GAME 36: DAL (18-18) @ OKC (13-23) | 95-86 win

[Scott41theMavs]

Liked the rotations, except no Frank. Pre-protocols, I thought we didn't have a team. Now we have way too many guys.

[ItsGoTime]

I cannot overstate how much more I like 14-shot-Luka than 21-shot-Luka. I have said for years that "best Luka" should average about 18-20 pts and 12-14 assists.

This is what I said and thought might happened when we got KP. I was thinking closer to 22-23 ppg with the same amount of assists. I thought KP would be at the 25 ppg guy at that time.

[dirkfansince1998]

I cannot overstate how much more I like 14-shot-Luka than 21-shot-Luka. I have said for years that "best Luka" should average about 18-20 pts and 12-14 assists.

Wouldn´t go as far. He just needs to take what the defense is giving him. If they double a lot or trap him he needs to find the open man and trust his teammates. If they are playing him one vs one and aren´t helping in the paint he needs to be agressive and attack the paint.
All about the right balance. A little bit like LBJ in Miami or Cleveland. Dominant when he is needed but leaving enough room for another high volume ballhandler (Wade, Irving).

[Kammrath]

I thought Giddey was the best player by far on the court tonight.  Created so many easy baskets at the rim for his teammates.  He just seemed like a step ahead of everyone on the court all game long.  Really impressive.

He was. If this was the only game I had ever seen of all these guys he would easily have been my first pick if I was building a team.

[Kammrath]

Wouldn´t go as far. He just needs to take what the defense is giving him. If they double a lot or trap him he needs to find the open man and trust his teammates. If they are playing him one vs one and aren´t helping in the paint he needs to be agressive and attack the paint.
All about the right balance. A little bit like LBJ in Miami or Cleveland. Dominant when he is needed but leaving enough room for another high volume ballhandler (Wade, Irving).

That's fair. If Luka is getting layups he can have 21 shots.  And I would easily eliminate half of his 8.3 threes per game. That would bring him down to 17 shots per game.

[MrGoat]

Is it just me or did Luka look thinner. 

He didn't seem to be moving much better though, maybe the COVID hit him a bit

[mvossman]

If there's any justice in the league, the Mavs should have a hard time signing Chriss for the rest of the season. Why? Because he deserves more than vet minimum. Any teams out there with their MLE, BAE, or cap room who could steal him from us? On that basis, I won't bash the Mavs too much if he goes elsewhere for more $$$. But it will be a shame if so. I would go so far as to say he'd be our fifth best player (LD, KP, JB, DFS).

Prolly need to tap the breaks on that.  He has played a small sample of games against Covid replacements and defensive juggernauts like Kings, Blazers and OKC.  He is prolly worth a vet min (it will be interesting to see if we dump WCS or Brown) for the rest of the year, but nothing more.  Need a much bigger sample to think he is worth anything more.  Burke looked great for roughly the same sample size against better competition in the bubble, and like Burke he was out of the league when we brought him on.  There is usually a good reason these guys are out of the league.

[Scott41theMavs]

Prolly need to tap the breaks on that.  He has played a small sample of games against Covid replacements and defensive juggernauts like Kings, Blazers and OKC.  He is prolly worth a vet min (it will be interesting to see if we dump WCS or Brown) for the rest of the year, but nothing more.  Need a much bigger sample to think he is worth anything more.  Burke looked great for roughly the same sample size against better competition in the bubble, and like Burke he was out of the league when we brought him on.  There is usually a good reason these guys are out of the league.

He was out of the league because he broke his leg.

---

I was going to "gentleman's bet" anyone who would take me up on it that THJ would have the worst +/- on the team in this game. Glad I didn't suggest it. He looked decent. Still can't have him shooting 29% (he was 2-7 in this game) the rest of the way and say he's anywhere near living up to his contract. If you have to dump Timmy to re-sign Brunson, you absolutely do it.

