2023 - 2024 Dallas Mavericks Season Thread - I'm watching, just like you guys

[Chewbacca 7780]

Also I think the Mavs win this. And if they’re do I think they can play with whoever wins the other side. But it probably won’t be enough.

Man I wish we had a healthy Luka. The 2022 version. And maxi too.

Hell even Kyrie hasn’t quite been tbe same.

Beat up team. Gettin worse by the game. No way they beat either wolves or Denver most likely.

But hey, if they make the WCFs after last year? That’s legit.

Everyone wishes they were healthy. That's such a huge part of winning in the playoffs.

[Drew 2500]

Everyone wishes they were healthy. That's such a huge part of winning in the playoffs.

True. But OKC is healthy. So is Minny and Denver.

Dallas seems to be struggling with it more than any other in the west.

But yeah, doesn’t matter. It’s the playoffs. They gotta play with who they got

[Rex Kramer 1343]

1 hour ago, ITHorn said:

It put Mavs into bonus with six minutes to go and they were lucky that Dallas didn’t take further advantage of that. It also completely took away the ability OKC has to create turnovers and score/get to line in transition which is a huge weapon. I would be pretty surprised if we see it again. 

They were already in the bonus. Dallas takes care of the ball, and was going to milk the clock on each possession. Lively is a terrible FT shooter. It wasn’t a bad strategy at all. 

[gsoda3 3274]

It was a good strategy for okc. We couldn't go small because we don't have maxi. Our small ball lineup with maxi at the 5 was one of the most efficient lineups in the entire NBA this season. Surprisingly.

[Chewbacca 7780]

True. But OKC is healthy. So is Minny and Denver.

Dallas seems to be struggling with it more than any other in the west.

But yeah, doesn’t matter. It’s the playoffs. They gotta play with who they got

Denver is healthy? Lol.

[Etexhorn13 3052]

30 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

2 hours ago, Drew said:

True. But OKC is healthy. So is Minny and Denver.

Dallas seems to be struggling with it more than any other in the west.

But yeah, doesn’t matter. It’s the playoffs. They gotta play with who they got

Denver is healthy? Lol.

Hurt vs injured applies here - is there anyone important actually missing games? Full disclosure I’m ignorant on the subject but Dallas is actually missing a key rotation player, and one just came back from missing basically the whole first round. 
If you want to just talk hurt, I don’t see Murray or Jokic  getting the shit beat out of them every night like Luka. Joker’s scratches on his pasty ass arms don’t count. 

Edited May 12 by Etexhorn13

[Chewbacca 7780]

Hurt vs injured applies here - is there anyone important actually missing games? Full disclosure I’m ignorant on the subject but Dallas is actually missing a key rotation player, and one just came back from missing basically the whole first round. 
If you want to just talk hurt, I don’t see Murray or Jokic  getting the shit beat out of them every night like Luka. Joker’s scratches on his pasty ass arms don’t count. 

Murray has a calf strain. He needs to be able to get separation off the dribble to be effective. He did it in game 3, but couldn't in games 1-2. KCP has a bad hip and he's the primary defender on Ant.

Without those 2, the Nuggets are fucked. They looked ok in game 3 but we'll see going forward. They are walking wounded at this point.

[gsoda3 3274]

40 minutes ago, Etexhorn13 said:

Hurt vs injured applies here - is there anyone important actually missing games? Full disclosure I’m ignorant on the subject but Dallas is actually missing a key rotation player, and one just came back from missing basically the whole first round. 
If you want to just talk hurt, I don’t see Murray or Jokic  getting the shit beat out of them every night like Luka. Joker’s scratches on his pasty ass arms don’t count. 

let's be real.  it was a blessing in disguise he couldn't play.

[Etexhorn13 3052]

4 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

let's be real.  it was a blessing in disguise he couldn't play.

To quote Mack Brown, “…and that’s fair.”

