mavs once again just let go of the rope because kawhi wasn't playing. twice in one series, and it will be the reason they lose in 7 to the clips.
Good. I’m not rooting for the Flippers, but I am rooting for Luka to become increasingly frustrated with the Mavs FO.
Dang, it's not over yet .... only down 27 with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd. Give the Clips a chance to clip at least in the 2nd half. But yeah .... .... down to 17 point lead at the half .... too soon for LMAO? 2 points now 10.43 in 4th Ooooops guess so …. Flippers wound up winning by 5 and now I’ve left my backside unguarded for @KareemtheGreat33 to show up like clockwork with the “Jinxboy” blast. Dayam!!!
And how in hell was Russ NOT suspended at least a game for throwing a punch and F-bombing the crowd, after starting it all with his dangerous cheap shot plays? What did "that" cost Ballz?
Harden carrying the Clips. He's playing really well, have to give him that. Not too many FTs, just pure skill. Yeah, the Clips will win it. They were up by 30+, they lost the lead but showed some resiliency in the clutch. Dallas was awful early on and it was too much to overcome. Good series.
Yeah, I think this is what people were envisioning when they got Harden...to be a Kawhi insurance policy. Maybe Kawhi's balky knee was holding them back! Took some crazy shot making to not choke the W though:
ironically, it's luka not quite being himself that's costing them the series. he's shooting terribly, and it's gotta be due to that knee injury (he's not a choker), which i'm guessing would have him out if it weren't the playoffs. the mavs' FO has knocked it out of the park over the last year. they've quietly assembled a nicely-fitting cast of secondary players (washington, gafford, exum, jones) in addition to nabbing kyrie for a relatively low cost (again, less than was asked of us).
he's actually been steady so far, right? it's PG that's swung wildly. anyway, the clips went 18-29 from three in a road game, which is nuts. it's sort of amazing dallas was in it. will it happen again?
Have to give the Clips some respect for holding onto that game after blowing the 30 point lead and Kyrie started throwing haymakers in the 4th quarter. Harden was great and PG hit that massive shot in the corner. Obviously they're missing Kawhi, but Luka also looked pretty hampered yesterday. Going into the series I thought the winner was going to beat OKC and go to the WCF, but you'd have to favor OKC over either team now with Kawhi out/limited and maybe Luka limited too.
I think you're right and this is why I would pick the Thunder over either of those teams. I've watched several of their games lately and many people don't realize how good those young guys are. The team is terrific, the payroll is small... Shai earns $30M, Dort gets around 15, Chet around 10, and everyone else is paid under $10 million, which is unreal. The only thing they need is more playoff experience.
Yeah I've been underestimating them all season since we played them really well, although if you look back at those games they missed a lot of good looks from three. I think the biggest thing people don't realize about them is how damn good Jalen Williams is. He has an incredibly rare combination of strength, the ability to get to the rim and finish, and really high level pull-up jumpshooting. He has the full package offensively, I could see him being a Top 15 player in the league as soon as next year. It reminds me a bit of how the Warriors first broke out in the mid 2010's when Steph went from really good to MVP level, and then Thompson and Green made their leaps the next year. OKC is already really damn good now, if Williams and Chet take another step next year they might become the title favorite.
Yes, I agree. I think they will be ready next year. That's a title-worthy team they've been able to build. It would be hilarious if KD says he wants to go back to OKC, LOL. Except they can't match the salary without selling their entire team.
they don't need to salary match. they're way under the cap. i'd have to see the math and re-check some rules, but i think they could move kenrich williams and ousmane dieng and some picks for durant. it would be close.
Well, if he asks out next year, he has to get traded for... something of value, right? Speaking of next year, OKC will pay around $102M for their entire team (since Hayward's contract expires this year). That's what... around $25M under the projected salary FLOOR? Truly amazing.
i actually hope the clips win this series because the less playoff success luka has in dallas, the closer he gets to leaving clips aren't getting past OKC/minny/denver with kawhi not at 100% anyways