“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
I thought the second half of this article might address diet and physical fitness. Seems like as part of Luka’s looking in the mirror maturation process, truly getting into “the best shape of his life” has to be part of the process. As with stopping bitching to the refs, this is consistent with other super stars who have realized they have to change their diet to take that final step. I can recall Dirk and Steve Nash doing this, not to mention MJ, Shaq among many.
Great perspective excellent writing. Luka absolutely has to mature, move beyond his entitled expectations, court-selfishness and frankly, toughen up emotionally. Your reference & comparison to Dirk is spot-on! That Man, played unselfishly and when he was unfairly unprotected on the court by poor officiating, it fueled him and he fought through it.
I’m a Luka fan! I too want him to take the next steps and become the hero to Mav fans that Dirk will be, forever more!
REALLY looking forward to the additions of Grant Williams and OMAX. I think the roster is better overall because of those additions and the development of Green and Hardy.
But, Bob, I agree - this thing will only go as far as Luka takes them. I recently read The Great Nowitzki, by Thomas Pletzinger, and learned a ton about Holger Geschwindner. He was so instrumental in Dirk's success.
Cool article Bob! I’m a casual and even I’m fired up!
I agree with the sentiment. I also think it’s worthwhile to note that the ‘influence’ of both head coach J Kidd and teammate Kyrie will make it difficult for the “man in the mirror” evolution to occur. Yes, they are clearly both incredible basketball minds but I’m not confident they are the type to do anything but distract from this type of change of heart revelation, unfortunately.
Excellent piece! One thing I must say is that the piece of the equation that I feel the Mavs will have the biggest problem with is Jason Kidd. He basically lucked into success 2 seasons ago because injuries forced him to work Brunson into the starting lineup and his ability to really manage personnel and build team chemistry along with a concrete plan and identity seems to be lacking. I think the Mavs have the potential to have more success this year, but also that Kidd eventually needs to go. Sooner than later, I hope.
Lmao how long did it take you to dig up a comment from 6 months ago? And yeah Kidd has done a FAR better job than he had up to that point so credit where it’s due.
Bob had linked to that story so I went back and read it and wanted to read the comments.
I'm with you. I didn't think Kidd was anything special, like a lot of NBA coaches. And I'm still not of the mind Kidd is a great NBA coach. What I do know is he was given a lot of ingredients that the "analysts" said weren't any good (Kyrie, PJ/Gafford trades all graded as D or worse) and in a very short period of time has created a really, really deep, talented and diverse rotation.
I agree Luka needs to be better. But let's also not pretend this roster is any good. There is simply no way a team relying on Dwight Powell to play 23 MPG is a championship contender, for example. You can want more from Luka while also being realistic with expectations, which is to say this: there's not a damn player in the world, other than perhaps Jokic, that could take this current roster to 46+ wins and win a playoff series. The roster simply is not good enough.
I submit that Kyrie Irving (the mellowed version) and Grant Williams have every opportunity to exceed the modest accomplishments of those fellas. I don't even think it is a stretch to suggest this. Irving is an All-NBA performer and Williams is a defensive leader that fits so much better than that group from 2022. I don't think I can possibly that far off unless you simply would not put Kyrie in your building under any circumstances. I don't think he will be an issue moving forward. (might clip and save this bold claim)
Kyrie, IMO, is the perfect "When someone shows you who you are, believe them" example. But I hope I am wrong, because they need him to be elite and to play 65 games if they want to do anything substantial this season.
For my money, this is the best thing you’ve ever written, Bob. And I agree 100%. 2023-24 can’t be about, well, we lost Jalen Brunson. That’s history and it’s all up to Luka and present company to write the next chapter.
This is a magical article. Hits the nail directly on the head.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
I thought the second half of this article might address diet and physical fitness. Seems like as part of Luka’s looking in the mirror maturation process, truly getting into “the best shape of his life” has to be part of the process. As with stopping bitching to the refs, this is consistent with other super stars who have realized they have to change their diet to take that final step. I can recall Dirk and Steve Nash doing this, not to mention MJ, Shaq among many.