[Quagmire 2147]

Enjoying the mavs and stars both winning in the same nights , this is fun but fuck these late games are wearing me out

[Bozo_Casanova 26510]

15 hours ago, Drew said:

Dallas seems to be struggling with it more than any other in the west.

Wow, if I didn’t know better, I might suspect that a league with a notorious history of officials putting their thumb on the scale for and against marquee players and teams has allowed Dallas, and Luka Doncic especially, to get mauled late in the season and into the playoffs.

[Rex Kramer 1343]

12 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Murray has a calf strain. He needs to be able to get separation off the dribble to be effective. He did it in game 3, but couldn't in games 1-2. KCP has a bad hip and he's the primary defender on Ant.

Without those 2, the Nuggets are fucked. They looked ok in game 3 but we'll see going forward. They are walking wounded at this point.

Are you comparing the Mavs injury situation favorably to the Nuggets?  If so, that’s laughably stupid. Please don’t fuck up 2 threads. 

 

25 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Wow, if I didn’t know better, I might suspect that a league with a notorious history of officials putting their thumb on the scale for and against marquee players and teams has allowed Dallas, and Luka Doncic especially, to get mauled late in the season and into the playoffs.

But clearly you know better than to lend your support to an asinine conspiracy theory against Luka. Thank God. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26510]

4 hours ago, Rex Kramer said:

But clearly you know better than to lend your support to an asinine conspiracy theory against Luka. Thank God. 

Of course I’m not. I mean, it’s not as though *two* former referees specifically implicated by Tim Donaghy in *allegedly* fixing games against the Mavericks (including both games 5 and 6 of the 2006 NBA finals) are now occupying VP level operations roles supervising officials. That would be absurd, right?

Edited May 12 by Bozo_Casanova

[Rex Kramer 1343]

57 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Of course I’m not. I mean, it’s not as though *two* former referees specifically implicated by Tim Donaghy in *allegedly* fixing games against the Mavericks (including both games 5 and 6 of the 2006 NBA finals) are now occupying VP level operations roles supervising officials. That would be absurd, right?

It’d be quite absurd. Thankfully you’re not going there. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26510]

4 hours ago, Rex Kramer said:

It’d be quite absurd. Thankfully you’re not going there. 

Of course I’m not. It’s ridiculous on its face. 

BTW- did I say two referees who were specifically implicated? I meant *four*.  There are four former referees  implicated in *allegedly* rigging games now in senior roles overseeing NBA referees as part of the NBA referee development and performance group (out of four members), but only three of them were specifically implicated in fixing playoff games against the Mavs. And it’s not as though the Mavs were unique- one was  also involved in the notorious Game 6 of the 2002 WCF between the Lakers and Kings, and several other infamous officiating disasters. 
How silly of me.

Well at any rate I’m not paranoid enough to think there’s something systemically wrong here.

Edited May 13 by Bozo_Casanova

[Rex Kramer 1343]

12 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Of course I’m not. It’s ridiculous on its face. 

BTW- did I say two referees who were specifically implicated? I meant *four*.  There are four former referees  implicated in *allegedly* rigging games now in senior roles overseeing NBA referees as part of the NBA referee development and performance group (out of four members), but only three of them were specifically implicated in fixing playoff games against the Mavs. And it’s not as though the Mavs were unique- one was  also involved in the notorious Game 6 of the 2002 WCF between the Lakers and Kings, and several other infamous officiating disasters. 
How silly of me.

Well at any rate I’m not paranoid enough to think there’s something systemically wrong here.

I read this and my eyes glaze over. Is there a source for this other than an admitted convicted degenerate’s word for it?

[Bozo_Casanova 26510]

3 hours ago, Rex Kramer said:

I read this and my eyes glaze over. Is there a source for this other than an admitted convicted degenerate’s word for it?

Oh it’s all speculative of course, but the Donaghy thing is a pretty huge red flag, and can we honestly say it’s been fully addressed? Despite the NBA’s line (which you have accepted and repeat above, and that’s fine), it’s tough to imagine that he was unique, particularly given his background, and there have been multiple investigations by ESPN a d others that suggest it’s not. 

