Western Conference | Round 2 | (1) Phoenix Suns vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks (MAVS WIN 4-3)

[Mavrelous]

Luka too big to deal for GSW guards and too quick for bigs on GSW…

Dallas gonna win in 5

Shoutout to you man, most Mavs fans (me included) didn't see them advancing, you called it from the get go, and doubled down when it was 2-0.

[michaelm]

yeah I get Suns fans want to focus on their own team's failures, but Dallas kicked their ass from stem to stern tonight. Absolutely have to give them credit for what happened. After those first 2 games Dallas badly outplayed Phoenix over the last 5.

Chris apparently hobbled by a quad injury which explains his poor play. Unfortunately Cam Payne and Shamet were less than stellar backing him up so I guess they felt they had no choice to play him.

Makes sense. But it has been ever thus, he basically hasn’t ever lasted through the play-offs uninjured. As i said on the other thread his size/basic physiology seem to be against him, he just can’t do it.

[Eric Millegan]

Why bother getting the best record in the NBA? The last 5 teams with the best record didn't reach the Finals.

Rockets, Bucks, Bucks, Jazz, Suns


The last 3 didn't even reach the CONFERENCE Finals.

Another crazy stat. The Warriors have won their last SEVENTEEN Western Conference Playoff Series. The last time they lost was to the Clippers in 2014. In 7.

[vagelis]

Luka too big to deal for GSW guards and too quick for bigs on GSW…

Dallas gonna win in 5

Shoutout to you man, most Mavs fans (me included) didn't see them advancing, you called it from the get go, and doubled down when it was 2-0.

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

[Bob8]

Complex reasons, CP3's play being a major one, but some Mavs fans will tell you it's only Mavs D and Suns being scared of a team they beat a lot in the past.

What about MVP candidate Booker? Where was he last 2 games?

Yeah those two games showed Booker is not a superstar, but I have not looked at him as such anyway, though he has stretch of games when he does look like one. Still I would put the blame first on Monty for not having a plan B and run some plays for Ayton in Q1. If Suns had an advantage in this series it was with DA in the post. CP3 was not his self, it was so weird running the offense thru Crowder who was chucking and turning it over. Those are the two main reasons for the loss from Suns side POV. If Booker was getting good looks he's good enough to make his shots.

The difference between Luka vs. Booker and many other stars, who people put in the same tier as Luka, is that Luka creates everything by himself. On top of that, he plays the best against the best opponents and when it matters, anti-Harden in that regard. Sure, he won’t have efficiency some other players have, because 90% of his shots are unassisted. But you just cannot stop him, and he creates open shots for role players. He’s the system. Switch Booker and Luka and Mavs are lottery team.

[Bob8]

Luka too big to deal for GSW guards and too quick for bigs on GSW…

Dallas gonna win in 5

Shoutout to you man, most Mavs fans (me included) didn't see them advancing, you called it from the get go, and doubled down when it was 2-0.

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

[garrick]

yeah I get Suns fans want to focus on their own team's failures, but Dallas kicked their ass from stem to stern tonight. Absolutely have to give them credit for what happened. After those first 2 games Dallas badly outplayed Phoenix over the last 5.

Chris apparently hobbled by a quad injury which explains his poor play. Unfortunately Cam Payne and Shamet were less than stellar backing him up so I guess they felt they had no choice to play him.

Makes sense. But it has been ever thus, he basically hasn’t ever lasted through the play-offs uninjured. As i said on the other thread his size/basic physiology seem to be against him, he just can’t do it.

He's had the unfortunate luck to be on the Clippers with the prime GSW blocking him and his Hornets teams were generally not that good towards the end of his stay.

Put him on the same team as a stacked GSW for a few years and he wins at least one championship most likley.

[michaelm]

Chris apparently hobbled by a quad injury which explains his poor play. Unfortunately Cam Payne and Shamet were less than stellar backing him up so I guess they felt they had no choice to play him.

Makes sense. But it has been ever thus, he basically hasn’t ever lasted through the play-offs uninjured. As i said on the other thread his size/basic physiology seem to be against him, he just can’t do it.

He's had the unfortunate luck to be on the Clippers with the prime GSW blocking him and his Hornets teams were generally not that good towards the end of his stay.

Put him on the same team as a stacked GSW for a few years and he wins at least one championship most likley.

Sure, I don’t disagree, he has largely been on teams which got to the play-offs on his back and needed heavy minutes from him at 6 foot tall and whatever he weighs as I said.

