 What's the word, y'all? Amazing night of hoops, man. The LA Lakers make the Milwaukee Bucks look like fools again for the second time this month because the Lakers were down people in both games and somehow snuck out of there with wins. The Pelicans clawed their way back to a game against the OKC Thunder and OKC Close It Out on a 12-0 run, but the game I want to talk about is a blowout win that the Dallas Mavericks had over the Sacramento Kings. This game is significant because these two teams are fighting to stay above the playing and they play again in a couple of days, so we'll see if the Kings get their revenge, but because tonight they have a one-game difference between the sixth seed and the seventh seed. And I'll be honest with you, between these teams, because I guess, wow, it's not that crazy to say, oh my god, the Clippers have been struggling so much that they're like, there's a possibility, a low possibility that they end up in a playing team, potentially, potentially. Anyway, the last thing you want to do when these teams in this range between basically the fourth seed to the 11th seed, because again, we see you, Houston Rock, because we talked about two yesterday, the last thing you want to do is actually be a playing team. Now, again, at least four of these teams will be a playing team, but I think we in our minds see a team like the Kings, the Suns, the Lakers and the Warriors, and we say, yeah, being in the playing sucks, but we trust these teams to win the game or these two games, but I always look back a couple of years ago, the go to say Warriors were playing team, they were either the seventh or the eighth seed and they lost two games to Missa completely and it can happen. Now the best thing about that, Warriors fans, we know what you did the year after that. You went out and won that damn championship, but still, just even though it is a one win to get in thing, anything can happen, so you don't want to be in that spot and the Mavericks after this win have a full game difference between them and the Kings. Again, they play against each other in a couple of days, but this was a full out dominant performance from the Dallas Mavericks. I mean, what if they shoot 60% from three hit 20 plus threes, the first game Tim Hardaway, Jr. has had in the last month or so while I was really excited to watch, but things are amazing. There are nine and one in their last 10 that I have to admit that I was wrong. Yeah, it is very important in this world, I'm watching basketball, giving my opinion to be able to admit when I'm wrong. And I was wrong about the Dallas Mavericks. Now I have had a lot of high highs with the Mavericks, like right after the trade at Laminate, when I guess, okay, CNA dominated that table, like, oh boy, this team's gonna be scary. And they won a couple of games after that and then they went through like a five game stretch where I was all, and I'm not even a fan of the team, I was like almost pulling out my own here watching. It was crazy. But now, again, I'm back up there. Now, the part that I was wrong about, right? The part that I was wrong about is the idea that you're gonna be able to build, not just a competent defensive team, but a really good defensive team around the two stars up top. And for what is worth, Lucadontis has been locked in defensively as much as we've ever seen in his career. So I'm giving him credit there. Calry Irvin even tell you himself, like when he needs to lock in, he can. But I look at those two players and I look at the sample size that we had, basically post-trade that line last season and then what 11-ish games they played together. And then the first half of this season, I thought to myself, just building a really good defense around these dudes is going to be tough. But the Dallas Mavericks have successfully done it, I can say. I think we had enough sample size to say that they've been successful in doing that. Now, a couple of years ago when they made it to the Conference Finals of 2021-2022 season, they had the eighth ranked defense in all of basketball. That was their identity. They were a slow, methodical team with one of the best players in the league and on the defensive side of the ball, they were going to get out there after it. And they were the eighth ranked defense, but the gap between them at eighth and the third best team was like one point per possession. So they were really in the mix for a top three defensive team. That was their identity when they made that Conference Final run. And since then, it has not been that way. Now it's kind of turning a little bit. Their identity has shifted and I love when like, I guess the perception of a team or a player has to be changed and that's what we're seeing. Between the opening day of the season and the trade that line, the Dallas Mavericks had the 21st ranked defense and the 21st ranked defense, I don't care who you is. In most cases, if you're the 21st ranked defense, you are not a contender, right? You are not a contender. I mean, I know there has been outliers, but for the most part, you need to have a top 10-inch defense, right? Well, sister deadline, that's what they at. They're sitting at number 10. And if we look just at the last 10 games, again, if you're nine and one, of course your advanced stats are gonna say you're nine and one, but they're a top five defense in that timeframe. And they have one specific lineup that is locking up. Now they have a few lineups doing this, but one. And every time I look up lineup data, I'm always kind of if