05-25-2021, 08:05 AM
(05-25-2021, 04:20 AM)meistermatze Wrote: A little late to the party (although I watched the game live, because it was a very decent time to do so in Europe) I will add my two cents after reading this thread:
I was really psyched, we played an excellent game on both ends of the court and capitalized on a lackluster performance by the Clippers. But for sure, it's debatable how much we actually had to to with them shooting the 3 ball so poorly. Our defense and effort at least looked very good.
If it, indeed, had a lot to do witht he Mavs and they can repeat that effort, I think we are in good shape. Crazy to say it with Kawhi on the other side but having the best player on the court in Luka is a huge plus for us.
A huge development!
If, and unfortunately that's my take for the moment, the Mavs did not have so much to do with the Clippers' struggles and they were just kind of "off", then we could still be in trouble. I am also with Killer here - it felt like a Mavs-night, on offense, too. We hit so many tough (tough, not impossible) shots which could have easily gone the other way. I don't think we can expext those kinds of performances by THJ and DoDo for the entire series. Everybody besides KP pretty much played their A-game.
Sorry to be a little bit negative here and although I said it before that we can beat the Clippers, I am still convinced that we need EVERYTHING to fall into place for us. It did once, nobody's saying it can't happen twice, thrice or four times but obviously it gets more unlikely (IF it is indeed not a sustainable level by the Mavs).
IF, however, we saw a Mavs' performance that is repeatable for them on a consistent basis, then we are in great shape. Game 1's level of play by the Mavs would give any team problems. It could very well be that in the playoffs, our growing pains are over and the boys are totally focused (well at least they should be and it's a good thing we don't meet the Kings or similar slouches in the postseason).
I do acutally think that Lue is talking straight and we will see the Clippers throw everything at Luka. I am also of the opinion, that it is rather unlikely for the Mavs' roleplayers to beat them again. I hope KP steps it up big time and we pull out another W which would leave the Clippers utter desperate but I fear it is the best option against the Mavs. Luka handles the double teams waaaay better than early in the season so I am not concerned about him. It's all about the Mavs' roleplayers. And I don't really see how Rick can change his plan to adapt to this.
Any thoughts here?
Thanks for detailing your thoughts, meister.
Agree that Game Two should tell us more about who the Mavs are. Are they a one-night wonder, or do they have something real this time?