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Post by araxen on May 19, 2024 22:25:28 GMT -6
I haven't really paid attention to the Mavs, but I guess they made some good trades at the deadline. I think our defense will carry us through this series regardless. What do you guys think?
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Post by BIG BAD WOLF on May 19, 2024 22:55:41 GMT -6
Big team, quite a few pogo sticks, really active on glass, live and die by the 3. I remember before the final seeding before playoffs wishing it wasn’t DAL in the first round… Once again, a two man threat (like DEN): Joker is better than Luka, Irving was better than Murray. At this stage of his career he might be a little less than Jamal… he will surprise everybody a couple times a game with a briliant play, but does not cary a team like he used to… first game is really critical, as DAL have the advantage of extra rest. It should be interesting! Not at all easy!
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Post by stretcharmstrong on May 20, 2024 7:00:42 GMT -6
Extra rest is not always an advantage, sometimes that hurts a team. I am not certain they are equipped to handle Reid, KAT and Gobert. We are going to need to put it inside a lot.
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Post by Nick K on May 20, 2024 10:02:50 GMT -6
I like us up and down the lineup. The thing is Luka and Kyrie can really fill it up on any given night. Ant will be on Kyrie so it won't be easy.
I'm hoping we take care of business in 5 or less.
My only fear is we underestimate them and get careless.
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Post by BIG BAD WOLF on May 20, 2024 10:03:36 GMT -6
Extra rest is not always an advantage, sometimes that hurts a team. I am not certain they are equipped to handle Reid, KAT and Gobert. We are going to need to put it inside a lot. As banged up as Luka is, extra rest is definitely a good thing for them. Had they had to play a game 7 in their series, it would have been a huge deal for the first game of the WCF series...
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Post by jojo on May 20, 2024 12:13:17 GMT -6
It will be a big adjustment for them from playing an ultra small team like OKC to dealing with our bigs. They played Clippers in first round without Leonard who didn’t put up much of a fight. I think they play more like Phoenix with perimeter scorers and some physical guys inside. Plus Luka seems to be hobbled although he is gutting it out admirably. Wolves have handled Luka-Irving duo before with their 3 premier wing defenders but wouldn’t surprise me if Mavs won the first one since Minny probably has a letdown after an emotional series. If Wolves win first game the series could go quick.
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Post by kingsxman on May 21, 2024 11:31:55 GMT -6
One thing I am concerned about is taking our foot off the gas. We have a history of getting high on our own supply and believing our own hype. Hopefully they will come into the game just as hungry as they were in game 6.
We had a miraculous comeback in game 7. Biggest comeback in game 7 history. Lets not follow it up like the Vikings did with the Minnesota Miracle catch. I remember after that play the feeling was "it was meant to be". Turned out you still had to play the game.
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Post by Bonecrusher on May 21, 2024 12:05:19 GMT -6
One thing I am concerned about is taking our foot off the gas. We have a history of getting high on our own supply and believing our own hype. Hopefully they will come into the game just as hungry as they were in game 6. We had a miraculous comeback in game 7. Biggest comeback in game 7 history. Lets not follow it up like the Vikings did with the Minnesota Miracle catch. I remember after that play the feeling was "it was meant to be". Turned out you still had to play the game. I'm not worried about that. Recall Ant being mic'd up for ESPN/TNT and he mentioned while on the bench not to take their foot of the gas. He gets it.
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Post by levine on May 21, 2024 12:09:27 GMT -6
One thing I am concerned about is taking our foot off the gas. We have a history of getting high on our own supply and believing our own hype. Hopefully they will come into the game just as hungry as they were in game 6. We had a miraculous comeback in game 7. Biggest comeback in game 7 history. Lets not follow it up like the Vikings did with the Minnesota Miracle catch. I remember after that play the feeling was "it was meant to be". Turned out you still had to play the game. We definitely didn't let up in Game 1 against Denver after sweeping Phoenix.
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Post by tmill720 on May 21, 2024 12:35:40 GMT -6
One thing I am concerned about is taking our foot off the gas. We have a history of getting high on our own supply and believing our own hype. Hopefully they will come into the game just as hungry as they were in game 6. We had a miraculous comeback in game 7. Biggest comeback in game 7 history. Lets not follow it up like the Vikings did with the Minnesota Miracle catch. I remember after that play the feeling was "it was meant to be". Turned out you still had to play the game. If you're thinking about us believing our own hype as us being up 2-0 vs Denver and then losing 3 straight - I think that was purely their role players shooting unsustainable fireballs for 3 games. In games 3-5, the combo of Porter/Gordon/Braun/Holiday/Jackson shot 53% from 3, vs 35% from 3 in all the other games. I don't think it was energy/cockiness, just unlucky shooting variance (followed by lucky shooting variance).
