2024 Playoffs- 3rd Round: Minnesota Timberwolves - Dallas Mavericks- MAVS WIN 4-1!

[KillerLeft]

Ant is not HIM. TPups are not the team. Luka is Him. Mavs are the team!

I don't know how you came to the conclusion that I don't like Anthony Edwards 
Pointing out that he isn't MJ or Kobe isn't exactly an insult. I just got sick of everyone riding Ant and that includes you. You kept saying how much better Minnesota was and Ant was and to expect it to be different in game 2. We won again. You can defend Ant all you want. I'm going to keep defending the Mavs and they are the better team, like I said before game 2 while you were pumping up how great Minnesota is.

I picked the Mavs to win the series. 

I have written, for weeks, that I preferred the matchup against the Wolves over the matchup with Denver. 

I like BASKETBALL, and I often get the sense reading here (this part isn't directed at you AT ALL, just a general sense of the community) that many contributors only watch Mavs games. I don't get the chance to watch as many other teams' games as I used to, but I still do my best, and from time to time, I attempt to offer my thoughts about what is going on in the league, not just on the team. If you don't like that, fine, but no one is forcing you to read my posts. None of it is meant to offend you or anyone else. 

And sorry if the post above offended you, btw. You started yours with "no disrespect" so I took that to mean you'd recognize the significance of that in the reply. That was genuine, not sarcastic (I know that can be difficult to gage on a forum - I misread people's tone all the time). I totally agree that the media is pushing Edwards as an agenda, and I couldn't care less about whether or not he's as good as some all time great. I have just seen him do some things this season and especially in rounds 1 or 2 that I found VERY impressive. I LOVE his game, when it's going well (kudos to you for confidently predicting it wouldn't in this series) and I actually do think he's one of the best players in the league already - the one who's currently learning how hard a deep playoff run can be, the hard way. 

Of course he's not better than Luka. He's 22! Maybe he will be someday, maybe he won't. I couldn't be less interested in that conversation at this time. I don't really pay attention to those silly narratives, and the point of my last post is that if we, the Dallas/Luka fans, get drawn offsides by that crap, the silly narrative generators have gotten what they want. I think there's a ton of that going on here (again, not directed at anyone specifically) and I think it's a shame that it causes some to hate on a great young player needlessly, when some of them might actually enjoy watching him if they weren't predisposed to see him as a way to prove the "national perception" wrong. 

Honestly, if you're upset by this, then I think you're either missing my intent/tone or I'm not making myself clear. That bums me out, because you're one of my favorite people around here. I'm ecstatic that the Mavs/Kidd/Luka seem to be the more prepared, superior team in this series (despite predicting it, it's still happening in ways I might not have seen coming) and for me, a healthy respect for Edwards makes that BETTER, not worse.

[SleepingHero]

Not to derail the conversation, but here is a highlight of the Wolves walking back to their locker room right after the game last night.

The total silence...

https://streamable.com/pfdwm6

[KillerLeft]

Not to derail the conversation, but here is a highlight of the Wolves walking back to their locker room right after the game last night.

The total silence...

https://streamable.com/pfdwm6

Somehow, that video makes me feel kinda bad for them. I think it's the sight of watching poor Chris Finch have to struggle back to the locker room on crutches.

[Knutsen]

Somehow, that video makes me feel kinda bad for them. I think it's the sight of watching poor Chris Finch have to struggle back to the locker room on crutches.

I‘ll feel bad for them as soon as they are out. They are a wounded animal right now, but they came back after losing 3 straight to the defending champions, so there‘s still a whole lot of life and fight in them. 

Concerning your discussions about Edwards: I do think this series is defining for him, not in the sense that it shows if he‘s a great or just a very good player, but in the sense that it will be fascinating to see what he’ll learn and take away from it. Hopefully not as quickly as in this series, but over the summer when he gets back to improving and working on his toolbox. Will he be able to add an inbetween game - and an inbetween pace, to keep defenses guessing and making them a half step slower to give him the advantage like Luka does masterfully? Now that he has seen and felt very early in his career what it takes to win on the biggest stage? Which is a great advantage for him by the way, compared to other guys his age. Same with Lively, in comparison to Wemby for example. 

The jury on Edwards will be out for 5 or even 10 years, if he‘ll become the next Kobe Bryant or the next Tracy McGrady - who was my favorite player at the time, because physically and skillwise he had absolutely everything and was probably even more talented than Kobe. But he could never transform that into winning on the biggest stage when the going gets tough for various reasons.

[KillerLeft]

I‘ll feel bad for them as soon as they are out. They are a wounded animal right now, but they came back after losing 3 straight to the defending champions, so there‘s still a whole lot of life and fight in them. 

