Game 74 Dirkie Thread: LUUUKA

[ballsrchr]

Who played above expectations?

[ballsrchr]

Well...I think that all the games left are trap games. We can't let up. This wave has to be rode into the playoffs.

Luka's first half could have pulled the chair out from under most teams. The great thing is we have Kyrie for the second half.

And then there's Exum. Stat-wise he does almost nothing. My eye test says otherwise.

4 Mavs in double figures. 6 Rockets in double figures. Hard to win games like that but the Mavs did it almost with ease. Not going to say it's because of Luka, but...

My Dirkie goes to Luka.

[Smitty]

I thought PJ was the best player on the floor when Luka sat in the second quarter. Great passing, shooting, rebounding and of course defense.

Exum being left open isn’t a good gameplan by the opposing team. He was who he is and it’s great to see.

Gafford is so good for this team. Hope Lively is good to go Tuesday because he’s still doing his part for this two-headed monster at C.

Kai in the 4th did what Kai does in the 4th.

Luka showed once again why he’s the best player in the NBA right now. Another MVP performance. Worthy of the Dirkie.

[The Jom]

What a game to get to see in person! Sat on the side about even with the hoop the Mavs shot at first half. Net seemed to be on fire. Luka certainly was.

Rockets fan behind me re Luka, “As much as I’m NOT enjoying this, it is pretty amazing to see.”

[SleepingHero]

This game was crazy. A shootout in Texas is always a sight to see.

First off, what a game for The Jom to see. Mavs absolutely stomped from the 1st quarter on and the highlights were endless. I am/was jealous I didn't get to see this one live.

Secondly, Kyrie freaking Irving. He embodies the black mamba mentality like no other. He sits and bides his time until the 4th quarter and before you know it he's scored 15 points in 4 minutes and the other team didn't know what hit them. Obviously this game was long over before Kyrie took over in the 4th, but I have to mention it because it's surgical the way he operates. Great game from him.

Shoutout to Gafford and PJ. They brought so much intensity tonight at the rim. PJ hit more than 1 three and attacked off the dribble. He went after Jalen Green and basically put a stop to his hot streak. Gafford was an enforcer through and through tonight. HOU tried to challenge him early and just kept failing. By the end they were afraid to even go at him. Punctuated with an emphatic block on Jalen Green and that was that. Great great game from those two.

THJ and Exum also had fantastic games but for different reasons. Exum was perfect tonight from the field. He stepped into every shot and punished the Rockets for leaving him alone. He also hounded every single perimeter player and made their life hell. THJ let the game come to him. Luka was so hot that THJ barely touched the ball until the 3rd quarter. Even so THJ defended his butt off and made several extra passes for a better shot instead of calling his own number. He then caught a rhythm later and hit 3 threes in the 4th to take the Rockets out to pasture.


Luka. My oh my Luka. Luka was incredible. First game in 2 weeks where Luka looked himself offensively. He had his legs under him and felt bouncy. Was he gassed at the end of the first quarter to the point his hands were on his knees? Sure. Did it matter? Nope. Followill alluded to this on the broadcast but Luka was so locked in and on fire to the point where he transcended the game itself and was just toying with Houston. It literally didn't matter what Houston tried, Luka was going to get the exact type of shot he wanted and he was going to make it. No better example than Luka hitting an absurd 25 foot scoop shot with a second remaining on the shot clock just because he could. He could've easily had 60+ if he went for it. Masterful doesn't do it justice. Dirkie for him. What a game from him.

What a game from the Mavs as a whole too. I hope this mysterious lower leg injury for Lively isn't a big deal either. We're gonna need him badly to punish the Warriors.

EDIT: Also just want to say tonight was the difference between the caliber player Luka is vs. someone like Jalen Green. I watched/listened to a lot of Rockets stuff leading up to this game and they were all gushing about the potential matchup between the two. So many HOU fans/commentators thought Green finally could go toe-to-toe with the best in the league (And to be fair, his stats suggested this). Well Luka showed why the Rockets are MUCH farther away than they thought.

[SleepingHero]

All I have to say is the Rockets announcers on this call was the funniest thing I've seen in a while

https://streamable.com/lz8bwc

[Reunion Mav]

Now this the way to celebrate a very nice win. I saw the Luka pregame shot off of the center court video scoreboard, off the backboard and through the basket. He was just so Luka. Let’s go for the 5-0 road trip.

[MrGoat]

This is another one of those where try as you might to find another candidate, you know it's Luka

[soog]

Anyone have a clip of the Rocket’s broadcast when Luka hit the scoop shot 3? It’s the clip on ESPN. One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. The commentator just starts saying “Oh no… no… no, no, no” as the ball leaves Luka’s hand because he knows what is happening. It’ll be the best thing you watch today.

Over this last run I have to take back all of the things I’ve said about Kidd. He has suddenly turned it on. More apparent in the Kings games than this one, but ball movement has increased, ISO ball has decreased, set plays have increased, rotations have improved, intensity has increased, timely use of timeouts have increased. All of the things I ragged on him for have been flipped 180. So Jason Kidd, I applaud you. Well done.


Edit:

Link to video: http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/39849665