MavsBoard

Terrible photo. Show Luka faking Gobert out of his shoes, not being succumbed by him.

Jedi Luka.

This is a great opportunity for Brunson, but I don't know where the bench scoring comes from if Spencer starts.

How long is the poll open?

I for one am not voting until we have definite news about Luka's injury.

Of course we get the 1st game

(04-10-2022, 11:24 PM)DrMav Wrote: [ -> ]Of course we get the 1st game

Utah is a bad city after all.

Have to go with Utah since Luka’s going to miss games.

Even best-case injury diagnosis, I would sit Luka in games 1 and 2 and hope they can pull a miracle and steal one at home. Preferably bring him back in game 4 which would probably be on April 22 or 23 and give him over 10 days to heal

With the injury, all expectations have gone out of the window. Now you just see if they can hold on and push this to a game 7 at home.

(04-11-2022, 07:00 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]https://twitter.com/All_Things_Mavs/stat...6568872967

That is not good.   

Although,  I still think you can see an wounded animal and "all in" for the Jazz...especially early in the series.   In years past, the Jazz have had a lot of expectations.  This year due to previous failures and limping to the playoffs, no one has any expectations for them.   Maybe that helps change their mindset a little.

Mitchell is really good.  Can he approach Luka's greatness for a series?   I think they will really need this as well as good three point shooting from their supporting players.   

I still think it will be a tough series....as it should be in the playoffs.

I turned the game off at halftime, wake up and see the one thing that couldn't happen - happened. Being a DFW sports fan is brutal at times. If Luka misses games or is ~75% in this series, I'm afraid it won't last very long. Maybe Kamm and IGT will be proven correct to an extent and we'll see if the Luka bad +/- numbers and ball hog/selfishness hold some weight - and this team looks better without him. jk jk.

If Luka misses, it forces Dinwiddie in the starting LU and all but eliminates our bench scoring. Makes Green and Bertans the potential difference makers. I love Green but he's not ready to provide offense at that level. So my prediction is Bertans averages 17 ppg this series. (tongue in cheek).

(04-10-2022, 11:19 PM)BoredAssistant Wrote: [ -> ]Jedi Luka.

This is a great opportunity for Brunson, but I don't know where the bench scoring comes from if Spencer starts.

Btw: Any updates on THJ? Is there any chance he'll come back in the first round?

(04-11-2022, 04:47 PM)WillE Wrote: [ -> ]Btw: Any updates on THJ? Is there any chance he'll come back in the first round?

Last word from Kidd is that THJ is doubtful to back at all this year.

After thinking about it, I'm almost inclined to think they should start Bertans and give JB some room to operate.  Keep Spencer coming off the bench to match the scoring of Clarkson.  That is if Bertans' passing and defense from these past few games is to be believed.  I'd be fine with Green starting also (instead of DB) if it makes sense/his energy complements JB, but I like what he does off the bench.  Anyway, there are much smarter posters than me so I would be glad to hear what you think or your criticisms.

(1) Brad Townsend on Twitter: "I can promise you that the Mavs' objective isn't to keep fans and media in the dark here. I also can promise you that the Mavs very much do not want to tip their hand, either way, to Utah. Welcome to the playoffs." / Twitter

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(1) Tim MacMahon on Twitter: "Luka Doncic’s MRI today confirmed a calf strain, as expected, per source. Mavs have not set a timetable for his return." / Twitter

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(1) Marc Stein on Twitter: "Dallas has already announced that Luka Dončić has a left calf strain and is not obligated, five days before Game 1, to publicly share details about today's MRI findings. So the wait for clarity on Luka's status for Saturday's Game 1 against visiting Utah is likely to continue." / Twitter

I’m not expecting Luka back anytime soon, so probably next season.

Welp point to vfromlmf's theory about this all being a mind game.

I can't believe they think keeping the entire fanbase on the razor's edge for a week all for some imagined miniscule advantage against UTA as more preferable than just being upfront with everyone.

(04-11-2022, 07:01 PM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ](1) Brad Townsend on Twitter: "I can promise you that the Mavs' objective isn't to keep fans and media in the dark here. I also can promise you that the Mavs very much do not want to tip their hand, either way, to Utah. Welcome to the playoffs." / Twitter

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I think the strategic implications of the Mavs' "keeping Utah in the dark" about Luka's injury status are overblown.

If Luka were 100% healthy, Utah's players and coaches would surely spend plenty of time preparing for the Mavs [1] with Luka on the court; and [2] with Luka on the bench, resting.

If Luka is OUT with an injury, then some of the Mavs' regular rotation guys will play increased minutes, and there will be one guy (or maybe two or three guys) on the back end of the Mavs' rotation who play a "few" (or more) minutes.  Utah can probably prepare for the Mavs' back end of the bench without spending a significant amount of effort, time, etc.