Mavs 105, Clippers 100

[HanspardsShowerVoice]

I would probably attribute Kawhi getting tired on having to guard Luka a lot and carry a lot of the Clippers offense.  He pretty much carried the team on his back coming back from 0-2 deficit.    He's played over 40 minutes every game this series except 1, and coming off a grueling condensed regular season schedule.    He's also accustomed to a lot of workload management.  Definitely an interesting subplot going forward.

[Hypermav]

https://twitter.com/FTFonFS1/status/1400...74112?s=20

Went from losing the last 4 to winning the west.  Hot takes, get your hot takes right here.

[michaeltex]

An additional thought on the twin towers...

How do you play against them? By getting out and running and beating them down the court before the defense is ready. But you can't fight above your weight class for rebounds, then blaze it down the court and be effective. At some point the tank runs dry. So unless you have a Steph Curry who will make some 3s from half court and give you a rest, it's wearing to play that game. 

Small ball is always about shooting a high percentage from deep to negate the usefulness of the big guys. Unless you have a Curry/Matthews combo, it's hard to implement. KL/PG ain't Steph/Clay.

[Chicagojk]

An additional thought on the twin towers...

How do you play against them? By getting out and running and beating them down the court before the defense is ready. But you can't fight above your weight class for rebounds, then blaze it down the court and be effective. At some point the tank runs dry. So unless you have a Steph Curry who will make some 3s from half court and give you a rest, it's wearing to play that game. 

Small ball is always about shooting a high percentage from deep to negate the usefulness of the big guys. Unless you have a Curry/Matthews combo, it's hard to implement. KL/PG ain't Steph/Clay.

I think running is one way and it appears Dallas is trying to slow the pace down.   

But I think you still need to penetrate against the zone.   The Clippers got really good looks all night against our twin towers lineup, but a lot of them were with just good ball movement and no penetration.   I think you need to attack the rim first and try to use your foot speed and then either finish at the rim or kick out.   The Clippers had times where they did this but probably not as much as they wanted.  I would imagine when they see this lineup again, they try to get boban and KP in a 3 on 2 at the rim and go right at them. Just like middle school basketball, sometimes fallen in love with an open jumper is exactly want the zone wants to do.  You may very well get hot and take teams out of the zone, but it can also make you not aggressive.

[HanspardsShowerVoice]

Yeah, the Twin Towers should be exceptionally weak against rim penetrators, but the thing is that's been the Clippers offensive weakness all year long.    So the Twin Towers strategy might not work against most teams in the league, but it might work against this particular one.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Kind of feels like the whole point of starting big like that is to force Zubac on the floor who was a cool -19 in 20 minutes last night.

[Chicagojk]

Kind of feels like the whole point of starting big like that is to force Zubac on the floor who was a cool -19 in 20 minutes last night.

That is a good point.   It is weird, I thought Zubac was going to be the key of the series because has destroyed us with hardly every missing a shot.   It is now at the point that Dallas is trying to force the Clippers to play him.    Matchups are weird sometimes.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

That is a good point.   It is weird, I thought Zubac was going to be the key of the series because has destroyed us with hardly every missing a shot.   It is now at the point, that Dallas is trying to force the Clippers to play him.    Matchups are weird sometimes.

I actually don't remember ever watching a player and having multiple moments every game thinking "we just can't stop this guy" while also realizing that he's too big of a defensive liability for that team to leave on the floor.

It's just kind of wild to watch him eat up the glass and play so well in the paint while never playing more than 20 minutes in any game and not scoring more than 8 points.

Playoffs really are such a different animal.  It's why Rick is so valuable.

[Tyler]

Matchups are weird sometimes.

Yep. I know some fans are pretty down on JRich right now based on his reduced minutes this series, but I suspect that's also a matchup thing. Brunson has been seeing less time as well, and he was on the short list for the 6MOY. For all the talk of the Clipper small ball lineups, I think Dallas has just had to sit their even smaller guys who aren't good matchups with the players LA is rolling out. But if they can get past the Clippers, I think we may start seeing more of them again.

[mavsluvr]

JRich's pretty much full absence is puzzling to me. I mean, he can't be good enough to roll with as a starter almost ALL season long and yet so bad that he's this unplayable in the playoffs. Either he wasn't good enough to stick with him throughout most of the regular season, or he could at least do well off the bench to get some meaningful minutes in the playoffs. Whichever way it is, it's on RC.

I get where you're coming from, but don't think this indicates some sort of RC deficiency. 

I daresay J Rich isn't the first NBA starter to not match up well in a playoff series. 

But something to keep an eye on, if the Mavs make it to the second round.

[HanspardsShowerVoice]

That is a good point.   It is weird, I thought Zubac was going to be the key of the series because has destroyed us with hardly every missing a shot.   It is now at the point that Dallas is trying to force the Clippers to play him.    Matchups are weird sometimes.

