Dante Exum is the Dallas Mavericks’ Wildcard

Dante Exum is the Dallas Mavericks’ Wildcard

The Western Conference playoff race is a battle Zone every night you have to show up prepared for war Anything Can Happen anyone could the hell is that hey how’s it going guys uh yeah who called you guys in we’re the tank Brigade we saw the Mavericks lost five of their last six

Games we figured our services were needed here oh no no no that won’t be necessary the Mavericks just beat the Heat last night we’re we’re thinking we’re yeah we’re thinking we’re back oh well okay you start losing some games you know who to call I know you have our

Number saved I know Mavs fans yeah he’s a Mavs fan you got our number saved yeah that’s hilarious all right thanks guys not you’re not needed here let’s check the schedule oh they got the Pistons decks they got the P yeah we’ll be seeing you soon buddy no I’ve seen this

Story one too many times no roll the hell out of here we know we don’t need you go Mavericks get a huge much needed win against the Miami Heat at home ending their winning streak the heat coming into this game winners of seven of their last eight so an impressive win

For the Mavericks who defensively did what they needed to do to win this game we talked about on this channel obviously the Mavericks had been the worst defense in the league after the All-Star break and they clamped up they gave up 36 points in the first quarter

To the Miami Heat after that 22 points in the second quarter 25 in the third 25 in the fourth so their defense I mean just put forth the effort tried communicated executed it really is that simple sometimes for this team a 114 offensive rating for the Miami Heat that

Is in the 47th percentile so the Mavs did a great job defensively it was their best defensive performance since the All-Star break Luca 35 points 11 rebounds 11 assists becomes the first player in NBA history with four straight 35o triple doubles how about that for a

Stat it’s not even like he started this game on fire or anything like that he had 175 and five in the third quarter not at the end of the third quarter that those were his stats in the third quarter alone 175 and five but the real

Main takeaway for me in this game was Dante exom in his minutes 17 minutes in this game the most he’s had since he’s returned turn from injury including nearly 9 Minutes in the fourth quarter in the closing lineup out there in crunch time hitting some huge shots for

The Mavericks and the reality of the situation is they need him they need him to be healthy they need him on the floor when he is healthy LCA and exom when they’re on the floor together this season 430 minutes they are plus 13.6 with an offensive rating of 129

These two have a great Rapport a great chemistry and you saw it in tonight’s game we’re going to go over some clips here in a bit exom setting up Luca and getting Luka something that’s pretty rare for luuka which is easy shots shots where he doesn’t have to worry about

Breaking down his Defender because the guy giving him the basketball has pretty much already done it for him and Luca Dante and Kyrie the closing group on the floor only 66 minutes this season so an incredibly small sample size but a 33 net rating 33 with a 138 offensive

Rating and it really passes the eye test Dante ask him if he’s healthy has to be on the floor do you hear me Jason kid he has to be all right let’s get this party started will never not love Luca setting up Kyrie little Zoom action by the

Mavericks heat scrambling to stop Luca Kyrie wide open that’s an easy three man I will never not love Luca to Kyrie Kyrie to Luca injected directly into my veins so we talked about the Mavericks defense looked much better in the second third and fourth quarter than it did in

The first but we need to set up just how atrociously bad it was in the first quarter because it was absolutely terrible falling asleep getting killed on back Cuts as you can tell just look at the scoreboard no this isn’t a glitch in B Sports although that wouldn’t be

Uncommon at all that really is 11 Point score in the first two minutes for the Miami Heat just falling asleep right there can’t have that again just pors defense Duncan Robinson looked like he was on Pace for a 50-point Breakout game just got to see ball and man got to see

Ball man know that know your personnel there’s Duncan Robinson right there you got to get up on him it’s Michigan on Michigan crime right there and then some porous transition defense here can’t let bam aabo get behind you that easily it’s a nice pass by Terry roier but got to

Get back and get said 23 points not even halfway through the first quarter for Miami that’s like what they scored in every other quarter pretty much I mean it was awful now it did get better for the Mavericks Lively came off the in this game I thought he had his

Moments I thought Maxi played well here too there’s a great individual defense by Maxi he blocks the shot Lively comes over it’s a double block everybody gets a block the offensive versatility of a PJ Washington ripping going floater that’s something nice to have the Maverick’s been onedimensional far too

Long having a guy like PJ Washington who could put the ball in the deck and do some things is a nice added benefit yeah we got to see ball in man really nice off really nice off ball Movement by Caleb Martin catching that in stride knocking down to three and it was pretty

Much downhill offensively for the heat after this and Uphill for the Mavericks is that the right way to word that uphill downhill isn’t downhill easier English Majors let me know look at this pass from PJ Washington certain players involved in this trade would never going run the floor big

Now some of these Miami Heat baskets you just have to tip your cap and just say good job good good defensive possession here for the Mavericks good 23 seconds to the heat just get the ball moving and good things happen Luca you know not not necessarily any terrible defense right

