06-10-2021, 08:16 PM
Here’s the way I see it. For three games, Luka played at a historic level and got just enough help to get the wins. Luka played hurt for most of two games, and the Mavs had no chance. In the two remaining games, Kawhi had one epic performance (helped by a rare bad coaching night from Carlisle) and then the Clippers just played a great game 7 at home. They would have beaten any NBA team in that game. That was that. If not for the Luka injury or if Carlisle plays a more aggressive defense against Kawhi in the 4th quarter of game six, the Mavs may well have won the series. Some of the variation in player performance was probably just statistical noise, though the ridiculous roster churn to acquire defense that produced almost no significant on court playoff minutes constitutes a major front office blunder or series of blunders. Also, Zinger has struggles that go beyond this one series.