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

[dygaction]

Crazy to think Derrick Lively could have been doing that for the OKC Thunder.

Also OKC's first helped Mavs get Gafford.

[garrick]

I know Chet's defenders will say he's +8 and 21 points for the game, but watching the game, he was bad. He couldn't block out for boards, couldn't make a shot from the outside. All of his points were from set plays designed to give him easy dunks.

I’m barely 6’0 and a slim guy, I’m not joking when I say I don’t think Chet could even box me out.

3 boards all game. He lost a ton of box outs. Mavs got 14 offensive boards. Total boards were 31-47 for Mavs. It's ridiculous. If Chet got say 7 boards instead of 3, that's 4 points off Dallas. It's a win for OKC. Dude's just soft. He's got no game except for his height.

Chet is not a center nor even a PF really unless he can bulk up somehow.

This is more on OKC for not getting a decent center the way the Mavs did but this is a very young team that has a lot of time to make the right moves.

[shi-woo]

That 4th quarter really summed up the season for both teams, to a T.

- Kyrie hitting ridiculous shots, and a wild hail mary 3
- PJ doing nothing all game and hit the 2 biggest shots of the game, and the winning FT's
- DJJ going super saiyan out of nowhere
- Lively, we all know about the trade, being a monster on the glass, exploiting the size we all knew OKC didn't have
- Luka looking like a bum, hitting the go ahead shot, then almost turning it over on the last play
- Shai fouling on the last play of the game after living on the line all year.

And of course, for what seems like the 5th time in the past couple months, a game is decided in the last seconds by the refs...

Poetry in motion, for real. Wish we had a game 7, would have liked to see what Kyrie would do.

[Wolfgang630]

Hopefully we get Jokic vs Luka- the two best players in the league.

[bushybrah_]

I feel for OKC fans. Tough way to end your season. Oof.

Was hoping for a game 7.

[RB34]

So the 1 seed Thunder with SGA who a lot of people thought should be the MVP and are calling a top 3 player win 2 games against teams that weren’t the injured Zionless Pels? Luka was clearly hobbled throughout the series too.

Are you really trying to detract from a clearly very young team that overachieved and surprised everyone?

Being young matters now?

Luka has been getting roasted and he’s younger than SGA.

[Anticon]

As terrible as an owner as Cuban has been over most of his ownership of the Mavs this past season he's done a really good job adding winning pieces by finally adding some size in PJ Washington and Gafford.

Tanking last season and getting the #10 pick also worked out well for them as they got a young decent center.

Remember the criticism they got, lol.

[Mk0]

Seriously wtf was SGA thinking there. Insanely low IQ. No timeouts left just make a good contest and live with the outcome.

Game 7 would have been crazy.

I mean he did get the ball first...

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He then got a lot of arm and the player had yet to shoot the ball. The ref reviewed, the ref commentator said it was a foul and this forum said it was a foul.

You can't possible say this is not a foul because he first hit the ball with his hand.

Yeah.. it doesn't matter if he hit ball first. It was still in control and PJ got the shot off through the obvious contact on the arm. That is a foul.

[LaLover11]

Lakers can solve the rebounding and defense issue for you okc fans.

Vando for Josh Giddey trade
It only makes sense

[Repeat 3-peat]

Does anyone have a video link to the crazy 3 that Kyrie hit in the 4th?

Read on Twitter

[The Corey's]

If he had let go of the ball you'd be right, he still had the ball in his hand and Shai hit his elbow. That is a foul all day every day cry about it more it won't change anything.

Accepting this as a foul is to accept mediocrity.

Rule or not rule this should not be a foul.

So getting hit on the arm while releasing a shot isn't a foul?

Not when you get your hands on the damn ball first. Everything else after should be kosher. Including throwing his ass in the front row.

NBA conditioning has people accepting bull

[CobraCommander]

Sga proved himself to me this series -

He was by far the best player in this series -

Not sure what else he could do

[SweaterBae]

Id personally quit watching basketball if that had happened to my team.

Meanwhile the commentators in collusion with the league don't go all in on how bad that foul call was.

You can't even block the shot anymore.

This is absolute nonsense. You clearly don't know what a block is, what a foul is, what a loose ball is. You're seriously suggesting that someone can just walk up to the ball handler, touch the ball, and then hack them on the arm? What?

[dygaction]

Seriously wtf was SGA thinking there. Insanely low IQ. No timeouts left just make a good contest and live with the outcome.

Game 7 would have been crazy.

You know he blocked the ball right? Any contact after that is not a foul.

You better apply for nba referee reform committee. They referees reviewed and determined it was a foul.

[ChipotleWest]

So the 1 seed Thunder with SGA who a lot of people thought should be the MVP and are calling a top 3 player win 2 games against teams that weren’t the injured Zionless Pels? Luka was clearly hobbled throughout the series too.

Are you really trying to detract from a clearly very young team that overachieved and surprised everyone?

Being young matters now?

Luka has been getting roasted and he’s younger than SGA.

Thank you. Luka got roasted when he was 20 losing to prime Kawhi.

[KyRo23]

Ya so. Jump ball.

That's not how the play is called million other times.

Washington never came down with the ball. If he did, then it would have been a jump ball. The right call was made.

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You reward the player for getting his hand on the ball. You don't call the contact on his arm AFTER the ball was touched.

It's never called like that.

I have no skin in the game, and it’s a foul.

You can’t just touch the ball in someone’s hand then do whatever you want after. If you come across the ball on a layup and take a player out, is it not a foul because he grazed the ball first?

The only time these are not fouls in todays NBA is when you hit a player after the ball is released. Not even close to the same situations

[Marvin Martian]

OKC just a few moves away from being a real threat

They had the assets to make those moves and didn't

I think Presti wanted to see what these guys could do before he pulled the trigger on anything. He is gonna make moves now that he knows what he needs.

That is a mistake. You will never know what will happen next season. Presti should have known better.

Everyone thought that OKC would win multiple titles with their KD led core. But then they traded Harden. Then Westbrook got hit with a season ending injury. Then KD got hit with a season ending injury. Then they blew a 3-1 lead against Curry and the core was done.

[Chuck Everett]

Chet is a rookie. I don't blame him. This is on Presti for not bringing in a vet big. He knows you need some size in the playoffs.

That said, I think this year was all about him gauging the team and seeing what he needed to do for their future. He has such an insanely good young core. Now he knows how they fare in the playoff spotlight and can use that massive stash of assets to tool up for a perennial contender.

He had Biyombo and Muscala sitting on the bench the entire series. Daigneault didn't even try them out for a single second. I agree that Presti should have went out and gotten a big worth a darn, instead of the corpse of Gordon Hayward, but I am pretty sure one of those guys could have at least played a 5 minute stretch in this series through six games.

Those 2 really can’t play in the playoffs. They will get destroyed in the pick and roll.
OKC needs a stout 4 so they can continue to play 5 out

Biyombo can't play in the pick and roll? That's like literally his entire reason for being in the NBA. He's in the NBA for defensive and rebounding purposes.

[vulture]

If Chet doesn’t get bullied by a rookie OKC wins that game. He has all summer to add strength

[SweaterBae]

Seriously wtf was SGA thinking there. Insanely low IQ. No timeouts left just make a good contest and live with the outcome.

Game 7 would have been crazy.

You know he blocked the ball right? Any contact after that is not a foul.

You better apply for nba referee reform committee. They referees reviewed and determined it was a foul.

Dude is just making **** up, it's pathetic.