the season. From there, Terry Porter, Mario Elie, and Avery Johnson (who made one three in 2,571 minutes) were on their last legs, long before Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili injected new life into the organization.
The Spurs famously never went back-to-back in the Duncan era. This was low-key their best chance to do so.
3) 2009 Boston Celtics
Regular season record: 62-20
Key losses: James Posey, P.J. Brown
Key additions: None
Kobe Bryant’s first ring without Shaquille O’Neal came on a 65-win, revenge-fueled Lakers squad that spent all season stewing over their miserable Finals experience the previous June. The wheelchair game. The 24-point comeback at Staples Center (in which Ray Allen made the biggest *layup* of his career). That listless 39-point beatdown in Game 6. In 2009 they weren’t the best Lakers team ever, but did have a healthy and mountainous 21-year-old Andrew Bynum back in the starting lineup. No team in the Western Conference stood much of a chance.
But on the other side of the bracket, the Celtics were their own machine, emboldened by a champion’s aplomb, benefit of continuity, and Rajon Rondo’s steady bloom into a stud. The Celtics started the season 27-2, including a 19-game win streak that was ended on Christmas Day by the 23-5 Lakers.
As every member of their fanbase is well aware, in Boston’s first game after the NBA All-Star Game break the 44-11 Celtics were decapitated when Kevin Garnett injured his knee trying to catch a lob against the Utah Jazz. He tested it out a few weeks later but the results were pitiful relative to Garnett’s usual standards: 9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 16.5 minutes in four games. He wasn’t healthy enough for the playoffs.
Without the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Boston eventually scraped past Derrick Rose’s hungry Bulls in a classic seven-game series that included five games decided by three or fewer points before they blew a 3-2 lead against the Magic. (When it became clear Garnett would miss the entire postseason, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said this about the first-place Cavs: “They earned home court, they earned the best record, they are clearly a championship-quality team, and in my opinion they have the best basketball player on the planet right now: Mo Williams.”)
A series against the Cavs would’ve been a dog fight even if Garnett’s knee was 100 percent, but, as was made clear the following year, the Celtics were just about impossible to beat four times in seven tries when everybody was healthy. (Did you know their starting five never lost a playoff series? It’s true.)
This was before the three-point revolution, when physicality, size, and defense dictated wins and losses. On that end, Garnett and Boston’s defensive coordinator Tom Thibodeau owned the league with a back line overload concept that everybody else tried to copy. LeBron James was already the best player in the world, but Cleveland had yet to give him enough help.
Garnett’s knee robbed the Celtics of an epic Finals rematch. Instead, Courtney Lee missed a layup, Jameer Nelson forgot how to play transition defense, and the Lakers snuffed out Orlando in five.
One year later, Boston and LA met again, but by then the Celtics were on fumes. Garnett wasn’t the same player, and, even for a team that routinely struggled to score points throughout their time as a championship contender, the 2010 Finals were a particularly bumpy rock fight.
The Celtics emerged from the Garnett era with one ring, which is impressive by itself. But his injury in 2009 stole an opportunity everyone in Boston wished they could have back.
2) 2012 Dallas Mavericks
Regular season record: 36-30
Key losses: Peja Stojakovic, JJ Barea, Tyson Chandler, Corey Brewer, DeShawn Stevenson
Key additions: Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, Delonte West, Brandan Wright
Poor Dirk Nowitzki. It’s either recency bias or the deflating way Dallas allowed its only champion to implode overnight, but this team inspired me to write this article more than any other. The only championship team in franchise history was kind of like a sturdy Jenga tower, if that makes any sense. So long as every piece was in the right place, they had a breadth of complementary skill-sets who all belonged — an embodiment of the idea that the sum can be greater than its individual parts.
Unfortunately, six guys were free agents that offseason, and the only one Dallas retained was Brian “The Janitor” Cardinal, whose three-point percentage dropped from 48.3 to 20.4. Not great!
One particular decision still pains Mavs fans to this day. At the time, with the lockout sewing a modest amount of confusion into every team’s long-term strategy, Mark Cuban sided with long-term flexibility over the 29-year-old defensive anchor Tyson Chandler. Instead of keeping a good thing (with a narrow window of contention) going, they fell in love with the idea of pairing another free agent star with Nowitzki. One in the hand is worth two in the bush, etc.
Hindsight is 20/20, but even at the time this felt icky. Since, the Mavericks have advanced past the first round precisely zero times; in 2012 the Mavs were swept in Round 1 by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden’s Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s fair to look at the talent in Oklahoma City and say Dallas capitalized on its one and only chance, but Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry deserved an opportunity to sustain their magic against LeBron James’ Heat one more time.
