2021-22 RealGM All-Season Awards - Discussion Thread

[Doctor MJ]

I wasn't talking about Finals MVP. It is an award I argued 13 years ago should be eliminated. I've changed my mind on a lot of NBA related things over those years but not that award.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=893156

My point was +/- doesn't work in small sample sizes and can only be a very small part of player analysis when you are doing such analysis.

Okay to be clear:

There is a difference between using the +/- over a random 4-7 game stand to make a definitive statement about the player in general, and using +/- to hammer home the fact that a guy on a losing team was indeed losing when he was on the court.

If you personally believe that it's a total fluke that GS is up 3-0 right now, you go right ahead and make that argument.

If you personally believe that it's a total fluke that Dallas is losing the Doncic minutes, you go right ahead and make that argument.

But this is not me trying to shoehorn +/- into small sample size theater out of nowhere. When people think that the best guy in the series also happens to be on the team that is losing every game because his production is so high, it makes perfect sense to ask whether there's +/- data that suggests this is a "winning because of when Player X is on the bench". And that's not what the data is telling us.

that sounds like an odd argument to use

not because of curry being or not better than luka, but because it is saying "if team A beats team B then best player in team A must have outplayed best player in team B" which is a weird reasoning to use

i dont like using who won a series to argue who was the better player in the series, even if in a majority of cases it may be the case (your star outplaying the other team star surely helps with winning)

To be clear:

I'm giving a series of "offramps" here which people can use to explain why they come to different conclusions to me. You've bolded one such offramp, but I wouldn't have included the next one if I thought that was the only way people could conclude Doncic was better.

[Texas Chuck]

Yeah the +/- argument continues to suck, but its going to keep getting made so what you gonna do?

I have Curry the better player in this series too simply because Luka's defense has been that bad.

But worth noting that Luka has a potential assist number of like 17 per game in the series with an actual assist number of 5. And we can all see the open shots the role players are getting and missing. Brilliant poster jamaalstar did the math over on the GB and if Dallas role players shot even 30% from 3 on the good shots they are getting, Dallas would be up 2-1. Even with Luka's poor defense.

So yeah this idea that because Luka's +/- is terrible that he's been a disaster is simply bad data. And we have an obligation not to just take that at face value. He's been the best offensive player in the series. And not just by counting stats in the box score. But by the quality of shots he continues to create for his team.

[Doctor MJ]

Yeah the +/- argument continues to suck, but its going to keep getting made so what you gonna do?

I have Curry the better player in this series too simply because Luka's defense has been that bad.

But worth noting that Luka has a potential assist number of like 17 per game in the series with an actual assist number of 5. And we can all see the open shots the role players are getting and missing. Brilliant poster jamaalstar did the math over on the GB and if Dallas role players shot even 30% from 3 on the good shots they are getting, Dallas would be up 2-1. Even with Luka's poor defense.

So yeah this idea that because Luka's +/- is terrible that he's been a disaster is simply bad data. And we have an obligation not to just take that at face value. He's been the best offensive player in the series. And not just by counting stats in the box score. But by the quality of shots he continues to create for his team.

Who said he's been a disaster?

[Texas Chuck]

your team gets destroyed this badly when you're on the court AND it isn't as bad when you're off,

Are you saying disaster isn't a good way to describe the scenario you are describing?

I'm simply pointing out, that even with Luka's poor defense, his offense has been so good that if the normally reliable role player shooters shot even a poor rather than completely tragic percentage, Dallas could easily have won multiple games in this series. He's creating great shots and he's been productive with his own offense.

It's just not as simple as the Mavs have been better while he's on the bench than on the court as you have continued to make it. Just like in a game when DFS shoots 8/12 and Bertans shoots 5/6, and Luka's plus minus looks insane as result, its not that simple either. In that case he benefited from outlier shooting numbers to the positive as opposed to the negative.

Which is of course why several keep trying and failing to point out these sample sizes are too small to make it all about raw +/-.

[eminence]

Yeah the +/- argument continues to suck, but its going to keep getting made so what you gonna do?

I have Curry the better player in this series too simply because Luka's defense has been that bad.

