Playoffs 2024 - R2 - G5 - Mavs @ Thunder (Wed., 9:30PMEST)

[Dirk]

We went from being in the drivers seat... to being underdogs again.



“Just don’t panic and stay poised,” Irving said afterwards. “It’s not a time to have irrational emotions toward a game like tonight and we’re honest with each other. We had the game pretty much in our hands and our control, but we didn’t make enough of the clutch plays”

Luka's stock keeps sinking.

Spoiler:

[Mavrelous]

Go Mavs!!
Mavs are the better team, the reason Thunder won game 4, was that they had the best player on the floor, I hope Luka and Kyrie have an answer, and I don't want to hear any of the injury non-sense.

[Bob8]

Question is can fat Luka still shoot? Insiders are saying that he can't, because his fingers are too thick. There's a slim chance they're wrong.

Mavs will win by 10.

[daoneandonly]

Im still pissed about yesterday. I'm an old man (weeks away from 41), i could have been sound asleep but i stayed up to watch and support our team, only for them to blow it when it matters most.

[tleikheen]

It's not like the Mavs arent getting deep into OKC's defense,they are. They're just not making their baskets. It magnifies because we keep seeing SGA making his midrange to bunny shots consistently.

Yesterdays game Luka was in meltdown most of the game and the Mavs went into meltdown in the 4th quarter along with him.SGA was hunting his close in midrange shots and the Mavs were hunting 3 pt shots when any points would have kept them in the lead. Mavs might be the better team but mentally they lose focus and that cant happen in playoff games .

[tleikheen]

I dont know about a lot of you but I kept thinking the ball should be in Kyrie's hands coming up the court and getting into their offense and let Luka seek advantage as the offball guard . Luka committed as many TO's as the entire OKC team which played with 5 guys under 23 y o as starters ,rotation and closers. His TO's were the worst kind .... throwing x-court with his back to the defense ,trying to thread passes between 3 defenders ,throwing bullet passes when his guy is close to him . He wasn't playing focused or valuing the ball.

[Bob8]

It's not like the Mavs arent getting deep into OKC's defense,they are. They're just not making their baskets. It magnifies because we keep seeing SGA making his midrange to bunny shots consistently.

Yesterdays game Luka was in meltdown most of the game and the Mavs went into meltdown in the 4th quarter along with him.SGA was hunting his close in midrange shots and the Mavs were hunting 3 pt shots when any points would have kept them in the lead. Mavs might be the better team but mentally they lose focus and that cant happen in playoff games .

You must just ask yourself how many paint points Kyrie scored in Clippers series and how many in OKC series? D Thunder is playing is on another level, Kyrie not being able to get good shots, especially not nowhere near the paint. Kyrie and Luka driving more sounds sexy, but OKC just doesn't allow it.

[MassimoPayne]

I dont know about a lot of you but I kept thinking the ball should be in Kyrie's hands coming up the court and getting into their offense and let Luka seek advantage as the offball guard . Luka committed as many TO's as the entire OKC team which played with 5 guys under 23 y o as starters ,rotation and closers. His TO's were the worst kind .... throwing x-court with his back to the defense ,trying to thread passes between 3 defenders ,throwing bullet passes when his guy is close to him . He wasn't playing focused or valuing the ball.

Just try Exum again. Let exum and Kyrie bring the ball. Leave Luka somewhere out there to scare with his presence and pass the ball to him once in while.
I don't want to see DJJ, Green or THJ to dribble the ball over the half court line. They are so scared and throw the ball right away if Kyrie is not close to them

[tleikheen]

Though Kidd hasn't given Exum alot of minutes he's still gone 8 games in a row without committing a TO . He gets pulled when he misses a shot or definitely looks that way. It's clear the Mavs need someone who can initiate the offense as a 3rd ball handler with Luka struggling with TO's from the young athletic OKC defense.

[dygaction]

The whole team, practice during the summer and make your free throws. 23/24 for OKC and 12/23 for Mavs was the deal breaker last night.
I assume the next game will be extra physical, and Kidd should be very concerned about a game full of free throws from both sides. Do not make silly fouls to let their cold players get shooting touch back.

[GermanFan120]

No prediction.

No reverse jinx.

Mavs either take G5 or it's over, as I don't trust this Mavs squad to win both G6 and G7 with injured Luka.

Luka and Ky: Time to shine.

[GermanFan120]

Never ever put Green or THJ on Shai.

When Shai sees them, he is like playing violin on his mind.

[arkuo]

"Luka time to shine" is defined as Luka taking 34 shots and making 16. While 4 other guys watch him dribble for 19 seconds.

On the other hand, Luka playing off ball is just him standing in the corner while kyrie does his thing.

So I'm afraid Dallas just has to stack their minutes. Let Luka score all he wants in the first half. And let Kyrie have his turn in the 2nd half. If that was the game plan last game then maybe we'd have Kyrie taking those free throws and the series would have been 3-1 by now.

[Darren]

Spacing could be an issue. Luka relies on drive and click. Kyrie relies on rim attacking. Lively, Gafford, and DJJ rely on dunks. While OKC employs zone defense, it takes away 70% of Mavs offense. With a rookie coach and almost rookie team, the Mavs cannot change the strategy significantly at this point.

Quite possibly, the Mavs has never practiced other strategies other than iso-set. This makes the spacing awkward. It's easy to defend Luka and Kyrie. In game 3, rebounding and second chances point give you less uncontested shots. But if rebounding is also taken away, the floor game is in favor of OKC. With so many teammates around, Chet is too comfortable defensively until the Mavs gain red hot from long range.

While the Mavs should continue the strong defense, rebounding efforts and try shooting light out from deep, the Mavs has to find quality shots without double teams or Chet around big time.

[Darren]

Turn SGA's shooting motion to awkward form. Do not bite on pump-fake. Put an arm on SGA's face instead of making a clean block every time. Take Chet and SGA away, the Mavs has a good chance. Do it at least in clutch time. Find a way

[Darren]

Help Lively to figure out why OKC still score a lot of layups in paint. Pose a fear into drivers' mind. Like the Mavs and Clippers, OKC also relies on rim attacking.

[Darren]

I think it's not because of Lively but coaching. OKC narrows the driving lanes to Chet. But the Mavs relies on Lively and Gafford to do it individually. The Mavs loses mainly because of coaching edge OKC has.

[GermanFan120]

Turn SGA's shooting motion to awkward form. Do not bite on pump-fake. Put an arm on SGA's face instead of making a clean block every time. Take Chet and SGA away, the Mavs has a good chance. Do it at least in clutch time. Find a way

They are already doing this.

In addition, they can try:

1. Double SGA and make him pass the ball
2. Deny the ball from SGA. I am fine if JW scores 40+, I doubt he can.

[GermanFan120]

Hey Knicks just won. And so can we!

[Darren]

Can the Mavs find a way to get Chet moving out of shot blocking and rebounding positions? In this way, you can gain the mismatches you want and get Chet into foul troubles