steady986:

Victor is not in the league and he is already driving views. I am one of those hoping the dude, lives up to the hype because it will add more spice to a good product

birdman:


Lets take this one by one:

- He won 2 rings without KD, KD hasnt won any without him, even on a stacked team, so we see who is the head honcho here.

- Was Klay a great shooter or all time great last year? No. But they still won ring with younger core that was inexperienced. Again, Curry was in the mix

- When Curry was injured and only Draymond was playing, the team sucked, as did Draymond's defense. So Curry is the all time great here, not Draymond who is good, but regardless of how you want to exaggerate him, Draymond could not move the needle one iota by himself. I dont see greatness there. Unless you want to redefine it. In which case find us a GM that will give him max type contract.

So, we see its the Curry effect right? What do you think Curry would have done with McCollum, and even Nurkic. Way more than Lillard ever did. Or you want to argue that too?

I will just address the Draymond thing, you can read what I just posted on the Blazers team building to address CJ, and Nurkic. IMHO Draymond is not a hall of fame, but he is a guy who all his skillset fits perfectly with the number 1 option on his team. If Draymond was drafted by any other team other than GSW or the Blazers, he would never have signed any contract that pays him an average of 8 figures IMHO.
As for will Steph win with Nurkic and CJ, we have seen it all ready, steph missed the playoffs with Poole and Draymond, no iggy, klay and the other savy vets and he had his highest scoring average but missed the playoffs.

PS: Another addition to the Draymond thing, I remember coming across a YouTube short, where guys were saying Draymond was better than Blake and my jaw dropped. The thing is, Draymond will probably have a better career than Blake, but for me how I judge who is the better player is not based to team success, it is based on, if I build a team of equal components theoretically where Draymond and Blake are the 1st options who will be better. The fact is Blake can sub as a weak 1st option, and that team will make the playoffs, but any team where Draymond is the 1st option is picking in the top 3.

Skrrrrrrr:


Again, you are shifting the burden of responsibility completely away from the player.
Style of play is one skillet that is not captured in the box score.
Hero ball won't save you even if you are surrounded by good players.
This is the point.....
The difference between steph and Dame et Al isn't just their supporting cast, steph possesses a lot o qualities that those guys do not have or even have the capacity to...

Please this write up is in good faith, try and read it for what says.
Dame is a small combo guard, who is bad defensively, who is a great shooter. You know who that sounds like, Steph.
So please let's go through this one after the other,
GSW covered up Steph lack of defense by surrounding with elite to very good defender, remember the death line up, every player on that 5, in a great to very good defender,
What did the Blazers do for Dame, the best team he has ever had, had only one plus defender in faroq aminu, every other player on that squad was a negative on defense, CJ is a sieve on defense, both bigs cannot only guard elite bigs on the inside, and at the same time they are bang average at best defensively on the perimeter as well.
Playmaking, GSW knowing that Stephs strength is his shooting, they surrounded him with a big who is a phenomenal playmaker on offense, you know what that does for Steph, it allows him to go offball and the team creates set-up shots which are the most efficient 3pt shots for the greatest shooter of all time.
Dame has never had this luxury, he himself came out and said it on the Jj Reddick podcast, that he has never being able to take set shots in Portland because the team was not built that way, so you have a great shooter and a large majority of the shots he takes are off the dribble shots, Dame is the only guy who has a claim to being a top 5 shooter of all time who has the least percentage of set shots. If you think about Reggie Miller, Steve Kerr, Ray Allen, Klay, Steph, Korver, you can always pick a substantial amount of the 3pts they take where all they do is run around a screen and just take the shot, they get this luxury year in year out. Dame has had a decade plus in Portland and not once can you say that there was a season where the team was built in such a way that a substantial amount of his shots are set-up, even though that is the most efficient shot for his skillset.
Finally, try this test if you have time, go through the teams that Steph has had since getting into the nba and do the same for Dame. Ask yourself, if you remove both guys from their team and let what remains play themselves in a 7 games series, I will bet you, you might not find one year where you pick the Blazers.
Yes, great players have to be great, but you don't give a guy, a knife in a gun fight then complain that he did not win

Skrrrrrrr:


Nobody ever said wigs was a bust.
I said he was not a star.
And curry won with him as the second best player.
Which nullifies the argument that Curry wins because he is surrounded by stars...