But worth noting that Luka has a potential assist number of like 17 per game in the series with an actual assist number of 5. And we can all see the open shots the role players are getting and missing. Brilliant poster jamaalstar did the math over on the GB and if Dallas role players shot even 30% from 3 on the good shots they are getting, Dallas would be up 2-1. Even with Luka's poor defense.

So yeah this idea that because Luka's +/- is terrible that he's been a disaster is simply bad data. And we have an obligation not to just take that at face value. He's been the best offensive player in the series. And not just by counting stats in the box score. But by the quality of shots he continues to create for his team.

Could you link me to Jamaal's post?

That seems unlikely at first glance unless they're also currently shooting a very good rate on poor looks as non-Luka players are currently shooting 30.3% from deep on the series.

[Texas Chuck]

Could you link me to Jamaal's post?

That seems unlikely at first glance unless they're also currently shooting a very good rate on poor looks as non-Luka players are currently shooting 30.3% from deep on the series.

Yeah looks like I had it slightly wrong as he was just talking about 1 game and not 2., but this is the post I was thinking of(from the series thread on the GB):

[
We'd have to go back and look at those shots to make a definite statement. I don't think any defense is quite good enough to cause Bertans, Bullock, and Kleber to go 0-14 without some of that being luck. I wasn't looking for this early on, but in the second half when the cold streak was established, we saw Bullock and Bertans miss some wide-open shots. I can't think of a reason to give Golden State credit for those.

I thought Dallas had a real shot to win the past 2 games. Had Bertans/Bullock/Kleber shot just 30% on their 3s last night (significantly below their regular season and especially post season averages), that's a Mavs win. Did Golden State do something to cause they shot shoot 0%? Like had those 3 shot 30% we could still say GS played great defense. At 0% you have to assume there's some shooting luck built into that.

But as I think of that I can't help but think about Houston in 2018. Is Golden State historically a beneficiary of shooting luck, or is their something built into their play that encourages these cold spells? It's not something I have a hypothesis for. I do think they're a team that has chaos work in their favor. But last night didn't feel like an especially chaotic game.

But the point remains in combination with the number of potential assists Luka has this series. He's been really good on offense which is hidden somewhat by the poor shot-making of some tired players.

[Doctor MJ]

your team gets destroyed this badly when you're on the court AND it isn't as bad when you're off,

Are you saying disaster isn't a good way to describe the scenario you are describing?

I'm simply pointing out, that even with Luka's poor defense, his offense has been so good that if the normally reliable role player shooters shot even a poor rather than completely tragic percentage, Dallas could easily have won multiple games in this series. He's creating great shots and he's been productive with his own offense.

It's just not as simple as the Mavs have been better while he's on the bench than on the court as you have continued to make it. Just like in a game when DFS shoots 8/12 and Bertans shoots 5/6, and Luka's plus minus looks insane as result, its not that simple either. In that case he benefited from outlier shooting numbers to the positive as opposed to the negative.

Which is of course why several keep trying and failing to point out these sample sizes are too small to make it all about raw +/-.

Well yes, I would say that "disaster" isn't how I'd be looking to describe Doncic's play in the Warrior series.

My initial post in this particular back & forth was in response to someone who thought Doncic had clearly been the best player in the series against the Warriors, so that's what I was pushing back against, which is not the same thing as going to the GB and making a thread like "Luka's been exposed!".

I did also try to take care to point out diverges in interpretation that could leave someone siding with Doncic here, rather than saying people were idiots if they thought this.

And to be clear:

I'm not saying the Mavs would be better benching Doncic. I pointed out what I did to make clear on no uncertain terms that the Warriors have just plain been beating the Mavs handily with Doncic on the floor, so we're not talking about a situation where it's at all accurate for people to conclude "When Doncic is on the floor, the Mavs have been the better team", which is something I always look for when looking at guys on teams that lose the playoff series.

Of course you can still feel that the best player on the court is on a team that is getting its ass kicked, but I frankly don't think it should ever be taken as obvious that this is the case when the two teams in question play the game so differently.

As I've said before: If you know Team X plays entirely differently than Team Y to the point where the players literally approach every moment with a very different mindset, and you know that Team X has repeatedly reached far higher highs than Team Y, then I think it's worth hesitating before assuming that the guy dominating the ball for Team Y is the most valuable player on the court.

