PLAYOFFS ROUND 2: #1 PHX (3-4) vs. #4 DAL (4-3) | DAL advances to WCF!

[MaxiThreeba]

Luka or Brunson are going to have to guard a quality offensive player when it’s starters on starters.  One of them can take Crowder but you’re looking at Brunson on Paul and/or Luka on Bridges for stretches.

[Jym]

Luka or Brunson are going to have to guard a quality offensive player when it’s starters on starters.  One of them can take Crowder but you’re looking at Brunson on Paul and/or Luka on Bridges for stretches.

And I could see us gearing towards disrupting Paul, Booker and Ayton and giving Bridges the greenlight to try to beat us
Especially if he's the primary defender on Luka

Always going to be some type of release point

And on another point, hopefully we don't try the Luka/DFS frontcourt against Ayton
He would feast on that.

[Magickian]

Round Two, LETS GOOOOOO!!!

[Slavius]

i´m staying positive. mavs in 7. nothing to lose from here

[ballsrchr]

I think a long term key is to make Chris Paul play hard the full game.  Wear him out!  Usually he just idles along until the 4th quarter...where he is then fresh enough to turn it on.  He does this time after time.  The Mavs have played well enough through 3 quarters to give them hope but the grizzled old gray hair CP pulls the Suns over the line.  Notice I said "gray hair" not "hairs" as in plural.  CP is old!  Work that old man!

I'm not disparaging the talent of Ayton and Booker, but I just hate to see CP beat us again...

Yeah...MAVS in seven...

[Jym]

I think a long term key is to make Chris Paul play hard the full game.  Wear him out!  Usually he just idles along until the 4th quarter...where he is then fresh enough to turn it on.  He does this time after time.  The Mavs have played well enough through 3 quarters to give them hope but the grizzled old gray hair CP pulls the Suns over the line.  Notice I said "gray hair" not "hairs" as in plural.  CP is old!  Work that old man!

I'm not disparaging the talent of Ayton and Booker, but I just hate to see CP beat us again...

Yeah...MAVS in seven...

Luka will be completely unstoppable if he can ever settle into taking those open mid-range shots on the move
Doubling/trapping is the only defense against that. Unguardable one-on-one.

[KillerLeft]

I don't think Dallas has what it takes to beat PHX 4 out of 7 times right now. I don't. 

But, I'll say this: if there was ONE matchup they were envisioning when they dumped KP, it was PHX. They are much better suited to play a pick and roll team like PHX now than they were at the beginning of this season. It's not as impossible to imagine as it once was.

[ReunionMav]

I am not sure any team can beat Phoenix 4 out of 7. They are and have been really good. I watched all 3 of our games this year and even that lesser early version of this year’s Mavericks hung with Phoenix quite well. The question is can we out close the best closing team in the NBA by stats this year. We have improved at that but we will have to get to elite execution status. I would not rule a 2nd round victory out. Even Luka pretty much said that. 

We have been evaluating what we already have and fitting them together all year. This is a big exam for our guys. I hope we get to take the “Finals” exam!!!!

[michaeltex]

From my viewpoint, the primary goals for this season were:

• Figure out KP's place on the team
  
• Find some additional perimeter shooters for Luka
  
• Improve defensively to at least league average.
  
• Get into second round of playoffs.
  

All of these have been accomplished. Now as the team goes to the next round, Kidd and his staff can see what cracks develop from the higher stresses and address those this offseason. Targeted improvement rather than cattle-call turnover.

BTW, I think CP3 is the head of the snake in PHX. If we can get him off his game, then I like our chances.

[KillerLeft]

From my viewpoint, the primary goals for this season were:

• Figure out KP's place on the team
  
  
• Find some additional perimeter shooters for Luka
  
  
• Improve defensively to at least league average.
  
  
• Get into second round of playoffs.
  
  

All of these have been accomplished. Now as the team goes to the next round, Kidd and his staff can see what cracks develop from the higher stresses and address those this offseason. Targeted improvement rather than cattle-call turnover.

Well said. I'm with you 100%.

[Winter]

I think the disadvantage here is pretty obvious.

We have several players playing too many minutes because our bench is weak. Tightening it to eight-man rotation isn't that helpful. We managed with Utah because the matchups were in our favor on the perimeter. Phoenix will be a different animal. Ayton is agile, can guard a little on the perimeter, and has an offensive game facing the basket. Plus, their wings won't miss as many open looks.

I watched our last game again this morning. Our starters were exhausted in the last quarter. Kleber was just plain slow and playing Green in any rotation has an offensive downside (2 minutes last night). Bertans, Brown, and Burke were largely no-shows. I think Bertans made it in for a few seconds (score one for the B-Boys). Criss? Frankie? I didn't see either. We literally have a six-man rotation now for these playoffs.

Still, I would expect the Mavericks to take one or two just because Doncic is such a monster. Perhaps Brunson can wear down CP3. But Dallas will really have to re-tool the bench is they want take the next step next year.

[windjc]

I loath how fans on here are just waiting on the Mavs to lose and get it over with. Its really pathetic.

There are NO juggernaut teams right now. Phoenix is not as good as they were last year. That is painfully obvious watching them. Dallas has had a better record post ASG than Phoenix.

I am sick and tired of the attitude in here. You guys need to wake the F up.

Luke is the best player in the West. We will have the best player on the court during any series probably including the finals.

Some of you need to pull your head out.

---

From my viewpoint, the primary goals for this season were:

• Figure out KP's place on the team
  
• Find some additional perimeter shooters for Luka
  
• Improve defensively to at least league average.
  
• Get into second round of playoffs.
  