I am not saying you said Wiggins was a bust. But the general media talk, after like his 3rd year in the league is that he his not what he was projected to be, which was a true number 1 option.
People called him a bust, they said all sorts of things about him, like he cannot play winning basketball, he is just a numbers on a bad team guy, he his a cheap calories player.
That what his reputation before GSW traded for him.
My point has always been a great player will elevate good players especially if they fit together, but at the same time I don't care how great a player is, in a team sport if the other team is blowing you away on the talent and fit metric, then you are more or less going to be on the losing side. Sport is in its very nature a talent acquisition track meet, with one caviet, the talent must fit together.
Name whatever player in any team sport, MJ, Messi, CR7, gresky, TD, Kobe, Shaq, Bird, Magic, if they are only the vastly less talented team, or in a team that the talent does not fit, they are more often than not going to be on the losing side

Skrrrrrrr:


You are intentionally missing the point bro.
I am saying your theory falls flat when you consider that klay was not all that in 2015 and wasn't influential last season.
And the warriors won the chip.
The warriors of 2015 and 2022 were not an assembly of superstars.
You can be dishonest all you want but facts are facts..

My theory is sound, Klay last year was no longer the player, be used to be, but you know what GSW had a new star in his role named Wiggins, who if you can search my posts on his finals run, I said IMHO was the 2nd best player on that team.
What that did was allow for a limited to Klay to be the 3rd or 4th best player depending on how the night goes, which based on where he is now in his career is a great team to have.
If present Klay is the 3rd or 4th best player on your team, especially on a team where the players fit, that is one hell of a roster

Skrrrrrrr:


You guys would rather die than give curry the credit he deserved.
Instead of admitting curry's ability to elevate the guys around him, you are giving the management the credit.
You see life.....

Look at all my posts about Steph never have I belitted him, I give him credit where credit his due, but also acknowledge just like every great player that winning championships never starts on the court, but in the boardrooms where management put together the players that fit.
One of Steph's best ever season ended up in him missing the playoffs, why? because the talent around him was not good enough.
People like you never want to admit that team sports is not golf or tennis.

Skrrrrrrr:


My argument is.
Winning goes beyond just assembling a group of stars.
We have seen lots of teams crumble with stars.
People have had better Teams and won nothing.
The clippers and the nets are a perfect example.
The 2015 warriors were not better than the Blazers with Prime Lillard and CJ.
Ever wonder why everyone seems to play better around steph?
Do you think Wiggins would be an all star if he was traded back to the wolves today?

You know that GSW had another player whose carrer was just like Wiggins, namely Iggy.
Wiggins, Iggy, Blake Griffin, Joe Johnson, these are all very good players who were being asked to do, what was beyond their capacity and because of those expectations people think of them as failures.
People were expecting Wiggins to live up to his hype as a prospect and sadly few players ever do. That does not make them busts, or scrubs, the trick is finding where they are excellent at and letting them trive in that role. Wiggins is a player who at his best is a guy you want to average 15pts a game and play elite defense. He has, both the length, athleticism and iq to be the primary perimeter defender against the opponents best wing, while giving you good offense most nights. That is all GSW is asking him to do and you know what he is thriving in that role.

Skrrrrrrr:


My argument is.
Winning goes beyond just assembling a group of stars.
We have seen lots of teams crumble with stars.
People have had better Teams and won nothing.
The clippers and the nets are a perfect example.
The 2015 warriors were not better than the Blazers with Prime Lillard and CJ.
Ever wonder why everyone seems to play better around steph?
Do you think Wiggins would be an all star if he was traded back to the wolves today?