There by the Mavs it’s just good ball Movement by the Heat and Jimmy Butler knocks down a corner three and Mama there goes that man Dante xam checks into the game and immediately we’re getting pressure on the rim defense has to collapse Luca on the Block gets a

Pass and gets an easy little floater how about that just setting up your best player spoon feeding him really good ball movement here by the Mavericks if exam’s going to be on the floor obviously he’s got to be ready to shoot threes Lively gets it in the middle out

To the wing extra pass to the corner Dante X him knock it down Australia to Australia the ball moving again for the Mavericks exom going to find a wide open PJ Washington not entirely sure what the Strat there was for the heat to double X him in the corner leaving PJ Washington

Wide open but we’ll take it good read by Dante PJ again if PJ Washington’s on the wing we feel good about his chances hitting a three if it’s in the corner protect your children good individual defense right here by PJ Washington and then good hands by

Luca get the ball up court all right we’re going to get an easy dunk here get up there Dante oh no oh God defense more often than not it’s about effort it’s about Focus really good job here by both Luca and Gafford and then Gafford poking the

Ball away KY with the hustle Play to save it that’s what we’ve been wanting that’s what we’ve been yearning for then you have gafford’s energy on the glass this is the stuff you need whenever you’re in a rut you need this energy you need this effort you need this tenacity

You need Dwight pal on the bench with the Apple Vision Pro we miss you Dwight honestly kind of Miss see and Dwight out there what do you guys think we talk about the Mavericks playing with Pace this is the pace I like hit head passes let Luca be

The quarterback one way better than Dak Prescott could ever be I’ve seen Dak Prescott play in the playoff I’ve seen Luka play in the playoffs trust me I know who I’m taking okay and it ain’t Dak good individual defense here by Luca good team defense by the Mavs when

Whenever luuka can get to this little move right here when he shuffles his feet and puts his hands on his PP region that’s when you know he’s in his bag defensively now the ball’s moving yic you’re cool with whatever’s going on there and Good Help by Luca to get in

Position to draw a charge there I’m not entirely sure I agree with that call but hey no pictures in the scorebook so I’m going to highlight a couple of these Derek Lively plays cuz it’s important for later Lively in the third quarter was having some rookie moments and this

Is just bam out bio good footwork drawing contact Lively jumping on that fake which has been a problem for him especially recently it feels like biting on those pump fakes we we’ll keep that in mind we’ll keep we’ll keep this sequence in mind Dante X him a

Great point of attack Defender like he almost has to either be in your starting lineup or playing big minutes because his perimeter defense is better than really anything else that you’ve got outside of maybe Derrick Jones Jr nice job right there uh on Terry Rosier Baylor Scott White and health then next

Him pushing the pace smart with the ball in his hands leaves it for Luca Luca’s hot that’s a three ball any catch and shoot opportunities for Luca I’m in I want more more solid defense here by the Mavericks good pick up by Lively XM switches on to Bam and it comes off to

Help on yic yic a little out of control huh a little out of control that’s what I noticed in this one just does doesn’t seem like he truthfully knows what he’s doing with the ball in his hands just yet and how about this beautiful feed

From luk at a lively set up by exm pushing the pace off a rebound Luca beautiful jump pass that’s what we love to see they say the jump you shouldn’t do the jump pass I say the jump pass isn’t dead in moments like these we’re shooting a three the defense

Is all staring at me Caleb Martin’s like here we go this guy is just a nightmare guard oh my God oh my got a pass I’m LCA donic and then how about this right here little flare screen by Lively Luca catch and shoot three look at the subtleness by Luka here too

Though I I literally just now noticed this Luca on the catch and dunan Robinson’s just coming over to show help and waiting until Cayla Martin gets over the screen but look at his head gets Duan Robinson flying back to Tim Hardy Jr in the corner before we’re knocking that down an offensive Savant

Ladies and gentlemen a genius and again don’t buy this don’t buy this that Luca is a nightmare to play with and he doesn’t set his teammates up no he does look at all of the attention that he draws defensive L boom you’ve got pretty much every single Miami Heat player collapsing in

The paint on Luca raise it perfectly beautiful little skip pass or kick out to the corner Max E CBA way to knock it down Max a million needed that beautiful stuff here Lively on the boards active and this is the type of energy you need when you’re in a losing stretch

Beautiful up fake step into the three look at the look look at the look at the steps by Luka here at the end what a guy what what a character huh again I’m showing you some of these plays because it’ll be important later pretty solid close out there by

Lively now he’s got to get out on Caleb Martin that’s a terrible foul that is an absolutely terrible foul in a game the Mavericks start by 11 four-point play for Caleb Martin and this is a big reason why the heat pled their way back

In this game and in fact had a lead in the fourth quarter again the smart decision making by exm he just has to be on the floor get into the paint sees Gafford has good position down low under the basket pretty much and that’s an easy finish for him over Thomas Bryant