you're about it because of course, sample size really matters, right? If a lineup is only played 100 minutes and it says it's dominant, is it really dominant? Oh, did they just, those 100 minutes were just the perfect case scenario. You know what I'm saying? This sample size is not amazing, right? It's about 200 minutes. Luka Donch is carrier of Adira Jones Jr. PJ Watson and Daniel Gaffer about 200 minutes. They have a 120 offensive rating in this point per 100 processions. And the defensive rating, they are really clamping up in a 93 percentile defensively in this timeframe. And it's been a joy to watch. It's definitely been a joy to watch. I think the stats say that when Luka Donch and Daniel Gaffer are playing together, they are undefeated when they're both starting, not playing together when they're both starting. I think it's like 11 and up. And Daniel Gaffer is one of the most efficient players in the history of basketball. Like he's like number three in efficiency. And it's just been a joy to see because for the last couple of years, I don't mean this as a shot, but hey, we being candid, we talk hoops around here. To see the difference between having Derek Lively and having Daniel Gaffer as your big rotation versus having to wipe how we'll play goddamn 30 minutes a game for you multiple seasons. I may be exact. I don't know how many minutes per game he was playing, but like there is night and day in the production and everything. Just to have a true big core. And it's just has changed a lot as all. And I think even when I was saying to myself, they will be almost impossible. Whatever the words were, I was saying about them defensively. I always said that this team is not a team you wanna see in the postseason. Whether it be one game elimination, seven game elimination, you got that killer Luka Donchage in your team. And oh my God, his, I guess he's robbing of course into him, but he's got a side kick and Carrie Irvin who hit the clutch of shot in the history of basketball. Like this team is gonna be a tough, tough out because Luka Donchage is one of the players that, and I think what makes a player a superstar is being able to elevate his play come playoff time. Luka Donchage has done that every year of his career that he's had a playoff appearance, right? So I didn't, I didn't think any team wanted to see them, but if their defense is gonna look this good, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what you're gonna do, right? Imagine you are, as of right now in the Minnesota Timberwolves, you have the second, second greatest season in your franchise history, only behind KG's MVP season. I think you made it to the conference finals, right? You have the second greatest regular season of your team's history, and the reward for you doing that is seeing Luka Donchage in the first round. I don't, I don't know who I would pick in that series. I would have to really think about that. Like they, like it's got to the point where we'll be in the top seed. The only thing that benefits it is that you, if there is a game seven, it's at home, right? That's really it. Every single one of these teams is kind of dangerous and you don't wanna, you know what I'm saying? You don't wanna see the Dallas Maverick. Now they're still without Josh Green, so I don't know exactly what their rotation's gonna look like when they're completely healthy, because every time somebody does get healthy, somebody else goes out. Like Dotte X'a missed some time, and then that's when Josh Green got a bunch of burn. Now Dotte X'a is back. Now Josh Green is out. So it's just, it's a lot going on. So I don't really know what their rotation's gonna look like, but it's just cool to kind of see them putting it together in real time, because there are some teams across the association that are kind of limping to the finish line. You don't wanna be that team. And again, it is very, very possible, possible. Not maybe not likely, but very, very possible that this is not where you stop at the 60, right? According to Tankathon, the Dallas Mavericks have a 23rd hardest, easiest schedule left. Just know they have an easy schedule, right? They got OKC once, Sacramento again in a couple days. They got the heat, the Warriors twice, the Rockets twice, and then they got a few games against really bad teams in these last 10 while some of the people they're competing against. Like the Clippers have a tough schedule and they are not looking good, right? The Kings have a really tough schedule. They are, they've been OK. I almost said they're not looking good right now. They didn't look good tonight, but they've been OK. And then the Suns don't have any easy games. They by far have the hardest schedule left. These are the teams that you compete with for your seeding. New Orleans Pelicans, that'd just be mine. The New Orleans Pelicans, in their 10 games left, they don't have an easy schedule either. So like, you have the easiest schedule of everybody you're competing with and you're clicking at the right time. I don't know how everything is gonna go, but I'm excited to really see. I like this, these series that end up being two games in like three nights. So I'm excited to see how the Kings retaliate because it makes me feel like, it feels like playoff environment that second night. You know what I'm saying? When you go against the team again. So let me know what you think about Dallas Mavericks. I was wrong and I'm willing to accept that. I'm excited to see what can happen these last two games of the season for them.