2021-22 NBA Season Discussion

[LukaTheGOAT]

Mavericks in the 2022 calendar year (regular season):

• 35-12 Record (61 win pace)
• 5.6 net-rating (116.1 offensive); the league average is 112
• 7.5 net and 119.1 Ortg with Luka on

[parsnips33]

The thing I love about Luka is he doesn't just want to beat you, he wants to make you look stupid. I think the compare and contrast of Luka and Jokic from a mentality perspective is very interesting and something I've been thinking about lately

And I can't even properly dump on the Suns because I'm scared of what Luka might do to us next round

i am excited to see draymond vs luka

as far as i remember the only players who i have felt that "solved" draymond (or at least out talented him) is lebron from 16-18 with jokic as another mention (although it took him a few games)

if luka can do it too that would be insane, 23 year old players are not supposed to be resilient against the best defenses in the world, it would be absurd but doncic is so ahead of the usual development curves thst is possible

i still have worries about his efficiency never being better than slightly above average, which at the offense goatness level is a serious handicap against other great stars like magic, lebron or jordan

but otherwise i am more and more convinced he may end as a contender for best offensive player of all time

I don't know that Kerr puts Draymond on Luka though right? I think they are going to need his help defense. This is what Wiggins is supposed to be for you. I think you ride that as long as you can. Not that it matters that much because Luka is simply going to hunt for matchups. Looney, Klay, Steph, and Poole should all be targeted repeatedly I would think.

I actually do think we will see Draymond on Luka to end games. Maybe not start possessions on him, but be in a position to switch onto him after the main action. Mavs just go 5 out so often I think it neutralizes your ability to help off ball to some degree.

But yeah Luka will hunt the weakest link repeatedly. Poole is going to be in hell all series

[Peregrine01]

I’m picking Dallas in this series, they’re playing with house money at this point and I think their defense will wear Steph and Klay out. Luka is just a load, they won’t stop him, they’ll try to put Wiggins on him and while he’s good, he’s not stopping a young GOAT candidate. I’m also picking the Mavs cause I’m tired of seeing the Warriors in the Finals, I’ve had my fill thank you very much. Need some new blood.

So, I do think the bigger question is what happens when the Warriors are on offense and the Mavs are on defense.

The Warrior D let Jokic have 31 PPG on 64% TS and still won that series handily, and while I'll be the first to say that defending Jokic and Doncic are just two different things, it seems unlikely that the difference between the Nuggets losing and the Mavs winning against the Warriors will be about Doncic putting up numbers so much bigger than that that that alone swings the series.

On the other hand, the Warriors had a 123 ORtg in that series, and the Mavs just allowed far less than against two teams with higher regular season ORtgs than the Warriors had. The route, therefore, for the Mavs to win seems pretty clear.

I'm picking the Warriors still, but the Mavs certainly represent a "scary underdog".

Re: tired of the Warriors in the finals. I'm seeing a lot of sentiment along these lines which I find funny because I remember how seemingly everyone wrote them off as washed after 2019, and this is their first playoff since then. It's a bit analogous to saying you were sick of the Bulls in '95-96, but I don't recall anyone back then thinking that about the Bulls, and but it's more extreme because the Bulls went into that season as strong contenders where as most people predicted the Warriors would be mediocre this year. Hence, it's strange that anyone would actually feel fatigued by the Warriors based on what's gone on in the 2020s.

On the other hand, if you've just decided you don't like the Warriors, it certainly makes sense to keep cheering against them until they retire.

I see a couple big issues that the Warriors will have that they didn't have to worry at all about versus the Nuggets.

1) Mavs have Dinwiddie and Brunson who will make Steph/Poole/Klay guard and tire them out on the defensive end. Nuggets had no perimeter threats even close to those two.
2) Mavs have snipers everywhere, which opens up the floor for Luka/Dinwiddie/Brunson to attack. Nuggets had no shooters other than maybe Monte Morris that the Warriors respected.
3) Mavs have pretty strong POA defenders in Bullock and DFS who are some of the best ball-hawks in the league. Dinwiddie and Brunson are solid here too and they can also bring Ntilikina off the bench. Nuggets had no guys that could really bother Steph and Poole off the bounce.