The size advantage that’s a great job by Exo Man just putting pressure on the defense leading to good things it wasn’t the best game offensively for PJ Washington but I thought he did a really good job defensively in this one right here good individual defense on Jimmy Butler forcing a difficult shot there

Unfortunately the Mavs couldn’t get the rebound they called the foul right there but either way P jail alive and very well in this one Jimmy Butler I hope you like prison food cuz you’re welcome to P jail good defensive possession there by the Mavericks good job by PJ on um on Jimmy

Butler and then a good controlled close out by Kyrie Irving to contest that shot that’s a really good job more good defense here for the Mavericks again we see when they’re playing on a string and communicating they could be a good defense that’s what makes the tough stretch is so annoying that’s an

Offensive foul yeah get serious ref my God exim either needs to get in the weight room or I respect this I respect the s j right there more Dante XM goodness again putting pressure on the defense kick out PJ Washington Wild close out by Jimmy Butler and we’re

Attacking the rim we’re missing we’re tipping that in we’re missing that as well we’re tipping it in we’re just patting our stats with rebounds that’s all at the end of the day but great activity there by exom and PJ Washington as well PJ Washington man can really change this defense PJ Terry roier

Welcome we haven’t seen a spike in incarceration like this since the CIA decided to intervene in the 1980s more good team defense right here Just Energy effort Focus execution good job good hands PJ what a performance still waiting for that PJ Washington shot to start dropping but gotta love the defense I

Guess I didn’t realize he was performing as well going back and looking at these clips man it’s a great pass by Luca the patience knowing he has the size to pass out of this we don’t need to panic you know we can just wait and just that patience right there Jimmy Sprints out

To Kyrie PJ’s wide open in the corner you love that shot we just got to get that three ball going for PJ in the corner we got to figure something out what the do you even do with this man this guy is just so stupid Mavs down

By two with 630 left in the game their offense started to struggle a little bit here terrible possession need something REM remarkable to happen well you know when when the ball gets in this guy’s hands something remarkable is more than likely going to happen I mean how does he do it time and

Time again the these are supposed to be like one in 100 shots it’s like every other night he hits some dog like this defense energy Focus execute on defense before I execute you I’m just kidding it’s not that extreme but look at Kyrie right there man telling you this is what makes the

Bad defensive stretches so frustrating because we see them play defense and the thing for the Mavericks you just have to put yourself in a position late in games that’s why they’ve been one of the best clutch teams in the league in fact I think they are the best clutch team in

The league so far this season put yourself in a position late in games where Luca or Kyrie can take over because we know those guys can do it we know Kyrie is going to be a tough bucket getter late in games we know Luca is going to pull insane out of his ass

All right just put yourself in a position for it to happen and the best way to do that is by playing defense Dante Exum playing in clutch time Lively and here we go here’s what I was talking about Lively great job great job doesn’t bite on any of those fakes stays down

Stays disciplined now Dante X him on Jimmy Butler stays in front and that’s just a tough shot you got to tip your cap okay that’s a that is a superstar level player in Jimmy Butler you know putting some weight on you and hitting a tough

Shot you tip your cap but overall a good defensive possession down one 320 left Dante xum hits a shot like this shot clock winding down he has to be in the lineup if if he’s hitting threes there’s literally no reason for him not to be getting even

Like clutch minutes like this he just does too many things for you all right bam bio posting up Derrick livley we’ve seen him go to work in this mismatch already not mismatch sorry but this matchup already tonight this time Lively stays disciplined stays down verticality boom that’s what I’m talking about man

And you know Jason kid coached him that on the on the sidelines and this is why I say Jason kid really should be the coach again put yourself in a position for Luca donic and Kyrie Irving to do Luca donic and Kyrie Irving things that’s all you got to do put yourself in

A position and you feel like you can win any game but you just have to get yourself there you can’t be down 15 cuz your defense has decided they didn’t want to show up wait defense I thought that was optional it’s not optional it’s non-negotiable do it and sometimes guys

Are going to hit shots like these and you just tip your cab Terry rier was on one in this one that’s a tough shot man that’s a tough shot and one of the benefits of having a superstar be your 1B be your Batman to Lucas Superman bad

Play right here by Kyrie standing out of bounds he had a rough game tonight did didn’t shoot well bit of a rough stretch for him standing out of bounds here a huge turn over in a two-point game with a minute 55 left how about we make up

For it huh Luca misses a three great activity here on the boards by both Maxi and Lively Kyrie make up for it same exact spot game time see you night night whoa what was going on with this hand right here whoa whoa whoaa and again shout out to Derrick lively man had some

Rookie moments early in this game but turned it on late defensively discipline stay down contest that shot without fouling great job and then Dante X him right by the Dirk silhouette icing this game how do you say good night an Australian

The Dallas Mavericks got a much needed win against the Miami Heat thanks to improved defense, Luka Doncic, and Dante Exum.

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