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

[Eyeamok]

Hindsight is 20/20 but if Cuban had waited to sell a large percentage of his stake in the Mavericks, he probably would have made more money. But he knew the Mavericks would be going to the conference finals at the start of the season.

[G R E Y]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

And that's the regular season and they had the better record.

But if you have to change the parameters of the POs to favour the 'better' team that lost in them then they're not the better team. They're the team that didn't maximize their strengths as well, or had their weaknesses better exploited, or we're not as experienced in closing it out.

Mavs were better in these. And the result reflects it. The tougher the competition the less margin for error and rebounding and clutchness were crucial difference makers. Had Mavs had an even decent FT shooting night in a previous game, this would have been over even sooner.

[G R E Y]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

Yes, OKC would win 50-game series because their core is younger, but not because they are better. That's also why they fared better in regular season and get the 1st spot IMHO. I expect some of those 50 games would somehow overlap with Ramadan and at one point Doncic would start to rely more on his recovery beers.

What does Luka recovery beers have to do with Ramadan? Do you mean Irving?

[ChipotleWest]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

Yes, OKC would win 50-game series because their core is younger, but not because they are better. That's also why they fared better in regular season and get the 1st spot IMHO. I expect some of those 50 games would somehow overlap with Ramadan and at one point Doncic would start to rely more on his recovery beers.

What are we saying in this hypothetical 50-game series, that it's not a playoff atmosphere? Because nobody can tell me Dallas had the favorable whistle this series, OKC did even in Dallas.

The only time we saw both teams at full strength in the regular season, Dallas won 146-111. This team is heavily underrated because of not winning as many games but they only had PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford for 30 games, and Kyrie missed 24 games, other players missed time. If you pace out Mavs W/L record since the trade deadline over the entire season Mavs win 60 games and are the #1 seed. But I love that most people underrate Dallas actually, I think the team thrives off of it.

[EmpireFalls]

Luka finally decided not to be Donbrick and lo and behold they won. Dallas has a better team around him than OKC does around SGA.

[ChipotleWest]

Luka finally decided not to be Donbrick and lo and behold they won. Dallas has a better team around him than OKC does around SGA.

Dude he was in tons of pain injured. He didn't just decide to miss those shots that he was making with regularity all season. There's also zero history of Luka being a playoff choker. He has always done his part, just didn't always have teammates do theirs like this year's team.

[Texas Chuck]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

Nothing weird about it. If you subscribe the Bill Parcell maxim of you are what your record says you are, OKC was clearly the better team this year.

Now, Dallas made significant changes to their team at the deadline. And the current version of the Mavs actually outperformed the Thunder. So one could argue the Mavs team they had to face was as good or better than the Thunder.

And of course matchups matter a ton as Dallas knows all too well. In 06-07 they had a season in which RS and playoffs combined they lost only 19 games. 8 of those were to one team.

Meaning Dallas went 2-8 against GSW and went 67-11 against everyone else.

Who wins a 50 game series? Who knows. We've never seen anything like that and I can't pretend to guess which team would have a clear advantage with that much familiarity.

But nothing wrong with you thinking OKC was the better team. They had the best player in the series and most of the time that's what decides it.

[tamaraw08]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

You mean a better “regular season l”team lost, right?
Playoff atmosphere are much different. Pace is slower snd refs are not calling those tack fouls… most of the time and defense get much tougher. Dallas played a horrendous first half with so many turnovers while OKC shot so well and yet Dallas buckled down and played playoff basketball and caught up and still won.

[ChipotleWest]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

You mean a better “regular season l”team lost, right?

I actually think that's even highly debatable. Mavs just had a totally different team until the trade deadline than they do now which was about 50 games of the season, Kyrie missed 24 games, and they still only won 7 less games than OKC.

If you just want to do records with no context ok I guess.

[Mr. Perfect]

Not sure where this notion that OKC is a better team comes from, they are a more talented team top to bottom. sure but without experience that talent doesn't necessarily translate to playoff success.