All of these have been accomplished. Now as the team goes to the next round, Kidd and his staff can see what cracks develop from the higher stresses and address those this offseason. Targeted improvement rather than cattle-call turnover.

BTW, I think CP3 is the head of the snake in PHX. If we can get him off his game, then I like our chances.

Yeah I can pretty much guarantee you that Kidd and Luka do not agree. Get out of here with this weak take. Because you can't see how the Mavs are playing in relation to the rest of the league, means you are completely missing it.

[Winter]

I am sick and tired of the attitude in here. You guys need to wake the F up.

What is this?

Are we supposed to pretend Dallas is the best team in the NBA because we're hometown fans? 

It's not like anyone here has been all that critical of the Mavericks. But a blind man could tell you a few other teams have more talent (or depth) on their roster... and should be expected to win against this team.

[windjc]

What is this?

Are we supposed to pretend Dallas is the best team in the NBA because we're hometown fans? 

It's not like anyone here has been all that critical of the Mavericks. But a blind man could tell you a few other teams have more talent (or depth) on their roster... and should be expected to win against this team.

What is this? It's realism.

Dallas has had the second best record since the ASB and the best record over a little longer period. 

So many on here are ready to anoint a team like Boston who has also shown no past record of success in the playoffs, a team we beat IN BOSTON just a few weeks ago. Then so many want to dismiss our chances against Phoenix when all 3 losses were before the trade and two of the losses were at the beginning of the season. 

Few want to talk about how our defense is playing as well as any team in the league including Boston.

Few want to talk about Luka putting up historic #s in the playoffs, only surpassed by a player named Jordan. 

Few want to admit that Brunson had a better series against Utah than any player on Phoenix's team had against NO. Basically if Brunson continues to perform at this level Dallas will have the 2 best players on the court against Phoenix.

Most people do not want to see reality and I have no idea why.

[Winter]

So many on here are ready to anoint a team like Boston who has also shown no past record of success in the playoffs, a team we beat IN BOSTON just a few weeks ago

You do remember that Dallas has shown no past record of success in the playoffs either. Boston has played deep in the playoffs in 2017, 2018, and 2020

Our defense is probably not playing as well as Boston's. Opponent points are just one of more than a dozen metrics. Many team defensive metrics (like rebounds allowed) favor Boston.

So Brunson is now better than Chris Paul? Booker too? Bridges was second to Marcus Smart as defensive player of the year. Ayton or Powell? Is that really a difficult question?

C'mon. Dallas could win it, but they will be heavy underdogs for a reason.

[windjc]

You do remember that Dallas has shown no past record of success in the playoffs either. Boston has played deep in the playoffs in 2017, 2018, and 2020

Our defense is probably not playing as well as Boston's. Opponent points are just one of more than a dozen metrics. Many team defensive metrics (like rebounds allowed) favor Boston.

So Brunson is now better than Chris Paul? Booker too? Bridges was second to Marcus Smart as defensive player of the year. Ayton or Powell? Is that really a difficult question?

C'mon. Dallas could win it, but they will be heavy underdogs for a reason.

Brunson played more efficiently than Paul or Booker last series. That is just a fact. It's not a debate.  If he plays that way in this series Dallas will field the 2 best players. 

I do not care about the past. I am looking at performance at the moment. Based on what I have seen so far, Boston and GSW have been the most impressive of the 9 teams left. Dallas has played well enough to put them at #3. I'd put Phoenix in the middle of the playoff pack from what I have seen. And more importantly than what I think, stats back up my opinions.

[Winter]

And more importantly than what I think, stats back up my opinions.

Well if you are right, I'm pretty sure Las Vegas, NBA Sport writers, and basketball pundits will all be picking the Mavericks to win it.

But they aren't.

They could win it. I'd be thrilled. But they won't be picked to win it.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Brunson played more efficiently than Paul or Booker last series. That is just a fact. It's not a debate.  If he plays that way in this series Dallas will field the 2 best players. 

I do not care about the past. I am looking at performance at the moment. Based on what I have seen so far, Boston and GSW have been the most impressive of the 9 teams left. Dallas has played well enough to put them at #3. I'd put Phoenix in the middle of the playoff pack from what I have seen. And more importantly than what I think, stats back up my opinions.

Man, you're trippin. Dallas has a good team, but there are better teams and Phoenix is one of them. If you think Dallas is going to beat Phoenix 4 times this series, more power to ya. It could happen, but I doubt it. And I bet Vegas doesn't think so either.  I believe they still have a bad taste in their mouth from losing 4 straight games after a 2-0 lead to the Bucks in last year's finals. I still think they come out the West.

[Mavs2021]

I´ll be impressed, if they win two games.

Not only is Phoenix the top team in the league, but also a shitty match-up for us over the last few years. Furthermore they are the best clutch team in the league and we simply do not have the firepower to blow them out early. So it will come down to execution late and then Luka has to be a lot more mature than he has ever proven to be. He just gets 3pt point trigger lazy/happy. We run no offense anymore and that won´t fly against the Suns.

It feels like a  4 to 1.5-ish series.

[Mavs2021]

I loath how fans on here are just waiting on the Mavs to lose and get it over with. Its really pathetic.

There are NO juggernaut teams right now. Phoenix is not as good as they were last year. That is painfully obvious watching them. Dallas has had a better record post ASG than Phoenix.

I am sick and tired of the attitude in here. You guys need to wake the F up.

Luke is the best player in the West. We will have the best player on the court during any series probably including the finals.

Some of you need to pull your head out.

You can pay people to put their head up your ass, if you put your money, where your mouth is.

Just bet on the Mavs to make the finals, cause it´s 20-1, 7th best odds now that Embiid broke his face, otherwise we´d comfortably sit in 8th.