That was implied, but not mentioned for sure.
Great perspective excellent writing. Luka absolutely has to mature, move beyond his entitled expectations, court-selfishness and frankly, toughen up emotionally. Your reference & comparison to Dirk is spot-on! That Man, played unselfishly and when he was unfairly unprotected on the court by poor officiating, it fueled him and he fought through it.
I’m a Luka fan! I too want him to take the next steps and become the hero to Mav fans that Dirk will be, forever more!
REALLY looking forward to the additions of Grant Williams and OMAX. I think the roster is better overall because of those additions and the development of Green and Hardy.
But, Bob, I agree - this thing will only go as far as Luka takes them. I recently read The Great Nowitzki, by Thomas Pletzinger, and learned a ton about Holger Geschwindner. He was so instrumental in Dirk's success.
Luka needs a Holger.
Cool article Bob! I’m a casual and even I’m fired up!
I agree with the sentiment. I also think it’s worthwhile to note that the ‘influence’ of both head coach J Kidd and teammate Kyrie will make it difficult for the “man in the mirror” evolution to occur. Yes, they are clearly both incredible basketball minds but I’m not confident they are the type to do anything but distract from this type of change of heart revelation, unfortunately.
Excellent piece! One thing I must say is that the piece of the equation that I feel the Mavs will have the biggest problem with is Jason Kidd. He basically lucked into success 2 seasons ago because injuries forced him to work Brunson into the starting lineup and his ability to really manage personnel and build team chemistry along with a concrete plan and identity seems to be lacking. I think the Mavs have the potential to have more success this year, but also that Kidd eventually needs to go. Sooner than later, I hope.
Can we also talk about the fact that Kidd is simply not a good enough coach to squeeze out everything this roster could be capable of?
Absolutely. All the superstars listed above played for great coaches and poor coaches alike.
Still feel the same?
Lmao how long did it take you to dig up a comment from 6 months ago? And yeah Kidd has done a FAR better job than he had up to that point so credit where it’s due.
Bob had linked to that story so I went back and read it and wanted to read the comments.
I'm with you. I didn't think Kidd was anything special, like a lot of NBA coaches. And I'm still not of the mind Kidd is a great NBA coach. What I do know is he was given a lot of ingredients that the "analysts" said weren't any good (Kyrie, PJ/Gafford trades all graded as D or worse) and in a very short period of time has created a really, really deep, talented and diverse rotation.
I agree Luka needs to be better. But let's also not pretend this roster is any good. There is simply no way a team relying on Dwight Powell to play 23 MPG is a championship contender, for example. You can want more from Luka while also being realistic with expectations, which is to say this: there's not a damn player in the world, other than perhaps Jokic, that could take this current roster to 46+ wins and win a playoff series. The roster simply is not good enough.
I disagree. The ‘22 team won 52 games. This roster should be that good or at least in the general vicinity.
Respectfully, that '22 team had much better players, namely Jalen Brunson + Dinwiddie. I miss that team so much.
I submit that Kyrie Irving (the mellowed version) and Grant Williams have every opportunity to exceed the modest accomplishments of those fellas. I don't even think it is a stretch to suggest this. Irving is an All-NBA performer and Williams is a defensive leader that fits so much better than that group from 2022. I don't think I can possibly that far off unless you simply would not put Kyrie in your building under any circumstances. I don't think he will be an issue moving forward. (might clip and save this bold claim)
Kyrie, IMO, is the perfect "When someone shows you who you are, believe them" example. But I hope I am wrong, because they need him to be elite and to play 65 games if they want to do anything substantial this season.
For my money, this is the best thing you’ve ever written, Bob. And I agree 100%. 2023-24 can’t be about, well, we lost Jalen Brunson. That’s history and it’s all up to Luka and present company to write the next chapter.