2024 NBA Playoffs: West Semifinals: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #5 Dallas Mavericks (DAL WINS 4-2)

[Forbes]

A lot of it isn't necessarily flopping, just a soft whistle. He got two calls in the 4th where nothing happened. Like the defender is straight up, arms up, moving laterally and Shai got a whistle. Minimal contact and not even a head whip by SGA, just a big ole nothingburger and he got a call. That is the stuff that has me confused.

Thats called manufacturing a superstar. He is a star without it but those fouls calls help elevate.

And the bloody non calls on push offs ugh...

I won’t complain about the push offs because most stars do it. I’m just trying to understand how the hell Shai gets so much separation on his. It’s insane.

[advent11]

Mavs needs Luka to be in his usual form to advance further. The shooting by Washington is unsustainable.

[bluemj32]

Who won MVP this year. I forgot was it Luka? SGA?

Joel last year

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Who? I don’t remember ever hearing about this guy you spoke of. Does he play basketball this time of year? I can’t recall ever seeing him play

Boooo...your joke

Just say you're a front runner fan if you don't enjoy watching other teams

Sent from my Pixel 6 using RealGM mobile app

[BeiBeau]

SGA and his **** elbows. Hope he tears his fking ACL

Wishing injury on players is inappropriate, uncool and not allowed on the GB. So don't do it. -b

While you only represent yourself when you post, you still rock the Mavs logo and you kind of will be associated with the extended Mavs fanbase... so avoid that sort of thing.

As a fellow member of House Mavs: Apz just had a terrible moment. We don't wish any injuries on anyone, except Rajon Rondo. And I was happy to see Williams back in the game and looking healthy.

And here I thought he was your burner account

Dirk we also wish I’ll on Porzingas too. He admitted to trying to lose those clippers series because he was mad Luka was a better player.

[Andri]

It is sad as basketball fan not being able to enjoy a healthy Luka. Also, I am afraid he could finally be done for the season before Mavs journey ends.

On the other hand, it is weird to watch so much physicality allowed, but so little when SGA is involved

[BliscoSantos]

OKC needs to blow it up, trade everybody, not a single salvagable part on this team. Shai is a fraud, Dort is a criminal who should be in prison for assault, Chet is overrated and weak.

Am I doing this right?

Hysterics aside, good game Mavs fans. Came down to the last 1-2 possessions and ya'll hit just a shot or two more than OKC did to win it. Another banger by PJ Washington too, he was clearly a good pickup. For him to be your leading scorer in two straight wins is pure found money. Game 4 is desperation time for OKC. See ya'll Monday!

Haha,made me laugh..naj,you future is bright OKC....I actually think the Best way for you to move forward would be to trade Giddey for a good C...SGA-Williams-Dort-Chet-C(someone like Allen or Claxton ) is a tittle contender for years to come

[OkcSinceSGA]

Thats called manufacturing a superstar. He is a star without it but those fouls calls help elevate.

And the bloody non calls on push offs ugh...

I won’t complain about the push offs because most stars do it. I’m just trying to understand how the hell Shai gets so much separation on his. It’s insane.

Apparently he’s the strongest 185-190 lbs string bean in history. Because he keeps sending guys outweighing him by 40-80 lbs to the ground with one arm push offs/shoulder bumps.

[ItsDanger]

Feels like PJ Washington is the most exciting player in this series.

[RB34]

From MVP frontrunner to he's a 2nd option.

Life comes at you fast!

I think what's he's maybe saying, albeit hyperbolically, is that SGA is like Tatum. Obviously a #1 but not "HIM" like other superstars. Not someone who can carry a team to a title like guys like Steph, Lebron, Kawhi, Giannis, and Jokic. And I think he's right.

He’s NOTHING like Tatum. SGA is a HISTORIC driver, finisher, has absurd efficiency and league leading game to game scoring consistency. He almost never has a bad game. Tatum is like a Rich Man’s PG where he will have a 50 point game followed by a 12 point 5-18 type game.

He is 25 and his team was in the play in last year. Was Jordan ready to “carry to a title” by 25? No. He’s perfectly rated now which is a top 5 player who is still young, and has one of the most complete offensive games in basketball.

He is INSANELY competitive in the Mamba mold. He works harder than anyone in the league arguably (tons of teammates and coaches have compared it to Kobe or Jordan), and it’s evident by the improvement curve he’s had. I wouldn’t doubt or count him out. Give him time to define his own legacy.

All this is buoyed by the fact you can’t breathe on him.

[x]

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[Archx]

Just saw the last minutes but it's amazing to see how OKC is getting away with beating the crap out of Luka..

Well he body slammed Lu Dort in game 2 & went to the FT line for it.

OKC reddit is having a meltdown right now about Luka and how refs are doing Dort wrong

[Mr. Perfect]

Dallas has been gutting out every single win this playoffs pretty much except for the close-out game vs the Clippers.

I think Mavs need game 4 just to really shake up OKC, don't let those kids get their confidence back. Need a blowout win Monday night.

[BeiBeau]

The thunder super deserve to lose. Not because of what happened on the court. But because they’re a bunch of **** bitches.

Your team has Luka Doncic who's the poster boy for acting like a bitch

Looks like it's rubbing off onto quite a few Mav fans too

Look at the post by the neutral observers in the thread and you’ll see that this is the clowniest comment ever.

SGA has elbowed a Mavs player 4 times in 2 games. Dort should’ve fouled out early in the 3rd. The refs are feeding OKC callas that Dallas can only dream of. And OKC played hack for 5 minutes.

