Official 2021-22 NBA Offseason Thread - Jazz trade Gobert to T-Wolves

[BiffTannen]

[RedSoxFaithful]

yeah but Dinwiddie was absolutely cold blooded in a game 7. When you got an alpha like Luka, you don't need much more than a dinwiddie/brunson/finney smith/bullock/kleber/bertrans roster to fill it out.

so did you not see what just happened with giannis' khrisless supporting cast, or

if you don't have a second (or third) star, you'd better have dope depth. the Mavs have neither, and the other 3 teams left standing have both.

[NSFWake]

lol I'm not sure this series bears that out but I'm not interested in the arg

thats fine but this series 100% bears it out. here is no way these two play like they did yesterday if game 7 was in Milwaukee

Grant Williams at home (4 games) - 56 points
Grant Williams away (3 games)- 20 points

Payton Pritchard home - 30 points
Payton Pritchard away - 0 points

[DeacdeTejas]

Read this somewhere. Haven’t double checked it but it’s insane if true

Over the course of a 7-game series, Luka Doncic outscored 4th place MVP Devin Booker (218 to 164), outrebounded 7'0 Deandre Ayton (69 to 57) and outassisted Chris "Point God" Paul (49 to 40). Oh and he also had more steals than DPOY runner-up Mikal Bridges (15 to 9).

[Complacent Deac]

Luka and the miracles?

[DeacdeTejas]

so did you not see what just happened with giannis' khrisless supporting cast, or

if you don't have a second (or third) star, you'd better have dope depth. the Mavs have neither, and the other 3 teams left standing have both.

RSF I don’t think you’re wrong on the star thing. And maybe depth. But I think what people underestimate about Mavs is that the pieces around Luka fit him perfectly. The starting lineup and the lineup most used in playoffs are all guys who play D and shoot 3s. Powell will be able to play against GS. And with the addition of Dinwiddie there is now always two ball handlers on floor, which they learned was difference last year because now you can’t double Luka without getting punished either by open 3 or someone else breaking down D in 4 on 3

[PhDeac]

You can never doubt the team with the best player on the floor. That’s the Mavs.

[RedSoxFaithful]

You can never doubt the team with the best player on the floor. That’s the Mavs.

depends on who you ask***

***if you ask me I would say it's Luka, pls don't @ me

[RedSoxFaithful]

RSF I don’t think you’re wrong on the star thing. And maybe depth. But I think what people underestimate about Mavs is that the pieces around Luka fit him perfectly. The starting lineup and the lineup most used in playoffs are all guys who play D and shoot 3s. Powell will be able to play against GS. And with the addition of Dinwiddie there is now always two ball handlers on floor, which they learned was difference last year because now you can’t double Luka without getting punished either by open 3 or someone else breaking down D in 4 on 3

yeah, I get that. If a team can even sorta slow Luka down, though, uhhhhhh. The Jazz and Suns both refused to match small lineups and Luka went hunting for mismatches. I'm not sure that option will be there against either of the ECF teams... Mismatch hunting will absolutely be there vs the Warriors (Poole bout to get ROASTED), but then it still becomes "is that enough to keep up offensively?" against a team that absolutely feels comfortable going small

[TownieDeac]

tatum really does have it all

jump shot
court vision
handles
neckbeard
push off move
duke flops

can't think of any other player in the league that has that except all of the other celtics starters

[BiffTannen]

Tatum is a slightly better defensive player than Luka.

[PhDeac]

It's certainly close for best player left between Luka and Tatum.

Best playoff player left is tight with Butler entering the mix as well.

[guitardeac]

I hate that I think this but IMO the Celtics are going to win it all.

Is this Celtics-Heat series going to showcase some good defense or what?

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

Tatum is better than Luka right now because defense matters

I'm curious to see how GS attacks Luka with their three killer guards just hunting him all game

I wanna see Draymond guard Luka -- it's a shame Dillon Brooks grayson allened GPII

[PhDeac]

Pat Bev on CP3: “CP can’t guard nobody man. Everybody in the NBA know that. ... He’s a cone. ... Give him the Ben Simmons slander.”

[dartsndeacs]

Lol no Tatum isn’t better than Luka, are you nuts ? Tatums best games are like Luka’s average games. Luka had bridges on him all series and it didn’t matter. Elite offense > Elite defense

[Pilchard]

Lol no Tatum isn’t better than Luka, are you nuts ? Tatums best games are like Luka’s average games

Agree that defense is undervalued, and Tatum is the far better superior defender. That said, Luka is a transcendent offensive player. Tatum is an elite scorer, but Luca does it all on offense. Still have concerns about Luka's body as he ages, but not sure we have ever seen an offensive force like Luca. If there was universal free agency after this season, and the goal was to build a team to win the 2022-23 NBA title, the Greek Freak goes #1, and Luca goes #2.

[EatLeadCommie]

Pat Bev on CP3: “CP can’t guard nobody man. Everybody in the NBA know that. ... He’s a cone. ... Give him the Ben Simmons slander.”

Hilarious. CP is getting harangued by a player whose career numbers are worse than CP's numbers in the Mavs series.

[PhDeac]

Yep. Like I said, Luka is a combination of Magic and Bird. It's insane.

And I'm less concerned with how well a 23 year old can play defense in the Conference Finals. He's going to step up his defensive intensity. Are teams going to hunt the 6-7/230 guy who's actually trying?

[Pilchard]

So bummed for CP3. He's had a ton of bad luck, but after 17 years, your playoff record speaks for itself (or more accurately throws up on itself). Kills me because CP3 bleeds for WF more than any of our recent stars. Sad.