₦airaland Forum

O boy…. Porz looks like he has strained that right half again. The break Mavs need..

The kind of bonehead plays Luka makes sometimes.

Just like that 8pt deficit up to 14.

Jrue Holiday should be Finals MVP honestly

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

Holiday is indeed a treasure.....

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

Adjustments…

aliondo:
Holiday is indeed a treasure.....

I hope Giannis and his bunch of dancing clowns are watching

This is so annoying man.

Derek White bloody hell

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

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:
Exactly what we want. Luka can go off all he wants in the first, we won’t allow both or anyone else. The Celtics will make adjustments to his shots also.

Props to you. You cooked here small small sha eventhough It would have been harder to make adjustments had the Mavs knocked down their shots.

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

When this series started, I was clear that the Celtics will win this on defense. If you watching and expecting Tatum or Brown to score 40 then you may have to watch another finals. The Celtics strategy is as clear as day light. The Celtics have done the hardest part and just need 1 or both in Dallas. I was quite confident going into this series after I watched the Mavs against the Wolves.

A40:
Which adjustments una make though fr?

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

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.

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.

A40:
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.

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.

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

A40:
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.

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 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.

Preferably, I’d like to take game 4 and go 3-0 if we are to split the series in Dallas.
#Greenrunsdeep

A40:
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

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


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

Roland17:
When this series started, I was clear that the Celtics will win this on defense. If you watching and expecting Tatum or Brown to score 40 then you may have to watch another finals. The Celtics strategy is as clear as day light. The Celtics have done the hardest part and just need 1 or both in Dallas. I was quite confident going into this series after I watched the Mavs against the Wolves.

I said it the other day that I believed the wolves would have given the Celtics a tougher time in the finals not cause they're the best from the west but cause they're also good on defense and play with more intensity, there'd only so much Luka can do when his supporting cast are mostly stifled, even the warriors with their aging roster would have given the celts a run for their money more than the Mavs, this is gradually turning into basketball's next super team provided they keep most of their cast and Brad trades wisely, I expect them to at least nick one in Dallas then wrap it up at home if there's a game 5

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


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

Jrue holiday and derrick white on defense and contributing inside the paint have been the key, you notice how the Js haven't done much compared to the past playoff ties, Even without porzingis return they would still have limited Dallas to an extent

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:
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

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

A40:
Jayson Tatum having a meltdown. This is a shocking performance for a player in his prime

Na today? Celtics ain't shit without Jrue Holiday. Even Roland knows that.

A40:
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

Looool....This is what Happens when Jrue is the 4th offensive option as opposed to being the 2nd as He was mostly with the Bucks due to injuries to Khris and Giannis. Heck He was also asked to Run to this offense whilst locking down the other team's best player. He has found His perfect role In Boston.

Khanben:
You just pointed out something I noticed that almost nobody is talking about. The Celtics have 4 dudes 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 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 possibly since the 2017 warriors death line up.

The death lineup was in 2019 with DeMarcus Cousins.

A40:
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

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

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.

greypencils:
The death lineup was in 2019 with DeMarcus Cousins.

The death line up was, KD, Draymond , Steph, Klay and Iggy

chic2pimp:
Looool....This is what Happens when Jrue is the 4th offensive option as opposed to being the 2nd as He was mostly with the Bucks due to injuries to Khris and Giannis. Heck He was also asked to Run to this offense whilst locking down the other team's best player. He has found His perfect role In Boston.

That's one of their cheat codes, when Jrue is cooking offensively he will still have like the 3rd of 4th best defender guarding him because you cannot move the best perimeter guys away from the Js, same thing happens on nights Derrick white is on offensively.

In short if they win it all, Brad Steven's deserves kudos for actually building an incredible team and they can still keep this core I think for one more season

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.

etidy:
This current warriors na retirement warriors , you cant be using them as example of why the mags are composed . When you bring warriors into any comparison people automatically think you are talking about their heydays.
Those cats have paid their dues, na to collect their money go retire remain

Regarding this series, Luka will be Luka but Kyrie needs to get out of his feelings and play well. Pj Washington also needs to step up and produce about 15 points per game.

As for the Celtics, they should prepare for a Luka onslaught in the season game.
I am sure that weyrey is coming for a 50 piece in game two, unlike game 1, they will needs Tatum to show up.

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.