This game was a great victory for my team. But it was also a basketball moral victory.

[SOUL]

Would not be surprised to see Gordon Hayward retire after next season. Maybe it's just the OKC fit but he looks so frail and ineffective and he was decent in Charlotte (although no high stakes).

He's played 46 spot minutes in 7 games and has.. 0 points. Barely even looks for his shot.

[Patches Perry]

OKC needs to blow it up, trade everybody, not a single salvagable part on this team. Shai is a fraud, Dort is a criminal who should be in prison for assault, Chet is overrated and weak.

Am I doing this right?

Hysterics aside, good game Mavs fans. Came down to the last 1-2 possessions and ya'll hit just a shot or two more than OKC did to win it. Another banger by PJ Washington too, he was clearly a good pickup. For him to be your leading scorer in two straight wins is pure found money. Game 4 is desperation time for OKC. See ya'll Monday!

Haha,made me laugh..naj,you future is bright OKC....I actually think the Best way for you to move forward would be to trade Giddey for a good C...SGA-Williams-Dort-Chet-C(someone like Allen or Claxton ) is a tittle contender for years to come

Yeah, threading the needle with addressing rebounding without disrupting the spacing/five-out offense will be tough. That's one of the reasons why I think Presti didn't want to be pressured into finding a solution to that by the trade deadline. It's not your standard "add a little more depth" problem, it's a tricky piece.

[TheBullsDynasty]

Pretty competitive game, hard fought victory for the Mavs. Game 4 is going to be huge. If OKC can win that, I still think they take this series considering Luka is all banged up.

Also Luka, please stop making stupid decisions. Give the f'n ball to Kyrie and let him cook. He is on a tear these playoffs and everybody wants to see more of that!

Lastly, this "Dort is an excellent defender" idea needs to stop. This guy's entire career is built on top of being overly physical with players and not getting called for it. I was rooting for the guy when he first appeared out of nowhere against the Rockets back in the 2020 playoffs but he has taken it too far. Also, allowing him to exert this level of physicality (same with Williams but not to the same extent, he has fouled Kyrie so many times and didn't get called for it) while his teammate SGA is getting the softest fouls on the other end is just not fair. Call it the same way for both teams.

[BeiBeau]

Just saw the last minutes but it's amazing to see how OKC is getting away with beating the crap out of Luka..

Well he body slammed Lu Dort in game 2 & went to the FT line for it.

OKC reddit is having a meltdown right now about Luka and how refs are doing Dort wrong

Are these OKC fans actually trying to say the play where Dort put his arm around Luka and dragged him down was an offensive foul?

I hope OKC fans aren’t as childish as their team is.

[theFireBlanket]

Just saw the last minutes but it's amazing to see how OKC is getting away with beating the crap out of Luka..

Well he body slammed Lu Dort in game 2 & went to the FT line for it.

OKC reddit is having a meltdown right now about Luka and how refs are doing Dort wrong

Not an OKC fan or reddit user, no lie detected.

[G R E Y]

Thats called manufacturing a superstar. He is a star without it but those fouls calls help elevate.

And the bloody non calls on push offs ugh...

I can’t think of one young star that doesn’t push off. It’s become a plague on the league. Tatum, Morant, SGA, Luka, Giannis, Mitchell… it’s more common than carrying now. I don’t like it either but refs almost never call it.

Again… if a 185 lbs player can send you flying like that, you need to hit the weight room.

And I don't like it from anyone, don't like anyone getting away with it.

You're either going to just draw a line and hold firm or allow incremental exceptions which is an endless spiral leading to well might as well just change the rule book. Well how about just consistently calling the rule book?

What ends up happening is the exact thing you point out, at times exaggerated reactions to push offs to bring attention to it. And then endless spirals of well was it a flop or can momentum bring a bigger guy down...

I just like the simple pure rule - if a defender moves his feet to get the angle and an arm is used to push him away, call the O foul. Everything else is peripheral.

[OkcSinceSGA]

OKC needs to blow it up, trade everybody, not a single salvagable part on this team. Shai is a fraud, Dort is a criminal who should be in prison for assault, Chet is overrated and weak.

Am I doing this right?

Hysterics aside, good game Mavs fans. Came down to the last 1-2 possessions and ya'll hit just a shot or two more than OKC did to win it. Another banger by PJ Washington too, he was clearly a good pickup. For him to be your leading scorer in two straight wins is pure found money. Game 4 is desperation time for OKC. See ya'll Monday!

Haha,made me laugh..naj,you future is bright OKC....I actually think the Best way for you to move forward would be to trade Giddey for a good C...SGA-Williams-Dort-Chet-C(someone like Allen or Claxton ) is a tittle contender for years to come

Yeah, threading the needle with addressing rebounding without disrupting the spacing/five-out offense will be tough. That's one of the reasons why I think Presti didn't want to be pressured into finding a solution to that by the trade deadline. It's not your standard "add a little more depth" problem, it's a tricky piece.

Move Giddey for a physical big. I’d move Chet to PF full time and get someone like Bam. Package Giddey, salary and a pick maybe for Bam.

[Archx]

Well he body slammed Lu Dort in game 2 & went to the FT line for it.

OKC reddit is having a meltdown right now about Luka and how refs are doing Dort wrong

Are these OKC fans actually trying to say the play where Dort put his arm around Luka and dragged him down was an offensive foul?

I hope OKC fans aren’t as childish as their team is.

They're basically saying Dort does nothing wrong and Luka is flopping while SGA gets hosed by the refs.