Game 47 Dirkie: Tim Hardaway Jr 41.38% (not definitive enough bc haters)

[SleepingHero]

I love the commentary in the Dirkie poll! Might add that to my repertoire....

First things first, Jaden Hardy. He finally had one of his offensive explosions. This resembled the Hardy Party of last season. Dude was on fire the whole night and he created so many great looks for Lively. He flashed a lot of great stuff tonight although he sort of disappeared in the 2nd half. The team didn't really give him many more looks, but because of that I can't give him the Dirkie.

LIVELYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. I kept saying to myself that he looked overmatched tonight during the 1st half. Orlando was getting to the rim with ease and Lively looked a step late consistently. He was finishing a bunch of dunks, but defensively he looked pretty lost. But then the 2nd half started and holy shit. He COMMANDED that matchup zone. He was barking orders the whole half. He fought for EVERY BOARD!!!!!!!!!!! HIS HUSTLE AND ENERGY IS GETTING ME AMPED RIGHT NOW! THE FACT THE MAVS HAVE A YOUNG CENTER WHO JUST GOT HIS 3RD 20/10 GAME IN HIS ROOKIE SEASON IS MAKING ME BURST WITH GLEE!!!!!!!!!!! The dude probably broke his nose and still finished the crazy oop after hitting 2 out 4 from the FT line. Just incredible stuff. Unfortunately in the Dirkie Game of Thrones, the smallest things can disqualify you. And his first half unfortunately weighed him down.

We had a GREAT THJ game tonight. Like fantastic THJ game. Supernova Timmy. His first half was nothing great, but to be honest most of the team looked mentally checked out save Jaden Hardy. Its impossible to stop Timmy when he's hot, and tonight was no exception. He also made a great lob pass to Jaden Hardy. THJ would usually take the shot, but he gave it up for a better one. Kudos to Timmy and I give him full props for carrying the offensive load late in the 3rd and some of the 4th when Luka was gassed.

If I could choose, I'd choose Jason Kidd's halftime defensive adjustment to go to a matchup zone. That swung the entire game and Orlando had no idea what to do. He also got the guys locked in for the end of game. He basically fucked over THJ by not calling a time out at the end, but he stopped ORL from ever getting a chance to win it with his fouling tactics. If Kidd could get these guys to just play consistently though........................

Finally Luka. Its become customary to count his stats. I mean he's made a 45 point, 15 assist, 9 rebound night sort of... pedestrian? He has probably forever altered my perception of a good game. However, the little things Luka did this game really stood out to me, especially defensively. He was SO locked in after the 1st half. He was barking orders to basically everyone, getting people in position. He contested all of ORL's midrange shots and forced the misses. He boxed out and rebounded. He was gassed basically the last 5 minutes of the game and he still stepped up and sealed the win. He hit 18/21 FTs. I'm astonished Luka managed to close out a game by playing defense and hitting free throws. So Luka gets my vote. THJ a close 2nd. Kidd a honorable mention cause as he's said many times "I'm not playin, just watching"