Concerning your discussions about Edwards: I do think this series is defining for him, not in the sense that it shows if he‘s a great or just a very good player, but in the sense that it will be fascinating to see what he’ll learn and take away from it. Hopefully not as quickly as in this series, but over the summer when he gets back to improving and working on his toolbox. Will he be able to add an inbetween game - and an inbetween pace, to keep defenses guessing and making them a half step slower to give him the advantage like Luka does masterfully? Now that he has seen and felt very early in his career what it takes to win on the biggest stage? Which is a great advantage for him by the way, compared to other guys his age. Same with Lively, in comparison to Wemby for example. 

The jury on Edwards will be out for 5 or even 10 years, if he‘ll become the next Kobe Bryant or the next Tracy McGrady - who was my favorite player at the time, because physically and skillwise he had absolutely everything and was probably even more talented than Kobe. But he could never transform that into winning on the biggest stage when the going gets tough for various reasons.

100% agree. 

But, just that we're having this conversation about him, to me, proves that he's on the right path. What you're describing is the test of any great pro player in any sport.

[audiosway]

I‘ll feel bad for them as soon as they are out. They are a wounded animal right now, but they came back after losing 3 straight to the defending champions, so there‘s still a whole lot of life and fight in them. 

Concerning your discussions about Edwards: I do think this series is defining for him, not in the sense that it shows if he‘s a great or just a very good player, but in the sense that it will be fascinating to see what he’ll learn and take away from it. Hopefully not as quickly as in this series, but over the summer when he gets back to improving and working on his toolbox. Will he be able to add an inbetween game - and an inbetween pace, to keep defenses guessing and making them a half step slower to give him the advantage like Luka does masterfully? Now that he has seen and felt very early in his career what it takes to win on the biggest stage? Which is a great advantage for him by the way, compared to other guys his age. Same with Lively, in comparison to Wemby for example. 

The jury on Edwards will be out for 5 or even 10 years, if he‘ll become the next Kobe Bryant or the next Tracy McGrady - who was my favorite player at the time, because physically and skillwise he had absolutely everything and was probably even more talented than Kobe. But he could never transform that into winning on the biggest stage when the going gets tough for various reasons.

I think the biggest thing with ANT is that he's a star level player that bit off more than he could chew. I don't see him on the same level as Luka. He's a star for sure. But, a true superstar/franchise player has the same dog in him when they are down by 18 as well as when they are up. It's easy to talk and look like a dog when you are winning. People keep saying he's tired mentally or physically. That may be. Everyone is right now. But, a dog like an MJ has an extra place they go to like Luka has been doing in these playoffs. ANT has plenty of future ahead of him so we'll see how he continues to develop.

Luka showed last night playing injured and down by 18 what a real dog does. I've gotten on him at times for the complaining but he's showing signs of moving past that. Likely due to Kyrie and Kidd working with him. 

Like Killer, I wanted Minny instead of Denver. Much better matchup.

This Mavs team is a gritty defensive minded team. And they are young with a ton of future ahead of them. Just a blast to watch.

[RGP1981]

(@MikeAScotto)
Kyrie Irving on Luka Doncic: “I’m amazed. I don’t use that word lightly either… I think he’s answered a lot of calls. When Luka first came into the league, there were a lot of questions on what he was going to turn out to be. I know a few people are eating their words. Watching him ascend into becoming an all-time great is amazing and I don’t take it for granted because I played with one of the greatest of all time, arguably the greatest of all time… I want to be supportive and continue to be an all-time great next to him, continue to show him the ropes, and let him continue to fly.”

Kyrie talks too much about things he doesn't need to.

[SleepingHero]

I‘ll feel bad for them as soon as they are out. They are a wounded animal right now, but they came back after losing 3 straight to the defending champions, so there‘s still a whole lot of life and fight in them. 

Concerning your discussions about Edwards: I do think this series is defining for him, not in the sense that it shows if he‘s a great or just a very good player, but in the sense that it will be fascinating to see what he’ll learn and take away from it. Hopefully not as quickly as in this series, but over the summer when he gets back to improving and working on his toolbox. Will he be able to add an inbetween game - and an inbetween pace, to keep defenses guessing and making them a half step slower to give him the advantage like Luka does masterfully? Now that he has seen and felt very early in his career what it takes to win on the biggest stage? Which is a great advantage for him by the way, compared to other guys his age. Same with Lively, in comparison to Wemby for example. 

The jury on Edwards will be out for 5 or even 10 years, if he‘ll become the next Kobe Bryant or the next Tracy McGrady - who was my favorite player at the time, because physically and skillwise he had absolutely everything and was probably even more talented than Kobe. But he could never transform that into winning on the biggest stage when the going gets tough for various reasons.

To your TMac point, Edwards is already in the conference finals. TMac literally never did that until he signed on with the Spurs his last year of his career where he played less than 2 minutes total. 