There’s no equivalent in the last 90 years of pro baseball or 70 years of pro football. And look, I don’t even think a conspiracy theory is required. People’s motivations and biases can be all over the place beyond money. They may be actively collaborating with mobsters like Donaghy, who made very little compared to his partners, or they could be merely putting their thumbs on the scale for other reasons- Marc Cuban and Robert Sarver (Suns) were both unusually public about calling out uneven officiating and many people have argued they both paid the price for it. You can decide whether that makes sense to you or whether there was a corruption issue beyond bias.  You can decide whether it matters that so many of the same names that always seemed to pop up in poorly officiated games in that era were from  Delaware County Pa, and that they were all longtime friends and associates across generations, or that some of those associations include mob ties. 
 

All that said, you are correct. No matter how much smoke there is, I can’t point to the fire. But after watching NBA basketball for the last 45 years I don’t think there’s anything stranger to me than the idea that the four people overseeing the development and performance of NBA officials are Mark Wunderlich, Eddie Rush, Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford. 

Edited May 13 by Bozo_Casanova

[ITHorn 801]

The fact that Scott Foster skated by after his connections to TD were exposed without a legitimate inquiry should tell you all that you need to know about how Stern felt about this stuff. While there hasn't been anything concrete, when there is enough smoke around this stuff generally there is some element of truth. I find it very hard to believe TD was the only official gambling during that time period.

Scott Foster-Tim Donaghy links

Edited May 13 by ITHorn

[Rex Kramer 1343]

2 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Oh it’s all speculative of course, but the Donaghy thing is a pretty huge red flag, and can we honestly say it’s been fully addressed? Despite the NBA’s line (which you have accepted and repeat above, and that’s fine), it’s tough to imagine that he was unique, particularly given his background, and there have been multiple investigations by ESPN a d others that suggest it’s not. 

There’s no equivalent in the last 90 years of pro baseball or 70 years of pro football. And look, people’s motivations and biases can be all over the place beyond money. They may be actively collaborating with mobsters like Donaghy, who made very little compared to his partners, or they could be merely putting their thumbs on the scale for other reasons- Marc Cuban and Robert Sarver (Suns) were both unusually public about calling out uneven officiating and many people have argued they both paid the price for it. You can decide whether that makes sense to you or whether there was a corruption issue beyond bias.  You can decide whether it matters that so many of the same names that always seemed to pop up in poorly officiated games in that era were from  Delaware County Pa, and that they were all longtime friends and associates across generations, or that some of those associations include mob ties. 
 

All that said, you are correct. No matter how much smoke there is, I can’t point to the fire. But after watching NBA basketball for the last 45 years I don’t think there’s anything stranger to me than the idea that the four people overseeing the development and performance of NBA officials are Mark Wunderlich, Eddie Rush, Bennett Salvatore and Joey Crawford. 

Honestly I just don’t care enough to think about it. I’ve seen some bad calls this series, but no group of calls in any one game has affected the outcome. I just don’t get worked up by officials and never really have except over the occasional Longhorn football game. I’ve seen one and possible two times Big 12 refs cost us games against OSU and once against Bama in ‘22. All at home. No officiating anywhere else has approached those screw jobs. 

[Sweetnsourpoke 170]

What's been the biggest surprise of this series so far? 

For me, one thing that is a surprise is that Jason Kidd is outcoaching Daigneault. 

[Rex Kramer 1343]

4 minutes ago, ITHorn said:

should tell you all that you need to know about how Stern felt about this stuff.

But it doesn’t. 

2 minutes ago, Sweetnsourpoke said:

What's been the biggest surprise of this series so far? 

For me, one thing that is a surprise is that Jason Kidd is outcoaching Daigneault. 

Not to me. Kidd, if he has the right personnel, has proven himself to be a good coach. 