People play better around Steph because the GSW brain trust actually put together players with the skillset that fits their best player. If you want us to break it down together, I have a bit of time and we can go back and forth as long as you are willing to have a honest conversation.
Honest question describe Steph's playstyle?

Skrrrrrrr:


Lol
Was Klay an all defensive caliber player last season
I know the all defensive Team of last season and save for draymond who was in the second team, mention the other warrior players in the team.

Did I mention last season, I said for the first 3 chips. You know your arguments are weak but you are just grasping at straws bro.

Skrrrrrrr:


Oga, the James Harden the sixers got is a James Harden that has decided to shape his game inorder to win a Title. Harden knows Hero ball won't win him a chip and he has done that for years. Its little wonder his assist numbers are rising.
Lillard is not half the player Harden is. Lillard that does not even have a scoring title.
I only mentioned all those guys because unsteady your friend up there, keeps mentioning a Klay thompson that has not been exceptional since 2018.
Use your tongue to count your teeth.

You are someone who knows he is wrong but just thinks admitting it somehow belittles him. Dude learning is a continuous process and we all continueto learntill the day we die.
there is nobody who knows basketball who will tell you that the Harden in Philly is the same as the one in Houston, his first year with the Nets, he was playing the same style that he has been doing with the sixers, but you know what, he was in the MVP conversation before he got hurt. In case you don't know, players grow old and their level of performance tends to drop-off with age.
If you want to bash, players for failing, give concrete examples and I will happily join you in adding fuel to the fire.
If you don't know examples of players failing I can help you out, Lebron losing to the Mavs, Kawhi achieving nothing with the Clippers, CP3 failing the Clippers,Shaq and Kobe authoring the worst finals loss is recent history,etc. I can go on and on, listing examples of where management built a good enough team and the best players choked. But this hill you are trying to die on is laughable.

Skrrrrrrr:


Lol.
Klay Thompson averaged 21PPG in 2015.
And 17PPG in 2022.
CJ mccollum averaged 21PPG in 2018, 22PPG in 2019, and 23PPG in 2020.
Removing Durants 2 seasons, we had 2 seasons where the warriors won the chip with Klay thompson doing numbers that were bested by CJ Mccollum.
So using your maths sense (assuming you have one).
Why didn't Lillard win the chip with CJ mccollum.
Since you clowns think Basketball is Indian film?

It's you that thinks basketball is a movie because you are looking at stats, that GSW team without KD had 3 all-defensive team caliber players with klay counting amongst them. Name one that the Blazers had, and CJ can average the same as Klay all he wants but he is a sieve on the defensive end, basketball in case you have forgotten is played both on the offensive side and defensive side. That is why the likes of klay, just like Pippen, are great 2nd options because they play elite defense alongside being the 2nd best scorer on the team.

Skrrrrrrr:


Considering that Klay Thompson missed two straight seasons and was one legged last season, I wonder why his name is coming up here. He was a non factor last season bro.
And the Blazers had CJ mccollum all the while.

He was in his prime when they won, 3 and even if you want to argue he was the 3rd or 4th best player in the 4th ring, that only goes to buttress the point that Steph had a lot of help too for that championship. In the last finals out of the 6 games, playoff klay came out just once, but he put up 2 other games where he was the 3rd best player for the GSW on the night, so he still chipped in enough to be the 3rd best player.
Don't get me wrong Steph is an all-time great, if he and Dame were theoretically put in a similar situation with equal level talent, I'll bet on Steph team doing better in the long run, but the reality is Dame has never been given the caliber of tools to work with through out his career that Steph has had consistently for a large portion of his career.
Dame had never had even one all-defensive team caliber teammate, he's never had a team mate who was an all-star while playing in his team, his is him not winning with such mediocre talent somehow his fault.

