₦airaland Forum

BlueAngel444:
People say Messi won the balon d'or last year because he won the world cup

Then what happened in 2018, why didn't Mbappe win it, though Modric won it because he deserved it more.

Let's be honest with ourselves those that voted where basically undermining all the reasons they had given Messi the balon d'or

In 2006 we all believed that okay it's the best player from the world cup winning team that gets the balon d'or but what changed during Messi's era. We could say okay it's because of Zidanes behaviour he would have won it even if France didn't win the cup... Personal Henry should have won it based on modern Messi's standard

This is the problem with polling booth awards. The criteria is like wind vane. Spinning all over the place year to year

Khanben:
Team building matters a lot with regards to winning. THJ is the 3rd highest cap hit on the Mavericks with 17mil and he cannot get on the court through out the playoffs, on the other hand the Celtics have their 7 highest cap hits playing almost all of the minutes.
The good news for the Mavericks is that their new GM seems to know what he his doing.

Kidd has left him too long in the doghouse I doubt he can even play now but that's my issue with these coaches and their inconsistency cos you can't tell me THJ is worse than Kleber. And I don't even rate THJ much but is he really worse than Exum? Hardy? At least that's a veteran guard that has been in the playoffs before

etidy:
Luka showed up , Pj Washington did what a third wheel should do, but the reason Dallas is down 2-0 is Kyrie.

Your so called superstar number 2 option can't be playing this badly especially when they prematurely crowned the mavs backcourt as the best offensive version in history.

This series again puts into perspective the greatness of curry in that 2022 run.

He was carrying so much offensive load while playing very good defense.
The Celtics thought he will be a prey in that series but he clamped down the opposition guards.

Lastly if I am the mavs GM, I will low key try to get Wiggins, he's still an elite wing defender and he will eat as a lob and spot up shooting threat for the mavs.

This is what I've been saying. You mean Celtics defense is so good Kyrie is averaging 14ppg on 37% TS. I expect more nuance than that on this page

Wiggins problem is mental. I do not know what he might be going through but clearly his head is not there

kendrick9:
All of it still boils down to the fact that Celtics are better equipped to handle the Mavericks star duo.
The bigger problem the Mavs have is that apart from Lukai no one else can create, they rely on Kyrie or Luka mostly to feed them lobs and open looks.

Like I said I won't be looking at the FTs missed because i felt like Celtics at times were toying with them.
They just look a level above the Mavs so far in this tie.

Up to Mavericks to improve at home, beating the Cs in back to back games would be tough.
IMO the Celtics likely take one game in Dallas and then finish the job in Boston

Me oh I don't agree with the toying narrative. The Mavs have underperformed. Based on what we saw against the Timberwolves they are capable of better.

Kyrie is taking open shots and hitting the back boards. The Celtics brought on a big yet to play in 6 weeks and is averaging 16ppg.

The Mavs have a big that cannot hit a wide open 3. It was so embarrassing at a point the Celtics gave the joker 5 feet when he got the ball to shoot he couldn't and wound up passing

I believe the Celtics are the better team no doubt but we've seen underdogs win before. I'm not seeing the Mavs play to their maximum

I would argue the gap was wider between the Heat and Nuggets last season but the Heat stole game 2. The Mavs had a chance to do same but they missed it

greypencils:
Who guards Derrick white or Holiday? Either Kyrie or Luka who are shit defenders. Who guards Kyrie and Luka? Holiday and White who are good defenders. That's your answer. White & Holiday can lock down any or both of them this limiting their production. If Celtics wins, my money is on Jrue winning final MVP. (It's high time he won an individual award). Those two Js be like Jeez, asin backshot wey no get effect for woman body.

Derrick White is a spot up shooter for the most part on offense. You don't need a lot of energy to guard him. He's a release valve that spams 3s. Not a ball handler.

Same for Jrue. These are not players you expend a lot of energy defending even though they have their nights they might be hot but most of Holiday's buckets were from turnovers and were assisted

Jrue is 8-8 at the rim today. Mavs were holding guys to 42% in the paint in the playoffs. Like that does not even make sense

kendrick9:
That's the thing though. The Mavs are fighting an uphill battle here.
They are the less talented team and they have to work twice as hard in order to have a chance against these Celtics.
The Celtics defensive plays is also a decisive factor which we have to consider.
They have the best defensive backcourt in the league and all the starting five have been good on D and made crucial defensive plays throughout both games

They're not working as hard on defense. They are not forcing turnovers they're not playing with enough force to where when they get fastbreak opportunities you must foul them to stop them, I'm not seeing any perimeter movement, their weak side defending has also been terrible

Perhaps the Celtics are just too much for them but I still believe the Mavs have not played to the best of their abilities even considering the Celtics defense

kendrick9:
Yeah the Mavs missed FTs but watching this game I feel like the Celtics have another gear in them.
So I don't necessarily think the Mavs making those throws would have won them the game

That other gear is when their 3s start falling I keep stressing it. In the 4th quarter they made 4 the Mavs made none. There's a demoralizing effect that has when you're trying to comeback that's very hard to explain

How would it not have won them the game? They lost by 7 and missed 8 Free throws. Say they split the 8 misses worst case you're talking a 1 or max 2 possession game. Becomes a different battle entirely

Roland17:
What you just posted is all I and Kendrick have been saying. This is a bad matchup for your Mavs and the gentleman sweep against the Wolves made everyone think it would be same. There are shots you enjoyed during the prior series that have dried up, not because the Mavs have not tried them but the Celtics have totally neutralized them.

The Mavericks are not as good as the Timberwolves made us believe but they're not as bad as the team I watched. That's really my point.