I think it highlights the difference between regular season basketball and playoff basketball. 

https://twitter.com/ChefBetter/status/13...5581836288

No one is going to completely reshuffle their entire offensive attack to exploit Zubac for a win in 1 out of 82 regular season games, but they will in the playoffs

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://twitter.com/FTFonFS1/status/1400...74112?s=20

Went from losing the last 4 to winning the west.  Hot takes, get your hot takes right here.

Even if they get by the Clippers, I don't see either of them beating Utah 4 times. I just don't.  Not while last year is still fresh in their minds.

[khaled1987]

Kleber going after Morris was my unsung hero! That was more fight in him than I’ve ever seen. I loved it. Side note: it’s really sad that he has to get a technical foul in order to bring enough attention to Morris’ flagrant 1 fouling. NBA refs are a joke.

This, I was actually going to say it in the Dirkie thread. 

Also, DP setting this illegal screen on Rondo, I love that we were the one bullying the clippers.

[Dahlsim]

Not a surprise to me that JRich isn't getting much playing time in a gameplan that involves going big.   You can't put him on the floor with Boban/Powell/WCS for extended periods of time.  You can only put so many non shooters on the floor at one time in the modern NBA, and Josh has laid enough bricks behind the arc over the season to build a subdivision outside of Frisco.   Brunson only played 10 minutes.   We had to keep shooters on the floor with this gameplan, so THJ plays 45 minutes.

This is more along the lines I think as well.  The problem with matching up in 'small ball' is very simply that sometimes their small ball talent is just better than your small ball talent.  This doesn't necessarily mean your small ball guys are bad, but they aren't stacked with NBA ring bearers and all stars etc. 

If you go simply guard for guard and Wing for Wing up and down the roster, after Luka, the Dallas guards and wings are good, sometimes very good but the Clippers can Match your Luka with a Kawhi and then raise you a Paul George, Rajon Rondo etc. etc.  The LA concentration of talent in small ball rotations is totally elite. 

On the other hand by going the big the Mavericks rotation includes not only Porzingis and Boban, super bigs, but then they can run your guys ragged with Powell, Kleber and WCS while keeping their best guards/wings in play enough for shooting, slashing and perimeter defense as much as possible. 

So the minutes to go big had to come from somewhere and not only JRich but even the talented small guards like Brunson are not left to try and beat the Clipper wings man for man. The Mavs BIG rotation over the course of a game is a real load for small ball rotations to defend even though the LA wings are big wings and very good defenders.

[Dahlsim]

I would probably attribute Kawhi getting tired on having to guard Luka a lot and carry a lot of the Clippers offense.  He pretty much carried the team on his back coming back from 0-2 deficit.    He's played over 40 minutes every game this series except 1, and coming off a grueling condensed regular season schedule.    He's also accustomed to a lot of workload management.  Definitely an interesting subplot going forward.

Not only Luka, but Kawhi who is an incredibly smart basketball player when you really watch him, realized that he and Paul George had to come down low sometimes and help the small ball centers and forwards.   

The Clippers were many times all hands on deck to defend Boban & KP but also to gang rebound against those guys, hack them, push them, whatever it took. 
Their small ball team is quite good, really good veterans and a nice talented youngster too but at times they were just too small to guard the Dallas Super Bigs 1v1 and rebound then turn around and battle Kleber, Powell and WCS coming in fresh off the bench!

[Dahlsim]

MAVERICKS PULL OUT THRILLER IN LA!
MAVS LEAD SERIES 3-2

The Mavericks went jumbo on the Clips, and survived to tell the tale. A phenomenal game from Luka drew no answer from the opponent. 


GAME STORY

Luka and Maxi, initially listed as questionable, were both available to play. Serge Ibaka remained out for the Clippers. Rick selected a surprise starting lineup of Luka, THJ, DFS, KP, and Boban, inserting Bobi for Maxi in an apparent effort to counter the Clips’ lethal small ball lineup.  Lue stuck with Jackson, PG, Kawhi, Morris, and Batum. It was the first start in 26 playoff games for Marjanovic. Looked like Rick was pulling out all the stops. 

.... 

OBSERVATIONS

Rick’s gamble to roll with super-sized lineups paid off, with the Clippers scoring a mere 38 points in the paint. Kudos to the coach for a bold move, and to the players for adjusting to such a big scheme change on the fly! 

Luka returning to form had the Mavericks looking like a different team. If he can continue to play like this, and get a little more help from his teammates, the Mavs stand a chance to finish off the series in six. Barkley's guar-awn-tee that Dallas would lose four straight did not prove prophetic.  

Game Six will take place at the AAC at 8 CDT on Friday. 

GO MAVS!!!!

Great work ML.  Thanks for all the extra detail on this fantastic contest. 

BOBAN. Bobi had 9 points and 7 boards in 20 minutes on the court. The gentle giant changed the game against the Clippers, who were forced to shoot from the outside, and to contend with Boban’s size on the defensive end. Luka said it was a struggle to change the game plan to accommodate Bobi, but he thought the move “turned out great.”

