(02-27-2025, 11:41 AM)mvossman Wrote: Need to avoid the 8 spot.  A first playoff series against OKC would be brutal.

(02-27-2025, 03:11 PM)audiosway Wrote: With both teams fully healthy that series would be brutal for OKC. OKC isn't winning that series. The Mavs just have their number.

(02-27-2025, 03:24 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: I have no idea how you can say that.  The games against OKC really tell us very little.  There were people missing most of those games on both sides.   Dallas played well, but they tell you very little.   OKC is clearly one of the top 3 teams in the league this year and for the most part have played together for several years.   

We have not see the full Mavs team  yet.   We may never see them this year.   A full team may be one where Lively has 15 minute limit and Davis can't play more than 25.   We have no idea.   Really tough to throw a team out there and ask them to figure it out is a tough playoff series.  Almost impossible.

(02-27-2025, 03:27 PM)audiosway Wrote: I'll give you that. I'll just say that's my hunch then.

(02-27-2025, 03:11 PM)audiosway Wrote: With both teams fully healthy that series would be brutal for OKC. OKC isn't winning that series. The Mavs just have their number.

(02-27-2025, 03:31 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: Let me add that I think I am intrigued how they look when healthy.  We just may not see if fully this year.    It is sort of an awkward fit and I will need to see if first.  I do like going about it in a different way than other teams.  Liked it better when it involved a top 5 player though.

(02-27-2025, 03:49 PM)audiosway Wrote: I'm there with you on that. I love Luka. Still do. I really wish he would commit to diet and exercise. I would love to see that.

(02-27-2025, 03:47 PM)mvossman Wrote: No offense, but this is reaching significant levels of homerism.  We won a hard fought playoff series against that team with Luka, and with PJ playing out of his mind.  They got significantly better and we made massive changes with no concrete evidence that we are any better (probably worse, but we can agree to disagree on that).  Winning a few meaningless (to them) regular season games with a skeleton crew doesn't really mean anything.  This team will have so little time to play together, I would greatly prefer if their first playoff experience is not against the best team in West by a significant margin.

(02-27-2025, 11:34 AM)Smitty Wrote: I want all the smoke, if both teams are full strength. Must see TV!

(02-27-2025, 04:04 PM)omahen Wrote: Just stop, please. Basically every post you write is something against Luka. You don't love Luka. If you would, you would accept him for who he is. The good and the bad. You are in love with your ideal of Luka.

(02-27-2025, 03:47 PM)mvossman Wrote: No offense, but this is reaching significant levels of homerism.  We won a hard fought playoff series against that team with Luka, and with PJ playing out of his mind.  They got significantly better and we made massive changes with no concrete evidence that we are any better (probably worse, but we can agree to disagree on that).  Winning a few meaningless (to them) regular season games with a skeleton crew doesn't really mean anything.  This team will have so little time to play together, I would greatly prefer if their first playoff experience is not against the best team in West by a significant margin.

(02-27-2025, 07:19 PM)audiosway Wrote: None taken. Dallas' defense won that series last year. Defensively Dallas is better now. I'll totally agree that AD and to that extent Lively are both injury prone. That's why I said IF Dallas is healthy. I don't think OKC has improved much outside of the young guys just having a little more experience. Sure they brought in Hartenstein and Caruso that will help out on the bench. But, they are good role players. That's it.

It comes down to matchups and schemes in the playoffs. Dallas' scheme is tough for OKC. OKC relies heavily on touching the paint to get the outside to open up. That's why they struggled against Dallas after the trade for PJ and Gaff. With PJ, Gaff, Lively, (and now AD) the paint touches are going to be hard to come by. They will struggle to shoot from outside as a result. That's the reason the games in that series as a whole were lower scoring games. OKC had 92 in one game. You will never get hot from outside if you don't see the ball go in with some easy shots.

That's the same reason why Denver struggled against Minnesota last year. If you don't touch the paint you won't hit from outside. Rim protection is the key to winning. Things tighten up in the playoffs and the only teams remaining can keep you out of the paint. If not they don't last long.

You will hear that from nearly every past player. It's just the nature of how we think. You stop the paint touches and teams will struggle. That's why you'll see Curry go in for a couple of easy layups before he starts jacking 3s. If he misses some 3s he runs in for a transition layup to get going.

So, I don't think I'm being a homer looking at it that way. If the Mavs aren't full strength they are done. If full strength they are a contender.

If you are worried about how Lively and AD will look just go back to the bubble run. Kidd was coaching the Lakers then as an assistant. AD was at the 4 with a 5 not near as good as Lively. For the most part they kept Miami in check. Lively and Gaff are considerably better than the 5 they had at the time. (Javale McGee and a 34 year old Dwight Howard)

AD and LeBron were heavily relied on for scoring then they had Kuzma off the bench. Dallas has Kyrie and AD who can pretty much get shots at will. Klay is one of the best 3 point shooters of all time, PJ has proven himself to be a good shooter this year. Max is a good shooter and defender. Naji can shoot, pass and rebound. Dallas is much better than last year. As long as AD is healthy.

It all depends on the team being healthy. If they aren't healthy they will be scrappy but that's about it.

(02-28-2025, 12:18 AM)The Jom Wrote: I don’t get the OKC fandom. They are as flawed a team as I ever recall winning a regular season. Their bigs ain’t big. Their offense is dependent on shots that tend to dry up as whistles slow in the playoffs. They’ve won one playoff series since 2016, and that was against last year’s Zionless Pelicans. I will be shocked if they come out of the West.

(02-28-2025, 12:18 AM)The Jom Wrote: I don’t get the OKC fandom. They are as flawed a team as I ever recall winning a regular season. Their bigs ain’t big. Their offense is dependent on shots that tend to dry up as whistles slow in the playoffs. They’ve won one playoff series since 2016, and that was against last year’s Zionless Pelicans. I will be shocked if they come out of the West.

(02-28-2025, 12:04 AM)mvossman Wrote: I'm not sure I would use Gaff as an example of how we beat them defensively.  He had by far the worst defensive rating on the team and he was a net -20 for that series.  They put him in space and completely abused him.

A big part of that defense was DJJ.  He played over 31 minutes a game in that series.  We don't really have anyone who can do what he did anymore.  

Hartenstein is more than just help from the bench.  He is a legit starter playing nearly 30 minutes a game.  He brings a completely different aspect to that team that did not exist last year.

I would be much more worried about Mavs scoring than the other way around.  They have guys that can handle AD and they are going to suffocate Kyrie.  They will probably hunt him on the other end as well.  They would make his life miserable in a playoff series.  

I agree playoffs are about matchups and schemes.  But the matchups would be very different this time around.  Hard to make predictions about how this defense will matchup since we have barely seen it yet.  It is really hard for me to see a path where the offense does not really struggle against that defense.

(02-28-2025, 12:18 AM)The Jom Wrote: I don’t get the OKC fandom. They are as flawed a team as I ever recall winning a regular season. Their bigs ain’t big. Their offense is dependent on shots that tend to dry up as whistles slow in the playoffs. They’ve won one playoff series since 2016, and that was against last year’s Zionless Pelicans. I will be shocked if they come out of the West.

(02-27-2025, 03:27 PM)audiosway Wrote: I'll give you that. I'll just say that's my hunch then.