Skrrrrrrr:



Dude. I don't know which of the reasoning you find to be an uphill task(inductive or deductive).
Klay was not even the 3rd option, he was the 4th, at that point he was terrible and even your corny ass didn't even give them any chance of progressing beyond the second round. I still remember your posts. It matters not that he is a first ballot hall of famer(this ain't even true). Dwight Howard is a HOFer but can't do any team any good right now. Do I need to break this Basic thing for your comprehension?
Klay has been a nonfactor for 3 straight seasons and he is just beginning to find his swing. And they won the chip.
I wonder why I am even conversing with you.
Your very own LeBron James is a testimony to the fact that just assembling big names is not enough.
He has only won rings with mega stars at their prime, and didn't even make the playoffs with Russ and Davies last season.
For someone that stans LeBron, you sure have a lot to say...

Out of the 4 chips Steph won, he got Prime Klay for 3 of them.
Russ will not a contract next worth 10mil, that's where Russ is now, the fact you can acknowledge that the current Klay is no longer the one who won the first 3 chips, but bury your head in the sand when it come to acknowledging the same for Westbrook is just panelbeating an argument to fit your narrative.

steady986:
Lol. He really mentioned CJ Mccollum . At one point in Klay's career, he was the third option on Steph's team. And this is a first ballot HOFamer. CJ Mccollum on the other hand is the best teammate that Dame has had. And he's only good enough to be the 3rd option at the Pelicans.

I remember when I was telling people here that Jalen brown clears CJ and it's not even a question and they were hounding me. CJ is with the Pelicans now and he cannot do shit.
Is Lillard better than Steph,NO, but the dude did a lot with what he was given. The fact he can point to making a conference finals, with no single all-star teammate is a testament to his greatness. This dude has played a decade plus with a franchise that consistently built a team around him where in a game, he cannot consistently get the easiest and most efficient shot for someone with his skillset.

Skrrrrrrr:


Simmons is a 3 time all star, Drummond is a two time all star, Jordan is a one time all star.
And the James Harden you are trying to ignore is a one time MVP, 10x all star.
He even has a bugger portfolio than Embiid...

This is when I know someone doesn't want to have a truth based conversation. Even the greatest Harden fan will tell you that the Harden the sixers got Philly is not the MVP caliber Harden, you can even make a great argument he is no longer a guarantee all-nba caliber player.
Mentioning Drummond is like also saying Lebron played with Shaq, or Bird played with Bill Walton, or Kobe played with Nash. The same Simmons at the time was supposed to be the 2nd option and would not even shoot, the guy who in a vital playoff game passed up a lay-up because he was afraid of getting foul.

birdman:


No, it wont. Its a game, not a movie. The other team is not in awe asking for autographs.

What do you do when you get double teamed? Can you find the open man? Can play off the ball? Can you read the defensive changes your opponents made at half time to slow you down. Can you give Embiid the ball at the right time so he doesnt get stripped or fronted. Do you even know where he likes the ball? Lillard has played with skilled bigs, and skilled guards, and generally, he tries to win games more on heroics than anything else. Like the run first QB that relies his own speed versus learning to read the play.

Curry is the deadliest shooter, but d guy man works at getting into the paint and finding the open man like his life depends on it. There is a mindset to this thing. Not just pairing big names and thinking the other team will just fold and siddon dey look.

Name me one player that Dame has played with who is better than Klay Thompson, just one.

steady986:
They told me people don't watch the NBA any longer

People who say that are ostriches who are in their feelings. There is a reason the owners have no issues with how things are going because they are seeing their investments grow in real time. Furthermore, the NBA by all projections will continue to grow because not only are the players getting better (which makes a big percentage of the league sellable to fans), the nationalities of superstars are spreading out as well. Trust me if Victor hits, every game he plays on the road will have a strong French contingent of fans who will come watch him, just like the Greeks follow Giannis, the Serbs follow Jokic, and the Slovenians follow Luka. David Stern's dream of the global development of the game, adding fuel to the engine of the nba is coming through.

PS: and all the metrics you mentioned has not even touched on the global consumption.

afrodoc2:


Dinwiddie regressed mainly because of his ACL injury. His numbers had already dropped before he moved to Dallas.