[Kammrath]

Is it just me or did Luka look thinner. 

He didn't to me.

[burekemde]

Is it just me or did Luka look thinner. 

He didn't seem to be moving much better though, maybe the COVID hit him a bit

He never looked any different, he looks normal. Nobody complained when the team was up front early in season being third or fourth spot in the West until Lukas ankle injury came. Once the ankle injury came, the team lost many games, Luka started to limp, and all of sudden he was called" fat". He is very slighly bigger than last season, yes. He is limping due to ankle injury - not due to being "heavy". It's a made up thing that he is fat or heavy and that this is the reason he is limping.

We can expect a longer period of limping still and not being in full form, due to covid and the ankle injury. He should come along to top shape prior to playoffs.

[ItsGoTime]

He never looked any different, he looks normal. Nobody complained when the team was up front early in season being third or fourth spot in the West until Lukas ankle injury came. Once the ankle injury came, the team lost many games, Luka started to limp, and all of sudden he was called" fat". He is very slighly bigger than last season, yes. He is limping due to ankle injury - not due to being "heavy". It's a made up thing that he is fat or heavy and that this is the reason he is limping.

We can expect a longer period of limping still and not being in full form, due to covid and the ankle injury. He should come along to top shape prior to playoffs.

Sorry, but the out of shape/fat talk has been going on around here since the beginning of the season.

[burekemde]

Sorry, but the out of shape/fat talk has been going on around here since the beginning of the season.

Very little talk, there was around here before his injury, yes. 99% of this talk however started/came suddenly at the time Luka started to limp due to injuring his ankle, and the team started losing many games and falling down on the overall table. This is surely no coincidence. This is where most of the talk started - after his injury. His injury and thus his limping has been misused as a argument for making him look out of shape and fat. However, despite that Luka would have had his best season pre-injury if the team overall converted better the great shot opportunities that he created. Honestly, he looks completely normal (slightly bigger and stronger than usual), and I can't see why anyone can see and say that he is fat. He looks normal. He is limping due to his ankle, that's it. Now he has likely lost some conditioning due to covid. He will back in top shape for playoffs and silence all the haters. Many if not most being the same ones that criticised him before the draft - and that like/love to see him limp as this brings a little bit of hope back on their wrong judgment about Luka.

[ItsGoTime]

Very little talk, there was around here before his injury, yes. 99% of this talk however started/came suddenly at the time Luka started to limp due to injuring his ankle, and the team started losing many games and falling down on the overall table. This is surely no coincidence. This is where most of the talk started - after his injury. His injury and thus his limping has been misused as a argument for making him look out of shape and fat. However, despite that Luka would have had his best season pre-injury if the team overall converted better the great shot opportunities that he created. Honestly, he looks completely normal (slightly bigger and stronger than usual), and I can't see why anyone can see and say that he is fat. He looks normal. He is limping due to his ankle, that's it. Now he has likely lost some conditioning due to covid. He will back in top shape for playoffs and silence all the haters. Many if not most being the same ones that criticised him before the draft - and that like/love to see him limp as this brings a little bit of hope back on their wrong judgment about Luka.

We have different recollections on this matter. Kamm has been championing the Luka is out of shape talk since about 5 games into the season. There has been many back and forths concerning that subject. When we were winning there was still talk about how ugly the wins were and discussion revolving around when the wheels will fall off or they get their crap together and start looking good.


You must be getting this board mixed up with reddit or something, or have been ignoring the discussion here cause I don’t remember reading much of what you’re talking about.

[burekemde]

We have different recollections on this matter. Kamm has been championing the Luka is out of shape talk since about 5 games into the season. There has been many back and forths concerning that subject. When we were winning there was still talk about how ugly the wins were and discussion revolving around when the wheels will fall off or they get their crap together and start looking good.


You must be getting this board mixed up with reddit or something, or have been ignoring the discussion here cause I don’t remember reading much of what you’re talking about.

