2024 Playoffs Rd 1 Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers

[blessednegr0]

Kyrie for president! The earth is flat yall!

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by blessednegr0

Kyrie for president! The earth is flat yall!

Hahs. And no more vax.

That was very frustrating until about 7 mins left.

We finally got those mfs!

[JTmoney2424]

Clips are toast now. Good series win for Dallas even with Kawhi out. OKC is the #1 but I can?t see any reason why Dallas can?t beat them too.

[Melonhead]

Mavs have now ended the jazz the suns and now the clippers as currently constructed.

I love you Kyrie

[Scoobay]

luka playing like crap possession after possession... and then not trying on defense

[JTmoney2424]

Luka clearly fouled his hand on the way up and still didn?t like the call.. lol

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by JTmoney2424

Luka clearly fouled his hand on the way up and still didn?t like the call.. lol

honestly if he's hurting (which it looks like it) just take him out...

[EricaLubarsky]

F the Clips!

Go mavvvvvssssssdsd

[Melonhead]

Let?s fucking goooooooooo

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Beating Harden is always a good day.

[Thespiralgoeson]

I fucking love Kyrie Irving. That is all.

[blessednegr0]

Why they have us playing Clippers on Sunday per ESPN for a game 7?

Good win everyone! Let's handle OKC.

[Dallas41]

Great closeout

Luka has to be more efficient vs OKC and I think the way to do that is to reduce the volume of 3's

Kyrie is just amazing.

Both bigs really started playing much better over the last 2-3 games

DJJ doesn't get enough love and J.Kidd has to be most hated coach in the NBA 😂

But you can't question what his done now in just 3 years.

[jleefilled]

Glad they got this done today. Now we have until Tuesday to get Luka some rest for his knee. So happy to see the Mavs send the Clippers into offseason.

Such great chemistry on this team. Kyrie is the leader we didn?t know they needed.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Luka's offensive woes are tired directly to his knee issues.

Man, I hate to say that I hope Kleber is ok, but Kidd finally got something from him playing with Lively. Problem is Maxi sucks when hurt.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Luka's offensive woes are tired directly to his knee issues.

That's exactly it. I just wish he understood that the shot isn't falling, and he's damn near unstoppable midrange. But he just doesn't seem to know or care that the three isn't falling. He just always thinks the shot is going in. He's a gunslinger. It's just who he is.

[Melonhead]

PJ was clutch with his threes tonight. Made up for all the Luka bricks from three.

DJJ defense. Stellar

I think we found the secret with Gafford. He plays well when he?s home.

[rimrocker]

Observation on Green...agree or disagree.
Luka's game is too slow for him so in the half-court game, he is best when he can go full speed for offensive rebounds.
When he plays with Kyrie while Luka is on the bench, he seems to be in his comfort zone.

Also, baseball analogy....Luka is our ace starter and Kyrie is our rock solid closer.

This team is fun to watch and somewhat reminds me of the 2011 championship team....a lot of long athletic defensive studs around two great offensive players.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by rimrocker

This team is fun to watch and somewhat reminds me of the 2011 championship team....a lot of long athletic defensive studs around two great offensive players.

There was more than one great offensive player on the 2011 Mavs? This is news to me.

[rimrocker]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

There was more than one great offensive player on the 2011 Mavs? This is news to me.

JET was one of our best scorers.
I guess "great" would be debatable, but we don't win a championship without his scoring.

Point being, this team is constructed in a similar manner.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by rimrocker

JET was one of our best scorers.
I guess "great" would be debatable, but we don't win a championship without his scoring.

Point being, this team is constructed in a similar manner.

Yeah, he was a good shooter. I?d hardly call him great. Certainly not great like Dirk, Luka, and Kyrie are great. Those are all first ballot Hall of Famer?s, jet never made an All-Star team.

I do take your point about the team being constructed kind of similarly though. The only problem is, I don?t trust our role players as much as that team. At least not on offense. We have too many guys that are extremely streaky and can go ice cold from three for multiple games at a time.

I think that?s the only thing that?s stopping us from winning a title right now, and that?s what we need to focus on in the off-season. We need At least one more very reliable, three-point shooter, preferably more. The other thing I?d say we?re missing is an elite sixth man (like jet.)