I agree we can't make any sweeping conclusions, either way, for Edwards yet. But he definitely seems closer to the Kobe side of that argument than TMac right now today.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Not to derail the conversation, but here is a highlight of the Wolves walking back to their locker room right after the game last night.

The total silence...

https://streamable.com/pfdwm6

I don’t wanna jinx it but Ant in his post game interview sounded defeated.

[SleepingHero]

I don’t wanna jinx it but Ant in his post game interview sounded defeated.

Just because I don't think I've ever heard Ant not be confident.

[The Jom]

I don’t wanna jinx it but Ant in his post game interview sounded defeated.

Heh. Needing oxygen is no big deal. Needing it and then lying about the fact that you got it turns it into a story. But he’ll learn. Probably. If this series and the poor coaching he’s getting don’t ruin him first.

[Smitty]

I respect this Minnesota team too much to call the series over. There’s way too much talk of sweep going on. Not from the Mavs of course. Still, I expect the Mavs to split at home and I’m sticking with my original prediction of Mavs in 6. I see it going W-W-L-W-L-W.

Mavs/Kai have two streaks going. No b2b losses this post season and Kyrie undefeated in close out games. In this scenario the Kyrie streak ends.

[Jmaciscool]

Kyrie talks too much about things he doesn't need to.

Like what? The quote that was in your post seemed good to me.

[Winter]

Game 3 will be a strange game. I have no idea what to predict.

The Wolves are probably happy they're getting out of Minnesota - where bad press fills every media outlet
But the Mavs will also love being back with all the fan and media appreciation.

It's a little hard to imagine the Mavs being fully prepared for Sunday after such a big win on Friday. And it's hard to know if the Wolves will play loose with nothing to lose or show a sense of defeat. The Mavs still haven't shot well so they might light it up. But anything could happen, and Minnie is certainly capable of its own 3-point barrage.

After watching these two games though, it seems clear that Minnie can't beat us in a half-court game. We have literally owned everything in the paint. They are going to need a lot of transition baskets and a team effort on three-point shooting.

[Scott41theMavs]

I respect this Minnesota team too much to call the series over. There’s way too much talk of sweep going on. Not from the Mavs of course. Still, I expect the Mavs to split at home and I’m sticking with my original prediction of Mavs in 6. I see it going W-W-L-W-L-W.

Mavs/Kai have two streaks going. No b2b losses this post season and Kyrie undefeated in close out games. In this scenario the Kyrie streak ends.

My prediction at this point is five. The split at home, winning either three or four, and then crushing the sorry Twin City fans in the fifth.

[Smitty]

My prediction at this point is five. The split at home, winning either three or four, and then crushing the sorry Twin City fans in the fifth.

I would love for you to be right. I think it was ‘03 against Portland that the Mavs were up 3-0 and I thought it was over. Mavs eventually won in 7. I just hate all the talk is all. I don’t remember the exact number but something like Mavs have led 12 of the 96 minutes. Heroics in the clutch is the difference and the Mavs have certainly earned the 2 wins but I think it’s far from over is all.

[Knutsen]

To your TMac point, Edwards is already in the conference finals. TMac literally never did that until he signed on with the Spurs his last year of his career where he played less than 2 minutes total. 

I agree we can't make any sweeping conclusions, either way, for Edwards yet. But he definitely seems closer to the Kobe side of that argument than TMac right now today.

You‘re absolutely right, I was just using Kobe and TMac as extremes for both ends of the spectrum - there are a lot of players between those two that could also end up as the best Edwards analogy when it‘s all said and done, for example Vince Carter or Dwayne Wade or Jimmy Butler.

[dirkfansince1998]

You‘re absolutely right, I was just using Kobe and TMac as extremes for both ends of the spectrum - there are a lot of players between those two that could also end up as the best Edwards analogy when it‘s all said and done, for example Vince Carter or Dwayne Wade or Jimmy Butler.

Probably why team success shouldn't be held against players that never had a top tier supporting cast. Edwards situation reminds me of Rose with Chicago. Young and flashy star player on a team with an all time great defense. Far from the biggest reason why the team is having a great season. But the most hyped players in the league.

[nicholasthefan]

Kyrie talks too much about things he doesn't need to.

I disagree. Kyrie handles himself really well.

[Arioch]

I disagree. Kyrie handles himself really well.

Absolutely. I was among the crowd who though the Kyrie acquisition was going to go down as one of if not the worst move by the Mavs front office in the last 30 years. But since he got here he has a consummate professional and outstanding leader and mentor for our young team and superstar. So much so that my postseason wishlist is now

a) Win the WCF
b) Win the Finals
c) Get the Celtics in the finals--because Kyrie is now *our* guy, and I want him to have a "It wasn't me, it was you" moment to close out that drama on the national stage.