GAME 4 Playoffs 2024: Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (2-1)

[MaxiThreeba]

Yeah. 

Look, I'm not in any hurry to dump on someone who, at 25, is arguably already the greatest Maverick of all-time, but I'm not sure we're not letting him off the hook a bit blaming this 100% on an injury. 

The injury seems to be improving, somewhat. He's moving ok to me. 

The injury isn't making him throw passes directly to Thunder players.

The injury isn't making him force up shots without anyone else touching the ball.

The injury isn't forcing him to bitch at the refs NONSTOP. 

I want to love him more than any athlete I've ever followed. I really, really do. And, I'm not going to let this year's playoff results, whatever they end up being, become the EVERYTHING of my opinion of him. But, if I'm being honest, if I followed any other team I think I'd despise him.

I’m with you on the injury thing.  We all get it and acknowledge it, he is hurt and it’s obvious.  

But he’s not adjusting his game at all based on that fact.  He’s actually flailing around even more and slamming to the ground over and over as a result.  He’s showing the worst version of himself when it comes to the complaining and theatrics.  

Unfortunately instead of having a HC that can pull him aside and tell him to pull back on all that, he has one that says it’s just Luka being Luka.  Instead of having a HC that is willing to say you are nowhere close to 100% and here’s how we are going to adjust things to counter that he has one that says Luka is the gameplan.