***Official 2023 - 2024 Dallas Mavericks Season Thread*** - Page 70

M.C. Swag

6:43p, 4/28/24

PatAg said:
M.C. Swag said:
Nah, Luka has gained 30lbs since our last playoff series against the clippers and it's basically eliminated his at rim attempts to the point he needs his mid range/step back shot (which worked in the reg season) but when that isn't falling, he's out of moves.

Lol

Care to engage? His at rim attempts have declined more than half since his sophomore season

Infection_Ag11

7:00p, 4/28/24

In reply to M.C. Swag

M.C. Swag said:
PatAg said:
M.C. Swag said:
Nah, Luka has gained 30lbs since our last playoff series against the clippers and it's basically eliminated his at rim attempts to the point he needs his mid range/step back shot (which worked in the reg season) but when that isn't falling, he's out of moves.

Lol

Care to engage? His at rim attempts have declined more than half since his sophomore season

His efficiency has increased by 43% since 2021 despite this. Hopefully I don't need to draw out in crayon what that means for you.

No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.

M.C. Swag

7:06p, 4/28/24

In reply to Infection_Ag11

Just block me and my crayon brain then. This thread has been entirely respectful until you showed up.

Infection_Ag11

7:07p, 4/28/24

In reply to M.C. Swag

M.C. Swag said:
Just block me and my crayon brain then. This thread has been entirely respectful until you showed up.

Respect is earned, not given. You don't get to just vent absurdities and not get called out on it.

You've yet to answer a single question posed to you.

No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.

hph6203

7:45p, 4/28/24

Seems y'all are arguing two different things. It could be argued that Luka's knees are in piss poor shape due to his less than stellar conditioning, but it's also odd to deny the reality that they are presently injured when assessing his play.

Would also be worth pointing out that despite his less than stellar conditioning he still put up an MVP worthy season so it can't really be said that's the primary reason he's playing the way he did in this game.

M.C. Swag

7:58p, 4/28/24

In reply to Infection_Ag11

Infection_Ag11 said:
M.C. Swag said:
Just block me and my crayon brain then. This thread has been entirely respectful until you showed up.

Respect is earned, not given. You don't get to just vent absurdities and not get called out on it.

You've yet to answer a single question posed to you.

Weird, so you would talk to me, a fellow aggie, just like this in person? Glad you're setting the example of how 'respect is earned.'

1. Who says this board isn't for venting? Who made you the arbiter?
2. The only question I haven't answered was your retort about basically providing a screenshot of Luka's weight scale. Sorry, you got me. I don't have that. All I have (besides the visible evidence) is what reporters have publicly gone on record to state in prior years. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32818403/dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-admits-having-issue-weight-conditioning. It's not a debate that he's gained weight (he's publicly admitted it), but if you want to hold your belief in the website that indicates he's only bumped his scale 5lbs since his rookie season, then honestly I envy that level of trust.

His efficiency this season has been insane because it was propped by an insane level of 3pt shooting (literally Steph Curry level) and improved FT shooting. That's awesome, but the variety of his scoring has decreased. His dunks and at rim attempts are at career lows. That's not an issue if you can make 39% of your 3s at 10 attempts per game, but what happens when that dips to 27% AND you're hunted repeatedly in the playoffs? You're looking at a massive liability (which is what happened today).

Do I want him off the team (this is what I gather you think Im saying based on your anger)? No, I just expect better. My hypothesis is that the physical shape of Luka from the 2020 bubble, is the ideal version of Luka but we can't even have that discussion if you think that these 2 players are only 5lbs off from each other:

Guitarsoup

8:08p, 4/28/24

I think we can all agree Luka should be traded to the Spurs for Keldon Johnson and a 1st.

MW03

8:19p, 4/28/24

In reply to Infection_Ag11

Infection_Ag11 said:
Shallow fans blame coaching after a game like this. That lineup got them back in the lead and the game was decided by offshoring two hours earlier, and then the most heavily contested shot of the entire game going in.