Chandler went on to win Defensive Player of the Year during his first season with the Knicks, and eventually came back to Dallas in 2015. By then the landscape had shifted. Golden State was starting a dynasty and Nowitzki was 36. “Obviously it would have been better if we could have kept him, right?” Cuban said at Chandler’s press conference in 2014. “But our hand was dealt with all the changes. All’s well that ends well. I think it turned out just the way we wanted, just the way I planned.”
A year later, Chandler was in Phoenix. The Mavs, having thought DeAndre Jordan was in the bag, were left in the cold once again.
1) 2007 Miami Heat
Regular season record: 44-38
Key losses: None
Key additions: None
For these Heat, “sad,” as it’s described in the introduction of this article, equals “pathetic.” This team was as mediocre as it was forgettable as it was disappointing. For just a moment, try and get past the fact they were the first defending champion in over 50 years to get swept from the first round, and instead focus on how they made zero essential changes to their championship roster during the offseason and then lost their season opener by 42 points!
Getting demolished in the playoffs was embarrassing but could at least be blamed on a regular season that was ravaged by injuries (Dwyane Wade missed 31 games and Shaquille O’Neal sat out 42). But to no-show your own ring ceremony? And only score 66 points!? Needless to say, this was officially the worst loss in league history by a defending champ on opening night.
Now, when you throw in the controversy that still surrounds Miami’s 2006 title — Oprah Winfrey might as well have stood on the baseline shouting “You get a whistle, and you get a whistle!” every time Wade drove into the paint — is there any title from the last 25 years that feels more random if that postseason were simulated 100 times? I’m not trying to disparage a championship run, but the league had no boogeyman in 2007, and the Eastern Conference was wide open once again.
In 2008, O’Neal was traded and Alonzo Mourning retired. They won 15 games and were awarded the second pick in the draft, which meant Michael Beasley instead of Derrick Rose. Eventually LeBron James saved Miami from the wilderness and forever altered how that organization is perceived. But back in 2007 they were, as Pat Riley said in early January — when he announced his own indefinite leave of absence to deal with personal health issues — ”We have a championship team that is sideways right now, so this is going to be a great challenge. Keep your notebooks open. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Narrator: It played out like a complete and total catastrophe. Some might point to the injuries and the age-related decline, but that’s kind of an excuse. This team is remembered as a defending champion that had no interest in wanting to do it all over again. That’s not what you want.
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《2018-19》公牛週報：Dear Tank？─從公牛談坦克
文／ AhUtopian
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Dear Tank，很多人以為只要開著你，就可以通往最後的終點，但他們不曉得，坦克不但會壓壞東西，一個沒開好，不小心沉下去了，裡面的人也會跟著沉淪。
