05-20-2024, 12:40 PM
(05-20-2024, 11:12 AM)Nowitzki Way Wrote: I wanted no part of Minnesota in these playoffs. This is our worst matchup. The three headed bigs of Gobert/Towns/Reid really scares me, especially without Kleber. I'm not sure Gafford matches up well against any of those 3. Lively is going to be crucial in this series, but for him its all about staying out of foul trouble. Good luck.
Then Anthony Edwards. He's the next superstar in this league. He has the dog mentality and can take over a game at any given time. Our perimeter defenders are going to have to work hard to keep him in check. I think they will be ready though. SGA is as good as they come right now. Paul George and Harden were no cake walks either.
We thought Lu Dort was an excellent defender, wait til you see Jaden McDaniels hound him for 40 minutes. He's not as thick as Dort, but he's much longer at 6'9". He will give Luka problems, especially with all the nagging injuries. But outside of him they have no one that can guard Luka. Or Kyrie. At least OKC had Cason Wallace. Getting McDaniels off Luka or off the floor should be a big focus for Dallas.
They run a tight 8 man rotation. With Reid, Walker-Alexander, Anderson off the bench. With a little Monte Morris sprinkled in. I'm not sure if thats better than what OKC brought off the bench Joe, Wallace, Wiggins, Jaylin Williams. Joe was lights out from 3. Wallace played excellent defense and made a few big shots. With Minnesota, i think Reid will be the X-Factor this whole series.
Its crazy to say, but i would have rather played Denver. I'm saying Minnesota in 6. And as always, hope to be wrong.
To be fair, you have generally had a pessimistic view of this team, yes? I believe you felt we were likely to get knocked out of the play-in?