I am not in the medical field, but IMHO the ACL injury is possibly the worst injury you can get in basketball. It just feels like when guys return from it they are at less than 100%, even years down the line.
Even KD whose game is predicated on athleticism at all just does look as twitchy as he used to be.

steady986:
https://twitter.com/OldManAndThree/status/1643718904227717123?t=gp2SEQXwRg5ZLl160Dgh5w&s=19

Steph fanboys having a meltdown in the comments. Jus call their boy a shooting guard and all hell breaks loose

The best I can say about Steph and Lillard, is that they are combo guards who play PG because of their size

AND NEW middleweight champion of the world Isreal Adesanya. The boy is good

birdman:


Too one dimensional. That scoring capability does not translate into championship like game. The discipline and defense and x/os that is supposed to come with that unguardability is not there. Compare him to say, Curry, or even the bigger Durant. We know he can get hot. Thats it.

Boss with all due respect, not every player will be a great defender. Lillard puts in effort on the defensive end and that is all he can do. Curry has only won because the brain trust in GSW actually know what they are doing, they did not saddle him with a two guard who might be a worse perimeter defender than himself. Steph is not winning anything with what Dame has had to work with in Portland

When I talk about how narratives have taken the place of fact some people think we are just supporting the players.
A Mavs insider Tim macmahon said the decision to bench the players came from ownership ala Cuban himself, because their draft pick for next year has some protections.
But talk heads are already calling Luka, the other players quitters because they did not play. Wait for a few months to years and you will hear someone say, 'remember that time Luka quit on his team'.

A40:
Exactly how competent and creative GMs get it done. They got a Bobby Portis, a Brook Lopez. I think it also speaks to Brook Lopez how he was able to evolve his game on defense

The Mavs are starting friggin Dwight Powell at center. How can you win with a team that has no perimeter defense and no interior defense

I mean just look at the present roster and you have to ask what exactly is the plan?

It's not just that they are starting Powell at center, but it's also the frigging contract they gave him after he was coming off an ACL surgery. This is a guy that all he does well is predicated on athleticism and they still gave him a 3yr/33mil contract.
When I first saw he was a FA, I was thinking a contract that averages out at a little above the minimum just to make it a multi year contract is the best he wouldget on the market. but the Mavs as usual saw something nobody else saw, these guys in todays nba, actually gave a small ball center, who cannot shoot FTs not to talk of 3s, who is unplayable on defence 1v1 against any of the competent big men in the league a contract the averages out at 8 figures. The incompetence oozing from that organization stinks to the high heavens

A40:
If the Mavericks get a Jaylen Brown alongside Luka and even a competent big. The West is in trouble. A scorer that can take the game over, doesn't need the ball like Kyrie, can actually defend

That's the kind of Robin he needs. Luka will never be a great defender especially on the perimeter, but with his size you can stick him on the inside with small ball bigs and he does a good enough job against those kind of players who are not quick laterally.
You might have to make some weird moves but it can work. I remember when Brook Lopez went to the Bucks, people were scratching their heads on how putting Giannis with a back to the basket big would work, but the Bucks did their due diligence and got a player who was recreating his game on a cheap for 1 year and since then has had to pay for his unique role.

Roland17:


Fam, you are dancing around this issue. No one is asking for Luka to be the 2nd coming of Thor but failing to admit Luka is struggling with his weight/ conditioning will be lying out of your teeth and I am sorry, I can't take you serious if you cannot even admit to this obvious issue that Luka himself has admitted is a problem.

In December 2021, Luka was 260 pounds, he got a ton of heat and dropped to 240 in January 2022. Right now, he is listed at 230, his weight at the start of the season but he has since added 20 pounds since the start of the season and is now between 240-250 pounds. If this isn't overweight then maybe you should watch the video of fans chanting 'You are fat" during the game against the Hawks

You crack me up with Brunson not leaving Dallas because Texas has no state taxes! If it is by that measure both the Rockets and Mavericks will be loaded with All Stars since they are avoiding taxes. The last time I checked the Lakers/ Clippers/ Kings are all in California, a state with one of the highest taxes in the country. This season, the Warriors paid 286M in luxury taxes, you think they worry about that? How about the NY and Boston? Abeg, bin that angu because it is irrelevant in the scheme of things.

