Game Day (Home Opener): Mavericks (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Wed 10/17/18

[djy2j]

Late to the party but I watched the whole thing. The first quarter was great as well as midway through the fourth. I like the energy and I am glad they had a nice crowd to win in front of. That's what I think I was most happy about, the sellout.

A few things the bothered me was the defensive rotation down low. Ayton was at fault as we had mentioned but I saw Anderson's lack of rotation moreso. I would expect that from Ayton early on but Ryan has been in the league and should be better.

Chandler is a great mentor for Ayton and I noticed him teaching during timeouts but he is absolutely worthless on the court. Need to find a way to have him move to the coaching staff ASAP. Dude can't even grab a rebound without bobbling it or having it slip through his hands.

I look forward to seeing how this team improves.

[Hermen]

Has there been a player with a better NBA debut than MCW? 22 pts, 12 ast, 7 reb, 9 (!) steals, 4/6 from 3 to beat the defending champions with the worst team in the league. What happened to him?

[Superbone]

Has there been a player with a better NBA debut than MCW? 22 pts, 12 ast, 7 reb, 9 (!) steals, 4/6 from 3 to beat the defending champions with the worst team in the league. What happened to him?

He's a role player for the Houston Rockets now. He never developed a decent jump shot.

[Cap]

Has there been a player with a better NBA debut than MCW?

By GmSc, no, and it’s not even close to being close to being close.

DA cracks the Top 10!

Doncic chimes in at #1367.

http://bkref.com/tiny/inLgR

[Nodack]

If we had picked Doncic and he had the game he did for us instead of Dallas, I can only imagine the dread that would be going on around here.

[O_Gardino]

4 players in history have had a career debut with at least 18/10/6

http://bkref.com/tiny/gN4iK

Deandre is the first since Big O in 1960.

Only 5 centers (by bkref classification) in history played 36 or more minutes in their debut and didn't get more than 1 block.

Don't get me wrong, Ayton had a very good first game and I'm not trying to pick on you, I know pointing out such facts is fairly common. I just don't see the point in it. It seems too easy to filter out games/players/whatever using combinations of stats.

It's the combination that's impressive. 18/10 is a biggish a deal for a big guy, but how many guys who are good enough inside to put that up on opening night are also good enough passers to toss 6 assists? Even if you simplify it significantly down to 14 / 6 / 4, there are only like 25ish in history. It's pretty special that Deandre can already pass.

As for the blocks, we've already been over this on his defense. He's a shit defender, and that's why the Suns were so bad the other night. We here on the internet will just have to bitch about it until until our complaints make him better.

But here's some perspective, only 4 players played 36 minutes and got more than 1 block. That would have been special, too! None of those 4 had more than 2 assists, only one score 18 points, and one of them didn't manage 10 rebounds. Those guys pretty much just rebounded and blocked shots.

Opening night for a rookie center is pretty special. Most don't have an all around game. Check out some other debut lines. Ayton is ahead of the curve.

[Hermen]

Has there been a player with a better NBA debut than MCW? 22 pts, 12 ast, 7 reb, 9 (!) steals, 4/6 from 3 to beat the defending champions with the worst team in the league. What happened to him?

He's a role player for the Houston Rockets now. He never developed a decent jump shot.

I know, I'm just surprised how it went downhill from the start for him.

[Hermen]

It's the combination that's impressive. 18/10 is a biggish a deal for a big guy, but how many guys who are good enough inside to put that up on opening night are also good enough passers to toss 6 assists?

I agree, putting up 18/10/6 is great. I just don't see the added value of the number of centers that posted this combination in their debut.

And the thing with minutes and blocks was there just as an example of why I think this is a pointless exercise. Not to say anything about Ayton's defense.

[Superbone]

Herman, enjoy the moment. You are allowed. They will not all be this good.

[UglyTruth]

If we had picked Doncic and he had the game he did for us instead of Dallas, I can only imagine the dread that would be going on around here.

True but on the other side there's a low chance that he would play so poorly for Kokoskov who knows how to use him better than any other coach in the league including Carlisle.

[specialsauce]

Man i would love to know if all the Debbie Downers on this site right now are the posters who were upset we didn’t draft Doncic. It would make perfect sense.

[Superbone]

https://twitter.com/TheTimelinePod/status/1053108393517375489

[youtube][/youtube]

[Cap]

Man i would love to know if all the Debbie Downers on this site right now are the posters who were upset we didn’t draft Doncic. It would make perfect sense.

Yuk hasn’t returned, so INF must still be grieving.

Of course, if it really is grief, I wouldn’t expect one game to end it.

[Shabazz]

I was a Doncic guy, but Ayton is a stud and we're lucky to have him.

[jonh]

Man i would love to know if all the Debbie Downers on this site right now are the posters who were upset we didn’t draft Doncic. It would make perfect sense.

Yuk hasn’t returned, so INF must still be grieving.

Of course, if it really is grief, I wouldn’t expect one game to end it.

I was a HUGE Doncic guy, and a HUGE Ayton doubter. I love being wrong about him (through one season game).

[Indy]

I wanted Luka, but I don't doubt Ayton will live up to his #1 status.

[INFORMER]

Man i would love to know if all the Debbie Downers on this site right now are the posters who were upset we didn’t draft Doncic. It would make perfect sense.

Yuk hasn’t returned, so INF must still be grieving.

Of course, if it really is grief, I wouldn’t expect one game to end it.

No Debbie Downer here. Ayton has been fantastic since the summer league. So far so good. I can live with the defensive lapses for now.

[Mori Chu]

I was a Doncic guy, but Ayton is a stud and we're lucky to have him.

That's right. Ayton has looked like a real phenom based on preseason and our first game. I'm quite impressed and excited about him. I love Doncic too, and I wish we had a magic lamp and could have somehow gotten both players or something. I think they'll both be fun to watch for years to come. But I'm really sighing with relief at how good Ayton has been so far.

[O_Gardino]

It's the combination that's impressive. 18/10 is a biggish a deal for a big guy, but how many guys who are good enough inside to put that up on opening night are also good enough passers to toss 6 assists?

I agree, putting up 18/10/6 is great. I just don't see the added value of the number of centers that posted this combination in their debut.

And the thing with minutes and blocks was there just as an example of why I think this is a pointless exercise. Not to say anything about Ayton's defense.

Not just centers. Anyone. Nobody since 1960 has had the combo of physicality to get the boards and court vision to get the assists (and luck with teammates making shots) in their debut.

As for the minutes, it's just special that Ayton stayed on the court that long. Very few rookie centers do.

At this point I'm just clowning about my defense of Ayton's defense.

[O_Gardino]

I was also a Doncic guy. I still think we need the kind of swagger and joy he brings to the court.

Ayton has played a lot better than I expected, and I love it. He's a stud.