There's a middle ground somewhere but the Mavs are not playing there. Some of it is down to the Celtics but more of it is down to the Mavs down tooling at the worst possible time

So wait you believe it's your neutralizing that has made Mavs shoot 25% and 23% from 3 respectively? Haba let's be realistic here

Roland17:
The Mavs also, do not have an answer for the Celtics back court from the guard position in Kyrie/ Luka. Remember, these are 2 players who had to be subbed during defensive possession in the prior series. The Celtics are making them work and they have no answer. Luka/ Kyrie can’t guard any of our ball handlers.

This isn’t the series where Luka going off will translate into winning. Those assists that had high percentage makes have dried up because the Celtics are closing the lanes quicker. The Celtics don’t mind allowing 1 of Kyrie/ Luka to cook but not both and if both of them cook, no one else, including your bench will add and it won’t be enough to put the Celtics away.

The guard problem is a lot more profound because Derrick White and Jrue Holiday cannot be providing more offense than a Kyrie. That becomes a hopeless scenario.

Derrick White made 4 3s. 7 so far this series Kyrie has not made any. You mean the Celtics neutralized Kyrie so much he cannot hit a single 3? Your defenders are good but they're not vastly better than Antman and McDaniels

Kyrie is playing far below his floor and I simply do not agree with the submission that that's all Celtics handwork

Do you believe the Mavs are neutralizing Jayson Tatum? Or has he been playing below his level

kendrick9:
Celtics don't even need to stop Luka fulltime.
But they did limit him somewhat which is the best they can do really

He's a great player, but Celtics know all they have to do is stop the others including Kyrie and they done it well so far.

I don't see how the Mavs beat Celtics in back to back games which is what is required if this series is to go all the way.

If the 3rd or possible 4th option in Jrue is scoring 26 and 11 then this is out of Luka's hands.

A perimeter player will not go 100% from the field even if you leave him unguarded

Again the Mavs problem still remains their putrid free throw shooting. They missed 8!! Lost the game by 7.

The Celtics shot poorly from 3 (25%) and yet the Mavs somehow managed to shoot worse

When you're not doing those things right then the adjustments don't even matter. When your role players can't make open shots and can't play defense nothing you can do

The more talented team is working harder than the less talented team

Roland17:
How many points did Luka make in the 2nd half, especially when you consider his first half. We pretty much doubled, closed the space, picked him up high and forced him into TOs and more difficult shots. He is a great player, the best we can do is what we achieved.

Luka cannot beat Boston by himself. Whether you guard him or not another 23pt half was not sustainable. Bear in mind Luka was questionable to even play.

Did the Mavs also make adjustments on Porzingis Game 1? No.

Some of the turnovers were due to his risky passes. I do recall the Pritchard steal and I think Brown or JB but his wild passes were what led to most of these turnovers

Kyrie has been poor. Made Luka's job harder. Andrew Nembhard played better in your last series than what Kyrie is playing.

Maybe the Mavericks don't just match up well with you guys but the Mavericks are much much better than what I've seen so far.

When you miss 8 free throws and are - 12 on 3s that's 20 pt handicap already

What adjustments are necessary again when you're not giving yourself a fighting chance

Kyrie. 2nd straight game. Didn't hit a 3

Credit to White and Holiday. The Mavs don't have the equivalent of that on their team and that's the difference

Holiday made 10 shots inside 5 feet. Sums up the series pretty much

Roland17:
Wanna guess how many points Doncic has had in the 2nd half?

Adjustments…

Which adjustments una make though fr?

Luka played as well as he could. Kyrie didn't show up

This is so annoying man.

Derek White bloody hell

Holiday and White are such assets on a team. If it were down to Tatum and Brown alone small hope for dey

The kind of bonehead plays Luka makes sometimes.

Just like that 8pt deficit up to 14.

Jrue Holiday should be Finals MVP honestly

Kyrie 6/16. Completely shittin the bed

If the Mavs had 2 PJ Washingtons this game would be closer

7 Free throw misses. You can't do nothing with that

Pritchard buzzer beater

If the Mavs could just rebound and hit free throws this game would be tied

Stop going up on Porzingis ffs this mofo is 7'3

Luka is 29pts

11/15

At some point the teammates need to contribute. They're also collecting salary

Lol. The Mavs have let go of the rope

What is Kyrie even doing. These are wide open shots

10 more free throws made and they're only up 2

larride:
Kyrie has to do better. Way better. This is the finals ffs.

He's been shockingly bad. Too tame, too meek.

The Mavs have been rebounding horribly. Come on. It's not that this team is unbeatable it just means you have a shorter margin for error

Khanben:
You just pointed out something I noticed that almost nobody is talking about. [b]The Celtics have 4 dude earning 30+million and the 5th guy in Derrick white is a guy most GMs in the league are saying they would not trade straight up for the number 1 overall pick in [/b]this upcoming draft. They might not have depth beyond 8 guys but their top 5 is by and away the best 5 in the league right now and in possible since the 2017 warriors death line up.

How are they able to fit this team under the cap. Especially with Jayson getting supermax very soon

donlittle25:
you will think they are not getting touches at all. they just can’t put the ball inside the net.

I can understand offensive struggles but defensively they are also useless.

And even on the rare occasion they draw a foul you can't bank on them making their free throws

Gafford
Lively
Kleber

Combined 2pts. Absolutely shocking

Nothing special about these Celtics. Them be 3pt merchants

Mavs are just squandering their opportunity to tie this series

Poor rebounding, average weak side defense, The bigs have been useless and they can't hit free throws

Jayson Tatum having a meltdown. This is a shocking performance for a player in his prime