GAME 5 Playoffs 2024: Oklahoma City Thunder (2-2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (2-2)

[mvossman]

The Luka takes are starting to be hyperbolized to both sides of the spectrum, which seems to be what happens with every disagreement these days. I have been mildly critical of his playoff run, and I stand by that, but I also don’t think one playoff run should dictate how we view him as a player or a man. Whether it is 100% about the injury or if there is something else bothering him, it is clear that he is struggling.

What is also becoming clear is that while these Mavericks have surprised us by winning quite a few playoff games without the idealized version of Luka we have come to expect, they seem to have reached the limit of what they can achieve (this season, at least) under those circumstances. Kyrie will probably have a better game tonight than he did in game four, but other than that I’m not sure we can expect much more from the rest of the team. They are all playing really well.

Nothing for it but to hope Luka finds a way to overcome the hardships he’s enduring: the injury, its effect on his stamina and balance, the physical defense he’s facing and his perception of how he’s being officiated. I sincerely hope he overcomes and gives us a glimpse of the player we expected coming into the postseason.

And if not, all is not lost. We have seen what this team is capable of, and I think, after some reflection, most of us will agree that it is capable of more than we first thought. After a training camp and hopefully more luck with health, next season should be really fun.

If there was one other thing to hope for (other than Luka overcoming his struggles) it would be for Exum to get more minutes and be worthy of it.  He has been one of the few non injury related disappointments this offseason (although he has never been quite the same since coming back from his injury).