2024 Playoffs- 3rd Round: Minnesota Timberwolves - Dallas Mavericks- MAVS WIN 4-1!

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/squish41/status/1795456835228479558

@squish41
ME THIS MORNING BECAUSE I AM SO LOCKED IN
#OneForDallas

[Chicagojk]

I feel like I am in a tricky spot tonight. Sort of thinking about the finals but knowing we still have business to take care of. This should be another battle.

If Maxi is a go, I wonder if we should pair his minutes up with Powell? Give them 15 or so minutes. They have years of experience playing together and playing with Luka. May be a way to steal some minutes and then let PJ and Gafford play the majority together.

[OBX Maverick]

I feel like I am in a tricky spot tonight.  Sort of thinking about the finals but knowing we still have business to take care of.  This should be another battle. 

If Maxi is a go, I wonder if we should pair his minutes up with Powell?  Give them 15 or so minutes.  They have years of experience playing together and playing with Luka.  May be a way to steal some minutes and then let PJ and Gafford play the majority together.

They have years of experience together, but we remember the results! Let’s pair them up for about 5 minutes lol. The other 10 can be anyone else except for DP. Just need enough from Maxi to keep Gafford fresh and to keep him from fouling out. 

Hopefully Gafford plays smart tonight. I noticed he made an effort to do so after the dumb foul right before halftime in game 3.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I feel like I am in a tricky spot tonight.  Sort of thinking about the finals but knowing we still have business to take care of.  This should be another battle. 

If Maxi is a go, I wonder if we should pair his minutes up with Powell?  Give them 15 or so minutes.  They have years of experience playing together and playing with Luka.  May be a way to steal some minutes and then let PJ and Gafford play the majority together.

I thought about the same thing.  Maybe you get a few minutes each half doing this.  You probably need 18 minutes of non-Gafford time and maybe 8 minutes of non-PJ time (which is what Maxi is doing if he's in there with Powell).  That 26 minutes might be too much to ask of Maxi.  So, maybe Maxi gets 18 (8 with Powell and 10 at center) and Powell gets 8 (all with Maxi).

The negative of playing Powell and Maxi together is you have two guys playing who haven't played any meaningful minutes in quite a while.  Another option is bumping Green's minutes some more and moving DJJ up to the four in the non-PJ minutes.  That would eliminate the need for Powell and Maxi could get all of  his time at the five.  

All you are really trying to do is survive these minutes.  It is similar to using Green to survive the minutes one of PJ and DJJ are out and using (THJ/Exum/Hardy) to survive the non-Luka and non-Kyrie minutes.  Green is holding his own in this series but we haven't found an answer between THJ, Exum and Hardy for the non-Star minutes.  In what has been a close series, anything that isn't Lively is a problem plus you start to see the cumulative effect of too many dings to the lineup to be able to survive when any of the starters sit.  It puts a ton of pressure on the starters to be really good and avoid foul issues.

[BigDirk41]

I feel like I am in a tricky spot tonight.  Sort of thinking about the finals but knowing we still have business to take care of.  This should be another battle. 

If Maxi is a go, I wonder if we should pair his minutes up with Powell?  Give them 15 or so minutes.  They have years of experience playing together and playing with Luka.  May be a way to steal some minutes and then let PJ and Gafford play the majority together.

I don't see them getting 15 minutes together. I think Maxi will probably get 15 and maybe Powell 5 with all of those at the 5. Gafford gets the rest. Too little offense with both Powell and Maxi out together imo. Whatever Powell gets, he needs to get it done. He needs to go up strong and not those weak layups he tries.

[Chicagojk]

I thought about the same thing.  Maybe you get a few minutes each half doing this.  You probably need 18 minutes of non-Gafford time and maybe 8 minutes of non-PJ time (which is what Maxi is doing if he's in there with Powell).  That 26 minutes might be too much to ask of Maxi.  So, maybe Maxi gets 18 (8 with Powell and 10 at center) and Powell gets 8 (all with Maxi).

The negative of playing Powell and Maxi together is you have two guys playing who haven't played any meaningful minutes in quite a while.  Another option is bumping Green's minutes some more and moving DJJ up to the four in the non-PJ minutes.  That would eliminate the need for Powell and Maxi could get all of  his time at the five.  

All you are really trying to do is survive these minutes.  It is similar to using Green to survive the minutes one of PJ and DJJ are out and using (THJ/Exum/Hardy) to survive the non-Luka and non-Kyrie minutes.  Green is holding his own in this series but we haven't found an answer between THJ, Exum and Hardy for the non-Star minutes.  In what has been a close series, anything that isn't Lively is a problem plus you start to see the cumulative effect of too many dings to the lineup to be able to survive when any of the starters sit.  It puts a ton of pressure on the starters to be really good and avoid foul issues.

It is an interesting matchup.  Initially I thought you match their minutes up when Gobert goes to the bench.   Then I thought, you really want to attack the non Gobert minutes when he is on the bench.  Minny is more versatile but Dallas uses this time to really attack the rim.  Not sure a combo of Powell and Maxi gets the maximum benefit here.