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by rimrocker

Observation on Green...agree or disagree.
Luka's game is too slow for him so in the half-court game, he is best when he can go full speed for offensive rebounds.
When he plays with Kyrie while Luka is on the bench, he seems to be in his comfort zone.

Also, baseball analogy....Luka is our ace starter and Kyrie is our rock solid closer.

This team is fun to watch and somewhat reminds me of the 2011 championship team....a lot of long athletic defensive studs around two great offensive players.

Green's role in half court is a coaching point I hope Kidd works on figuring out...
There's no question to me that it's by design to have him stand in the corner looking for the right opportunity to cut or crash the boards. surely there's more that could be done. He got that alley oop on a back pick. I feel like he should be running around screen and picks more looking to get leverage for an opening.

small hat tip to having Green be last man back on that jump ball... not sure maybe that's just how it worked out but he's one of our fastest players and he tracked that tip down with relative ease.

[Dallas41]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

PJ was clutch with his threes tonight. Made up for all the Luka bricks from three.

DJJ defense. Stellar

I think we found the secret with Gafford. He plays well when he?s home.

Home cooking is what jump started Gafford in this series. He was much improved over the final 3 games.

I think that upwards trend continues vs OKC as I don't think they have anyone on that team that can keep him off the glass.

DJJ is just a freak athlete. I love his defensive versatility and I'm so glad Kidd decided to get him back into the starting lineup.

OKC is a very good matchup for Dallas and I don't think the mavs will have much trouble putting them away in 5 or 6 games.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

OKC is a very good matchup for Dallas and I don't think the mavs will have much trouble putting them away in 5 or 6 games.

Man I wish I was as optimistic as you. I think this is going to be a very, very tough series, and I'm not necessarily expecting a win. To me it's about 50/50.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Kidd's response to Maxi's injury was "Next man up"...

That's not good.

I wonder how Omax's ankle sprain is.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Kidd's response to Maxi's injury was "Next man up"...

That's not good.

I wonder how Omax's ankle sprain is.

I mean, that fall looked BAD. At first I thought he had either broken or dislocated his shoulder. I was shocked that he came back and made one of his free throws. I assume it's a shoulder sprain.

[EricaLubarsky]

It?s still insane to me that Luka went from a career-best 38% on threes to shooting 24% over the first round

Every other year of Luka?s career that would mean we got swept. This team?s defense and Mr. Second half Kyrie make this team different. Just hoping his shot eventually comes back and he keeps up the 0-20? game he killed the Clips with in game 5

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

It?s still insane to me that Luka went from a career-best 38% on threes to shooting 24% over the first round

Every other year of Luka?s career that would mean we got swept. This team?s defense and Mr. Second half Kyrie make this team different. Just hoping his shot eventually comes back and he keeps up the 0-20? game he killed the Clips with in game 5

watching highlights, he clearly had more lift earlier in the game and was not looking great at the end. If he's hurt and they want to leave him in then park him in the upper corner and have him rest and let Kyrie go 4v4. otherwise take him out.

hopefully he gets rest and his knee holds up - -we'll definitely need him for this next round.

[rimrocker]

I am so happy that I'm eating crow on Kyrie.
Honestly, I would have bet anything he would have wrecked this team by now, but he has been spectacular. I'm more than happy to admit I was completely wrong about him.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

It?s still insane to me that Luka went from a career-best 38% on threes to shooting 24% over the first round

Every other year of Luka?s career that would mean we got swept. This team?s defense and Mr. Second half Kyrie make this team different. Just hoping his shot eventually comes back and he keeps up the 0-20? game he killed the Clips with in game 5

I mean it's not mysterious. He's playing on one leg. A sprained knee absolutely will mess with your jumpshot. I just wish Luka would understand that and stop taking so many damn threes. But for better or worse, he thinks every shot is going in.

[EricaLubarsky]

Also Gafford has the most meme-able face

https://x.com/NBA/status/1786626036899127394

[EricaLubarsky]

OKC Preview

RATINGS since March 7th
Offense
10th - Thunder - 115.6
12th - Mavs - 1148

Defense
1st - Mavs - 107.2
7th - Thunder - 115.6

Rebounding
10th - Thunder - 50.7%
15th - Mavs - 50.1%

Pace
5th - Thunder - 100.55
7th - Mavs - 99.73

TO
9th - Thunder - 12.9
10th - Mavs - 13.0

Steals
3rd - Thunder - 8.9
18th - Mavs - 7.4

Blocks
5th - Mavs - 6.1
7th - Thunder - 6.0

Opponent points in the paint
7th - Mavs - 46.0
13th - Thunder - 48.2

Opponents second-chance points
17th - Mavs - 13.8
19th - Thunder - 14.2

Opponent fast break points
8th - Thunder - 13.0
15th - Mavs - 14.0

This is going to be a really rough matchup. Even if you just compare the tear we went on to end the season where we were 1st in win% in the entire league, there are very few advantages for the Mavs. Mavs slight advantages in defense and PITP. Thunder better getting back and better forcing TOs. Thunder really don't have any Achilles heel.