And to be crystal clear: I know you're not saying Doncic has been the best overall player on the court because you're critical of his defense, but the person I was responding to was talking overall and so that was my focus. Shifting to an offense-only focus doesn't necessarily change my stance, but I'm happy to acknowledge that the offense argument is much stronger than the overall argument.

[eminence]

Could you link me to Jamaal's post?

That seems unlikely at first glance unless they're also currently shooting a very good rate on poor looks as non-Luka players are currently shooting 30.3% from deep on the series.

Yeah looks like I had it slightly wrong as he was just talking about 1 game and not 2., but this is the post I was thinking of(from the series thread on the GB):

[
We'd have to go back and look at those shots to make a definite statement. I don't think any defense is quite good enough to cause Bertans, Bullock, and Kleber to go 0-14 without some of that being luck. I wasn't looking for this early on, but in the second half when the cold streak was established, we saw Bullock and Bertans miss some wide-open shots. I can't think of a reason to give Golden State credit for those.

I thought Dallas had a real shot to win the past 2 games. Had Bertans/Bullock/Kleber shot just 30% on their 3s last night (significantly below their regular season and especially post season averages), that's a Mavs win. Did Golden State do something to cause they shot shoot 0%? Like had those 3 shot 30% we could still say GS played great defense. At 0% you have to assume there's some shooting luck built into that.

But as I think of that I can't help but think about Houston in 2018. Is Golden State historically a beneficiary of shooting luck, or is their something built into their play that encourages these cold spells? It's not something I have a hypothesis for. I do think they're a team that has chaos work in their favor. But last night didn't feel like an especially chaotic game.

But the point remains in combination with the number of potential assists Luka has this series. He's been really good on offense which is hidden somewhat by the poor shot-making of some tired players.

I think those numbers are actually for Game 3. But yeah, certainly winnable in the sense of just needing to hit a few more shots.

Luka has been quite good on offense, I certainly agree there. I'd lean Steph on O too for the series, but close and can see folks preferring Luka.

[Colbinii]

Yeah the +/- argument continues to suck, but its going to keep getting made so what you gonna do?

I have Curry the better player in this series too simply because Luka's defense has been that bad.

But worth noting that Luka has a potential assist number of like 17 per game in the series with an actual assist number of 5. And we can all see the open shots the role players are getting and missing. Brilliant poster jamaalstar did the math over on the GB and if Dallas role players shot even 30% from 3 on the good shots they are getting, Dallas would be up 2-1. Even with Luka's poor defense.

So yeah this idea that because Luka's +/- is terrible that he's been a disaster is simply bad data. And we have an obligation not to just take that at face value. He's been the best offensive player in the series. And not just by counting stats in the box score. But by the quality of shots he continues to create for his team.

Could you link me to Jamaal's post?

That seems unlikely at first glance unless they're also currently shooting a very good rate on poor looks as non-Luka players are currently shooting 30.3% from deep on the series.

Per NBA.com

0/0 on very tight
1/6 on tight (Luka 2/3)
8/29 Open (Luka 7/20)
24/74 Wide Open (Luka 3/6)

[Texas Chuck]

And to be crystal clear: I know you're not saying Doncic has been the best overall player on the court because you're critical of his defense, but the person I was responding to was talking overall and so that was my focus. Shifting to an offense-only focus doesn't necessarily change my stance, but I'm happy to acknowledge that the offense argument is much stronger than the overall argument.

Yeah, I'm not a guy who looks at offense only and try not to look at it with too much emphasis, though for players like Luka or Steph clearly its more than a 50/50 split. But I know others really put an emphasis on individual offense and view defense more through a team lens so they could reach a different conclusion.

I certainly don't think its crazy to say Luka's been the best player, especially if you haven't noticed how bad the defense has been. But I think in game three the Warriors shot 11/12 on layups(and one rather emphatic dunk ) against him. That's both a ton of layups to be conceding and of course essentially no resistance against them. And he wasn't much better in games 1 and 2.

Meanwhile Curry has been playing his defensive role really effectively. He's doing a great job showing and holding Luka up just long enough for Wiggins to get back and then getting back to his man. He's struggled some with rotations, just like all the Warriors have, but he's not been a weakness by any means. It's enough for me to give the edge to Steph.