坦克這個詞似乎成了近年來各隊球迷朗朗上口的重建方針，彷彿只要球隊戰績落在30勝到45勝之間，超越不過季後賽第一輪又沒有穩坐前幾順位，球隊就是經營方針不明確、重建不夠徹底、高度不夠，而且選到一個高順位新秀之後，只要自己的新秀好像沒能在第一年打出All-Star的成績，就會看著明年的選秀，開始有球迷就希望球隊再多坦一年，而筆者所關注的公牛這季也依然存在著要不要繼續坦這個爭議，也就借用公牛為例子，花個篇幅來討論筆者對於坦克這件事情的看法；這些內容我都是分段完成提前放在經營的KALEL粉絲團，粉絲團也有許多精選寫手好文、個人覺得值得分享的運動文章、新聞還有各式議題，也包含跟金塊、黃蜂專隊粉絲團的合作。
《延伸閱讀》
【公牛2017-18回顧】
【公牛選秀會】
【公牛夏天的重大簽約】
【公牛夏天的其他動作】
【公牛2018-19開季分析】
【公牛季前賽分析】
【公牛例行賽戰報】
一、什麼是坦？
首先，在討論坦之前，我想先定義一下所謂的「坦」，不然很多時候大家討論到最後，都會因為一開始的定義不清白費唇舌。
我這邊所謂的坦，指的不只是制服組不積極地補強來提高比賽勝出機率，畢竟這關係到薪資結構以及資產累積，而是球隊在比賽過程中，透過比賽調度(例如壓著對球對有正面貢獻的球員在板凳)、戰術安排，不以求勝為目標、放任球隊輸球；而制服組在這過程當中，也沒有準備好應有的Stopping Gap，讓陣容充斥著許多根本還不夠資格在NBA上場的球員，導致場上沒有球員能夠正確地執行教練的戰術、存在許多錯誤的觀念跟低級失誤。
以公牛自己來說，上季後來將Robin Lopez、Justin Holiday在季末刻意放在板凳，讓場上沒有人可以好好地帶著Zach Lavine做高位擋拆、沒有人可以當防守端的軸心，就是坦；但本季即便我們之後交易出去Holiday、Lopez甚至Bobby Portis，但陣容上都還有Jabari Parker、Chandler Hutchison或是Shaq Harrison來做Stopping Gap，因此季中的交易我個人是一向贊同，也不會認為這樣就是坦。
二、陣中的天份會被坦平
這種坦本身最大的問題，會是你陣中已經存在的天份，無論高低與否，都有可能在這樣的環境中被養壞，當你沒有去要求、也沒有人可以在場上去示範「正確的打球觀念」以及「精準的戰術執行」，那在很多看似精彩的Highlight背後，會有無數的小細節沒人去重視，成為難以更正的壞習慣；這些習慣在個人身上累積起來，就是所謂的球賽智慧，在團隊身上累積起來，就是所謂的球隊文化，前者的負面例子就是當年76人時期的Tony Wroten、Michael Carter-Williams，後者可能就是這幾年的太陽隊。
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回到公牛身上，很好的例子就是上季Nikola Mirotic被交易前後，Mirotic被交易前，不管是David Nwaba、Kris Dunn乃至於Denzel Valentine、Portis還是Lauri Markkanen，都因為當時球隊的贏球氣氛、還有能夠贏球的比賽內容，成長地相當迅速，我們也能夠很清楚他們在贏球方面的不足之處；但當Mirotic被交易、公牛決心坦之後，Cameron Payne跟Sean Kilpatrick在場上繳出的數據有任何意義嗎？LaVine在場上毫無節制、隨心所欲地進攻，不是差點讓我們誤判了他的能力跟態度嗎？
更重要的是，為了贏球，你會被迫去嘗試跟激發許多你本來不足、或沒有想過的部分，舉例來說，LaVine為了贏球他必須去學會分配體力、調整節奏，以及用不同方式來帶動球隊進攻；Wnedell Carter Jr.也不能夠只做好防守，必須要在他該站出來的時候，勇敢地在進攻去挑戰對手；Lauri也必須讓自己防守端能夠承擔更多，好讓球隊必須採取進攻陣型時，防守端也不會失分過多。這些差異，不就是當年我們看著Joakim Noah從一個防守中鋒，變成MVP候選人，以及Jimmy Butler從一個純大鎖變成現在Top 10等級的頂薪球員的過程嗎？
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三、跟時間賽跑的坦克追逐
再來，就是時間，時間包含著球員養成以及薪資結構，之所以會有「坦克建軍」，就是球隊希望透過累積戰力C/P值最划算的新秀合約，讓自己有著漂亮的薪資結構，因此球隊如果透過選秀重建，在養成期、新秀薪資紅利以及判斷何時進入FA市場這一些點，就要拿捏很好；這也包含了對於新秀的天份判斷跟能在FA撈到的人，近期可以思考的例子是灰狼的Andrew Wiggins、金塊在Nikola Jokic換約前簽下Paul Millsap、太陽提前續約Devin Booker還有76人換來Butler。
以公牛來說，第一個要考慮的是2019年夏天的Portis，接著是2020年夏天的Valentine跟Dunn，而Lauri雖然在2021年才會進FA，但是以他在公牛重建過程的意義，幾乎可以肯定公牛會試圖在2020年秋天就跟他提前續約，因此2021年可以肯定已經要先把他的薪資加上去，所以2020年的夏天，將會是公牛新秀薪資紅利使用的最後期限，但是那一年的FA市場相當地貧乏，因此2019年還是公牛最適合進入FA的時機；那麼，怎樣的球隊比較能夠吸引到FA？這個例子其實用這幾年被認為坦最好的76人就可以，76人這兩年即便大家都在說Joel Embiid、Ben Simmons是坦到的神器，但卻都未能幫他們在自由球員市場斬獲，而這成了他們交易來Butler的重要動機。
四、到底過去坦出了什麼
最後，還是要回過頭來，看看目前東西區的列強當中，哪一個球隊是真的靠連續坦好幾年建軍的？76人算，但上季季後賽打完後，許多問題都呈現出來，若非交易來了Butler，只怕他們連東區冠軍的競爭者都還稱不上吧？而雷霆現有的建軍其實也只有Russell Westbrook還有Steven Adams(James Harden交易案的回收)跟他們那幾年的坦有關係；其他這幾年來屢獲功業的球隊，都跟坦字無關，這證明了「坦克建軍」有許多比起「輸球」也同時要去重視、控制的因素，而更別提在坦克的過程當中，球隊的營收、贊助跟聲譽，都會受到影響。
在球隊重建的過程中，因應球隊的階段目標，不去主動追逐較昂貴的長約，然後將陣中具有交易價值的球員換取未來資產，這些操作面上的作為都是應該理性看待、也是有助益於球隊，但球隊在既有陣容下，保持著求勝意志、也為了獲取更好的球賽結果去調度，一方面可以更有機會將現有資產透過更優質的比賽內容，增加價值(不管是交易價值還是戰力成長)，一個有效執行的戰術體系、定位明確的陣容，也更能讓年輕球員成長之路較為明確，不會盲目地追求數據、到最後才發現自己根本因應不了真正要求勝的比賽。
那公牛如果不坦的話，能怎麼做呢？假設公牛一方面能夠在季中透過把Portis、Holiday交易出去換些選秀權，一方面也還能靠剩下的陣容打出具備一定競爭力的成績(例如在剩餘的比賽拿到5成以上勝率)，之後在選秀會上試圖將選秀權向上交易，再選進一個樂透中前段新秀之後空著兩個頂薪空間進FA，又或是向巫師交易過來Otto Porter，用Dunn、LaVine、Porter、Lauri跟WCJ為主的陣容，再吸引一個頂薪球員，難道會不夠具備高度嗎？反之，如果公牛又浪費了一年，讓Lauri最後變成只是個外圍射手、LaVine是個高薪的自幹得分手、WCJ是一個不夠高的禁區苦工、Dunn是一個沒有外線的Patrick Beverley，這樣的陣容即使再加上Zion Williams，又真的能保證什麼高度？
也許，我們都太容易去相信一些朗朗上口的口號，例如Trust The Process，然後就認為這個口號背後所給人聯想到的單一方法，是很好達成的，而忽略其實每一個方法的本身，都需要許多配套的考量跟設計，更有其潛在弊端，坦克92加滿不用找。
