05-25-2024, 12:50 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-25-2024, 01:12 PM by KillerLeft.)
Wowowowowowow, WHAT A GAME!
Once again, I had a conflict and couldn't watch live, so it was like 1 AM by the time I finished.
For starters, DANIEL GAFFORD! I said I thought his Game 1 was the best of his postseason, so far, and he topped that in this one. I knew he was on one when he made that hook shot on the 2nd or 3rd possession of the game, and it was certainly an offensive performance to remember from him, but I thought his rim protection and defensive paint presence in this one was on another level. I'm done worrying about whether he's overkill as a 2nd center at his price for a good, long while, because (and I can't believe this is happening) this is TWO GAMES IN A ROW where the Mavs have destroyed the Wolves on the glass and in paint points! The combo of Gafford and Lively really are beating the Wolves at their own game, which I admit, is an advantage I didn't see coming.
Speaking of Lively, I thought he was BAD in the first half. Unnecessary fouls, a few missed rotations, some nervous fumbles...I spent the first half thinking "wow, is this the first game I'll be hoping Gafford gets more minutes than Lively?" But, as we've come to expect, the kid totally came through in the end, being part of that crucial late 2nd quarter run and then dominating during almost his entire stretch of the 2nd half. Luka and Kyrie's last two shots are getting the attention, but I actually thought the play of the game was on the Wolves' second to last possession, when Lively got switching onto Edwards at around the free-throw line AND FORCED A FREAKING TURNOVER. Without that, Luka's shot wouldn't have been possible. Speaking of that last shot, Lively had a key role in making it possible. Yes, it probably would've been a switch, but if you watch Lively during that highlight next time, you'll notice there was a moment when McDaniels' attention was on Luka and I believe he was trying to find a way to jump back out on him. Instead of rolling out of the action too fast, which probably would have resulted the ball coming out of Luka's hands, he lingered, interacting with McDaniles just enough to ensure the defender had to stay with him into the paint and leave Gobert on Luka. Really veteran stuff from a 20-year old, imo.
Speaking of Edwards, we were talking about him a lot yesterday, and I was legitimately frightened of him coming into this one. Big props to BigDirk41 and someone else (I think MaxiThreeba) who were making the point that he hasn't been himself for a WHILE. It seems that Edwards really has run out of gas, because, while he started the game in bulldozer mode, that was all over by about the middle of the first quarter, and then the Mavs were again able to confuse him by putting bodies in places to cause confusion once he slowed down a bit. I thought Jason Timpf's immediate post game analysis rightly pointed out that Kidd's scheme and Lively/Gafford in the paint are making Edwards' midrange game much harder, because the rim protection enables his defender, usually DJJ or PJ, but sometimes even Luka or Kyrie, to play him tighter between the break and the foul line than most teams' defenders are able. All I can say is that I hope the "first time this deep in the playoffs wall" keeps up for Edwards, but I'm also impressed by how Dallas is making things difficult for him!
The games aren't working out in such a way where DJJ can contribute much on offense, so far, but that's just fine with Dallas, obviously, and I think he's finding what he can out there. There were a few times when I was frustrated because he was bringing the ball up in transition and didn't notice that Lively had outrun the entire Wolves' defense, but his real contribution is obviously on the other end and we know he'll always earn his money there.
PJ Washington is having an interesting series. He has been alternating between cringe moments and "thank God for PJ" moments on offense, which is no different than the last two series, only in this one they're making an effort to include him in the offense, so the good moments are coming with much more variety and we're seeing, I think, signs of what's to come for him next season on that end of the floor. In game 1 it was pick and pop (no buckets out of it, unfortunately, but all great looks, so we know he knows how to find space out of it) and in this one he was the outlet on some blitzes (I've been waiting for that) and was able to floor the ball and get to his floater, some layups, etc. I thought that post up late where he scored off the glass was another huge, huge play. On the defensive end, he's physically outmatched by KAT, and there are moments when I think "this isn't going to work for the entire series" but somehow, in the end, KAT's numbers look terrible, and in this one KAT actually got benched, I think because of PJ's offense and because PJ and Lively were straight killing him up and down the court in transition.