Kidd carried a lot of blame a lot of the time but a historic playoff choker going 7-10 from three including one from behind the backboard isn't on him.

I disagree completely. Yes, the beginning was what it was and you can coach against that kind of shooting. But once it was a game again, you have to coach different. Kidd is a champion of letting the team figure it out on the court, but you have to pull Luka when they hit him with #5. If you don't want to, you have to add rim protection because you know he can't face up and is going to be letting go a lot of guys past.

The game was lost in the first half. Then it was won in the third. Then it was lost again in the 4th.

They were hunting Luka, knowing he couldn't face up, and Kidd gave him no backside rim support. It's wild.

PatAg

8:59p, 4/28/24

In reply to MW03

MW03 said:
Infection_Ag11 said:
Shallow fans blame coaching after a game like this. That lineup got them back in the lead and the game was decided by offshoring two hours earlier, and then the most heavily contested shot of the entire game going in.

Kidd carried a lot of blame a lot of the time but a historic playoff choker going 7-10 from three including one from behind the backboard isn't on him.

I disagree completely. Yes, the beginning was what it was and you can coach against that kind of shooting. But once it was a game again, you have to coach different. Kidd is a champion of letting the team figure it out on the court, but you have to pull Luka when they hit him with #5. If you don't want to, you have to add rim protection because you know he can't face up and is going to be letting go a lot of guys past.

The game was lost in the first half. Then it was won in the third. Then it was lost again in the 4th.

They were hunting Luka, knowing he couldn't face up, and Kidd gave him no backside rim support. It's wild.

I would also say if you are going to leave him out, then you have to change your defense once they show they are going to blow by him.
Also, not every Harden bucket was with Luka as the defender a good amount were also Washington (a good defender).
The biggest mistake I think Kidd made was not at least trying something else in the last 3 minutes. They had proven they were suddenly able to get buckets at will, you cant just hope he will miss.

All the being said, really hard to put the blame on that vs the entire 1st quarter.

Luka is going to have to step up his play for us to make a title run, and possibly to even win this series.
There is a big difference between this simple statement and some of the crazy takes about Luka that have been posted.

dave94

10:46p, 4/28/24

In reply to M.C. Swag

This does sound like a lot of just complaining about his weight when he had an MVP worthy season

rsf0626

11:16p, 4/28/24

Luka is definitely not in peak nba shape rn. Part of it could be related to becoming a father, but its probably more related to the mavs org enabling him and letting him do whatever he wants

Mark should get him a dietician for the offseason otherwise he's not gonna last in this league

rsf0626

shack009

11:26p, 4/28/24

In reply to dave94

I think it's fair to question it when it looks like it may have caught up to him. First thing Bill Simmons (who went to the game) said on last Sunday's pod after game 1 was that Luka looks really doughy in person. Getting nearly 2 weeks off may have been one of the worst things to happen to him.

He's been terrible from 3 this series and he has an unwillingness and also an inability to get to the basket. You could argue it's an injury, but Luka deals with injuries all year. His 3s aren't just barely missing either. He's coming up way short. One was an airball and Gafford putback today.

He could put this all to bed with a good shooting night or game where he can get to the basket, but we have a big enough sample size to be very concerned about his performance at this point.

shack009

11:32p, 4/28/24

In reply to rsf0626

rsf0626 said:
Luka is definitely not in peak nba shape rn. Part of it could be related to becoming a father, but its probably more related to the mavs org enabling him and letting him do whatever he wants

Mark should get him a dietician for the offseason otherwise he's not gonna last in this league

He came into this season in shape, but you could argue it was because of the FIBA World Cup. I think it's pretty probable that not having games the past two weeks have been extremely detrimental to his conditioning. He probably took it too easy and expected he could just pick up and play, because that's what he's been doing the past 5 months.

Grapesoda2525

2:00a, 4/29/24

I'm a big luka fan, but with that said.

