Playoffs 20/21 - G3 - Mavs vs Clippers (Friday, 9:30 PM EST)

[ARTjoMS]

I didn't see KP touching ball much. I don't know what you all expect - his job on offense is to stand in the corner. I did saw 4 assists however and some offensive rebounds in 4th.

[ARTjoMS]

Top management has to demand max player production from a player who is paid the max.

i think it also starting to cause more tension.. in his postgame presscon luka said kp has to post up more.
And everytime kp and his camp hears "post up" they probably cringe and think thats a bad idea. to some extent i agree with them, i dont ever want to see KP post up pf/c or even sfs out there, but where i draw the line is with pg/g out there like reggie jackson/rondo/mann/beverly. i mean man the f up does really have to be a midget before you school them, in shaqs words its supposed to bbq chicken in matchups like that.

That is just misinformation. Tension comes from RC not wanting for him to post up because he deems it to be inefficient. He has even been benched before for trying to post up.

[boogiezen]

I just can't. The problem with KP is that his game suited more in the perimeter. I said it is a problem because the Clips literally just let Kawhi defending him. He liked to dribble the ball and you expect the worst. IF he just develop a post game or be effective defensively, this game would have been different.

This is similar situation when they played Utah early on. They put their best best defensive wing in O'Neal on KP and he was ineffective.

Like what I said, if KP just managed to develop a post game or if not just be effective on defense.

[41Dirk41]

No excuses, this game probably means that KP at Mavs doesn't work. Period.

You can't lose a game where Luka post 44-9-9, you can't play like a pussy in the first home game of PO when you are up 2-0 and can close the serie.

That's tough, very tough.

[GeorgeGervin]

Guys I have an idea for the off-season to fix our weaknesses. Have you heard of a guy named Kristaps Porzingis? I think we should go after him, he's a 7-3 giant so I could easily see him lock the paint on the defensive end, defend the P&R very well, grab tons of rebounds, abuse players in the low post (imagine him posting a 6-1 Rondo lmao he would destroy him). I'm pretty sure he would be a terrific 2nd superstar next to Doncic, we should definitely offer him a max contract.

[arkuo]

Another thing to note is how useless DFS when he's exposed. You really need to upgrade the SF spot and get more production from that position.

[41Dirk41]

Another thing to note is how useless DFS when he's exposed. You really need to upgrade the SF spot and get more production from that position.

Agree.

If we want play with THJ and Kleber in the starting 5 we need a star in that position.

DDR could work.

[arkuo]

Starting small forward is a hotly contested position in the playoffs. You cant have a starting SF that doesn't create his own offense nor defends on the other end. Paul George and Kawhi having great games against DFS because they get to conserve their energy and stand in the corner while defending DFS.

Had we knew this would happen, keeping Barnes might have been a better option. At least Barnes can create his own offense from time to time.

[arkuo]

The only way you lose despite shooting 50% from 3 means your players cant defend a chair. I think you can improve the team by sending out KP and DFS in the summer.

[Mavrelous]

The team is up 2-1, still has HCA against superior team and you want to trade everyone? No one prdeicted Mavs will beat the Clippers, they barely lost game 3 when Kawhi/PG had the games of their life.
Absolutely Mavs can't defend a Kawhi and PG, Mavs have no defensive stopper, did anyone actually thought Maxi is going to stop Kawhi?
Clipper played the game of their life and still it took:
1. Abysmally bad defensive effort from KP, Luka and Brunson.
2. Abysmally bad day for KP ofensively.
3. WCS had uncharacteristically bad day.
4. THJ and the 2nd unit killing the Mavs 19 pt lead.

It's 3rd game and 3 pt shooting isn't cooling down, Luka seems locked in, before this series started I though it would range from sweep if Mavs get cold, to 7 games if Mavs be lights out, I didn't even dream of being up 2-0.
Hope for the best next game, lots of things went bad in this one, except Luka, I can't believe the zone he's in right now, it's 3 games, and each one to the pantheon.

[Archx]

Why are you acting like it's wrong to point out that he went 7/13 from both 3 and FT? I'm not sure why the jab is necessary. We are supposed to just ignore that he struggles from the FT line and act like it doesn't exist? I just pointed out numbers.

It doesn't matter if the FTs didn't matter in this game, they will eventually matter. Some things are a pattern.

It's like if someone drives drunk and nothing bad happens, should we say : "It didn't matter this time anyway!" Something is bad when it increases the odds of something negative happening, not just when something bad actually happens.

Chill we get it you tell us 10 times whenever Mavs have a game. LBJ is pretty bad at the line his entire career and turned out quite ok. With some players you can't have everything perfect.

By 10 times whenever the Mavs have a game, you mean I talked about it in not even 10 games in the whole year? Maybe you need to chill and realize you're greatly exaggerating. I'm pretty sure I just mentioned it once in this thread before you made it a thing. I didn't even commented on it, but just put the stat line.