And I agree it can be tough to just eye test which player is better with teams with such different approaches on the offensive end.

[Texas Chuck]

Yeah the +/- argument continues to suck, but its going to keep getting made so what you gonna do?

I have Curry the better player in this series too simply because Luka's defense has been that bad.

But worth noting that Luka has a potential assist number of like 17 per game in the series with an actual assist number of 5. And we can all see the open shots the role players are getting and missing. Brilliant poster jamaalstar did the math over on the GB and if Dallas role players shot even 30% from 3 on the good shots they are getting, Dallas would be up 2-1. Even with Luka's poor defense.

So yeah this idea that because Luka's +/- is terrible that he's been a disaster is simply bad data. And we have an obligation not to just take that at face value. He's been the best offensive player in the series. And not just by counting stats in the box score. But by the quality of shots he continues to create for his team.

Could you link me to Jamaal's post?

That seems unlikely at first glance unless they're also currently shooting a very good rate on poor looks as non-Luka players are currently shooting 30.3% from deep on the series.

Per NBA.com

0/0 on very tight
1/6 on tight (Luka 2/3)
8/29 Open (Luka 7/20)
24/74 Wide Open (Luka 3/6)

yeah this is essentially my point. Dallas(and thus Luka obviously) is generating great shots. They just aren't making them. The series feels like a blow out, but the teams are much closer to each other with Dallas on the wrong end of shot variance(in part due to fatigue, so Golden State is correctly focusing their defense on Luka and daring those guys to beat them--and for 3 games they haven't been able to.)

[Colbinii]

Could you link me to Jamaal's post?

That seems unlikely at first glance unless they're also currently shooting a very good rate on poor looks as non-Luka players are currently shooting 30.3% from deep on the series.

Per NBA.com

0/0 on very tight
1/6 on tight (Luka 2/3)
8/29 Open (Luka 7/20)
24/74 Wide Open (Luka 3/6)

yeah this is essentially my point. Dallas(and thus Luka obviously) is generating great shots. They just aren't making them. The series feels like a blow out, but the teams are much closer to each other with Dallas on the wrong end of shot variance(in part due to fatigue, so Golden State is correctly focusing their defense on Luka and daring those guys to beat them--and for 3 games they haven't been able to.)

The warriors are 11/24 on wide-opens [not including Curry] and 8/29 [Not including Curry] on Open 3s.

The Warriors are dominating at the rim, 44/54 in the RA while the Mavericks have just 23 attempts in the restricted area.

[tsherkin]

yeah this is essentially my point. Dallas(and thus Luka obviously) is generating great shots. They just aren't making them. The series feels like a blow out, but the teams are much closer to each other with Dallas on the wrong end of shot variance(in part due to fatigue, so Golden State is correctly focusing their defense on Luka and daring those guys to beat them--and for 3 games they haven't been able to.)

That certainly matches the eye test. Kleber was getting wide open shots in the corner and on the left wing and just bricking them. And then he started to get hesitant, which worsened things. Bullock just couldn't buy a damned basket in G3 and that really assassinated Dallas' chances. Luka, Dinwiddie and Brunson were all clicking, but their spacers just couldn't get it done and that's a lot of shots. Dallas, outside of those three, was 5/27 from the floor. Those 3 were 25/48. That's the story of the game right there in a nutshell.

Dallas has lost 7 of 12 quarters this series so far. They've been down after the first twice, won all of the second quarters, lost all of the third quarters and have lost two of the 3 4th quarters, just to lend some extra perspective. I don't know how much that'll add, since it mostly just means they're losing regularly, but they haven't been able to keep their foot down on the throttle even when they've managed to get ahead because they have relied so heavily on a steady diet of 3s. They've taken 138 compared to Golden State's 89, and are shooting 32.6% compared to Golden State's 39.3%. Dallas is shooting 52.5% from inside the arc, while the Warriors are shooting 60.9%. And that's... the series, right there in a nutshell, basically.

[jalengreen]

Read on Twitter

luka generates such great shots it's crazy

(i dont agree with the 'glimmer of hope' the series is obviously over but yeah)

[Texas Chuck]

Steve Kerr just got my COY vote for his pre-game presser. Direct to the heart of the issue as always.

