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

[JoeyLightYears]

Man I feel bad for Suns fans...going home even is gonna put all the pressure on Suns....gonna suck if they get the doc rivers

Last I checked something like 80% of home teams won game 5 when it was 2-2.

[Dubnation]

Dallas is so fun to watch. Don't think either team beats GSW unfortunately.

Bad news for gsw is that Memphis plays better without morant, especially defensively

We’ll all know this. Especially the dubs.


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[Archx]

Luka baited CP3 early, and got in the refs ears after falling when he hit Ayton in the 1st Q.

And CP3 fell for it.

Luka got into CP3's head.

The last two were really bad calls that had nothing to do with Luka though.

But honestly even if this game were fairly called Mavs prob win. They were hitting volume threes at an absurd percentage and even though their D wasn't that great it's just too hard to overcome a 33 point 3-point differential.

The Suns cut it to 4 in the 3rd Q, and 6 in the 4th, when CP3 fouled out. The fact that the Mavs outshot them by 33 from the 3, and the game was as close at it was, even with CP3 in foul trouble, was pretty hilarious.

Luka kept Suns in the game with his bad shooting but made up with playmaking. Otherwise i wasn't impressed with Mavs defense in the 2nd half. Suns players were just walking in to the paint and no one challenged. I still can't believe Ayton is not involved more on offense.

[Yuri36]

You say that when he just shot a air ball 3....you are definitely delusional if you think this game has Luka ahead of jokic

well I am not basing off one game. Every player has a bad shooting night, especially from 3. That doesn't mean Luka isn't amazing.

Not going to say Luka not amazing but he isn’t as good as Jokic period...

If Luka commits to defense then he can talk about truly being legit great... players that only play on offense or defense are not my thing

Lol like Joker is himself a great defender.
If it wasn't for his size, he would be a poor defender at best

[CobraCommander]

Man I feel bad for Suns fans...going home even is gonna put all the pressure on Suns....gonna suck if they get the doc rivers

Last I checked something like 80% of home teams won game 5 when it was 2-2.

But CP3 and Ayton gonna feel like they let the team down today.

Ayton looked as useless as CP3 today - and he ain’t paid yet - presume the pressure gonna be Brunson high lol

[Dubnation]

Hope ya'll are ready for game 5. Mavs X-factor about to be unleashed...

It's a genuinely interesting question as to whether the league busts him out for game 5 or game 6. Obviously game 7 would be too controversial.

I hope he does all 3. Just keep him away from the other series


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[nikster]

But Luka has no help I heard. He's out there 1 on 5 I heard

Bitter haters 2 games ago Luka ball was impossible to be successful with and he was holding his teammates back.

His role players stepped up today, Phoenix still has way more talent on the roster, both things can be true

But you guys were bellyaching all season about how much his teammates suck. His teammates don't suck in today's modern game. Sure, transport them to an era without the pop a shot and they are sorta limited but who cares since this is how most of the teams play these days?

They have nobody else who can consistently create shots for themselves against good defense. They have no size. Nobody else who can put pressure on the rim. Brunson and Dinwiddie are the only ones who can really handle the ball at all, Dinwiddie has struggled all playoffs and Brunson had struggled against the Suns Defense. This team is Definetly less talented, even considering fit, than most contenders.

[Bob8]

Luka baited CP3 early, and got in the refs ears after falling when he hit Ayton in the 1st Q.

And CP3 fell for it.

Luka got into CP3's head.

The last two were really bad calls that had nothing to do with Luka though.

But honestly even if this game were fairly called Mavs prob win. They were hitting volume threes at an absurd percentage and even though their D wasn't that great it's just too hard to overcome a 33 point 3-point differential.

The Suns cut it to 4 in the 3rd Q, and 6 in the 4th, when CP3 fouled out. The fact that the Mavs outshot them by 33 from the 3, and the game was as close at it was, even with CP3 in foul trouble, was pretty hilarious.

It was Luka playing the worst game in playoffs. With his normal shooting, game would have been over in Q3. It's time for 1 of his unstoppable performances in game 5.

[azcatz11]

If anyone wants free money bet the suns -2.5 today

Yep - just fade me and you’re guaranteed to win lol

[CobraCommander]

well I am not basing off one game. Every player has a bad shooting night, especially from 3. That doesn't mean Luka isn't amazing.

Not going to say Luka not amazing but he isn’t as good as Jokic period...

If Luka commits to defense then he can talk about truly being legit great... players that only play on offense or defense are not my thing

Lol like Joker is himself a great defender.
If it wasn't for his size, he would be a poor defender at best

But he is 7 foot ..look Jokic does everything Luka does better than him...that’s why he is the mvp....it’s not like that’s a slight on Luka...but Jokic is THAT guy

[fteru6uhre54ew]

Ayton has tried to defend in the last possesions ending in a three Kleber, Bruson and Bullock. The guy literally don't know where it is on defense with this today game and Doncic manipulating all

Kinda strange. He is looking really good on switches. Probably better than any of their wings. Can move his feet and has the length to contest shots. With the big advantage that Luka cannot bully him in the post.
But once he is asked to play off ball defense or make the right reads/rotations he is pretty bad.