[falcolombardi]

if i am the bucks i am running back the jrue/middleton/giannis core but look for better complementary pieces

i keep brook and portis (portis would be awkeard to trade or not resign after the big favor he made to bucks taking that ultra team friendly deal, would make bucks FO look bad) but start looking at a potential brook replacement

but more than anythingh i look into better backup guards and wings

[parsnips33]

if i am the bucks i am running back the jrue/middleton/giannis core but look for better complementary pieces

i keep brook and portis (portis would be awkeard to trade or not resign after the big favor he made to bucks taking that ultra team friendly deal, would make bucks FO look bad) but start looking at a potential brook replacement

but more than anythingh i look into better backup guards and wings

I think PJ Tucker could have been a difference maker for them. I think they just need to shift the balance of their team a little towards wings/guards like you said

[Doctor MJ]

The personal relationships with Ayton seem to be the main potential issue for the Suns.

If he’s still on board the Booker/Bridges/Johnson/Ayton core is still super promising. If he’s not, not so much.

Suns people seem pretty confident Ayton wants to return and I'm certainly not going to say I know better than them, but I do know that Sarver is cheap, that his cheapness has caused the Suns to lose guys like Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion in the past, and that Ayton probably isn't going to be taken any kind of a hometown discount here.

I also worry given the fact that Ayton was less played in the last series. Had Ayton been great, I expect that the Suns match any offer for him, but how much money can you expect Sarver to be okay with for a guy he just saw on the bench as his team lost badly?

I don't want to overreact with things, but the blowout loss brings all sorts of questions into the mix.

[Doctor MJ]

if i am the bucks i am running back the jrue/middleton/giannis core but look for better complementary pieces

i keep brook and portis (portis would be awkeard to trade or not resign after the big favor he made to bucks taking that ultra team friendly deal, would make bucks FO look bad) but start looking at a potential brook replacement

but more than anythingh i look into better backup guards and wings

I think PJ Tucker could have been a difference maker for them. I think they just need to shift the balance of their team a little towards wings/guards like you said

Another year, another season where Tucker is still playing deep into the playoffs while his previous team is out. Given his age it makes sense not to prioritize him, but you underrate Tucker's ability to be valuable on great teams at your own risk.

[falcolombardi]

if i am the bucks i am running back the jrue/middleton/giannis core but look for better complementary pieces

i keep brook and portis (portis would be awkeard to trade or not resign after the big favor he made to bucks taking that ultra team friendly deal, would make bucks FO look bad) but start looking at a potential brook replacement

but more than anythingh i look into better backup guards and wings

I think PJ Tucker could have been a difference maker for them. I think they just need to shift the balance of their team a little towards wings/guards like you said

a big wing who can shot and a better guard to help jrue out are key, although i dont love their big depth with ibaka health

someone like otto porter that lets them play giannis/otto/middleton/sg/jrue lineups or even brook/giannis/otto/middleton/jrue giamt lineups

a natural wing means middleton has more size mismatches against shooting guards and bucks have a size and strenght advantage in essentially every position

a better guard that eases the playmakimg burden on jrue and gives him a decent backup would be huge too

[Doctor MJ]

I’m picking Dallas in this series, they’re playing with house money at this point and I think their defense will wear Steph and Klay out. Luka is just a load, they won’t stop him, they’ll try to put Wiggins on him and while he’s good, he’s not stopping a young GOAT candidate. I’m also picking the Mavs cause I’m tired of seeing the Warriors in the Finals, I’ve had my fill thank you very much. Need some new blood.

So, I do think the bigger question is what happens when the Warriors are on offense and the Mavs are on defense.