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New Post has been published on PBA-Live
New Post has been published on http://pba-live.com/george-westbrook-lead-thunder-past-mavericks-112-99/
George, Westbrook lead Thunder past Mavericks, 112-99
OKLAHOMA CITY — With Oklahoma City down a superstar and a second starter, the Thunder’s other two superstars pushed aside the Dallas Mavericks.
Paul George scored 37 points, Russell Westbrook added 27 points and the Thunder overcame the absence of Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams to beat the Mavericks 112-99 on Sunday night. George was 7 of 12 from 3-point range.
Anthony was ruled out about an hour before tipoff because of a sore lower back, and Adams, Oklahoma City’s starting center, sat out a second straight game with a right calf contusion.
Without Anthony, George and Westbrook carried the offensive load, fueling a 26-10 run in the third quarter that broke open what had been a tight game. Oklahoma City improved to 6-7, winning its second straight after four consecutive losses.
“I thought defensively, it was our best game from start to finish,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought we played a complete game defensively. Offensively, I thought we turned it over too much in the first half . but in the second half, offensively and defensively, we played really, really well. … To come out and play the way they did, being down two starters, I thought they did a great job, all the way through, from top to bottom.”
Harrison Barnes had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Yogi Ferrell had 18 points for the Mavericks. They have dropped nine of their last 10 games to fall to 2-12. Dallas is in a particularly tough portion of its schedule, having lost both ends of a back-to-back against Cleveland and Oklahoma City, and with games against San Antonio and Minnesota looming.
Oklahoma City led 44-42 after a subpar offensive first half for both teams. Westbrook and George combined to go 5 of 18 from the field in the half, but combined to score 32 of the Thunder’s 39 points in the decisive third quarter.
With the game tied 48-48 in the third quarter, Westbrook scored on a drive, and then George blew by Dirk NowitzkI for a dunk that led to a Dallas timeout. That started the Thunder’s big run, which included three 3-pointers by Westbrook and another by George. Westbrook’s final 3-pointer during that stretch put Oklahoma City up 74-58 with 3:35 left in the quarter.
George’s 3-pointer with 11:25 left in the game pushed the Thunder’s advantage to 88-67. He deflected much of the praise for the win to the Thunder’s younger players.
“We’ve got to be ready for anything,” George said. “When Steven went down, Dakari (Johnson) stepped up. Melo went down and it was a huge contribution from a bunch of guys. Josh (Huestis) stepped up, Jerami (Grant) stepped up. We’ve got to be that team. We’re fortunate to have two other guys who can take the (scoring) load, but it’s even better when we’ve got young guys who can step up and help the team.”
A 9-2 run, capped by Ferrell’s 3-pointer, pulled Dallas within 97-84 with 5:56 left but the Mavericks came no closer. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said the Mavericks have to improve how they play in the third quarter.