Jason Kidd deserves all the credit in the world for trusting Jaden Hardy at this point. There are moments when you can tell he's not quite ready, like when he elects to drive 1 on 3 into the paint and it's basically a turnover, but DJJ and PJ both had at least one of those, themselves, and then there are the times when his irrational confidence results in made threes, great passes (he's starting to figure team ball out better, slowly but surely) and I thought that stretch where the ran the offense through him in the 3rd while Luka got a rest was one of the pivotal things in this game that might go overlooked. I don't even remember if the Mavs won or lost that stretch, but I do know they didn't get killed, because he was able to keep the team scoring. HUGE.
Kyrie was kind of bad by his standards, offensively, but the shots he made in the 4th were BIG BOY PLAYOFF SHOTS. They don't win without that stretch of offense from him. The free-throw choke bummed me out, but then he hit "the shot before the shot" and all was right in the world again. Make or miss, he continues to play with the energy of a man at least five years younger than he is (his conditioning is truly professional) and it's changing this series.
BTW, am I the only one who just noticed Kyrie's crazy FRINGE SHOES? Has he been wearing those for long???
LUKA...mother of God. This was the first game in these playoffs where A) he seemed bothered by the injuriy, but B) it didn't keep him from going full serial killer. Just a gut check, from start to finish, and he reminded us and the world why he's the chosen one. I can't deny him my Dirkie vote for this one, despite an elevated standard. You hit a game winner like that, you get the Dirkie.
The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the Inside guys (mostly because of Draymond's anti-Gobert agenda) twisting this to mock and bury the Wolves. I also felt weird watching Jason Timpf's immediate analysis video. I mean, I agree that there's not much Minnesota can do from here chess-match wise, and that the series is kind of over. But, do we have to laugh in their faces? I know it's not the Mavs doing it, but they need two more wins, and the Inside guys are saying over and over "sweep!" and that they won't be back in Minnesota until next year, and on and on. For the Mavs' sake, I don't want to feed the Wolves any more motivation than they can muster themselves.
Man, I love this team. It's starting to feel pretty special. Big props to Kidd and Nico Harrison.
Once again, I had a conflict and couldn't watch live, so it was like 1 AM by the time I finished.
For starters, DANIEL GAFFORD! I said I thought his Game 1 was the best of his postseason, so far, and he topped that in this one. I knew he was on one when he made that hook shot on the 2nd or 3rd possession of the game, and it was certainly an offensive performance to remember from him, but I thought his rim protection and defensive paint presence in this one was on another level. I'm done worrying about whether he's overkill as a 2nd center at his price for a good, long while, because (and I can't believe this is happening) this is TWO GAMES IN A ROW where the Mavs have destroyed the Wolves on the glass and in paint points! The combo of Gafford and Lively really are beating the Wolves at their own game, which I admit, is an advantage I didn't see coming.
Speaking of Lively, I thought he was BAD in the first half. Unnecessary fouls, a few missed rotations, some nervous fumbles...I spent the first half thinking "wow, is this the first game I'll be hoping Gafford gets more minutes than Lively?" But, as we've come to expect, the kid totally came through in the end, being part of that crucial late 2nd quarter run and then dominating during almost his entire stretch of the 2nd half. Luka and Kyrie's last two shots are getting the attention, but I actually thought the play of the game was on the Wolves' second to last possession, when Lively got switching onto Edwards at around the free-throw line AND FORCED A FREAKING TURNOVER. Without that, Luka's shot wouldn't have been possible. Speaking of that last shot, Lively had a key role in making it possible. Yes, it probably would've been a switch, but if you watch Lively during that highlight next time, you'll notice there was a moment when McDaniels' attention was on Luka and I believe he was trying to find a way to jump back out on him. Instead of rolling out of the action too fast, which probably would have resulted the ball coming out of Luka's hands, he lingered, interacting with McDaniles just enough to ensure the defender had to stay with him into the paint and leave Gobert on Luka. Really veteran stuff from a 20-year old, imo.