[falcolombardi]

And to be crystal clear: I know you're not saying Doncic has been the best overall player on the court because you're critical of his defense, but the person I was responding to was talking overall and so that was my focus. Shifting to an offense-only focus doesn't necessarily change my stance, but I'm happy to acknowledge that the offense argument is much stronger than the overall argument.

Yeah, I'm not a guy who looks at offense only and try not to look at it with too much emphasis, though for players like Luka or Steph clearly its more than a 50/50 split. But I know others really put an emphasis on individual offense and view defense more through a team lens so they could reach a different conclusion.

I certainly don't think its crazy to say Luka's been the best player, especially if you haven't noticed how bad the defense has been. But I think in game three the Warriors shot 11/12 on layups(and one rather emphatic dunk ) against him. That's both a ton of layups to be conceding and of course essentially no resistance against them. And he wasn't much better in games 1 and 2.

Meanwhile Curry has been playing his defensive role really effectively. He's doing a great job showing and holding Luka up just long enough for Wiggins to get back and then getting back to his man. He's struggled some with rotations, just like all the Warriors have, but he's not been a weakness by any means. It's enough for me to give the edge to Steph.


And I agree it can be tough to just eye test which player is better with teams with such different approaches on the offensive end.

kinda off topic but was this not true for jokic in his series too?

dallas has better defenders for sure but i dont remember jokic getting much criticism for warriors scoring a really high percentage and amount of inside shots on him which i found odd

not because it was necesarrilt jokic fault, but because i dont remember other players getting the same benefit of the doubt when they allow tons of scoring against them (as in possesioms they guarded directly or as rim protectors)

i am unsure if it was jokic fault, but also found it odd how almost nobody wanted to consider/analize it may have been to any extent

[Texas Chuck]

And to be crystal clear: I know you're not saying Doncic has been the best overall player on the court because you're critical of his defense, but the person I was responding to was talking overall and so that was my focus. Shifting to an offense-only focus doesn't necessarily change my stance, but I'm happy to acknowledge that the offense argument is much stronger than the overall argument.

Yeah, I'm not a guy who looks at offense only and try not to look at it with too much emphasis, though for players like Luka or Steph clearly its more than a 50/50 split. But I know others really put an emphasis on individual offense and view defense more through a team lens so they could reach a different conclusion.

I certainly don't think its crazy to say Luka's been the best player, especially if you haven't noticed how bad the defense has been. But I think in game three the Warriors shot 11/12 on layups(and one rather emphatic dunk ) against him. That's both a ton of layups to be conceding and of course essentially no resistance against them. And he wasn't much better in games 1 and 2.

Meanwhile Curry has been playing his defensive role really effectively. He's doing a great job showing and holding Luka up just long enough for Wiggins to get back and then getting back to his man. He's struggled some with rotations, just like all the Warriors have, but he's not been a weakness by any means. It's enough for me to give the edge to Steph.


And I agree it can be tough to just eye test which player is better with teams with such different approaches on the offensive end.

kinda off topic but was this not true for jokic in his series too?

dallas has better defenders for sure but i dont remember jokic getting much criticism for warriors scoring a really high percentage and amount of inside shots on him which i found odd

not because it was necesarrilt jokic fault, but because i dont remember other players getting the same benefit of the doubt when they allow tons of scoring against them (as in possesioms they guarded directly or as rim protectors)

i am unsure if it was jokic fault, but also found it odd how almost nobody wanted to consider/analize it may have been to any extent

I wonder if because the Nuggets weren't seen as any kind of threat to advance, if people just didn't pay it much mind? Whereas Dallas heading into this series had shown they were potentially a threat(though clearly that hasn't materialized) and thus Luka is facing more criticism for his defense because there is more at stake?

Spitballing.

[Jaivl]

#1 Jokic
#2 Giannis
#3 Embiid
#4 Curry (Durant is around here too)
#5 Doncic
#6 LeBron
#7 Tatum
#8 Butler
#9 Harden
#10-12 Gobert/Mitchell/Morant

Of the mentioned in the OP, I have Tatum and Butler solidly in my top 10, with an argument for Morant. Young and DeRozan are next in line with others like Green, Towns and Paul.

Leonard is an unknown at this point, and so is Paul George. Lol @ Anthony Davis.