The Warrior D let Jokic have 31 PPG on 64% TS and still won that series handily, and while I'll be the first to say that defending Jokic and Doncic are just two different things, it seems unlikely that the difference between the Nuggets losing and the Mavs winning against the Warriors will be about Doncic putting up numbers so much bigger than that that that alone swings the series.

On the other hand, the Warriors had a 123 ORtg in that series, and the Mavs just allowed far less than against two teams with higher regular season ORtgs than the Warriors had. The route, therefore, for the Mavs to win seems pretty clear.

I'm picking the Warriors still, but the Mavs certainly represent a "scary underdog".

Re: tired of the Warriors in the finals. I'm seeing a lot of sentiment along these lines which I find funny because I remember how seemingly everyone wrote them off as washed after 2019, and this is their first playoff since then. It's a bit analogous to saying you were sick of the Bulls in '95-96, but I don't recall anyone back then thinking that about the Bulls, and but it's more extreme because the Bulls went into that season as strong contenders where as most people predicted the Warriors would be mediocre this year. Hence, it's strange that anyone would actually feel fatigued by the Warriors based on what's gone on in the 2020s.

On the other hand, if you've just decided you don't like the Warriors, it certainly makes sense to keep cheering against them until they retire.

I see a couple big issues that the Warriors will have that they didn't have to worry at all about versus the Nuggets.

1) Mavs have Dinwiddie and Brunson who will make Steph/Poole/Klay guard and tire them out on the defensive end. Nuggets had no perimeter threats even close to those two.
2) Mavs have snipers everywhere, which opens up the floor for Luka/Dinwiddie/Brunson to attack. Nuggets had no shooters other than maybe Monte Morris that the Warriors respected.
3) Mavs have pretty strong POA defenders in Bullock and DFS who are some of the best ball-hawks in the league. Dinwiddie and Brunson are solid here too and they can also bring Ntilikina off the bench. Nuggets had no guys that could really bother Steph and Poole off the bounce.

The two teams definitely aren't the same so I'm with you there. The non-stars on the Mavs are considerably more dangerous than the non-star of the Nuggets.

With that said, when you talk about Dinwiddie & Brunson being the ones to tired the Warriors out, I have to say that's not how I'm thinking about things. The goal of a 5-out attack isn't to tire out everyone on the other team, but to stretch the defense to allow them to be more easily exploited, and possibly bum-hunt, which Luka loves to do.

Maybe the Warriors' age does get the best of their endurance, but I don't think the Mavs in general should be expected to be the ultimate tire-out test for their opponents.

Re: POA defenders. This will be interesting because I'd argue that the actual "point of attack" language implies a style of play different from how the Warriors play. It'll be less focused on stopping the man with the ball, and more focus on not letting off-ball rovers get open shots.

The Mavs' defenders may prove excellent for that task to - and ballhawking against the Warriors is certainly something that can be valuable - but the Warriors make you play defense different from most other teams.

[sp6r=underrated]

I’m picking Dallas in this series, they’re playing with house money at this point and I think their defense will wear Steph and Klay out. Luka is just a load, they won’t stop him, they’ll try to put Wiggins on him and while he’s good, he’s not stopping a young GOAT candidate. I’m also picking the Mavs cause I’m tired of seeing the Warriors in the Finals, I’ve had my fill thank you very much. Need some new blood.

So, I do think the bigger question is what happens when the Warriors are on offense and the Mavs are on defense.

The Warrior D let Jokic have 31 PPG on 64% TS and still won that series handily, and while I'll be the first to say that defending Jokic and Doncic are just two different things, it seems unlikely that the difference between the Nuggets losing and the Mavs winning against the Warriors will be about Doncic putting up numbers so much bigger than that that that alone swings the series.

On the other hand, the Warriors had a 123 ORtg in that series, and the Mavs just allowed far less than against two teams with higher regular season ORtgs than the Warriors had. The route, therefore, for the Mavs to win seems pretty clear.

I'm picking the Warriors still, but the Mavs certainly represent a "scary underdog".

