GAME 53 DIRKIE: Gafford by a mile

[SleepingHero]

[MFFL]

I think I deserve consideration. My son told me about the fantastic 1st quarter and I logged into the game. OKC promptly went on a 7 point run and ultimately closed to within 4 before I turned off the game.

[youzigizag]

Which ever FO employee spear headed the Gafford absorption.

[KillerLeft]

Lots of good choices tonight, and my guess is Gafford will win, but for me it’s Kleber and his defense.

[Jym]

Kleber for me

[dirkfansince1998]

Maxi was the best big. But Gafford gets the Dirkie. First game on a new team and outside of some defensive issues it felt like he has been around for a long time. Just think about all the chemistry issues other bigs had. Gafford walked into the building and looked like the best lob target Luka ever had.

[SleepingHero]

On receiving a standing O from the fans:

"It feels like I got drafted by this team"- Gafford.

[Mavs2021]

I´d call it a team win. Everybody was playing great.

Much easier to pick the MVP of the Thunder. The only player that did not have a negative +/-.

[DallasMaverick]

Which ever FO employee spear headed the Gafford absorption.

Incredible move by Cuban!

[ballsrchr]

I was expecting an interesting game, but certainly not a win. I'll take it!

Normally I would give a Dirkie to Maxie for his overall contribution--12 rebds, 12 points--but...not going to happen tonight...today. Maxi benefited from having some help as a big. Good stuff!

Kyrie and Luka were able to cruise a bit in this game. Think about it! Just a little over 30 minutes for each.

P.J. Washington has a pretty good game. I hope it holds.

Oh, the suspense is killing me! First game for the Mavs and D. Gafford has earned my Dirkie. Hopefully the first of many more to come.

[SleepingHero]

Holy shit Daniel Gafford's post game interview...

Picture exactly what you want to hear from your Mav center. He said all of that. Dude said Im gonna take out the trash every night while Luka and Kyrie do their thing. This crowd is a close 2nd to my days in Arkansas, but its close... I'm going to work every single night on defense.

SHEESH

[SleepingHero]

PJ: Everybody was telling me I was going to get a lot of open shots but I didn't realize it'd be that easy.

[BigDirk41]

Gafford for me. His energy and productivity was amazing. He's going to be a difference maker. Him and Lively will be a fun tandem.

[SleepingHero]

On receiving a standing O from the fans:

"It feels like I got drafted by this team"- Gafford.

https://x.com/townbrad/status/1756449289201401977?s=20

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Charles (@BlockedByBamba)
PJW has as many dunks this game as Grant Williams has had all season

[Tyler]

Man, what a game! Gafford and PJ made all the difference. My only regret is not being able to vote for Nico.

[MrGoat]

Sometimes the Dirkie is a tough call, not this time. Gafford all the way

[JamesConway912]

What a game. We basically stomped them and it didn’t look like a fluke.

Some thoughts:

- PJ is a big help guarding the perimeter without giving up size inside on defense. He had a steal and another deflection on SGA together with Green or DJJ where they just crowded him. That and the boxing out gives me A TON of hope that we’ve just improved our defense by a lot. On offense he’s exactly what we need, somebody who can finally attack closeouts from the PF spot and shoot. Clearly more versatile than Grant who is just super limited when he floors it.

- Gafford just doing his thing. Very impressive.

- I REALLY hope we will see Kleber at PF once Lively is back. That would have a huge trickle down effect on our lineups size-wise. 

- Minutes distribution will be a thing to watch going forward. THjr, Maxi, Green, DJJ and PJ all in the mid 20s tonight, Luka and Kyrie played less than they usually do. At times it looked a bit chaotic with the substitutions, I hope they’ll figure it out quickly and settle in on a rotation.

- Loved Gafford but I think it’s pretty obvious that he’s perfectly suited in that bench role. He could end up being BWright on steroids here off the bench going forward.

- Luka just with a badass introduction for the new guys. Just got them basically three dunks at will lol. Especially that first lob to Washington was like missile with perfect accuracy.

[ThisIStheYear]

It was a Gafford/Maxi game. It will be nice to consistently get 20+ points and 15+ rebounds from the center position. The Mavs are truly four deep at the 5 now.

[Jmaciscool]

It's crazy to think that this team had Wood and Magee last season and now have Lively and Gafford.

[SleepingHero]