These are game threads and the same things are said again and again as people react live to them. Heck, the same subject keeps coming back years after years even outside of game threads.

I'm also pretty sure people have talked a lot about 'Lebron's FTs for many years and still acknowledge he is a top 2 player of all-time.

If Luka ever goes 7/13 in another playoffs game, be sure that there's a good chance that me or someone else points it out in a game thread. It sticks out. Accept it.

Go read every other game thread again then. You're so frustrated with what i said that you didn't even noticed i never disagreed with you. And i never made it a thing, you did. My post was short and you replied with a lenghty answer which everyone already knows about.

Simply put Luka sucks at FTs, we know for a long time, but this is not the core of Mavs losing problems. And the thing is, he is going to shoot similar % next game aswell. Or not, hopefully i'm wrong.

[XTraderXL]

The KP gamble is looking like a complete failure. Is he injured or does he just not care anymore. He needs to go.

Its even worse than a failure. The guy is a pussy and cant play.

[Mavrelous]

The KP trade was brilliant, a classic Donnie/Cuban rabbit out of the hat, the KP unconditional max extension, was classic Donnie/Cuban total disregard to cap, salary structure and injury potential of really tall guys.

[JJP]

You traded for KP for Dennis Smith and draft picks. The KP trade will eventually turn into another player if he's traded. So is there someone on this board who was actually against that trade at the time? Someone here thought we should keep a disgruntled Dennis Smith? Because I seriously doubt you could get a decent backup PG for Dennis Smith right now. Even the draft picks we gave up won't equate to what you will likely get for KP if he's traded

As for DFS, the wing position could be upgraded ... but you don't want to trade him. You want DFS in the rotation

[Bluelabel24]

I didn't see KP touching ball much. I don't know what you all expect - his job on offense is to stand in the corner. I did saw 4 assists however and some offensive rebounds in 4th.

i dont understand the "i dont know what you all expect" regarding KP. i think its reasonable to expect more, just more. show more effort when setting screens, rebound more than 3-4 and block shots become a defensive anchor, become more of a lob threat which he cant do if wont set screens. . the guys is getting paid MAX, and already being treated with kid gloves by getting so much rest and letting other guys pick up the slack. he is so soft out there. cant even score on frkin reggie jackson. i dont know how you can defend that play involving him. hes just so scared of contact and it shows. i think luka gets pissed seeing that too. imagine having a 7'3 teammate being guarded by a 6'3 guard and he wont even try to exert his physical advantages, its gonna piss you off too.

[Mavrelous]

Someone on the GB said he quit on the team, and it certainly is a possibility, I hope I'm wrong, and it wouldn't make sense for RC to play him this heavily if he did, Boban is a vood mismatch for 10 minutes at least, but it's not looking good, your star is giving it all on the court and you play your max player just to hide his quitting until you trade him.

Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk

[arkuo]

I didn't see KP touching ball much. I don't know what you all expect - his job on offense is to stand in the corner. I did saw 4 assists however and some offensive rebounds in 4th.

i dont understand the "i dont know what you all expect" regarding KP. i think its reasonable to expect more, just more. show more effort when setting screens, rebound more than 3-4 and block shots become a defensive anchor, become more of a lob threat which he cant do if wont set screens. . the guys is getting paid MAX, and already being treated with kid gloves by getting so much rest and letting other guys pick up the slack. he is so soft out there. cant even score on frkin reggie jackson. i dont know how you can defend that play involving him. hes just so scared of contact and it shows. i think luka gets pissed seeing that too. imagine having a 7'3 teammate being guarded by a 6'3 guard and he wont even try to exert his physical advantages, its gonna piss you off too.

He is scared of contact because he is his family's major source of livelihood, it seems. So his brother is always on his ear on everything. They stand to earn millions more if they can extend his playing years.

[oldshoolballer]

Boban is probably a better option at this point.

[JJP]

I doubt there's any reason to over-think KP's fit here. He's probably not as mobile as this Mavericks system needs. His effort is less than what you might expect - and perhaps he's not as invested in the system - but I'm not sure we can gauge that.

If he doesn't step up - or doesn't know how to step up - then the Mavericks will soon know. This playoff should be able to tell them all they need to know. If he doesn't step up, he should be traded this off-season. Time is not really a luxury the Mavs have given player salaries.

[XTraderXL]

I doubt there's any reason to over-think KP's fit here. He's probably not as mobile as this Mavericks system needs. His effort is less than what you might expect - and perhaps he's not as invested in the system - but I'm not sure we can gauge that.

If he doesn't step up - or doesn't know how to step up - then the Mavericks will soon know. This playoff should be able to tell them all they need to know. If he doesn't step up, he should be traded this off-season. Time is not really a luxury the Mavs have given player salaries.

Will know? I think they should know by now. KP is just not a legit #2 option. Probably not even a #3 for a contending team. If they had a legit #2, I would pick the Mavs to go to the finals. They still might do it but I doubt that Luka can keep playing this well and whithout him in beast mode the Mavs cant even win a series.