Few posters mentioned this early in season and nobody else backed that up that he was out of shape. It was not much of a talking point as it is now, it has started to be discussed a lot more after his injury. This is a fact. So yes, it is a strong and valid point to consider. And now after his injury everybody suddenly thinks he is out of shape? That reinforces really a lot that it is the limping that make people think that he is out of shape. Not that he is limping because he is out of shape. Again if we disagree how he looks, and we do, as I dont see anywhere that he is fat, his stats really tell the whole story, as do the teams record before his injury, and we can all agree that he should have had his best assist season to date this year if not for the team being so bad in converting the shots.

[ItsGoTime]

Few posters mentioned this early in season and nobody else backed that up that he was out of shape. It was not much of a talking point as it is now, it has started to be discussed a lot more after his injury. This is a fact. So yes, it is a strong and valid point to consider. And now after his injury everybody suddenly thinks he is out of shape? That reinforces really a lot that it is the limping that make people think that he is out of shape. Not that he is limping because he is out of shape. Again if we disagree how he looks, and we do, as I dont see anywhere that he is fat, his stats really tell the whole story, as do the teams record before his injury, and we can all agree that he should have had his best assist season to date this year if not for the team being so bad in converting the shots.

Ahhh, I see, that’s why WAB felt the need to post his disgust with the term “Fat Luka” waaaay before the leg injury. Omahen has spent lots of time pre-injury trying to debunk the talk. Look, I don’t have much of a dog in the fight about this, I just want to see him play well with the team. But this narrative you’re pushing that it grew so much when he had the leg injury is a myth.

[Kammrath]

But this narrative you’re pushing that it grew so much when he had the leg injury is a myth.

Completely made up and fabricated. And people observing and worrying about Luka's weight and conditioning goes back over a year to the start of last season as well. It has been a perpetual concern for many to most fans for that long.

[fifteenth]

He never looked any different, he looks normal. Nobody complained when the team was up front early in season being third or fourth spot in the West until Lukas ankle injury came. Once the ankle injury came, the team lost many games, Luka started to limp, and all of sudden he was called" fat". He is very slighly bigger than last season, yes. He is limping due to ankle injury - not due to being "heavy". It's a made up thing that he is fat or heavy and that this is the reason he is limping.

We can expect a longer period of limping still and not being in full form, due to covid and the ankle injury. He should come along to top shape prior to playoffs.

Very little talk, there was around here before his injury, yes. 99% of this talk however started/came suddenly at the time Luka started to limp due to injuring his ankle, and the team started losing many games and falling down on the overall table.

Few posters mentioned this early in season and nobody else backed that up that he was out of shape.

This just flat out isn't true. Not only have we talked about it all season (so much so that we've had some skirmishes based on it), but reporters and commentators have been on it as well, all season. 

It's ok burek, we who aren't Luka's countrymen love Luka too. Have you noticed how we treat Dirk around here?

[omahen]

This just flat out isn't true. Not only have we talked about it all season (so much so that we've had some skirmishes based on it), but reporters and commentators have been on it as well, all season. 

I don't remember it that way. There was no talk about it in the preseason, when Mavs went on that 4-0 run. On the contrary, we can find many "this season will be awesome takes" with "Luka in best shape and KP with full summer of preparation". It started with bad Mavs plays and the more they were losing the more it was increasing. It culminated with McMahon piece a month or so ago. Than the commentators have been on it.

[omahen]

Why don't we have a look at some quotes from the DAL wins prediction thread (no one had anything to say about Luka being fat):

Mavsfan12: Doncic is in shape and ready to slay.

ThisIsTheYear: These guys look good, fit, and deep and they have the second best player in the NBA.

Fifteenth also seemed to be enthusiastic at the time: Luka now should be better than Luka past (not necessarily related to weight though)

[omahen]

There is more of that. Take That With You 10/7: Biggest takeaway so far is that Luka appears to have arrived in great shape. That’s a big deal.