08-21-2020, 02:23 PM
(08-21-2020, 02:17 PM)StepBackJay Wrote: So here's are some things playing in the Mavs favor this series:
1 - No home court advantage (which favors the higher seeded team). I think the pressure just isn't there, certainly not for the Mavs who a) are playing with house money basically and b) don't have opposing fans screaming at the top of their lungs. You could argue there's infinity more pressure on the Clippers who are the heavy favorites to win the whole thing.
2 - Bubble games have skewed towards offense and Mavs have the best offense of all time?
3 - Refs are calling tight games as far as I can tell (correct me if I am wrong those of you watching more games than me). I think the lack of a crowd adding distraction is a factor there. This is key because the Clips would love to beat the hell out of Luka in particular but I think so far the refs are calling a lot of fouls.
4 - PatBev might be out a while and he is a major pest
5 - Everyone plays defense in the playoffs so the Mavs raised their game while the Clips are more/less the same as they were all season on D. They look worse bc the Mavs have a great offense but I think their effort on D is more or less the same.
This game 3 will probably let you know whether the Mavs have a shot in this series. I would say if the Clips win, the Mavs probably don't but still could drag it out 6 games (which would be a confidence boost). If Mavs win we will be very excited but Mavs could still lose in 7.
I thought last game Luka would take a beating so maybe that happens this game. If we get another game where refs are actually calling fouls (go figure!) then maybe we got a shot here.
Regarding your distinctions about the bubble games - in my sugarplum dreams today, I'm actually most nervous that the Mavs will win the championship and that all the talking heads will put an asterisk next to it, because, you know, how could these baby Mavs win if it wasn't the bubble.