Re: tired of the Warriors in the finals. I'm seeing a lot of sentiment along these lines which I find funny because I remember how seemingly everyone wrote them off as washed after 2019, and this is their first playoff since then. It's a bit analogous to saying you were sick of the Bulls in '95-96, but I don't recall anyone back then thinking that about the Bulls, and but it's more extreme because the Bulls went into that season as strong contenders where as most people predicted the Warriors would be mediocre this year. Hence, it's strange that anyone would actually feel fatigued by the Warriors based on what's gone on in the 2020s.

On the other hand, if you've just decided you don't like the Warriors, it certainly makes sense to keep cheering against them until they retire.

First, there were plenty of people sick of the Bulls in the 90s. Second, the Warriors played in the Finals 5 years in a row with Curry, Green and Klay there for all of it. There is a natural fatigue that sets in for people.

I'm sure plenty of basketball fans in the 80s were tired of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry by the end of the decade. My dad was. But back then with 3 channels those people were mainly voiceless. Even in the 90s this was true.

[Outside]

Regarding who will guard Luka, it's more about what the Warriors will choose to give up -- will it be Luka or the others? Probably a combo depending on the situation. For example, single cover him on the perimeter and help on him in the post, that type of thing. I'd expect them to mix up the coverages so that it's not the same thing all the time. Probably a fair share of zone. I don't know that the Suns used zone much.

Payton would be useful, but Iguodala has been absent as a player most of the year. He's 14th on the team with only 603 minutes played in the RS, which is well behind Klay (941 minutes) who only played 32 games and was on minutes and B2B restrictions for a while, and even Moses Moody (607) who got only token playing time in most games when he did play. Iguodala has played only 42 minutes in the PS. This is a farewell tour for him, and most of his value is as a veteran voice and de facto assistant coach. When he has played, he hasn't been all that good.

Juan Toscano Anderson may help defensively, but his offense isn't very good, and the defense can ignore him more than Draymond. Kuminga isn't ready. He giveth, and he taketh away. He provides energy and can be good, but the lapses are just too frequent. Kerr may try him sometimes just to see how it goes.

The real question is how much Otto Porter, Jr. plays. He rebounds, plays good D, and adds yet another guy who can stretch the floor. They need him healthy.

The Warriors wore Jokic down by forcing him to defend in space on the perimeter, and there's no reason why that wouldn't work on Luka also. The Suns hunted him mercilessly in the fourth quarter of that one game but then went away from it.

The Mavs defense is very good, but I wouldn't say it's better than what the Warriors just saw against Memphis. After Ja went down, Memphis was a defensive monster.

Possession will be key. The Warriors outrebounded Memphis, the RS leader in rebounds. Dallas was 24th in RPG in the RS and 15th of 16 teams in the PS. The Warriors are of course a turnover machine, and they need to limit the incredibly stupid high-risk passes that drive their fans absolutely nuts and are gifts to the opponent. Dallas has been very good at not turning the ball over in both the RS and PS. How the rebounding and turnovers balance out will tell a lot about who has the advantage.

[eminence]

Regarding who will guard Luka, it's more about what the Warriors will choose to give up -- will it be Luka or the others? Probably a combo depending on the situation. For example, single cover him on the perimeter and help on him in the post, that type of thing. I'd expect them to mix up the coverages so that it's not the same thing all the time. Probably a fair share of zone. I don't know that the Suns used zone much.

Payton would be useful, but Iguodala has been absent as a player most of the year. He's 14th on the team with only 603 minutes played in the RS, which is well behind Klay (941 minutes) who only played 32 games and was on minutes and B2B restrictions for a while, and even Moses Moody (607) who got only token playing time in most games when he did play. Iguodala has played only 42 minutes in the PS. This is a farewell tour for him, and most of his value is as a veteran voice and de facto assistant coach. When he has played, he hasn't been all that good.