Rick Brunson, Jalen's dad played for the Knicks and his Godfather who Jalen has a personal relationship is Leon Rose who happens to the GM of the NY Knicks. Guess who Jalen's agent is? Sam Rose, take a wild guess who Sam Rose's father is? Leon Rose, the GM of the NY Knicks! With all of this you still think it was about money? Why do you think the Knicks and Jalen's family including his agent refuse to divulge the amount offered by the Knicks? Why was it hidden and out of the blue Jalen agreed with them before the amount was made available to Cuban? Jalen and his camp knew 10000000% that Cuban will match whatever offer the Knicks made if they made it available to Cuban.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e4_lMWP1SQ&t=7s

A player who has all that insider connect you just mentioned is who a team shopped around without first tying him down to a very tradable contract. This alone tells you that common sense is in short supply in dallas. All your buhaha about Brunson connections would not have mattered if they had signed him to an extension, instead of letting him become an UFA

A40:
Cuban should jettison Kyrie, THJ and pull out the brink truck Jaylen Brown and Austin Reaves

Both guys will be perfect in Dallas, but I will bet that their front office will drop the ball on pursuing them.
Brown is someone who if the Celtics mess up, will be a huge mistake on their end

Roland17:


The embolden is proof that you have chosen to read and understand what you want from my submission and I can't help you out if that is your mindset.

Has Luka been overweight over the last 2 seasons, yes or no?

Is Luka currently overweight, yes or no?

Has Luka openly admitted over the last 2 seasons and progressively since he joined the league that his conditioning and weight is an issue, yes or no?

This isn't about narratives when they are obvious facts. Luka played off the ball in Spain and Slovenia, have we seen that in the NBA?

When you watch the Mavs, do you see Luka play off the ball?

Do you see Luka make cuts?

Do you see Luka move the ball?

Every Mav fan I know admits this is an issue but you think this is a narrative? Like I said, I have not said anything that is not factual. You obviously missed the part where I admitted the front office failed in the Brunson contract but does that mean Brunson and his camp did not believe he was better off playing away from Luke? Between building around Dirk and Luka, which is difficult? You don't have to disagree on everything just because there is an option to disagree.

Until you disprove everything I have said up there then they are true because they are facts!

Not every player will be shredded, some guys naturally carry more flab than others. I have watched Luka play double overtime games and he has never been more winded than any other great player.
Luka and the team discussed his conditioning issue for last season and since that time, all reports show he has bought in and followed whatever program was designed for him.
As for building around Dirk, you are talking as if Dirk won more than 1 chip. In his 20years in Dallas, Dirk only had a championship caliber team 3x IMHO, once he lost because of a bad match-up, the other 2x he got to the finals and won once, all this while consistently taking less money than he could have.
So you are telling me that Brunson would have left a team where not only did he have a chance of playing meaningful playoff games, he would also have more money in his pocket because Texas has no state tax, and finally the main star in Luka wanted him to stay. Brunson left because the Mavs lowballed him and his father got the job with the Knicks. all reports pointed out to the fact that the Mavs were not even will to meet any contract around 4yr/100mil.
The Mavs have consistently dropped the ball in their roster building and nobody calls them out because Mark Cuban is a nice guy, but if you remove him and objectively analyze their record you will find mediocrity upon mediocrity.

PS: A player can either play off ball or he cannot. There is no he can do it in Europe and then magically forgts to do it in the nba. And yes, he has played off the ball in the nba when they had Brunson. lineups with him and Brunson last year had series where Brunson ran the offense, but when you replace Brunson a traditional PG, with iso guards in Dimwiddie and Kyrie what do you expect.

