Sit Luka GM 1 or no?

[Luka77]

Do you buy Luka some rest to allow the knee to heal for the rest of playoffs by sitting Luka gm 1?

[omahen]

Hell no, it is playoffs not regular season! If 5 days is not enough for that knee, 2 days more will not make much of a difference, imho.

Not that Luka would ever accept something like that, as long as he can walk.

[Luka77]

Hell no, it is playoffs not regular season! If 5 days is not enough for that knee, 2 days more will not make much of a difference, imho.

Not that Luka would ever accept something like that, as long as he can walk.

Game one of a playoff series is usually a feel out game.  Having a full week of therapy and rest will do his knee wonders.

Luka is still young and has the rest of his career to look forward too.  If Luka is truly hurt and by his jumper I think he really is, I would think hard about sitting him.  Dallas once sat Dirk for an entire playoffs when he had a knee sprain.  Him sitting out a game wouldn't be the worst thing.

[ThisIStheYear]

Unless he’s at risk or he aggravated it tonight, Luka will not sit. Game 1 is super important. Win it and steal home court. The Thunder will be rusty while the Mavs will just be rested. It may be the Mavs best chance to get into the series.

[The Jom]

It’s the playoffs. You go if you can. Or you’re not worth having around. Luka will play over 40 minutes in the series opener.

[Luka77]

If Luka continues shooting like he is, the Mavs aren't winning anything of note.

I have seen him miss and pass up open three's more than any time in his career. Something is clearly bothering him. If I can have a healthy Luka by sitting him one game I would do it in a heart beat.

[Jym]

If Luka continues shooting like he is, the Mavs aren't winning anything of note. 

I have seen him miss and pass up open three's more than any time in his career.  Something is clearly bothering him.  If I can have a healthy Luka by sitting him one game I would do it in a heart beat.

Well yes if sitting an extra couple days would actually fix anything, that would be nice 
But that doesn't seem like the reality of the situation. One game and he'll probably be right back to this same level of hurt. 

I just hope the medical staff is guarding against major, long term damage. If there's any chance of aggravating this into something major then he probably shouldn't be playing at all.

[MrGoat]

You want to try telling him that? It's not like we're playing on Sunday. He has until Tuesday, and we no longer have to deal with Westbrook continuing to try and take his knee out

[LukaMVP]

just tank game one and backdoor sweep the thunder. it seemed the game 1 @ clips was also tanked. the mavs would have backdoor swept clippers if we had better luck in crunch minutes in game 4. it's not wise to go all out in game one imho and tanking the first game may actually be a good choice when you don't have HCA. luka can play some minutes to see how they deal with him in defense, while we may try different defensive strategies on GSA and find out which works best.

[MrGoat]

just tank game one and backdoor sweep the thunder. it seemed the game 1 @ clips was also tanked. the mavs would have backdoor swept clippers if we had better luck in crunch minutes in game 4. it's not wise to go all out in game one imho and tanking the first game may actually be a good choice when you don't have HCA. luka can play some minutes to see how they deal with him in defense, while we may try different defensive strategies on ASG and find out which works best.

You don't tank playoff games. And the Thunder are a young untested team that hasn't really been challenged yet. If the Mavs can bring the same kind of defensive intensity they did against the Clippers they won't even know what hit them. With a young, talented, but very inexperienced team you're better off crushing their confidence right away instead of letting them hang around.

[MFFL]

From ESPN

Doncic struggled by his standards in the series while dealing with a right knee sprain he anticipates won't fully recover until he can rest this summer

[SleepingHero]

I see the precautionary idea, but I raise you another one: Luka will not accept any notion of not playing if he can play.

Also like omahen said, it's the playoffs. First one to 4 wins. Giving up a potential win is a big deal.

[KillerLeft]

It doesn’t seem like:

A) the injury is significant enough to keep him out of games, or

B) an extra couple of days would help, really.

I think that because even while shooting poorly, Luka demands so much attention from the defense that others have a chance to succeed, the best way forward is to put him out there and hope he has enough quarters where he looks like himself to advance.