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Post by levine on May 21, 2024 13:15:33 GMT -6
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Post by BIG BAD WOLF on May 21, 2024 14:23:39 GMT -6
In the MIN vs DAL series (AKA HWY35 derby), Kyle Anderson might find himself playing more minutes than usual. He is big enough, fast enough and heavy enough to bother Luka a little. And he might be smart enough to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Now, if he could only make a three pointer!
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Post by Bonecrusher on May 21, 2024 14:44:11 GMT -6
In the MIN vs DAL series (AKA HWY35 derby), Kyle Anderson might find himself playing more minutes than usual. He is big enough, fast enough and heavy enough to bother Luka a little. And he might be smart enough to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Now, if he could only make a three pointer! My biggest concern for this series is how many bs ticky tack fouls Jaden will get while guarding Luka and Scott Foster.
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Post by jojo on May 21, 2024 14:51:07 GMT -6
In the MIN vs DAL series (AKA HWY35 derby), Kyle Anderson might find himself playing more minutes than usual. He is big enough, fast enough and heavy enough to bother Luka a little. And he might be smart enough to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Now, if he could only make a three pointer! I was thinking the same thing. I think Jaden will do a good job on Luka but they could also throw Kyle or even KAT at him at times. I’d prefer to save NAW and Ant to cover Kyrie.
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Post by XRaySpecs on May 22, 2024 7:05:41 GMT -6
KAT has to cook this series. He was largely defended by KD and then Gordon vs. PHX and Denver and Dallas doesn't have that level of defender. When Rudy's out there with him, he'll be guarded by Washington or maybe Luka. If Rudy is off, he'll likely be guarded by Gafford or Lively and should be able to stretch them out. KAT has been so good during the playoffs and he needs to continue that.
Jaden will be an X factor again. Avoiding fouling will be huge and he'll need to punish whoever they "hide" on him, likely Luka.
I'm a little worried about who Conley guards in this series. They likely don't want him on Kyrie so that means he's on Jones who is really athletic.
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Post by Bonecrusher on May 22, 2024 7:10:21 GMT -6
KAT has to cook this series. He was largely defended by KD and then Gordon vs. PHX and Denver and Dallas doesn't have that level of defender. When Rudy's out there with him, he'll be guarded by Washington or maybe Luka. If Rudy is off, he'll likely be guarded by Gafford or Lively and should be able to stretch them out. KAT has been so good during the playoffs and he needs to continue that. Jaden will be an X factor again. Avoiding fouling will be huge and he'll need to punish whoever they "hide" on him, likely Luka. I'm a little worried about who Conley guards in this series. They likely don't want him on Kyrie so that means he's on Jones who is really athletic. Ant has already indicated he's guarding Kyrie and likely Jaden or Naw on Luka. Leaves Conley to be a roaming defender/disruptor for the team.
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Post by levine on May 22, 2024 7:23:48 GMT -6
KAT has to cook this series. He was largely defended by KD and then Gordon vs. PHX and Denver and Dallas doesn't have that level of defender. When Rudy's out there with him, he'll be guarded by Washington or maybe Luka. If Rudy is off, he'll likely be guarded by Gafford or Lively and should be able to stretch them out. KAT has been so good during the playoffs and he needs to continue that. Jaden will be an X factor again. Avoiding fouling will be huge and he'll need to punish whoever they "hide" on him, likely Luka. I'm a little worried about who Conley guards in this series. They likely don't want him on Kyrie so that means he's on Jones who is really athletic. Ant has already indicated he's guarding Kyrie and likely Jaden or Naw on Luka. Leaves Conley to be a roaming defender/disruptor for the team. I wouldn’t take anything Any says off the cuff as gospel. I’m sure he’ll guard Kyrie some, but if he and NAW are in the game together there is a good chance Ant slides over to Luka. Ant is just so much stronger than NAW.
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Post by kingsxman on May 22, 2024 7:46:07 GMT -6
In the MIN vs DAL series (AKA HWY35 derby), Kyle Anderson might find himself playing more minutes than usual. He is big enough, fast enough and heavy enough to bother Luka a little. And he might be smart enough to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Now, if he could only make a three pointer! He can make them. He has to take them. thats the bigger issue.
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Post by Wolf With Sheepskin on May 22, 2024 8:33:22 GMT -6
KAT has to cook this series. He was largely defended by KD and then Gordon vs. PHX and Denver and Dallas doesn't have that level of defender. When Rudy's out there with him, he'll be guarded by Washington or maybe Luka. If Rudy is off, he'll likely be guarded by Gafford or Lively and should be able to stretch them out. KAT has been so good during the playoffs and he needs to continue that. Jaden will be an X factor again. Avoiding fouling will be huge and he'll need to punish whoever they "hide" on him, likely Luka. I'm a little worried about who Conley guards in this series. They likely don't want him on Kyrie so that means he's on Jones who is really athletic. This might be a series that sees NAW playing lots of minutes at PG while Conley rests. It'll allow some combo of NAW, Ant, and/or Jaden to cover Luka & Kyrie without making Mike have to cover a bigger player. (All that assumes the offense will continue to flow with Mike out though, that's the question).
