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

[TheBullsDynasty]

Luka is trying hard to give OKC a chance. Both teams are struggling hard on offense right now but Dallas' defense look a bit better, so still keeping them in the lead. If OKC players wake up and start hitting their shots, they have a serious chance to pull this off and tie the series.

[GSP]

Yeah Mavs gotta bench Jdubb and get another 3pt shooter out there w/ Sga, Dort, Chet, Joe

he is killing their offense right now

[djsunyc]

with all the assets presti had, he failed this #1 seed team by not getting them big man help. i don't care if this is their first year being this good - you don't waste opportunities when you are winning games b/c you never know if something happens down the road...especially when you have a treasure trove of picks.

What big do you think would help them the most?

at worst case, they could've easily made that gafford trade instead of dallas.

[durden_tyler]

Late 3rd, no Kyrie and Luka may be rested too. If OKC can't make this close now, they won't have a shot this game. Unfortunate really, i thought OKC is better than this. i want the Mavs to advance to the WCF but i want a Game 7 too.

[Oscar9992]

Other than decent defense Luka is doing nothing but throwing the game.

[Patches Perry]

OKC is going to walk away from this series with a lot to chew on and address individually and as a team this summer.

It’s interesting bc everyone thought OKC had it all figured out, but looks like they still have some questions.

Do they run 2 bigs?
Do they need an actual point guard to play alongside SGA?
Is JDub that point forward?

Also, Jason Kidd is coaching circles around the OKC coach.


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I don't follow national media who are generally clueless so if they thought OKC "had it all figured out" they are more clueless than I thought. That's definitely not been the sentiment in OKC.

Ultimately I think the big issue is rebounding and replacing Giddey. After that, general development from a team standpoint. Individually, all of these guys are going to take away a lot from their first playoff experience.

[Yuri36]

OKC should do a hack of Mavs as they're really shooting badly at FT

[Mamba Mentality]

SGA needs to abandon team ball and just try to win this game himself. The other guys just aren’t gonna get it done tonight.

[therealbig3]

Man, OKC plays really stupid basketball. Too many unskilled offensive players that keep forcing stupid shots that have no chance of going in.

[shmoosicle]

Mavs zone defense has done a good job keeping OKC out of the paint. On the other hand Mavs seem to get in the paint pretty easily.

[dygaction]

Yeah Mavs gotta bench Jdubb and get another 3pt shooter out there w/ Sga, Dort, Chet, Joe

he is killing their offense right now

Mavs agree but it really not up for them

[ChipotleWest]

What's funny is Kidd just realized the other day "yeah, we should have been using PJ Washington more in the offensive end a long time agod" so it may not be that PJ just wasn't an offensive threat, but they were pretty much using him exclusively as a 3 point shooter.

[BigDan245]

This game is mind boggling. Luka and Kyrie are shooting a combined 6-18, and the Thunder have shot 9 more fts yet they’re down 8. Almost any other night this is a double digit lead for the Thunder.

The reason I picked Dallas in this series is because of how young OKC is...They are right in these games and honestly control whether they win or lose. They just don't know how to beat a good team in the playoffs right now. It could click at any time and make us all look stupid, but I don't think they will do it in this series.

[Forbes]

Is Dallas defense really having everyone look like this??
The Clippers series was nasty just like this.
Is the Mavs offense horrible because they’re using so much energy on D??

[madskillz8]

This game is mind boggling. Luka and Kyrie are shooting a combined 6-18, and the Thunder have shot 9 more fts yet they’re down 8. Almost any other night this is a double digit lead for the Thunder.

They allowed wide open corner threes all night at the expense of putting more coverage on Doncic & Kyrie.

[Chuck Everett]

Okc might need to bench Jdubb to get back into this

Chet and Dort are too valuable on defense. Obviously Sga is Sga. But they need 3pt shooting bad. Joe or Keinrich in there even tho you have up Jdubbs size and defense their offense needs a major adjustment

If you notice, the Mavs are not giving Isaiah Joe any space. As soon as he catches, they are right there, no airspace. Lively has 5 blocks. And the Mavs have 12 as a team.

[Oscar9992]

Luka is trying hard to give OKC a chance. Both teams are struggling hard on offense right now but Dallas' defense look a bit better, so still keeping them in the lead. If OKC players wake up and start hitting their shots, they have a serious chance to pull this off and tie the series.

THIS!

Luka is trying everything to throw the game & series overall... but PJ Washington has a different opinion about it

[Shock Defeat]

Jalen Williams gotta be better. Dude has been a dud today.

[dygaction]

What's funny is Kidd just realized the other day "yeah, we should have been using PJ Washington more in the offensive end a long time agod" so it may not be that PJ just wasn't an offensive threat, but they were pretty much using him exclusively as a 3 point shooter.

Secret weapon like AG for ball handling to push pass the Half court for nuggets.

[vulture]

Gotta give mavs credit because their transition defense has been great