[mvossman]

They have years of experience together, but we remember the results! Let’s pair them up for about 5 minutes lol. The other 10 can be anyone else except for DP. Just need enough from Maxi to keep Gafford fresh and to keep him from fouling out. 

Hopefully Gafford plays smart tonight. I noticed he made an effort to do so after the dumb foul right before halftime in game 3.

I mean the Powell/Maxi minutes have historically been good, especially against second units.  I doubt they do this, especially since one is coming off injury and the other has played almost no meaningful basketball in months, but otherwise I wouldn't hate it.

[Knutsen]

It is an interesting matchup.  Initially I thought you match their minutes up when Gobert goes to the bench.   Then I thought, you really want to attack the non Gobert minutes when he is on the bench.  Minny is more versatile but Dallas uses this time to really attack the rim.  Not sure a combo of Powell and Maxi gets the maximum benefit here.

I think you want to play Maxi when Gobert is on the floor. He‘ll get every rebound as soon as Gafford sits anyway, so why not play five out with Washington and Kleber and maybe Jones and Washington for a couple of stints and put Gobert on skates. We‘ll need a very good offensive performance tonight with consistent shooting to not fall behind too much and then end it in crunch time like the last three games. Only way we lose is if fall behind by 20 or more.

[SleepingHero]

Amy Hockert (@AmyHockert)
.@JonKrawczynski⁩ telling ⁦@DanBarreiroKFAN⁩ what Mike Conley said to him after gm3 is the only thing you need to hear today. “Jon, you’re gonna have a hell of a story to write. We’re gonna make history.”

[DanSchwartzgan]

I think you want to play Maxi when Gobert is on the floor. He‘ll get every rebound as soon as Gafford sits anyway, so why not play five out with Washington and Kleber and maybe Jones and Washington for a couple of stints and put Gobert on skates. We‘ll need a very good offensive performance tonight with consistent shooting to not fall behind too much and then end it in crunch time like the last three games. Only way we lose is if fall behind by 20 or more.

I'm probably more worried about our own defense than I am with Gobert.  I don't want Kat to get going, so I probably concentrate more on what our D looks like when Gobert sits.  That is the scary part of missing Lively to me.  Naz spreads the floor and Kat has a clear driving lane.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/_abigaiiiil/status/1...3178362889

@_abigaiiiil
Kyrie Irving just said, “this is their Super Bowl. It’s just a normal game for us.”

Mavs in 4.

[Knutsen]

Amy Hockert (@AmyHockert)
.@JonKrawczynski⁩ telling ⁦@DanBarreiroKFAN⁩ what Mike Conley said to him after gm3 is the only thing you need to hear today. “Jon, you’re gonna have a hell of a story to write. We’re gonna make history.”

It would be history if they win tonight to end Kyrie‘s undefeated streak in close-out games and lose in 5, wouldn’t it?

[SleepingHero]

It would be history if they win tonight to end Kyrie‘s undefeated streak in close-out games and lose in 5, wouldn’t it?

How about they lose in a hysterical 50 point blow out?

[OBX Maverick]

How about they lose in a hysterical 50 point blow out?

All i can remember is the 2011 Lakers sweep.  I was so worried about that 4th game having witnessed so many Mav heartbreaks over the 30 years prior against the Lakers……But then JET went unconscious from three!  I was so psyched after the game that I went running in the street in front of my house! Framed a post-game picture posing with my sons which currently sits in front of my office desk Maybe we see something like that tonight! 

All I know is that this Dallas team knows now they can beat the T-Pups. Hopefully Maxi can play some meaningful minutes and we rock and roll!

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/_abigaiiiil/status/1...8318013589

DLIVE IS IN THE BUILDING LOOKING GOOD!

[BigDirk41]

Someone on ESPN today was saying, Lively can't turn his neck yet so hopefully we close out tonight and he gets plenty of time to recover. I think it was Windhorst, but I might be incorrect.

[SleepingHero]

Someone on ESPN today was saying, Lively can't turn his neck yet so hopefully we close out tonight and he gets plenty of time to recover. I think it was Windhorst, but I might be incorrect.

If it was Windy, I put zero stock into what he says regarding the Mavs.

Woj and Stein both said Lively's scans were good and he shouldn't miss much time.

[SleepingHero]

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Jason Kidd said Dereck Lively II is doing "a lot better" but he's still sore.

[KillerLeft]

Amy Hockert (@AmyHockert)
.@JonKrawczynski⁩ telling ⁦@DanBarreiroKFAN⁩ what Mike Conley said to him after gm3 is the only thing you need to hear today. “Jon, you’re gonna have a hell of a story to write. We’re gonna make history.”

He’s talking about coming back from down 3-0. Can they do that? No. But, does it sound like they’re resigned to losing and the Mavs are going to get an easy win tonight? Also no.

[SleepingHero]

All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs)
Dereck Lively II will be cleared to play if this series goes to five, per Allie LaForce