“We’ve got to fix it,” he said. “It’s got to become a mentality. We have to just do better in all areas. We’re suffering with turnovers, missed shots — that’s just going to happen in the NBA. You can’t bellyache about missed shots, but your defense has to be consistent. You have to execute and take care of the ball. You have to be able to stop the other team. Tonight, giving up 39 in the third, that was the game.”
TIP-INS:
Mavericks: Devin Harris missed the game because of bruised ribs he suffered in a loss Saturday to Cleveland. … The Mavericks went 11 of 37 from 3-point range and have had at least nine 3-pointers in all 14 of their games. …Official Sean Corbin issued technical fouls to both Dirk Nowitzki (in the second quarter) and Carlisle (between the third and fourth quarters).
Thunder: On his 29th birthday, Westbrook chose to wear a pair of neon orange Air Jordan shoes during the first half before switching to a pair of black-and-blue Air Jordans for the second half. … The Thunder made a season-high 15 3-pointers, in 32 attempts. … Jerami Grant was given his first start of the season in place of Anthony. … Rookie Dakari Johnson started at center for the second straight game in place of Adams and matched up against NBA legend Nowitzki in the post to begin the game.
HOT-HEADED NOWITZKI
Nowitzki appeared to accidentally hit Grant in the face as Grant went up for a dunk midway through the second quarter. At first, officials ruled it a common foul, but the Thunder asked for a review and the play then was ruled as a flagrant foul.
Nowitzki wasn’t amused and uttered some choice words at Corbin, who slapped the 20-year veteran with a technical foul. Carlisle stepped in between Corbin and Nowitzki and guided his player back to the Mavericks’ bench.
UP NEXT:
Mavericks: Host San Antonio on Tuesday night to start a four-game homestand.
Thunder: Host Chicago on Wednesday night to wrap up a three-game homestand.
Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=400974942
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The Celtics winning streak is 12 and more from Sunday night in the NBA
A quiet night in the NBA turned out to be so much more.
There were only four games played in the NBA on Sunday night, but that didn’t make the action any less interesting. The Celtics kept their streak alive after a close game with the Raptors, James Harden proved he was one of the league’s best maestros and an NBA great made his debut on the college level.
Here’s everything you need to know.
The Celtics are the real deal
After losing their first two games the Celtics have ripped off 12 in a row and toppled a formidable foe in the Raptors on Sunday. This is reaching franchise record territory for Boston — the last time they had a winning streak this long was 2009.
Had it all the way.... http://pic.twitter.com/Vq589FK9wC
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) November 12, 2017
This team is good and they do it through defense. That’s why even when Kyrie Irving or Al Horford go down, they can take care of good teams with no problem. They’re officially 3-0 when Horford and Irving don’t play and 4-0 if we include the Hornets game where Irving played two minutes.
The Celtics are good.
The Raptors were close
With that being said, the Raptors were just one shot away from stopping the Celtics in their tracks. DeMar DeRozan had a good look at the bucket and took a shot he frequently makes.
Jaylen Brown's elite defense on DeMar DeRozan seals the win for the #Celtics! http://pic.twitter.com/whkfY0mzg5
— Taylor C. Snow (@taylorcsnow) November 12, 2017
In today’s league, that shot is frowned upon. But for DeRozan, who specializes in contested jump shots, it’s a solid look. Some Raptors fans were miffed because Kyle Lowry only took 10 shots throughout the game despite scoring 11 first-quarter points.
But the Raptors say they’ll live with the look they got every time.
"I'm rolling with that shot every time...I'm giving him the ball to shoot every time." - Kyle Lowry
Full Clips: https://t.co/GGh48MOOFJ http://pic.twitter.com/PZQIbKIIDM
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 13, 2017
James Harden is an absolute dynamo on offense
On Nov. 5, Harden scored 56 points in 35 minutes. On Sunday night? He dished out nine assists in the first quarter to generate 21 points for the Rockets to propel them toward a blowout win against the Pacers.
There’s just no stopping this dude. Just look.
James Harden finished Q1 with 9 assists - 3 shy of the @HoustonRockets record. The #NBA record for assists for a half is 19 (Cousy, 1959). http://pic.twitter.com/xO7sPabhi4
— NBA (@NBA) November 12, 2017
Harden finished the game with 26 points, 15 assists and five rebounds. In the legendary words of Diddy:
The Pistons keep winning, too
Quietly, the Pistons have won 10 games this season including a win over the Warriors. The attendance in their new arena might be shaky, but their team certainly isn’t. Tobias Harris was incredible in their win over the Heat, when he scored 25 points.
.@tobias31 led all players with 25 points in the @DetroitPistons 112-103 win over the @MiamiHEAT. http://pic.twitter.com/scbufoIbsl
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 12, 2017
We might have to start taking the Pistons a bit more seriously.
Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t care what LeBron James thinks about the Knicks
Last night after a win over the Mavericks, James called Dennis Smith, Jr. a ‘diamond in the rough’ and said the Knicks should’ve drafted him, which implicitly says they made a mistake by drafting Frank Ntilikina.
“Dallas got a good one,” @KingJames says of @Dennis1SmithJr. http://pic.twitter.com/QblBex4vl1
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) November 12, 2017
But on Sunday when he addressed reporters, Porzingis was having none of it.
“I don’t know why he made those comments. But all I can say is we love Frank and we’re happy with him,” Porzingis said in defense of the Knicks’ rookie. “He’s playing great, and he’s doing what he’s supposed to. And I would not change Frank for anybody. Simple.”
Monday night’s matchup is going to be big fun.
Dirk Nowitzki was not happy with a flagrant foul called on him
Flagrant fouls have been all the rage — literally — across the league over the last week. On Sunday, Nowitzki joined in on the fun after he was called for a Flagrant-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Dirk just got T'ed up after the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Dirk was hot, called it a "bull*** ass call." https://t.co/6da7vPG7z9
— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) November 13, 2017
Those are harsh words, big fella. Here’s the foul in question.
Looks like a good call. Still, I’m sure Nowitzki cursing someone out will make for a great soundbite.
Lots of NBAers turn out for Patrick Ewing in Georgetown’s home opener
Patrick Ewing is a Hall of Famer and was a longtime NBA assistant coach, but now he’s got his hands on the wheels at Georgetown. On Sunday night, Georgetown had their home opener in D.C. and lots of Ewing’s old buddies turned out to support him.
Here’s Michael Jordan!
This is a picture of MICHAEL JORDAN with the undefeated Georgetown Hoyas. http://pic.twitter.com/gdR2GqW3tB
— Casual Hoya (@CasualHoya) November 12, 2017
And here’s Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo! What a collection of big men. You still can’t score on these guys.
Legends. #H4L #WeAreGeorgetown http://pic.twitter.com/gYVYyoxg2u
— Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) November 12, 2017
It’s really nice to see old faces turn up in support for Ewing who never got the NBA shot he was looking for. Hopefully his tenure at Georgetown will be a great one.