Speaking of Edwards, we were talking about him a lot yesterday, and I was legitimately frightened of him coming into this one. Big props to BigDirk41 and someone else (I think MaxiThreeba) who were making the point that he hasn't been himself for a WHILE. It seems that Edwards really has run out of gas, because, while he started the game in bulldozer mode, that was all over by about the middle of the first quarter, and then the Mavs were again able to confuse him by putting bodies in places to cause confusion once he slowed down a bit. I thought Jason Timpf's immediate post game analysis rightly pointed out that Kidd's scheme and Lively/Gafford in the paint are making Edwards' midrange game much harder, because the rim protection enables his defender, usually DJJ or PJ, but sometimes even Luka or Kyrie, to play him tighter between the break and the foul line than most teams' defenders are able. All I can say is that I hope the "first time this deep in the playoffs wall" keeps up for Edwards, but I'm also impressed by how Dallas is making things difficult for him!
The games aren't working out in such a way where DJJ can contribute much on offense, so far, but that's just fine with Dallas, obviously, and I think he's finding what he can out there. There were a few times when I was frustrated because he was bringing the ball up in transition and didn't notice that Lively had outrun the entire Wolves' defense, but his real contribution is obviously on the other end and we know he'll always earn his money there.
PJ Washington is having an interesting series. He has been alternating between cringe moments and "thank God for PJ" moments on offense, which is no different than the last two series, only in this one they're making an effort to include him in the offense, so the good moments are coming with much more variety and we're seeing, I think, signs of what's to come for him next season on that end of the floor. In game 1 it was pick and pop (no buckets out of it, unfortunately, but all great looks, so we know he knows how to find space out of it) and in this one he was the outlet on some blitzes (I've been waiting for that) and was able to floor the ball and get to his floater, some layups, etc. I thought that post up late where he scored off the glass was another huge, huge play. On the defensive end, he's physically outmatched by KAT, and there are moments when I think "this isn't going to work for the entire series" but somehow, in the end, KAT's numbers look terrible, and in this one KAT actually got benched, I think because of PJ's offense and because PJ and Lively were straight killing him up and down the court in transition.
Jason Kidd deserves all the credit in the world for trusting Jaden Hardy at this point. There are moments when you can tell he's not quite ready, like when he elects to drive 1 on 3 into the paint and it's basically a turnover, but DJJ and PJ both had at least one of those, themselves, and then there are the times when his irrational confidence results in made threes, great passes (he's starting to figure team ball out better, slowly but surely) and I thought that stretch where the ran the offense through him in the 3rd while Luka got a rest was one of the pivotal things in this game that might go overlooked. I don't even remember if the Mavs won or lost that stretch, but I do know they didn't get killed, because he was able to keep the team scoring. HUGE.
Kyrie was kind of bad by his standards, offensively, but the shots he made in the 4th were BIG BOY PLAYOFF SHOTS. They don't win without that stretch of offense from him. The free-throw choke bummed me out, but then he hit "the shot before the shot" and all was right in the world again. Make or miss, he continues to play with the energy of a man at least five years younger than he is (his conditioning is truly professional) and it's changing this series.
BTW, am I the only one who just noticed Kyrie's crazy FRINGE SHOES? Has he been wearing those for long???
LUKA...mother of God. This was the first game in these playoffs where A) he seemed bothered by the injuriy, but B) it didn't keep him from going full serial killer. Just a gut check, from start to finish, and he reminded us and the world why he's the chosen one. I can't deny him my Dirkie vote for this one, despite an elevated standard. You hit a game winner like that, you get the Dirkie.
The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the Inside guys (mostly because of Draymond's anti-Gobert agenda) twisting this to mock and bury the Wolves. I also felt weird watching Jason Timpf's immediate analysis video. I mean, I agree that there's not much Minnesota can do from here chess-match wise, and that the series is kind of over. But, do we have to laugh in their faces? I know it's not the Mavs doing it, but they need two more wins, and the Inside guys are saying over and over "sweep!" and that they won't be back in Minnesota until next year, and on and on. For the Mavs' sake, I don't want to feed the Wolves any more motivation than they can muster themselves.
Man, I love this team. It's starting to feel pretty special. Big props to Kidd and Nico Harrison.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)