Doncic has been legitimately amazing so I'm not trying to be a jealous rival fan here... but God damn, what's going on with his FTs? He hits all sorts of crazy difficult shots but can't make a FT.
Mavs playoff history with Luka 2018-2019 (no playoffs) 2019-2020 (1st round exit by Clippers 2-4) 2020-2021 (1st round vs Clippers... 2-2 so far) PG13 and Kawahii's Clippers is developing into a nemesis of the Mavs.
I remember when Porzingis was the next big thing, the unicorn, and him and Luka were going to be a future force in the NBA... Well, Luka's living up to expectations but that other guy? I don't know if he's ever been the same player since his injuries. Some guys recover from those ACL injuries and some guys just never look the same. If I'm Dallas I get rid of him while he has value.
Luka exposing Bev numerous times early in this playoffs is the best thing which happened to the clippers
luka with 37.5/14.3/0.0 shooting splits tonight with at least 5 shots/3's/FT's. don't know if i've ever seen someone where the total of those 3 numbers is that low. dude suddenly can't shoot ft's.
I wonder how much of the lack of offense by Porzingis is him playing bad vs just being used as a spacing big in their 5-out offense. Maybe it's a combination. Porky is 37.6 % this year for 3p%, despite being decent, in this series it doesn't look like he takes too many 3's. Ty Lue went small this game putting in Batum over Zubac, so Doncic can't abuse Zubac. But with Poraingis (and a little of Boban), Mavs still couldn't punish Clippers for going small. On the defensive side, when Porzingis and Kleber were in the paint, they have some length, but really no answer for Clipper's big two. Not a knock on the Mav's bigs, since their guards (including Luka, and Tim Hardaway Jr.) aren't known for their defense either. If Mavs don't have a red hot offense, the series is Clippers to lose.
this postseason started with a lot of good game 1’s, but since then, most of the games have been pretty bad...all these low quality blowouts happening left and right the East won’t be competitive until the 2nd round with BK vs Milwaukee Heat swept in embarrassing fashion...Celtics injured and no match for BK...Wizards only in the playoffs because the EC needed an 8th team...the Knicks getting outclassed by Atlanta
the score was exactly 103-78 at one point in each of the knicks/hawks, clippers/mavs, and brooklyn/boston games. we used up all of our close games on opening weekend.
I feel like the Mavs are a worse version of a Harden-led CP3-less Rockets team. If Luka is off his game, everyone else on the team is too hesitant to do anything. Which leads to everyone doing nothing but waiting for Luka to do something. Mavs need a secondary playmaker. As Doncic is playing injured, Porzingis should be calling for the ball every damn time on offense. The rest of the 4 players shouldn't be waiting for Luka to be Luka. I think everyone is still expecting Luka to be the same Luka that penetrates and dishes and stuff, but that's not going to happen. Porzingis needs the ball in the post and he'll need to be the one to make things happen.
Give the clippers a lot of credit for adjusting their defense. They realized that Doncic isn’t as prolific as a shooter as some would believe. His 3pt% isn’t in the same tier as Harden or Lillard/Curry. His ft% also is inexplicably low. What he thrives on is his size and ability to patiently probe a teams defense. His ability to utilize screens, hesis, and moderately decent handles to get into the paint and then shield defenders with his body to create space, angles, and draw fouls is unparalleled. He thrives in the middy area and fakes. Because of this having a small PG or traditional center out there when doncic is playing is easy money. The small PG cannot keep him from the paint and the center cannot laterally stay with him. What the clippers are doing is a masterful adjustment by getting rid of the center and playing switch only. The one adjustment they do is have the PG Jackson hedge only instead of switch. The defense and offense being played in this game is the future of the NBA or my ideal style of playing. A big initiator with everyone switching around them. Essentially can your positional players defend in space and extend space. This is why the Mavericks are having a hard time adjusting. Players like Bobi/porzingis/kleber cannot defend in space. I’m also not sure if they command an insane amount of gravity either. Couple this with not being prolific rebounders or intimidating rim protectors it leaves a less than optimal roster around your generational talent. I also wonder if the clippers would be more interested in wall more than ever. He would fit with this switch scheme. Offer elite level defense and weak side rim protection and give them some more explosiveness they lack. This would only cost them beverley rondo kennard and Farrell. Guys who I can’t see in their playoff rotation. The question is do those guys contracts get you better fits on more reasonable contracts?
I can’t take Clippers homecourt seriously with 33% capacity and the rest being cardboard cutouts...this just looks depressing
Carlisle playing less Porzingis (10 min this game, vs other starters 20 min). Sprinkled in zone. Lue keeping some of the same adjustments last game. Still keeping Tim Hardaway Jr. from getting hot (2/6)
