ROUND 1, GAME 7: DAL (3-4) @ LAC (4-3) | 111-126 loss

[BigDirk41]

Cut it to 11, do they have a run left?

Not unless Luka has one more magic stretch in him. He's not scoring enough.

[burekemde]

Luka is the next Lillard. Enjoy the great performances but it's not going to result in much team success. Ironic that Stotts was an RC guy too 

Many great players that won the championship did not have a better team success than Luka in year 3. This is a team game.

[hakeemfaan]

It was always going to be next to impossible to win Game 7. 

While you can say that this series was lost in Game 6, it was Game 3 that really turned things. However for the season, whether you want to blame KP or RC, the coaching staff never figured out how to have KP and Luka play off one another. You can say that KP doesn’t fit in the PnR or in the high post. But from a casual observer’s viewpoint, I did not even see the coaching staff try it enough to see if it works or not. You can’t just give up trying something a couple of times a game. 


More than anything else that has set back this team the most this season. At least previously we thought we had two studs. Now who knows. 

The other failure is not having schemes for Luka to play off the ball. Once the Clips trapped Luka at the top it looked like the coaches had nothing else to go to. 


Sad waste of another great year from Luka.

[SwisherPrice]

Mavs gave KP a big contract and then decided to run a limited offensive system where he can be easily taken out of a series and turned into nothing more than a floor spacer.

[BigDirk41]

Good season by the Mavs. They are fun to watch, but not built to win yet. Luka needs to get in the best shape of his life if he wants to advance in the playoffs. The Mavs need to retool the roster and need different coaching approaches. I'm not saying to fire Rick, but he needs to adapt. KP's season is just as much Rick's fault as KP's. I'm looking forward to next year. Luka is the real deal.

[jesusshuttlesworth82]

The other failure is not having schemes for Luka to play off the ball. Once the Clips trapped Luka at the top it looked like the coaches had nothing else to go to. 

No one else on the team can do a damn thing with the ball.  It's like the Harden Rockets before CP3.

For ALL the needs we have, I swear 45 year old JJ Barea would be the 2nd best playmaker on this team.  It's painful to watch.  

Like seriously...some basic ass player like Ish Smith or TJ McConnell would be the 2nd best offense creator on this roster.

[SwisherPrice]

Many great players that won the championship did not have a better team success than Luka in year 3. This is a team game.

Those players also probably had better front offices and coaches. We already saw this front office waste the potential of Dirk (one of the easiest franchise players to build around). I don't see them doing anything different with Luka

[Time Machine Dirk]

Funny: If Luka had scored 46 pts in game 6, we probably would have advanced to the second round.
Not blaming him. Just saying...to show how close all of this was.

[FunkBoreland]

Many great players that won the championship did not have a better team success than Luka in year 3. This is a team game.

[Time Machine Dirk]

For those still watching till the bitter end: Did PG just want to exchange jerseys with Luka and Luka denied?

[Chicagojk]

For those still watching till the bitter end: Did PG just want to exchange jerseys with Luka and Luka denied?

He probably didn't want to go shirtless to show his dad bod .  I saw them both laugh and he probably said something like that.

[FunkBoreland]

Those players also probably had better front offices and coaches. We already saw this front office waste the potential of Dirk (one of the easiest franchise players to build around). I don't see them doing anything different with Luka

I don't think many front offices had the opportunity to go from one superstar (Dirk) to having another (Luka). Dirk went through 3 coaches, each with a different team philosophy (Donnie Nelson, Avery Johnson, Rick Carlisle) just the fact that I have to mention 3 different coaches shows you that the front office tried different team managements.

[SwisherPrice]

Gonna be a long time before the Mavs get out of the first round. Kawhi and LeBron are still going to be dominant players for at least the next 2 years. The Suns are also young and will continue to get better. Jokic is about to enter his prime years. If Klay ends up still being somewhat of a decent player after his injury, the Warriors with Steph won't be easy either. 

This isn't the early 2000s where the Mavs knew they could beat most of the West aside from 2-3 teams.

[dirkfansince1998]

https://twitter.com/tim_cato/status/1401659649074483200

That´s the sad reality. Lot of work to do in the coming months.

[Scott41theMavs]

For those still watching till the bitter end: Did PG just want to exchange jerseys with Luka and Luka denied?

If I were him, I'd have said, "I want Kawhi's, in spite of that bush-league steal at the end, or no one's."

[Time Machine Dirk]

He probably didn't want to go shirtless to show his dad bod .  I saw them both laugh and he probably said something like that.

Lol! That was my first thought, too. Funny!

[Scott41theMavs]

https://twitter.com/tim_cato/status/1401659649074483200

That´s the sad reality. Lot of work to do in the coming months.

Hulk on Loki to all of the $#%@'s who were trying to give the FO a grade higher than a solid F over the past two years in the other thread. I want to go off hardcore on you all, but I also don't want to get banned.

---

DFS and Luka the only ones part of this core long-term IMO

x___________________________________

[Chicagojk]

Well the Clippers played really well today.  After Dallas got the 5 point lead it went downhill fast.  Dallas really needs to improve their roster.   The tricky part is how to do it and make yourself a contender next year.    

Look at the production from Dallas' signings this offseason tonight.  Not good.    And this is not to disrespect Boban who had some good moments, but Dallas hardly played him all year and then had to count on him for 31 minutes in game 7.   That tells you a lot of their team building this offseason.   

A lot of hard, uncomfortable questions have to be asked this offseason to everyone.    I don't believe they can work around the edges to improve this team both with players and the front office.   I for one, want to give KP another year, but he needs to be utilized much differently.

[burekemde]

All players besides Luka, maybe even with KP included, are backups on all other contending teams. There is no way you make it out of first round against a great team.

Luka DFS is what you build with. 

Im shocked how many levels the Clippers bench was better in every single minute of 7 games. 

Its a miracle by Luka this reached game 7.

[Time Machine Dirk]

https://twitter.com/tim_cato/status/1401659649074483200

That´s the sad reality. Lot of work to do in the coming months.

Well, in defense of the MBT: We are talking about two offseasons. What should they have accomplished during that time? There were no star free agents to get. Jae Crowder would have been a nice fit and they were interested but well, he decided to go to the Suns.
We could have overpaid some good role players in FA but who says we wouldn't have lost against the Clippers with those other role players?