They were also completely healthy and truthfully should have been a 5 game gentleman sweep if not for that Game 4 meltdown. OKC played two good games, 1 & 6. The Mavs looked like the better team for most of the series. There's no asterisk here, OKC just got beat by the better more experienced team. Their time is coming as long as ownership is willing to pay the luxury tax.

[MoneyTalks41890]

The better team is the team that won the playoff series.

But I think it was a close series and I enjoyed it even though my team lost. Glad to be watching relevant playoff games again, hope I get to watch a lot more of them hopefully deeper into the bracket.

[jc23]

Congrats Mavs and good season OKC.

[ChipotleWest]

Read on Twitter

[jkvonny]

This defeat is purely on OKC front office.
They saw their team getting killed because of size against teams like the Lakers and still didn't trade for a good rebounder or big man.

This season would have been depressing for fans if they got Lakers in the first round. It is not like Lakers are the only team with size. Minnesota would have also beaten then purely because of size. Dallas did beat them because of rebounding.

Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings.....

[jkvonny]

tried telling people. Luka vs Jokic is pre-ordained since the all-star game. Luka winning a championship will happen this season because the NBA wants to lock him in as one of the faces of the league. They want that Euro market fully invested in him and the NBA. He can't ascend without first winning a title. League is rigged y'all. Doesn't mean you can't still enjoy watching world-class athletes play the game you love. Like a scripted TV show it's still enjoyable

Your trolling act is getting way too obvious, man, you need to tone it down a bit.

The Euro market, LOL. Slovenia has smaller population than 36 US states. And the rest of Europe won't watch more because there is a Slovenian winning a title.Especially with Jokic already winning last year.

Hes weird.

Many of us have told him that Dallas/DFW is the bigger market . now hes using the Euro angle.

[jkvonny]

Kyrie needed a true Slavic heavy drinker, eater of bad food, to get to know real emotion and bromance, and he's thriving now.

Smoking cigarettes too.and huks

[BooomBaby]

OKC has nothing to be ashamed of. Should've won the game (and series), but they'll be stronger nest year with MVP Shai.

Never really paid attention to this young team till this post-season, but they're no doubt for real.

Love watching them play and I look forward to seeing them grow in the future.

Really wish they would've knocked out, Luka's cry baby ass out, but he won't last too much longer.

[Astaluego]

Luka is a tough guy, somehow it seems that his knee is healing, while he plays in the Playoffs...
I am rooting for Denver now, for the conference finals...
first of all because I love Jokic but above all because I think that They are a better cooldown for the Mavs...
I think the Wolves are a terrible of a matchup for the Mavs, even worse than Boston, in a hypothetical final...
What do you think...?

[Baz]

Weird to say this. But it feels like the better team lost. If Dallas and OKC play 50 games I feel like OKC wins.

I still think a 50 win series would favor Dallas IF injuries and fitness was not a thing. Who's the more fit team? Yeah, OKC. Better? A 7 game series is 99% of the time enough to determine the better team. Remember for most of the Mavericks regular season they were running with Grant Williams instead of Washington/Gafford & Lively + Kyrie were out for half of it. The better team won in this series. And Luka was not even healthy for it.

[jkvonny]

Frustrating game to watch from the thunder perspective. Get some more physicality in the front line or GTFO, Sam.

I could see the Mavs winning it all but I could also see them losing in 5 games next round. Seem like a wide variance team.

Eh. I don't get the frustration. The Thunder could have definitely looked to get a big man this season and Richard Jefferson said it a few times during the broadcast. But guess what? The Thunder can still do that this off season!!! AND they're all still young. NO RUSH.

This is true. A team basically never wins the title in their first year making the playoffs. I honestly can't remember the last time it happened with a young team. Boston did in 2008 but had acquired 2 superstars in their prime with previous playoff experience.

Thunder needed a good playoff run and needed to get their heart broken. They needed to feel the sting. That feeling will be as important to their growth as the frontcourt piece they need to go out and acquire.

Portland. Decades ago. 1977.