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/new-york-knicks-jalen-brunson-free-agency-dallas-mavs-contract-mark-cuban

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10040314-jalen-brunson-rumors-mavs-unwilling-to-pay-pg-more-than-22m-per-season.amp.html

That is two articles that refute that nonsense Cuban was spewing, they lowballed him after shopping him

Roland17:






You all make compelling cases against the Mavs management and their history of not surrounding their best players with a good roster. However, I am going to make my own case about Luka's failures and how it has made things worse for the Mavs.

Conditioning: Every season since he got drafted, worsestill over the last 2 seasons, Luka has started the season out of shape and declined as the season progressed. Lets be honest, if we are going to give Zion the sticks about his weight, we should apply the same energy on Luka who is fat. His weight is one reason the Mavs can not play fast, especially in transition. Luka is barely on his feet by the end of the 3rd quarter because he is gasping for air. His bad conditioning also means he NEVER runs back to defend if the opponents rebound and are on a fast break which means the Mavs are constantly short 1 player before Luka makes it into their half. This bad conditioning and inability to run means their offense becomes a predictable half court offense.

Off the Ball: Luka has refused to learn or accept playing off the ball and this continues to hurt the Mavs. Luka holds on to the ball too much and ends up taking shot with few seconds left in the shot clock. With Luka refusing to play off the ball, the offense stagnates because there is no movement or cutting happening, just a bunch of guys hugging the lane waiting for their luck, if he decides to move the ball. When you don't move the ball, you are pretty much bailing the defense and making it easy to defend you. While Brunson left because the Mavs front office failed, lets be clear, there were reports that Brunson and his camp felt Brunson would do better playing away from Luka because Luka hugs the ball too much and refuses to play off the ball.

Half Court Offense: Luka's horrible conditioning and refusal to play off the ball, inevitably compels the Mavs to play a predictable half-court offense. The sad part about it is that half court offense thrives when the ball moves and there is a lot of cutting and screens.

Whining and Techs: Over the last 4 years, Luka has ranked top 3 with number 1 finishes in the amount of technical fouls received every season. This season, he hit his 16th and got suspended for 1 game. These technical fouls are usually from him spending inglorious amounts of time whining and chirping at the referees over non-calls. Every season, he acknowledges he is whining too much and promises to cut down and play basketball but it never happens because he just whines, refuses to run back and costs his team valuable points. He is not disciplined neither is he an exemplary leader on the court. Each of these techs have sometimes become the difference between winning and losing.

Defense: Should we even talk about this? Luka is lazy on defense, refuses to move his feet, work hard and bails out opponents with some of the silliest fouls. He is usually targeted by opponents because he would not only commit the foul or get blown by but he will also get a tech. For his size, one would think Luka would put some more effort on defense but he is the weakest link in the team defensively.

Difficulty Building Around Luka: We can complain about the front office, rightfully so but Luka has not exactly helped the situation. He has played with Porz/ Brunson/ Dimwiddie and now Wood but they have all left or playing poorly because they can't play with Luka. Building around Luka in comparison to Dirk is going to be way harder because of the issues I have highlighted above. Kidd/ J. Terry, JJ, T. Chandler/ Stevenson/ Marion thrived when the Championship team was assembled because Dirk was a selfless leader who also knew when to impose himself. Which Superstar or star player do you think is willing to move to the Mavs and play under these conditions?