Juan Toscano Anderson may help defensively, but his offense isn't very good, and the defense can ignore him more than Draymond. Kuminga isn't ready. He giveth, and he taketh away. He provides energy and can be good, but the lapses are just too frequent. Kerr may try him sometimes just to see how it goes.

The real question is how much Otto Porter, Jr. plays. He rebounds, plays good D, and adds yet another guy who can stretch the floor. They need him healthy.

The Warriors wore Jokic down by forcing him to defend in space on the perimeter, and there's no reason why that wouldn't work on Luka also. The Suns hunted him mercilessly in the fourth quarter of that one game but then went away from it.

The Mavs defense is very good, but I wouldn't say it's better than what the Warriors just saw against Memphis. After Ja went down, Memphis was a defensive monster.

Possession will be key. The Warriors outrebounded Memphis, the RS leader in rebounds. Dallas was 24th in RPG in the RS and 15th of 16 teams in the PS. The Warriors are of course a turnover machine, and they need to limit the incredibly stupid high-risk passes that drive their fans absolutely nuts and are gifts to the opponent. Dallas has been very good at not turning the ball over in both the RS and PS. How the rebounding and turnovers balance out will tell a lot about who has the advantage.

Who would you turn to to round out the rotation if OPJ is still out?

Assumed top 6:

Steph/Poole
Klay
Wiggins
Dray
Looney

[jalengreen]

Where on NBA.com do they have the defensive assignment stats, I remember them having them, but can’t currently find them for whatever reason (likely a series of brain farts)

for an individual game, find the game at https://www.nba.com/schedule?pd=false&region=1, click "BOX SCORE" for the game you want, on the box score page find the drop down menu that says "Traditional" and select "Matchups" instead

also at individual player stats pages like https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201939/head-to-head

[Doctor MJ]

I’m picking Dallas in this series, they’re playing with house money at this point and I think their defense will wear Steph and Klay out. Luka is just a load, they won’t stop him, they’ll try to put Wiggins on him and while he’s good, he’s not stopping a young GOAT candidate. I’m also picking the Mavs cause I’m tired of seeing the Warriors in the Finals, I’ve had my fill thank you very much. Need some new blood.

So, I do think the bigger question is what happens when the Warriors are on offense and the Mavs are on defense.

The Warrior D let Jokic have 31 PPG on 64% TS and still won that series handily, and while I'll be the first to say that defending Jokic and Doncic are just two different things, it seems unlikely that the difference between the Nuggets losing and the Mavs winning against the Warriors will be about Doncic putting up numbers so much bigger than that that that alone swings the series.

On the other hand, the Warriors had a 123 ORtg in that series, and the Mavs just allowed far less than against two teams with higher regular season ORtgs than the Warriors had. The route, therefore, for the Mavs to win seems pretty clear.

I'm picking the Warriors still, but the Mavs certainly represent a "scary underdog".

Re: tired of the Warriors in the finals. I'm seeing a lot of sentiment along these lines which I find funny because I remember how seemingly everyone wrote them off as washed after 2019, and this is their first playoff since then. It's a bit analogous to saying you were sick of the Bulls in '95-96, but I don't recall anyone back then thinking that about the Bulls, and but it's more extreme because the Bulls went into that season as strong contenders where as most people predicted the Warriors would be mediocre this year. Hence, it's strange that anyone would actually feel fatigued by the Warriors based on what's gone on in the 2020s.

On the other hand, if you've just decided you don't like the Warriors, it certainly makes sense to keep cheering against them until they retire.

First, there were plenty of people sick of the Bulls in the 90s. Second, the Warriors played in the Finals 5 years in a row with Curry, Green and Klay there for all of it. There is a natural fatigue that sets in for people.

I'm sure plenty of basketball fans in the 80s were tired of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry by the end of the decade. My dad was. But back then with 3 channels those people were mainly voiceless. Even in the 90s this was true.

Let's draw a distinction here:

1. Tired of the monotony of one team always winning? Makes sense when one team keeps winning every year, like the Bulls circa '92-93 or '97-98, but not in '95-96.