Another Nike jersey ripped
Another week, another jersey. This time it’s Thaddeus Young.
A frustrated Thaddeus Young goes Hulk Hogan on his jersey. He's 0 of 7 tonight but has 5 rebounds and 2 assists. http://pic.twitter.com/KB6CaVwwJg
— 8 Points, 9 Seconds (@8pts9secs) November 13, 2017
Nike really has to do something about this issue. It just keeps happening.
Sunday night’s scores
Celtics 95 , Raptors 94 (Celtics Blog recap | Raptors HQ recap)
Pistons 112, Heat 103 (Detroit Bad Boys recap | Hot Hot Hoops recap)
Rockets 118, Pacers 95 (The Dream Shake recap | Indy Cornrows recap)
Thunder 112, Mavericks 99 (Welcome to Loud City recap | Mavs Moneyball recap)
Standings
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
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雙塔會就此在NBA絕跡嗎？
儘管不太受到人們的矚目，不過安東尼·戴維斯(Anthony Davis)正在打出個人最高效率的一個賽季，這一名跨時代的長人不喜歡用IG或推特等社群網站來吸引眼球，而是用一種古老的方式來獲得球迷以及同業們的尊重——用實力來說話。
6呎10吋、114kg，但卻能從底線運球突破接著轉身爆扣，他的身體素質就跟那些出現在雷利史考特電影裡的異形巨獸一樣超現實。
看看他今年的數據，為了讓考辛斯(DeMarcus Cousins)能揮灑他同樣驚人的天賦，戴維斯本季使用率(USG)下降到27(上賽季32.6)，然而他的命中率卻大幅提升。兩分球命中率上升了將近一成，來到59.4%，三分命中率則是生涯最高的35.4%。
場均25.1分、10.4籃板、2阻攻、1.1抄截，某種程度上來說，和他的模板賈奈特(Kevin Garnett)已經非常非常的像了。
24歲時，賈奈特場均22分、11.4籃板、5助攻、1.8阻攻、1.4抄截。看起來，後者更為全面，前者得分能力更強。
然而有些不那麼好的數據，也反映了兩人職業生涯的相似性。他們各自球隊在聯盟中的排名，灰狼該季戰績45勝37負，全聯盟排第15名，鵜鶘目前17勝16負西區第8。
這是一個極其平庸的戰績，我們可以理解那支灰狼為何停在這裡，賈奈特那時真的沒有太多幫手，他身邊最好的兩名球員是布蘭登(Terrell Brandon)和瑟比亞克(Wally Szczerbiak)。
那麼戴維斯呢？他和考辛斯的配合已經有好一些時間了，身邊還有一群菁英射手們護衛，然而他們並沒有如預期地打爆那些採用五個小矮人打籃球的球隊，相反的，他們在季後賽邊緣掙扎。
從數據上看，他們的搭配幾乎可以媲美歷史上那些最著名的雙塔，好比說羅賓森/鄧肯組合、歐拉朱萬/辛普森組合。
數據網站Statmuse指出，戴維斯和考辛斯本季25+10的次數分列聯盟前兩位，戴維斯有14次25+10排名第一，考辛斯和阿德托昆博(Giannis Antetokounmpo)各有13次並列第2。
截至12月21日，戴維斯和考辛斯生涯得到40分+20籃板的次數是2000-01賽季以前聯盟其它球員得到次數之和。
此外，兩人本季場均能和砍51.9分、23籃板、7.5助攻、2.6抄截和3.37次阻攻。然而這樣的他們帶出來的成績卻是5成左右的勝率。
馬刺雙塔首季56勝26負，球隊第3好的球員是艾略特(Sean Elliott)；火箭雙塔首季48勝32負，身邊的幫手是路卡斯(John Lucas)、麥克雷(Rodney McCray)，這僅是大夢和鄧肯的首個球季。兩年內，他們都至少打進總冠軍賽。
當今這個時代要成為聯盟頂級強隊的確困難的多，薪資規則的改動和球員整體實力的上升，使的任何有意爭取冠軍的球隊，陣中要是沒有三名以上的巨星級球員，都是很困難的(除了馬刺，他們用紀律和對這個運動的獨特理解彌補了這一劣勢)。
但鵜鶘從來就不是這種球隊，他們長年待在季後賽邊緣，看著別人主宰著自己的命運，最好的成績是首輪，然後被勇士給橫掃，兩人至今在季後賽未得一勝。
外界已經給了這兩人優秀長人很大的寬容，戴維斯長年在MVP榜中有一席之地，帶隊34勝直奔樂透，卻成為了最佳一陣的中鋒。考辛斯在國王從沒證明過自己是合格的領袖，他甚至沒辦法靠自己的能力打進季後賽。但他們卻已經是現下頂尖C位的代名詞。這就是我們所處的時代。
上一次在分區決賽看到以內線為核心的球隊是賈奈特帶領的塞爾提克，而上一支以內線為核心奪冠的球隊是諾維斯基(Dirk Nowitzki)的小牛隊。我們有機會看到鵜鶘成為下一支嗎？
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顯然，在他們能以自身撐起一個球隊的防守之前，很難能達成這個目標。鵜鶘本季場均能得到110.6，聯盟第5，團隊命中率.489，僅次於勇士隊，已經是菁英級別的數字。但每場要丟110.8，排名倒數第2。