We did lose today because of him.

Paul George got a free 3 pointer because luka was busy yelling at the officials. Nobody was guarding George.

Clippers got a technical from Luka. Made the free throw.

Luka missed 2 free throws in a row when we were in the middle of our big come back.

Luka also shot 1 for 9 on 3 pointers. Most of them were probably wide open or uncontested.

This team hates Sunday afternoons. We've lost 2 games on Sunday afternoons where the team comes out totally unprepared in the first half. We are just jacking up 3's and look lost while the clippers build a massive lead and take away our confidence to win the game.

We better hope there's not too many more Sunday afternoon games because those seem to be our kryptonite. Either these guys can't get out of bed on time ready to play or Kidd has a poor routine to rev up the team but for 2 quarters on 2 separate Sunday games we have looked like the worst team in basketball.

Quarter 1 of game 4 and quarter 2 of game 1 need to be thrown down into a well and never see the light of day again.

M.C. Swag

8:17a, 4/29/24

In reply to dave94

I am 100% complaining but I tried to explain how his weight his affecting his game and how that has detrimental effects on the team.

jeffdjohnson

12:02p, 4/29/24

This has been a shocking series so far with Luka and Kawhi being ineffective and/or inefficient. I have no idea where this series is going but Mavs need to hope that Luka can find his form again after 2 days rest. I don't think Luka's current form is about game shape or weight. If anything it is about him being worn down by the heavy load carried over a long season. Unfortunately the Mavs couldn't afford to load manage him because of how loaded the West was.

shack009

12:18p, 4/29/24

In reply to jeffdjohnson

But he was great down the stretch and then got nearly 2 weeks off and looks like a completely different player. 2 weeks ago we were saying he should be the MVP. Now people who didn't vote for him are saying "I told you so."

I think it's pretty obvious that he took it way too easy on those off days. Even if it's not his weight, it's his conditioning. His weight is just the easily apparent thing to point to.

mavsfan4ever

12:43p, 4/29/24

Yea I don't think this has anything to do with load management. There were no signs of him performing portly or wearing down at the end of the season and then he got a long time off to rest/heal and all of a sudden is worn down? That doesn't add up.

DannyDuberstein

12:46p, 4/29/24

He's heavier than he should be, but I can't say how much, if any, it is negatively impacting his play. Biggest issue is resorting to the 3 vs getting the ball into the paint. Pick your reason why, but that has to change to win the series

M.C. Swag

12:54p, 4/29/24

In reply to DannyDuberstein

Right, it's a play style thing. If his shot isn't falling, he needs to attack. And whether it's injury, conditioning, or whatever, Luka just isn't attacking. And he hasn't attacked all year, but that's because he's never really had his shot abandon him like this.

EastSideAg2002

2:50p, 4/29/24

I would just like to point out or reiterate if it has been brought up but the *****ass suns were swept.

PatAg

2:52p, 4/29/24

One thing we havent talked about much, other than being bothered by it during the game, but we had WAY too many turnovers.
We took that lead late, and then we gave them like 4-6 free pts off of just bizarre turnovers.
They're going hard on dribble drives, and whenever they double up high they are in those slip pass lanes.
Thats something we should be able to tighten up.

NoahAg

3:54p, 4/29/24

Man, one tough loss (after an almost all-time epic comeback) and lots of "OH NOES DA SKY IS FALLING!"

We'll be fine.
Mavs are still the better team.
Hopefully K-Y does play Wednesday. Clippers are worse when he, George, and Harden are all wanting the ball (not to mention Westbrick coming in and Westrbricking their flow).
Clippers only won b/c they literally made everything in the first while the Mavs missed everything.

Luka is 'bout to Luka. Mavs in 6.

shack009

4:05p, 4/29/24

In reply to PatAg

PatAg said:
One thing we havent talked about much, other than being bothered by it during the game, but we had WAY too many turnovers.
We took that lead late, and then we gave them like 4-6 free pts off of just bizarre turnovers.
They're going hard on dribble drives, and whenever they double up high they are in those slip pass lanes.
Thats something we should be able to tighten up.