2. Tired of your team losing, and not wanting a contender to make a comeback because you don't want to lose to them again even though it's been a while since you dealt with that? Cool, but that's not monotony, that's just being a bitter fan.

So if what you're saying is that such statements are simply about bitter fans now having a place to voice their bitterness, there's truth to it, but I think people need to get some perspective when most people who think "not the Warriors again" are the same people who said "the Warriors are done!" a long time ago.

[sp6r=underrated]

Let's draw a distinction here:

1. Tired of the monotony of one team always winning? Makes sense when one team keeps winning every year, like the Bulls circa '92-93 or '97-98, but not in '95-96.

2. Tired of your team losing, and not wanting a contender to make a comeback because you don't want to lose to them again even though it's been a while since you dealt with that? Cool, but that's not monotony, that's just being a bitter fan.

So if what you're saying is that such statements are simply about bitter fans now having a place to voice their bitterness, there's truth to it, but I think people need to get some perspective when most people who think "not the Warriors again" are the same people who said "the Warriors are done!" a long time ago.

Completely disagree and I think you're making a very uncharitable reading of people of the Warriors since you like watching them play.

A lot of people who said "Warriors are done" were really saying "I hope the Warriors are done and am going to interpret ambiguous data as saying they are done"

And a 2 year reprieve isn't much. The idea that the clock should instantly re-set is naive. It is the exact same core, sans Durant that has been going around since 2015. If you're someone who likes to see new teams constantly cycle on the scene it isn't being "bitter fans" it is just people who want variety.

You dislike watching Harden/Luka ball. If one of them played on a team that dominated for half decade, disappeared for 2 years and cameback with the same core would you really say "hey here are some fresh faces" or would you say "oh god this sucks

[Peregrine01]

So, I do think the bigger question is what happens when the Warriors are on offense and the Mavs are on defense.

The Warrior D let Jokic have 31 PPG on 64% TS and still won that series handily, and while I'll be the first to say that defending Jokic and Doncic are just two different things, it seems unlikely that the difference between the Nuggets losing and the Mavs winning against the Warriors will be about Doncic putting up numbers so much bigger than that that that alone swings the series.

On the other hand, the Warriors had a 123 ORtg in that series, and the Mavs just allowed far less than against two teams with higher regular season ORtgs than the Warriors had. The route, therefore, for the Mavs to win seems pretty clear.

I'm picking the Warriors still, but the Mavs certainly represent a "scary underdog".

Re: tired of the Warriors in the finals. I'm seeing a lot of sentiment along these lines which I find funny because I remember how seemingly everyone wrote them off as washed after 2019, and this is their first playoff since then. It's a bit analogous to saying you were sick of the Bulls in '95-96, but I don't recall anyone back then thinking that about the Bulls, and but it's more extreme because the Bulls went into that season as strong contenders where as most people predicted the Warriors would be mediocre this year. Hence, it's strange that anyone would actually feel fatigued by the Warriors based on what's gone on in the 2020s.

On the other hand, if you've just decided you don't like the Warriors, it certainly makes sense to keep cheering against them until they retire.

I see a couple big issues that the Warriors will have that they didn't have to worry at all about versus the Nuggets.

1) Mavs have Dinwiddie and Brunson who will make Steph/Poole/Klay guard and tire them out on the defensive end. Nuggets had no perimeter threats even close to those two.
2) Mavs have snipers everywhere, which opens up the floor for Luka/Dinwiddie/Brunson to attack. Nuggets had no shooters other than maybe Monte Morris that the Warriors respected.
3) Mavs have pretty strong POA defenders in Bullock and DFS who are some of the best ball-hawks in the league. Dinwiddie and Brunson are solid here too and they can also bring Ntilikina off the bench. Nuggets had no guys that could really bother Steph and Poole off the bounce.