[Luka77]

I see the precautionary idea, but I raise you another one: Luka will not accept any notion of not playing if he can play.

Also like omahen said, it's the playoffs. First one to 4 wins. Giving up a potential win is a big deal.

Nobody (including probably Dirk) liked when Dirk sat out that series which the Mavs eventually lost to Spurs but in hindsight it was the best thing for his career.  

Sometimes there needs to be adults in the room to tell Luka this is the best thing for him. 

Moreover, who said anything about dropping game 1?  The Mavs have proven that they can compete with OKC, even with Luka out.  In the regular season with Kyrie playing they barely lost to OKC in a highly competitive game.

I don't see why they couldn't steal one game or so by resting Luka.  The Mavs won't be intimidated playing on the road.

[donzingis38]

Game one of a playoff series is usually a feel out game.  Having a full week of therapy and rest will do his knee wonders.

Luka is still young and has the rest of his career to look forward too.  If Luka is truly hurt and by his jumper I think he really is, I would think hard about sitting him.  Dallas once sat Dirk for an entire playoffs when he had a knee sprain.  Him sitting out a game wouldn't be the worst thing.

This "feel out" bs is why we lost game 1 vs Clippers. Yes, this is the playoffs but we've played OKC before, we know what they're capable of.

Mavs gotta let them know right away that they're not the Pelicans.

[LukaMVP]

Nobody (including probably Dirk) liked when Dirk sat out that series which the Mavs eventually lost to Spurs but in hindsight it was the best thing for his career.  

Sometimes there needs to be adults in the room to tell Luka this is the best thing for him. 

Moreover, who said anything about dropping game 1?  The Mavs have proven that they can compete with OKC, even with Luka out.  In the regular season with Kyrie playing they barely lost to OKC in a highly competitive game.

I don't see why they couldn't steal one game or so by resting Luka.  The Mavs won't be intimidated playing on the road.

hate to say it but sitting luka is equal to tanking the game in terms of the result. the last game in regular season @ OKC was an obvious tank job and we certainly can't tank a game in playoffs in that manner. we can selectively tank a game in a manner similar to that game you mentioned. luka and Kyrie may play less minutes but the defensive pressure should remain high as we did in the first round. we need to teach OKC about the natural roughness of the playoffs every night we play them, regardless of the results. some of our bench players can contribute and their contributions are much needed in a potentially long playoff journey. you can not rely on the same 8-9 guys all the way expecting them to stay 100% fit and bring the trophy, which is especially true considering kleber's injury. 

speaking of luka's career i think skipping some  international games would make more sense, so he would have a full summer resting and recovering from fatigue and injuries.

[Luka77]

Btw, let me remind you guys that the Mavs sat Luka for first three games of the Utah series in 2021. I believe he had a calf strain then.

Needless to say the Mavs ended up winning that series with Brunson exploding and becoming the player he is today from the confidence he gained.

Maybe someone like PJW benefits from a similar scenario.

[Moviemavguy]

Marc Stein said in a recent podcast that Luka was like Dirk in that they don't do well with rest. You can create other problems with him not playing as much as you're trying to fix another.

Luka said his knee won't be right at any point during the playoffs. From the horse's mouth...

[omahen]

Btw, let me remind you guys that the Mavs sat Luka for first three games of the Utah series in 2021.  I believe he had a calf strain then.

Needless to say the Mavs ended up winning that series with Brunson exploding and becoming the player he is today from the confidence he gained.

Maybe someone like PJW benefits from a similar scenario.

All your arguments are coming from an assumption that additional two days of rest would magically make the injury go away. As was being said, they don't mean any difference whatsoever. That knee will be hurting until a serious rest will be given. I am sure Mavs medical staff knows and manages all the risks about playing with a sprained knee, so that it doesn't get long-term damage. 

Playoff games are too important. If you can play, you play.

[omahen]

Maybe someone like PJW benefits from a similar scenario.

Or maybe he doesn't. Maybe Mavs lose badly immediately getting behind by a game. Or maybe someone else gets injured because those 45 minutes played by Luka will be mostly given to main rotation guys who already play big minutes. Maybe Irving will be forced to do too much and injures himself.