Thunder were also 1st in the league in 3pt shooting. NBA making it impossible to guard threes. If Luka is still hobbled and still shooting 23% from three, then this will be a really tough challenge.

[LukaMagic]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

OKC Preview

RATINGS since March 7th
Offense
10th - Thunder - 115.6
12th - Mavs - 1148

Defense
1st - Mavs - 107.2
7th - Thunder - 115.6

Rebounding
10th - Thunder - 50.7%
15th - Mavs - 50.1%

Pace
5th - Thunder - 100.55
7th - Mavs - 99.73

TO
9th - Thunder - 12.9
10th - Mavs - 13.0

Steals
3rd - Thunder - 8.9
18th - Mavs - 7.4

Blocks
5th - Mavs - 6.1
7th - Thunder - 6.0

Opponent points in the paint
7th - Mavs - 46.0
13th - Thunder - 48.2

Opponents second-chance points
17th - Mavs - 13.8
19th - Thunder - 14.2

Opponent fast break points
8th - Thunder - 13.0
15th - Mavs - 14.0

This is going to be a really rough matchup. Even if you just compare the tear we went on to end the season where we were 1st in win% in the entire league, there are very few advantages for the Mavs. Mavs slight advantages in defense and PITP. Thunder better getting back and better forcing TOs. Thunder really don't have any Achilles heel.

Thunder were also 1st in the league in 3pt shooting. NBA making it impossible to guard threes. If Luka is still hobbled and still shooting 23% from three, then this will be a really tough challenge.

I apologize right away. And I apologize even profusely.

But I must say that this is a very TERSE preview. Where are head to heads? Where are individual match-ups? Where is info on Who will guard Luka and Who will guard Kyrie? And where is info on who will they have to guard? Where is info on their bigs and their patterns.

This is EXTREEEEEMELY below the par. This was done half-heartedly absent desire AND enthusiasm AND effort. This does not spell good things for Dallas Mavericks.

[LukaMagic]

Originally Posted by LukaMagic

I apologize right away. And I apologize even profusely.

But I must say that this is a very TERSE preview. Where are head to heads? Where are individual match-ups? Where is info on Who will guard Luka and Who will guard Kyrie? And where is info on who will they have to guard?

This is very, very below the par. This was done half-heartedly absent desire AND enthusiasm AND effort. This does not spell good things for Dallas Mavericks.

Google Dictionary for Terse: "sparing in the use of words; abrupt."

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Well PJ and maybe THJ need to step up and hit threes. No excuses.

Luka has a sprained knee. That isnt gonna heal before this is all over.

[LukaMagic]

https://youtu.be/EbT6Ro5hlZ8?t=45

Little respect to PG. Notice this play. Kyrie knocked the ball out of his hands and PG

d i d n ' t

a c t

l i k e

i t

w a s

a

f o u l .

He acted normally. He knew it wasn't a foul and he didn't go on to PRETEND like it was a foul. That's how basketball is played.

So yeah. AI says little respect to PG before we turn to Thunder. AI also says that stuff is important.

[EricaLubarsky]

Poor Kleber

Full AC joint shoulder dislocation

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Poor Kleber

Full AC joint shoulder dislocation

It obviously looked bad. I thought I saw a bump on his shoulder area. Thought at first he broke his collarbone. Didnt think I?d miss him, but he was surprisingly playing well these playoffs.

[Melonhead]

Yeah I had a feeling that was it for him. Especially when he tried to stay in, he reached out for the ball and recoiled gingerly.

He was finally healthy man. This is a huge loss and I feel bad for him.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Death, taxes and Kleber getting hurt. Sucks because he had that one great game, but we've long passed trying to rely on him.

I guess Morris will get some burn.

Would also like an update on OMax.