[styLesdavis]

Shoutout to you man, most Mavs fans (me included) didn't see them advancing, you called it from the get go, and doubled down when it was 2-0.

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

For sure Doncic delivered stat-wise against the Warriors (4 games) with 31/9/6 but another side of the
story is that the had more turnovers (23) than assists (22) in those games - seems like somebody did something right
against him defensively.

[Luke Skyowner]

nobody can guard doncic. he is way more skilled than jordan who was a mere freak. he has literally every arsenal signature move stolen.

I beg you, as a Luka fan, don´t go there.

[Bob8]

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

For sure Doncic delivered stat-wise against the Warriors (4 games) with 31/9/6 but another side of the
story is that the had more turnovers (23) than assists (22) in those games - seems like somebody did something right
against him defensively.

I don’t know what right has someone done, Mavs have won 3:1.

[vagelis]

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

For sure Doncic delivered stat-wise against the Warriors (4 games) with 31/9/6 but another side of the
story is that the had more turnovers (23) than assists (22) in those games - seems like somebody did something right
against him defensively.

He went off in his last game where he had 41pts 15/26 fgs.
But in the 3 previous
7/18 fgs 6 tov
7/17 fgs 2 tov
10/21 fgs 9 tov

[Oscar9992]

Shoutout to you man, most Mavs fans (me included) didn't see them advancing, you called it from the get go, and doubled down when it was 2-0.

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

Mavs didn't play Warriors with Draymond if I am not mistaken.

[Bob8]

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

For sure Doncic delivered stat-wise against the Warriors (4 games) with 31/9/6 but another side of the
story is that the had more turnovers (23) than assists (22) in those games - seems like somebody did something right
against him defensively.

He went off in his last game where he had 41pts 15/26 fgs.
But in the 3 previous
7/18 fgs 6 tov
7/17 fgs 2 tov
10/21 fgs 9 tov

...and Mavs have won 3:1. Or result maybe doesn't matter?

[Bob8]

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

You might check Luka’s performance against Warriors this year. It didn’t look that anyone was stopping him.

Mavs didn't play Warriors with Draymond if I am not mistaken.

I believe he played first game.

[ShazamDaShiznt]

Warriors might sweep the Mavs. Mavs got no bigs, that's like the best case scenario for them. Only teams that could beat the GSW are Bucks (if healthy) and Celtics (due to Horford and Williams)

[Calamity_Cometh]

Congratulations Mavs fans. I wish you good fortune in the wars to come.

Salud.

[Bob8]

Warriors might sweep the Mavs. Mavs got no bigs, that's like the best case scenario for them. Only teams that could beat the GSW are Bucks (if healthy) and Celtics (due to Horford and Williams)

Because bigs proved to be essential in playoffs?

[whatever_]

I really feel like re-visiting the first pages of this thread, specially those about the first 2 games.

[Dundalis]

Why bother getting the best record in the NBA? The last 5 teams with the best record didn't reach the Finals.

Rockets, Bucks, Bucks, Jazz, Suns


The last 3 didn't even reach the CONFERENCE Finals.

Another crazy stat. The Warriors have won their last SEVENTEEN Western Conference Playoff Series. The last time they lost was to the Clippers in 2014. In 7.

Warriors for sure favs. The difference is, both Steph and Klay are clearly 1 or multiple levels below their previous standards.

Luka too big to deal for GSW guards and too quick for bigs on GSW…

Dallas gonna win in 5

Shoutout to you man, most Mavs fans (me included) didn't see them advancing, you called it from the get go, and doubled down when it was 2-0.

Wiggins has the quickness and the size to stay in front of him.
He guarded Morant if we talking about quickness, and he guarded in many occassions Jokic if we talk about strength.
Doncic has all the talent and the moves but I think Wiggins will stay close to him

It doesn't matter. Quickness and strength has zero to do with it. Luka doesn't drive like other NBA players. He has a counter for every counter, and manipulates the PnR to get the best matchup. Wiggins isn't a patch of the defender Kawhi, George or Bridges are. Luka will gladly hunt Wiggins and take his lunch, but he's more likely to hunt Steph.

Warriors might sweep the Mavs. Mavs got no bigs, that's like the best case scenario for them. Only teams that could beat the GSW are Bucks (if healthy) and Celtics (due to Horford and Williams)

Warriors will sweep the Mavs the same way the Suns were supposed to sweep them? The Suns were far and away the worst matchup for the Mavs in the whole playoffs. Warriors will still be favs, but this is absolutely a better matchup for the Mavs than the Suns.