This is what happens when narratives turn to fact, Luka has only had conditioning issues at the beginning of the season once and that was the season where he came back from the Olympics and took time off to rest.
As for playing with others that is another narrative issue, Luka played off the ball well enough for both real madrid and Slovenia, but all of a sudden he has forgotten how to do so. I remember vividly that one of his draft knocks was that he could not be the primary ball handler on a nba team because he was not used that way in the euroleague.
As for talent around, him you are with a straight face putting kristaps porzingis on a list when the dude spent half the time on the treatment table. Every single playoff run they had while he was there the dude either didn't play or did not finish. As for dinwiddie, the dude was coming off an acl injury when he first got traded, his first full season with Luka they made it to the conference finals and the season after that he was again traded so when did that not work.
Brunson had a great season last year with Luka and did not leave the Mavs because he couldn't play with him but because the Mavs as usual made a stupid bet, instead of paying the guy using the gilbert arenas rule, they foolishly gave him the same offer sheet they signed Finley smith to which was a 4yr/55mil and you know what he smartly turned that down and when his dad got the job with the e Knicks he followed him there. The Brunson situation would have been totally avoided if they just gave him the extension at around 4yr/75mil at the beginning of last season when he was still under contract and the Knicks option would not have mattered at all.
Can Luka play better defensively yes, but the idea that you cannot build a team around him is laughable. Simply get him a true shooting guard, in the mold of Klay, someone who is paid to shoot and guard, put front court personnel who can play both interior and perimeter defense Brook and as well shoot e.g Brook Lopez, and put in shooting 3nD players for the other two positions and he is good to go.
Please If Slovenia/Real madrid can build a team around him then an nba team should not have any excuse.


PS: If you are one of those who believe front office are automatically good at their jobs, then let me tell you something, some GM for 7 whole years put Lebron before he had a semblance of a consistent jumper on a team with 2 NON SHOOTING BIGs, another one had had the great idea of pairing Melo a non-playmaking volume scorer with AI another non-playmaking volume scorer.
I can reel off examples of shoddy roster constructions that has gone on for years in the nba, but somehow it's always the players fault.

PS2: The Mavs had the opportunity to trade for Jrue instead of pozingis and they stupidly as usual placed their bet on the wrong horse.

Roland17:


Is it time to start asking if Luka is the problem? It is easy to hide behind Kyrie, front office, Cuban and coaching but all season I have been consistent about Luka’s issues and how it affects winning.

I don’t see how the Mavs win anything with Luka’s style and leadership. Is he talented? Absolutely! but there is more to talent and he lacks a lot of them. It is an unpopular take that many avoid and refuse to look at but it is time to critically examine Luka.

This idea that every player has to be the same is starting to get annoying. Just like every human who has ever lived is different and unique so is every player in any sport. The job of management is to understand what your best player is and build around their strengths and weaknesses. The Mavs who were already having a bad defensive year in all metrics, traded their best defensive player and brought in a guy who is a negative on defense and we are blaming Luka.
Look at how GSW built around Steph, every single player on their lineup since he stared going off has been a plus defender, that is how you build, even guys like KD and Wiggins who didn't have reputations as defenders, became near all-nba level defenders there.
The Mavericks brain trust have always been bad, even when dirk nowitzki was there, I remember when dirk took less money and they wasted it on palmer or who was his name.
You build a team that fits your franchise player, not the one that is in your head, if you fail to do that and lose then it on you not the player.

A40:
I don't know if it was Cuban or Dirk's loyalty that kept the Mavericks relevant. Up till Luka came along the Mavericks had drafted horribly. You have to go back to the 03 draft to find a year the Mavs drafted an Allstar which was the infamous Josh Howard

As for Kidd. I have no comments. The next time blowhards like Draymond try to speak about basketball like it's some secret science and if you didn't play you can't critique. I would easily point to Zeke, Kidd, Nash and hell the GOAT as proof that you could be a HOF/GOAT level athlete and know fuckall about evaluating talent, coaching and seeing the game

Thank you, as much as Kidd has done an underwhelming job. The front office in Dallas has been extremely poor, for at least a decade its not only in drafting, they have consistently offered to overpay or paid the wrong guys

So for those saying owners will clamp down on load management with the new CBA, it had been agreed and the only thing that was done was to tie end of season awards to playing at least 65 games.

Roland17:


I am just asking you guys to give my guy AD his due, that's all!

It is easy to dawg him when he is out injured or playing poorly but when he comes back and is literally carrying the team to the playoffs, everyone goes mute.

Which due is that, the same dude who in the next 5 -7 games will have a game that he will seriously shit the bed with a total lack of effort. Consistency is what we need from AD not numbers, a player of his caliber and talent should be in the MVP conversation year in year out, but we are supposed to hail him for scoring 35pts. How far are we going to lower the bar for AD?