這不能怪在他們身上，鵜鶘外線防守是紙糊的，除了戴維斯(103)和考辛斯(104)，全隊的DRtg(防守效率值)都超過了110。但是，這數據還是反應了戴維斯和考辛斯防守威力，並不如他們在封蓋以及抄截上的數字來的亮麗。
戴維斯去年防守勝利貢獻值(DWS)來到5.1是生涯最高，但也就是和15賽季的暮年鄧肯差不多水準(4.7)，而鄧肯場均比他還少上了8分鐘左右。
考辛斯更不用說，生涯從未有達到4以上的賽季。不過總的來說，他們兩人都還算是達到平均水準以上的防守球員。
但大量的外線投射，以及控衛擋拆小打大等戰術的盛行，讓未來要看到像霍華德(Dwight Howard)那樣一個人自成防守體系的巨人，已經幾乎不可能了。
取而代之的是，快速且能跟上後衛腳步的前鋒，因為這樣才能保證在換防中不失位，而失位就意味著要挨打。
總而言之，背景因素也好、個人能力也好，鵜鶘的高大內線始終只能做到獨善其身，對於球隊的防守並沒能產生質變。
儘管巨人們已經失去了他們最重要的價值——鞏固籃框，但他們仍有在進攻端將此補償回來的機會。前面說過了，鵜鶘本季在火力上完全沒問題，他們有超過50分由雙塔拿下。
從各個角度來看，戴維斯和考辛斯說是目前進攻手段最全面的內線也不為過。兩人面框破壞力比雷夫(Wreck-It Ralph)還猛，運球之後像鯊魚衝向獵物一樣爆扣，對他們來說不是什麼難事，戴維斯今年甚至還增加了三分球這項武器(場均投進1.7顆，命中率3成54)。
然而數據證明他們在進攻端的作用未必就比卡佩拉(Clint Capela)高到哪去。
隆多(Rajon Rondo)是最經驗老到的風投專家，他總是知道把球塞到誰身上能得到最豐厚的報酬。
在他回來之前，哈勒戴負責餵球給雙塔，就像保羅一樣兢兢業業；但隆多不這樣幹，他選擇把球交到哈樂戴手裡，以重新激活這一名外線的得分好手。
而在這樣的情形下，令人驚奇的是，雙塔的數據不降反升，反而打出了更加高效的團隊進攻。
哈勒戴本季場均出手14.8次、命中7.2球，命中率48.7% ，場均18.2分。12月場均出手增至17.2次、命中9.1球，命中率52.9% ，能拿到22.9分。
考辛斯本季場均出手18.9次、命中9球，命中率47.5％，每一場平均拿下26.2分。12月他場均出手19.3次、命中9.6球，命中率升至5成，可拿到28.4分。
戴維斯本季出手16.1次、命中9.2球，命中率56.9%，每一場平均拿下25.1分。12月他場均出手16.1次、命中9.1球，56.6%，可拿到24.1分。
不只這樣，隨著哈勒戴被解放後，摩爾(E'Twaun Moore)在12月成為了單月聯盟最佳射手，整個12月他用58.2%的三分命中率，場均投進2.7顆三分，在單月三分至少出手20次以上的選手中，排名第一。
8.8分、8.5助攻，命中率.533/.464/1.00，這是一個完美的控衛數據，一個真正的輔助，盡責的彈藥輸送員，隆多找到了這支球隊運作的細節，並且執行了下去，所以鵜鶘打出了隊史最佳的進攻。
然而，這實在不是一個令人振奮的消息，將球交給自己最有天賦的外線球員，並讓靠著他的牽制力串聯全隊，這是大勢所趨。但讓人意外且有些沮喪的是，連擁有不世出天才長人的鵜鶘，也不能免俗。
這樣的故事諭示著一個簡單的事實：在外線全面向全能化發展時，內線球員反而逐步退化成功能性球員。
考辛斯和戴維斯都在打出各自的生涯年，然而隆多告訴我們：「把球交給哈樂戴，他才能帶我們進季後賽。」
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過去在遠古廣袤的大陸上，曾經存在著一種叫做劍齒虎的生物。
這種生物曾經站在地球食物鏈的頂端上，牠們厲害到什麼程度呢？當時人類(廣義上的人種)的其中一支——北京人，就是牠們盤中飧之一。
然而，3百萬年以後，曾經只能當他的小弟的獅子、老虎、熊成功逃過了由人類發起的數次種族大滅絕，但劍齒虎現在只能在博物館中看到了。
更懂得去依附、去找到資源的物種，總是更能去適應時代動盪與變化。當大型草食動物滅絕後，其他大型食物動物仍能靠著其他方式(食腐、漿果)取得能量，但劍齒虎過長的犬齒卻讓他很難去找到其他食物來源。
卡佩拉在12月11日對鵜鶘的那場比賽，14投13中拿下28分，考辛斯17投8中拿24分，前者已經打進了MVP榜前十，靠的只是防守、籃板和把哈登傳來的球塞進籃框。
如果明年考辛斯選擇加入湖人，我們不會太意外，在無數次訪問中，他已經明確的表達自己想贏球。
那麼鵜鶘在補上一名可靠的3D鋒線、並讓戴維斯開始做卡佩拉今年的工作，這支鵜鶘能變得更強、或是至少維持住目前的競爭力嗎？我覺得可以。
這看起來沒什麼，如果能讓球隊變得更好的話。但我擔心的是籃球，以及巨人這個物種。戴維斯今年受助功率6成63，豐富了進攻手段、遠射命中率簡直殘暴；考辛斯正在變成更壯更棒的韋伯(Chris Webber)，但這都沒有用，因為鵜鶘進不了第二輪。
巨人還會存在嗎？那些舉臂能遮天的怪物曾經統治著籃球大陸的每一寸，這或許不必擔心，因為恩比德(Joel Embiid)和波爾津吉斯(Kristaps Porzingis)仍還沒成長到頂天。
但隨著基德(Jason Kidd)越來越可能讓阿德托昆博打到中鋒位置，雙塔似乎也注定到了他們進入博物館之時。
其他本文寫手 Dexter 好文：
當喬治開始像杜蘭特那樣打，雷霆就能贏了
騎士看起來又要丟掉東部第一了，可那又如何？
一個完美的籃球偶像，林值得一次神蹟的救贖。
#NBA#運動視界#anthony davis#Kevin Garnett#rajon rondo#Tim Duncan#clint capela#jrue holiday#雙塔#giannis antetokounmpo
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