I have to comment on this.  Luka and Boban PnR, Luka rolling into the rim with Bobi on the side just ahead or behind, doesn't matter, it has to be an absolute nightmare to defend.  
If you're the defense, any defense, Boban is so dangerous a player to have the ball near the basket that you have to have someone glued to him and watch for that pass all the way in but then as you're doing that you have one of the most prolific driving scorers in the game getting closer and closer to the rim with all his options open.   

If he gets it to Boban you have to make a play on the ball before Bobi gets it above his head.  Most of the time they're actually going to hack him, rake his arms, pull him down, push him and hope they get away with it.  Lucky for the Clips they usually do get away but that's a different story as Bobi doesn't get as much respect as he should on fouls.  It has to be really really blatant for him to get a call, and he's good at the line. 

So what I saw was usually they just let Luka have his floater going in and that's also recipe for surrendering a 42 point game to the Wonderboy! 

[mavsluvr]

Luka and Boban PnR, Luka rolling into the rim with Bobi on the side just ahead or behind, doesn't matter, it has to be an absolute nightmare to defend.  
If you're the defense, any defense, Boban is so dangerous a player to have the ball near the basket that you have to have someone glued to him and watch for that pass all the way in but then as you're doing that you have one of the most prolific driving scorers in the game getting closer and closer to the rim with all his options open.   

If he gets it to Boban you have to make a play on the ball before Bobi gets it above his head.  Most of the time they're actually going to hack him, rake his arms, pull him down, push him and hope they get away with it.  Lucky for the Clips they usually do get away but that's a different story as Bobi doesn't get as much respect as he should on fouls.  It has to be really really blatant for him to get a call, and he's good at the line. 

So what I saw was usually they just let Luka have his floater going in and that's also recipe for surrendering a 42 point game to the Wonderboy!

Good thoughts, Dahl!


I thought this would probably be a game you would have particularly enjoyed, with the Mavs forcing the Clips to adjust to their big lineup, rather than going micro to adjust to the Clippers. 

I have to admit that when I saw that Boban was starting, I gulped a little, since that's something the Mavs never did all season, but I have to hand it to Rick and the coaching staff for having the stones to take a daring gamble with their ultra-huge units. Thought opening the door to Powell playing bigger minutes was a particularly beneficial part of the plan. 

Agree that it was shameful what the refs were letting the Clips get away with on Bobi.

[dirkfansince1998]

Bobi doesn't get as much respect as he should on fouls.  It has to be really really blatant for him to get a call, and he's good at the line. 

Officiating of inside vs perimeter players has reached rock bottom. Even foul drawing machines like Embiid, Zion or AD aren´t getting them in the post. Face up/drive or pump fake/jumpshot. Classic back to the basket bigs cannot get a call. Jokic is getting hammered every single game and can be happy if he finishes the game with 5+ FTs.
And it´s not only a problem for bigs. Smaller guards (Young, Morant) are drawing touch fouls.  Bigger wings like Luka or LBJ are getting punished because they can finish through contact.

[mavsluvr]

Two items I have been pondering --

1. One of the main problems in this game and series has been that the non-Luka units are getting absolutely destroyed. One doesn't expect them to build a lead, but they should be able to at least come close to holding their own, and instead they are hemorrhaging points. The adjustment in this game was to slash those minutes to the bone, with Luka getting only 6 minutes of rest, and THJ only three (!). I'm not sure how long they can keep that up, with only a day of rest between games. Any adjustments, or are they just stuck with the situation?

2.  Luka and Timmy were the only Mavs in double figures. Kenny Smith made the observation that if the Mavs had had five guys in double figures, they might well have lost. The thought being that they made the right decision to give most of the shots to their best scorers. (Tim and Luka combined for 56 of Dallas' 89 shot attempts.) Is he right about this?

[ClutchDirk]

Two items I have been pondering --

1. One of the main problems in this game and series has been that the non-Luka units are getting absolutely destroyed. One doesn't expect them to build a lead, but they should be able to at least come close to holding their own, and instead they are hemorrhaging points. The adjustment in this game was to slash those minutes to the bone, with Luka getting only 6 minutes of rest, and THJ only three (!). I'm not sure how long they can keep that up, with only a day of rest between games. Any adjustments, or are they just stuck with the situation?

2.  Luka and Timmy were the only Mavs in double figures. Kenny Smith made the observation that if the Mavs had had five guys in double figures, they might well have lost. The thought being that they made the right decision to give most of the shots to their best scorers. (Tim and Luka combined for 56 of Dallas' 89 shot attempts.) Is he right about this?

I cannot say he was wrong unless I could watch an alternative game where all got their share of points...

For some reason the Clips have a take KP out of the equation...some players have been ice cold including THJ so far in this series but he did his job last night which was needed...

Luka I think figured out their strategy and exploited them for one of the top performances in playoff history...Luka accounted for more points than anyone ever has...