He tends to defend the rim and be down low protecting and Dallas have Kleber and DFS open as a 4 and 5. More with a zone defense who has worked really well for them in the second half slowing down the Dallas offense and Doncic being with his shot falling off missing everything. The guy at the end with all that tend to be static down low and you have that computer in Doncic who read every situation and can understand every defense mixed this fast and versitale game. He passed at every player in the corner or open that Ayton was defending literally when he was trying to help defendng the rim.

[agentofatlas]

Man Luka really needs to limit his threes. He was like 1-10 from there while 8-15 in drives and post-ups.

Anyways, happy for the win. The role players were great and hopefully they carry that energy and confidence to the next game.

[CobraCommander]

If anyone wants free money bet the suns -2.5 today

Yep - just fade me and you’re guaranteed to win lol

But you called it tho...you said you would lose the bet lol so

[Freighttrain]

Game 5 is a legacy Game for CP3

He's 37 though, I feel like ur legacy should be set or am I wrong? Do you think having a ring now still matters towards how we view him?

Why does his age matter when he’s still playing as great as he’s always been? He was an All Star this year and likely All NBA and has had huge games this postseason already. He just had 2 poor games and is fresh off of blowing a 2-0 lead in the finals. Blowing another 2-0 lead this year would be a pretty bad look

Because we already have a 16-year career sample and he's also past his prime. He's still playing great but lacks consistency due to his age. If he were to win it, it's more like a cherry on top of a great career, nothing more or nothing less.

[Texas Chuck]

Props to the boys for holding serve at home and the shooters just banging in 3's especially Doe Doe and the Bertans blitz. Luka looked completely gassed in the 2nd half though Dallas was very fortunately Paul was getting a very difficult whistle today.

[JoeyLightYears]

Bitter haters 2 games ago Luka ball was impossible to be successful with and he was holding his teammates back.

His role players stepped up today, Phoenix still has way more talent on the roster, both things can be true

But you guys were bellyaching all season about how much his teammates suck. His teammates don't suck in today's modern game. Sure, transport them to an era without the pop a shot and they are sorta limited but who cares since this is how most of the teams play these days?

They have nobody else who can consistently create shots for themselves against good defense. They have no size. Nobody else who can put pressure on the rim. Brunson and Dinwiddie are the only ones who can really handle the ball at all, Dinwiddie has struggled all playoffs and Brunson had struggled against the Suns Defense. This team is Definetly less talented, even considering fit, than most contenders.

My point is that none of those things are necessary when you play Moreyball. Lookup the Grinnell system.. this is a bunch of unathletic guys who obliterate teams by shooting 100 threes a game and pressing on D. They come in interchangeably in waves like hockey lines and beat far more talented teams (which is most teams). This is the future of the NBA unless they change some rules up and get rid of this nonsense pop a shot.

So in today's game, guys who can't do anything one-on-one aren't a premium as long as they play hard and can hit the three and are somewhat tall.

[Bob8]

Bitter haters 2 games ago Luka ball was impossible to be successful with and he was holding his teammates back.

His role players stepped up today, Phoenix still has way more talent on the roster, both things can be true

But you guys were bellyaching all season about how much his teammates suck. His teammates don't suck in today's modern game. Sure, transport them to an era without the pop a shot and they are sorta limited but who cares since this is how most of the teams play these days?

They have nobody else who can consistently create shots for themselves against good defense. They have no size. Nobody else who can put pressure on the rim. Brunson and Dinwiddie are the only ones who can really handle the ball at all, Dinwiddie has struggled all playoffs and Brunson had struggled against the Suns Defense. This team is Definetly less talented, even considering fit, than most contenders.

Just leave him. It's playoffs, who cares about individual performance, only winning matters. Arrogant Suns fans whinnying are just enjoyable to watch.

[Yuri36]

Suns are pretenders. Playing the worst team left in the playoffs and making a meal of it. Can’t believe it’s 2-2

Seems like you haven't followed NBA basketball in the last few months

[leolozon]

People who think Luka was ass today must have watched different game. It's amazing how many open looks he creates for his teammates..Mavs got so many open corner 3 opportunities today due to Luka...that doesn't happen easily in playoffs

He wasn't bad, only his shooting was which is why he should have stopped shooting 3s and drive a bit more. 1/10 is uncharacteristic.

[Spud2nique]

Not gonna lie that Luka post on Cam was kinda sick. I dig the one handed statue move. Smooth. Can’t hate on that.