That's a hell of a top 20ish.

Top 8 (9 with KD) holding really well. Butler would rise some and Durant drop a bit, I guess.

Let's just not talk about the bottom part.

[eminence]

If the Celtics close out tonight it's very likely my top 4 will be Jokic/Giannis/Curry/Tatum in some order. Thinking about Embiid in this post, Luka/Butler will be his competition for the 5th spot.

Joel Embiid
Sixers 51-31, 45-23 w/Embiid, 6-8 without, 14-7 w/Harden, #12 Offense, #12 Defense, 4 seed, +2.57 SRS
68 games played, 2297 minutes
30.6 pts/g, 11.7 reb/g, 4.2 ast/g, 1.1 stl/g, 1.5 blk/g, 3.1 tov/g
109 TS+
117.4 Ortg, 109.8 Drtg, +7.6 Net
+11.5 on/off

Strong overall RS from Embiid, missed most of his games pretty early and his team fell behind, couldn't quite get back over the hump to grab a higher seed (2-4 were tied, 2 games back on Miami in the first slot). Wasn't my pick for MVP, but would've been on my ballot and overall a good RS without any big holes. Certainly the type of player who could move up my POY ballot with a big playoff run.

Round 1 vs the 5 seed +2.38 Raptors
Game 1 - 19/15/4 on meh efficiency, Maxey/Harris play great and the squad races out to a big 1st half lead and a going away 20 pt win. Not a bad game by any means, but not particularly notable for a POY candidate.
Game 2 - 31/11/0 on good efficiency, but Sixers really ran away with the game in the 2nd quarter while Embiid was on the bench. Shoutout to Maxey as likely the Sixers best player again. A good but not great game from Embiid.
Game 3 - 33/13/2 on good efficiency, slow start from Embiid, but a huge 2nd half and a big OT to get the road win and pretty much ice the series win going up 3-0. Very good game from Embiid.
Game 4 - 21/8/3 on meh efficiency, Raptors get their 1st win. Whole Sixers squad is pretty flat. Not surprising to let one drop up 3-0.
Game 5 - 20/11/4 on meh efficiency, now this one was a bit surprising. Not largely on Embiid, probably the Sixers brightest spot, but the team got roughed up a bit in a game they should've been looking to close out. Raptors dominated the 2nd while Embiid was on the bench.
Game 6 - 33/10/1 on great efficiency, that's how to close a series on the road. Dominating 2nd half from the Sixers, team really firing on all cylinders. Very unfortunately got his face broken up 29 with 4 minutes left. Not great.

Round 2 vs the 1 seed +4.23 Heat
Game 1/2 - team is just overmatched in Miami without him, two pretty convincing wins from the Heat.
Game 3 - 18/11/1 on meh efficiency, close going into the 4th, Miami struggling on offense and Maxey lighting it up on the other end. PHI on the board, not a great personal game from Joel but good to see his team get the W as he returns to the court.
Game 4 - 24/11/2 on good efficiency, very strong 1st half, offenses bogged down in the 2nd half. Bit stronger game and now tied up 2-2.
Game 5 - 17/5/2 on good efficiency, PHI gets smacked in Miami, Embiid included.
Game 6 - 20/12/12 on poor efficiency, Miami pulls away in the 3rd while Embiid goes 1/7 from the field. Not a strong closing game by any means.

Overall not great on the playoffs front, though injury playing a fair part in that. Big games 3 and 6 vs Toronto on the road. Team looking great prior to his injury. Some signs of life vs Miami, but not the same Embiid PHI fans were hoping to see (unsurprisingly). I'll need to dig into Luka/Butler a bit more, but on first pass I think Embiid showed me just enough coming back from injury to keep his RS lead over them.

[eminence]

And in this corner - LUUUUUKA DONCIC

Luka Doncic
Mavs 52-30, 44-21 w/Luka, 8-9 without, #15 offense, #6 defense, 4 seed, +3.12 SRS
65 games played, 2301 minutes
28.4 pts/g, 9.1 reb/g, 8.7 ast/g, 1.2 stl/g, 0.6 blk/g, 4.5 tov/g
101 TS+
115.5 Ortg, 111.9 Drtg, +3.6 Net
+0.2 on/off

I'm generally underwhelmed by this sort of season. Bigtime volume, mediocre scoring efficiency, good box-score stats meh impact stats as the offensive star on a defense first team. Not a serious MVP contender for me, on the fringes of the POY discussion, in need of a very convincing PO run to make my ballot (spoilers, we may have got it).