They have such good hands when we get in to the paint. Even Harden as a turnstile is so good at swiping the ball. Kyrie had 7 turnovers and it seemed like almost all of them were in the paint after he had gotten by his defender but the guy he just beat or a help defender would swipe at the ball for a steal. It was crazy to watch. Hopefully we are aware of that now.

shack009

4:05p, 4/29/24

In reply to mavsfan4ever

mavsfan4ever said:
Yea I don't think this has anything to do with load management. There were no signs of him performing portly or wearing down at the end of the season and then he got a long time off to rest/heal and all of a sudden is worn down? That doesn't add up.

This rules, whether it was accidental or not.

Grapesoda2525

8:47a, 4/30/24

Good news is that the next 2 games start around 9 pm. This team needs to play at night. They always **** the bed in Sunday afternoon games against the clips.

As for game 7, I'm thinking there will a lot of other series wrapped up and those teams won't need to play so they shouldn't have any competition for the night slot.

It's probably 3 night games the rest of the way.

mavsfan4ever

9:30a, 4/30/24

In reply to shack009

Haha can't take credit for that. The autocorrect algorithm must have just known what we were talking about.

Grapesoda2525

2:36a, 5/1/24

No Leonard game 5

shack009

10:42a, 5/1/24

Yeah I'm not expecting him the rest of the series and the way they have talked about it makes it seem like he wouldn't be available in the next round either, if they get there.

zgolfz85

11:26a, 5/1/24

damn these 230 sunday and weeknight 9 PM games

mavsfan4ever

12:01p, 5/1/24

This is the most nervous I've been about a game in a long time. Because I think we finally have a legit shot to make some noise in the playoffs (didn't feel that way in the recent WCF year even though we won a couple rounds).

We really need to win tonight considering we will be down 20+ in the first quarter of the Sunday afternoon game.

zgolfz85

12:17p, 5/1/24

In reply to mavsfan4ever

mavsfan4ever said:
This is the most nervous I've been about a game in a long time. Because I think we finally have a legit shot to make some noise in the playoffs (didn't feel that way in the recent WCF year even though we won a couple rounds).

We really need to win tonight considering we will be down 20+ in the first quarter of the Sunday afternoon game.

if we go on to lose this series, this will definitely be a what could have been type year....to pair with all the other Dirk years where we could say the same outside of 06 and 11

shack009

12:26p, 5/1/24

In reply to mavsfan4ever

mavsfan4ever said:
This is the most nervous I've been about a game in a long time. Because I think we finally have a legit shot to make some noise in the playoffs (didn't feel that way in the recent WCF year even though we won a couple rounds).

We really need to win tonight considering we will be down 20+ in the first quarter of the Sunday afternoon game.

I agree because I think we match up really well with OKC in the next round. Look at what we did to them in the first game after trading for PJ and Gafford. And that was in an afternoon game, which we have been complaining about recently lol.

The more I have thought about, the more I have convinced myself we should be ok in this series. They had 2 ridiculous shooting games, particularly early in the games they won. Luka has been astoundingly bad (for him) most of the series.

If we see even a slight regression to the mean like Luka shooting 30% from 3 and the Clippers shooting just 40% from 3, we will win.

NoahAg

12:47p, 5/1/24

W tonight. Guaranteed. LA won't have another ridiculous shooting night while Dallas goes ice cold (and still almost won).

PatAg

1:50p, 5/1/24

Doncic is still sick, didn’t do much in shootaround. He has been sick for nearly a week and admits that if this was a regular season game he probably wouldn’t play. pic.twitter.com/tTmK8oeJXs
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) May 1, 2024

Was saying I thought Luka looked sick, and remember someone saying Hardaway was sick as the series started.