The two teams definitely aren't the same so I'm with you there. The non-stars on the Mavs are considerably more dangerous than the non-star of the Nuggets.

With that said, when you talk about Dinwiddie & Brunson being the ones to tired the Warriors out, I have to say that's not how I'm thinking about things. The goal of a 5-out attack isn't to tire out everyone on the other team, but to stretch the defense to allow them to be more easily exploited, and possibly bum-hunt, which Luka loves to do.

Maybe the Warriors' age does get the best of their endurance, but I don't think the Mavs in general should be expected to be the ultimate tire-out test for their opponents.

Re: POA defenders. This will be interesting because I'd argue that the actual "point of attack" language implies a style of play different from how the Warriors play. It'll be less focused on stopping the man with the ball, and more focus on not letting off-ball rovers get open shots.

The Mavs' defenders may prove excellent for that task to - and ballhawking against the Warriors is certainly something that can be valuable - but the Warriors make you play defense different from most other teams.

I'd argue that the biggest benefit of hunting Curry all these years was to wear him down so that he'd have less juice on offense. Those Cavs and Rockets teams didn't score all that well in isolation since he held up pretty well but it was apparent how fatigue wore him down and made him less potent on offense.

[Texas Chuck]

Possession will be key. The Warriors outrebounded Memphis, the RS leader in rebounds. Dallas was 24th in RPG in the RS and 15th of 16 teams in the PS. The Warriors are of course a turnover machine, and they need to limit the incredibly stupid high-risk passes that drive their fans absolutely nuts and are gifts to the opponent. Dallas has been very good at not turning the ball over in both the RS and PS. How the rebounding and turnovers balance out will tell a lot about who has the advantage.

Agreed. Obviously 3 point shooting is going to be a significant factor too, but we have two clear edges here and which team does a better job of neutralizing their weakness can go a long way towards advancing. Dallas is a bad rebounding team and at times in the playoffs has just gotten killed on the glass giving up 3, 4, 5 opportunities on the same possession. They don't have to win this battle(I don't see how they can), but they can't let Looney dominate the offensive glass. On the other side Dallas plays slow and their guards dominate the ball so under than that 3rd quarter in game 5 against the Suns they protect the ball well. Warriors, well, don't. Can Dallas not only force some of those mistakes but just as importantly turn them into easy opportunities without the Warriors elite defense getting set? If they can, it would really help. Because while Dallas clearly is a half court team, its asking a lot to beat the Warriors 4x against their half court defense.

My other question will be can Bullock/DFS hold up against Steph/Poole. They've done great so far in the playoffs, but have logged huge minutes and Bullock is playing with a rib injury that makes it hard to breathe. And when they face foul trouble can Ntilikina not break the offense so his defense can stay on the court? IDK

Also I think Dwight Powell might find his way back into the rotation more in this series than the previous too. I think there are some lobs available against the Warriors with how they defend the PNR versus how Utah and Phoenix were playing it.

[parsnips33]

I'm gonna say something that might make me look very stupid:

I think Looney can do a good job switched on to Doncic. I don't think that's gonna be the matchup they will hunt, at least not for long.

[falcolombardi]

is just me or is there a surprising amount of sinilarities between these mavs and the 2016 cavs ?

both teams are led by a heliocentric point forward, have great shooting and strong secondary ballhandlers and those cavs played fairlt strong defense in the finals

is not quite the same thingh, luka is not the monster defensive presence of 2016 lebron, brunson is not kyrie, draymond, klay and curry have slowed down (although mavs may have a better defense overall than those cavs)

but is a interesting fascimile of that finals, wonder how differently warriors will aproach it now than 6 years ago

since i actually expect kidd to try a lot of the thinghs cavs did in 2016 or 2015

[Colbinii]

I'm gonna say something that might make me look very stupid:

I think Looney can do a good job switched on to Doncic. I don't think that's gonna be the matchup they will hunt, at least not for long.

I agree the turnstile Poole and Curry will be hunted as they were to great success in the regular season.