Round 1 vs the 5 seed +5.67 Jazz
Games 1/2/3 - I have some hope when Utah goes up 1-0, maybe we can run away with it and Luka never comes back, my team proceeds to drop the next 2. Ouch. Mavs get cooking on offense in games 2 and 3 to go up 2-1.
Game 4 - 30/10/4 on good efficiency, Luka and team played well enough to win, Gobert dominates on the glass down the stretch to tie the series up, I had hope again for a brief moment.
Game 5 - 33/13/5 on solid efficiency, well that was short lived, oh well. Luka looks good and the Dallas defense locks up Utah (Don/Bojan/Conley combine for 15 pts on 30 FGA...).
Game 6 - 24/9/8 on meh efficiency, Dallas wins the game with a huge 3rd quarter where all of their offensive stars contribute. Jazz miss shots, so ends my fan season

Round 2 vs the 1 seed +6.94 Suns
Game 1 - 45/12/8 on good efficiency, Suns come out strong and get up pretty big, Dallas tries to come back, but not enough time. Strong game from Luka, just an even stronger effort from the #1 seed.
Game 2 - 35/5/7 on good efficiency, Phoenix puts up 40 in the 4th quarter as CP3 rolls back the clock. Luka plays well.
Game 3 - 26/13/9 on poor efficiency, Luka goes a bit more into playmaker mode, Dallas defense tightens the screws and they get a much needed win.
Game 4 - 26/7/11 on meh efficiency, Dallas comes out strong in quarter 1, shooters (especially DFS) are blazing hot and the series is evened up. I like playmaker Luka when his shooters are on.
Game 5 - 28/11/2 on meh efficiency, Phoenix strikes back, Dallas shooters were certainly not on in this one. Phoenix runs away in the 3rd.
Game 6 - 33/11/8 on meh efficiency, shooters were back on (Bullocks turn) and the defense was locked in.
Game 7 - 35/10/4 on great efficiency, yeah, we all watched that game. What a dud to end the series, but great for Luka and the Mavs.

Round 3 vs the 3 seed +5.52 Warriors
Game 1 - 20/7/4 on poor efficiency, Dallas can't hit a shot and GS kinda blows the doors off of 'em. Not a good game for Luka.
Game 2 - 42/5/8 on great efficiency, Luka and Dallas come back swinging, GS swings harder though and keeps rolling. GS really starting to punish them on the glass.
Game 3 - 40/11/3 on good efficiency, even more domination on the glass from the Warriors. Wiggins briefly puts Luka in a body bag. Down 0-3, series is all but wrapped up.
Game 4 - 30/14/9 on meh efficiency, not as close as the final score, weird run from the Warriors deep bench. Dallas shooters back to stroking it. General flatness from the Warriors.
Game 5 - 28/9/6 on poor efficiency, Warriors go up big, Dallas comes back, but don't have enough in the tank to finish closing the gap.

PO thoughts:
Missed half the series vs Utah, but looked good upon return, great great series vs Phoenix. Those elimination games are the type that can scar a franchise for the Suns, Luka will certainly be etched into their collective memory. Overmatched against the Warriors and the teams defense couldn't get the great games when they needed them they got through the RS and in the first two series. Team got manhandled on the glass in all of their series, but it was at its worst vs the Warriors. Mavs faced a very difficult stretch of teams on their WCF run. Not sure Luka fundamentally changes as a player come playoff time, perhaps goes a bit more towards scoring vs playmaking, which I'm not sure if it's a positive or not. Team relies so heavily on the 3 that they can be very swingy on offense it seems, possibly some correlation between hitting their shots and defensive effort/effectiveness.

It's a tricky one, that Phoenix series was Great with a capital G, does it close the gap with RS Embiid? Good in other PO rounds, but not on the same level (understandable coming back from injury vs Utah, vs GS it was mainly being cooked on D in a way PHX didn't manage regularly).

Other folks thoughts on Embiid vs Luka for the season?