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Post by Nick K on May 22, 2024 9:01:08 GMT -6
In the MIN vs DAL series (AKA HWY35 derby), Kyle Anderson might find himself playing more minutes than usual. He is big enough, fast enough and heavy enough to bother Luka a little. And he might be smart enough to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Now, if he could only make a three pointer! I was thinking the same thing. I think Jaden will do a good job on Luka but they could also throw Kyle or even KAT at him at times. I’d prefer to save NAW and Ant to cover Kyrie. That's right. We've got 3 guys at least to defend Luka in Kat, McD, and Reid. Maybe even Kyle. Kyle was exposed against Denver but he might be a better match up against Dallas. That said, I've had enough of Kyle. He fails to make so many simple plays because his offense is such a liability. It's difficult to play a guy like that when each possession is so important. He does some good things but the bad outweighs the good.
Luka is the master at trying to draw fouls. Academy award like. I hope the refs are on the lookout for that.
Both teams have pretty good depth. PJ Washington will stir things up and Maxi Kleber is a pain in the azz.
We should be able to punish them inside. As always NAW and McD are critical. Our defense carries the day. Wolves in 5.
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Post by Nick K on May 22, 2024 9:24:23 GMT -6
In the MIN vs DAL series (AKA HWY35 derby), Kyle Anderson might find himself playing more minutes than usual. He is big enough, fast enough and heavy enough to bother Luka a little. And he might be smart enough to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Now, if he could only make a three pointer! He can make them. He has to take them. thats the bigger issue. He can make them? He's a solid 22% 3 pt shooter this year. :) He is the last guy you want to take them. The reason why he takes them in the first place is nobody is within 15 feet of him when he receives the ball. I wonder why. Then it takes him 3 or 4 seconds to tee it up before he shoots it.
He might be able to bother Luka some though.
I'm thinking this is a very different series than Denver. I'm hoping we punch them in the mouth and assert our dominance game one. Set the tone for the series.
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Post by Nick K on May 22, 2024 9:30:27 GMT -6
KAT has to cook this series. He was largely defended by KD and then Gordon vs. PHX and Denver and Dallas doesn't have that level of defender. When Rudy's out there with him, he'll be guarded by Washington or maybe Luka. If Rudy is off, he'll likely be guarded by Gafford or Lively and should be able to stretch them out. KAT has been so good during the playoffs and he needs to continue that. Jaden will be an X factor again. Avoiding fouling will be huge and he'll need to punish whoever they "hide" on him, likely Luka. I'm a little worried about who Conley guards in this series. They likely don't want him on Kyrie so that means he's on Jones who is really athletic. This might be a series that sees NAW playing lots of minutes at PG while Conley rests. It'll allow some combo of NAW, Ant, and/or Jaden to cover Luka & Kyrie without making Mike have to cover a bigger player. (All that assumes the offense will continue to flow with Mike out though, that's the question). I think so. That will be the ideal if they can get away with it. Conley stirs the drink and makes our team go though. He opens up room for Ant. I hope you're right.
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Post by XRaySpecs on May 22, 2024 10:19:49 GMT -6
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Post by BIG BAD WOLF on May 22, 2024 10:23:19 GMT -6
In this series it is likely Kyle comes in for Mike. He can handle a bit to initiate the offense, plays well against zone defense, makes good, simple passes, and hits the midrange floaters. But the main thing is he is taller and heavier than Luka and probably quicker too (although that is like being the taller midget...). All in all, he should be able to at least make Luka think before bombing away... Kyle on Luka would allow Ant to stay on Irving full time... which means Irving on Ant full time at the other end! Having Irving chase Ant thru screens all game long might be a good thing in the fourth quarter...
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Post by XRaySpecs on May 22, 2024 10:32:02 GMT -6
In this series it is likely Kyle comes in for Mike. He can handle a bit to initiate the offense, plays well against zone defense, makes good, simple passes, and hits the midrange floaters. But the main thing is he is taller and heavier than Luka and probably quicker too (although that is like being the taller midget...). All in all, he should be able to at least make Luka think before bombing away... Kyle on Luka would allow Ant to stay on Irving full time... which means Irving on Ant full time at the other end! Having Irving chase Ant thru screens all game long might be a good thing in the fourth quarter... I'm fine with Kyle playing more if he can actually check Luka. I'd really try to stagger Kyle and Rudy though. Kyle is better if he's the only non-shooter out there.
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