Game 3 Playoff Dirkie: P.J. Washington

[Reunion Mav]

I gave it to Luka. His numerous smart adjustments were both nuanced and forceful. I was very impressed. This wasn’t a normal game for him. He only has his C game but he played to A level. Most impressive.

[Lukedoncic]

Give me the first actual two-way player the Mavs have had since maybe those glorious two years of Josh Howard's prime: PJ Washington, Jr.

As if Chandler Parsons never existed… For shame. For shame…

[fifteenth]

I doubt it. 

I watched the game with the biggest OKC fan I know, and it seems like they're still in the honeymoon phase with pretty much everything in that fan base.

And what a honeymoon it is. It seems like OKC fans believe that they have reinvented and perfected tanking, drafting, team building, defense and offense. They're the new gold standard without having won a thing. They have the smartest GM and coach and the most knowledgeable fan base.

Oh my goodness, reality is going to hit hard. To become great the team will have to take some lumps and figure out how to pay everyone and keep a good team team together. 

Can such a delusional fan base servive the riggers of reality?

[SleepingHero]

Ya know I wasn't able to watch this one live. I went zero dark 30 on all media to avoid the results. I was fully expecting to see the Thunder bounce back and the Mavs would've had to fight tooth and nail for 48 mins constantly trying to gain control. I also was prepping myself for a Thunder win.

What I got was a locked in Mavs squad that is trying to rip the hearts out of this OKC team. It was an extremely hard fought game. But the Mavs always felt in control to me. The 4th quarter defense was miraculous save the final possession that *nearly* messed it up. The Mavs won and stuck it out. What an incredible gutty win.

But onto the players. This is a dirkie thread after all!

DJJ had an unfortunate game offensively. He's still trying to detonate in the lane but the Thunder (*cough* Chet) snuffed him out over and over again. Kudos to them for that. Yet I loved that DJJ kept attacking even if it didn't produce results. Mostly because all of his shots have been dunk or 3s. If you don't pay attention those dunks are going to happen. And on the right night DJJ can hit 2-3 threes. So keep on attacking DJJ! Defensively he still put up a master performance on Shai and J-Dub. Just incredible hustle. He's probably going to need a robotic jaw after all these Shai elbows. Solid game. Unfortunately no dirkie.

Gafford is using his size so well. He's fighting for every board and is punishing the Thunder for trying to put a guy smaller than 6'7 down low to stop him. It's pretty obvious the coaching staff have told him and Lively to not think and to just try and dunk everything. Even if it is a miss. It's also incredibly tiring to constantly try to stop a 6'10 240lb man from dunking your face for 25 mins a night. Now if he can take Hubie's advice and turn these dunk attempts into 3pt plays. That'll really destroy the Thunder even more!

Josh Green had a quiet but solid night. He missed some easy ones and still can't just attack open space comfortably. But he hustled his ass off all night. Now's not the time for Green to be trying new stuff anyways. Solid game from Green. Now if only his Aussie brother can pick up some slack!

Timmy had a pretty horrific start. I think he was 1-6 to start the game and I thought he was going to personally shoot us out of it. But Timmy's leash was short. He also did the unthinkable... he played within the system and made some GREAT passes!! Great on Timmy there! If he can please get back to even somewhat what he was to begin the season the Mavs bench suddenly looks 10x better. When his shot is falling his spacing provides a lot. Thankfully we don't need to rely on it anymore, but boy it'd be nice to have. Solid game again from Timmy. Please keep it up!

Lively man. I want to give you the Dirkie. I do. Can you please make a dunk? Oh? What was that? You hit clutch as hell FTs that embarassed the Thunder for playing Hack-A-Lively in the 4th quarter in a desperate attempt to get back into the game? AND you played suffocating defense all night? My goodness. What mental fortitude for this guy to come in and knock those FTs down. I want to give him a Dirkie just for that. But his paint offense left a lot to be desired. If he had hit some of those dunks he may have made the next category. No matter, what a freaking game from the rook. I love that he hit the shots when it mattered. COLD AS ICE!
Now onto the Dirkie contenders:

Starting with Mr. Luka "I don't feel pain" Doncic. Jeez. This poor guy has taken so many blows. He's limping out there. He's grimacing in pain at every dead ball. He can't properly run or move. Yet Luka still manages to score 22 points. He can't jump properly, yet Luka still locks in and grabs a team high 15 rebounds! He is getting gassed, smacked, hit, you name it, all that tires him out, yet Luka still with the game in the balance comes up with probably the biggest play in the 4th where he steals OKC's fast break and attacks Chet in the paint to lay it in, solidifying Dallas' lead. Luka is THE guy. If he was healthy I'm not sure what any team can do. Amazing game from Luka. Gritty. As. Heck.

PJ Washington yet again puts together a 2-way masterpiece of a game. The Mavs are going to him over and over. I love that they're punishing the Thunder for putting small guys on him. He's delivering again and again. His offense carried the Mavs in the 1st half. Without it, they probably would've been down 20 points. His defense also carried the Mavs the whole game, and without it, the Mavs most definitely lose. He is a worthy Dirkie winner. I probably should give it to him....

But I have to go with Kyrie. He took over in the 4th quarter and did literally everything the team needed today. 1st half he had 6 assists before 6 points. His perimeter defense was everywhere. He settled Lively down in the 4th when they were playing Hack-A-Lively. He took over the game when the Mavs couldn't buy a bucket. All in all a spectacular performance. He carried the team in the 2nd with timely buckets and incredible defense. Dirkie for you Kyrie!

After the Nuggets and Pacers basically came out and flipped their series momentum tying both of their series' up 2-2, I hope the Mavs come out locked and loaded. A win tomorrow night would put so much pressure on OKC and could potentially allow the Mavs to close out the series in 5 games giving Luka so much needed rest. What a gutty gritty win from the Mavs. JUST TWO MORE WINS LIKE THIS! KEEP IT UP MAVS! TAKE IT AND PUT YALLS FOOT ON THE THUNDERS NECK!