['stache 21825]

I'm not sure that PJ Washington going off is necessarily due to coaching, but I'm glad it's happening. If Luka and Kyrie wake up offensively, these games could be blowouts. I suspect OKC will win tonight, just how it goes, but man a win would be massive to go up 3-1. OKC sports radio is insufferable. They're acting like Luka is living at the fucking line or something. He had 10 free throws on Saturday, the same amount as SGA. Oh, and its clear as day that the OKC strategy is to have Dort beat up on Luka as best he can, and he's getting away with all sort of shit. I get that Luka whines too much, but fuck, this series he's right, Dort is all over him, and getting away with a bunch of stuff. 

Edited May 13 by 'stache

[ITHorn 801]

Yeah, I think that two things can and probably are true: Luka does complain quite a bit and he also takes a lot of contact that doesn't always result in FTs. 

[Chewbacca 7780]

2 hours ago, ITHorn said:

The fact that Scott Foster skated by after his connections to TD were exposed without a legitimate inquiry should tell you all that you need to know about how Stern felt about this stuff. While there hasn't been anything concrete, when there is enough smoke around this stuff generally there is some element of truth. I find it very hard to believe TD was the only official gambling during that time period.

Scott Foster-Tim Donaghy links

Exactly.  Foster and Donaghy talked every day, multiple times a day, and the NBA didn't even investigate him.  They just pretended it never happened when Donaghy went to jail.

[Hagbard Celine 10897]

fuck espn fuck turner

is this the 4th or 5th games with mavs/stars on at the same fucking time 90 minutes late after when they should have been starting

FUCK FUCK FUCK them all

['stache 21825]

Wtf, now OKC radio guys calling Luka a ball hog. I knew he was high in assists, looked it up, and he’s number 2 in the league in assists per game. What the hell are they talking about?

[Bozo_Casanova 26510]

7 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Wtf, now OKC radio guys calling Luka a ball hog. I knew he was high in assists, looked it up, and he’s number 2 in the league in assists per game. What the hell are they talking about?

Thunder homers are morons. Truly an insufferable media contingent on the level of Aggie football homers.
It is known. 

[Sweetnsourpoke 170]

52 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Wtf, now OKC radio guys calling Luka a ball hog. I knew he was high in assists, looked it up, and he’s number 2 in the league in assists per game. What the hell are they talking about?

Maybe change the station? Switch over to Traber and Eshbach. Traber routinely rips the Thunder to the point the organization no longer allows players to appear on that station.....and I believe they're the flagship station. 

The stat he was reporting today about Giddy being on the court instead of Wiggins and Joe was glaringly bad. And why Hayward is on the court at all is a mystery. The dude is horrible. One of Presti's worst decisions as a GM. 

['stache 21825]

4 minutes ago, Sweetnsourpoke said:

Maybe change the station? Switch over to Traber and Eshbach. Traber routinely rips the Thunder to the point the organization no longer allows players to appear on that station.....and I believe they're the flagship station. 

The stat he was reporting today about Giddy being on the court instead of Wiggins and Joe was glaringly bad. And why Hayward is on the court at all is a mystery. The dude is horrible. One of Presti's worst decisions as a GM. 

Traber's the one who said it! Granted, his comment was essentially "We all know Luka's a ballhog, right? But you don't hear Kyrie complaining about it, which says a lot about the team." So he's essentially contradicting himself in his own backhanded compliment, because if Luka was a ballhog, Kyrie would probably have expressed frustration by now. Traber also went on to say that Luka makes Kyrie seem likeable. That one is at least consistent with his style. He did then trash Giddy "Why does that guy see the floor at all in this series!!!!" The Morning Animals, however, were insufferable, and I only listened for like 10 minutes.

[Bigpoppapump 532]

Climbed giddy like a tree

[RexWilson 1348]

Good start defensively 

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

Luka moving better than he has so far this series. I don’t think OKC want this smoke. 

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

Mavs D is high T

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

That pass was 200mph. 

[RexWilson 1348]

Exum has done nothing in the playoffs

[RexWilson 1348]

Gafford…..dayum!

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

If we could chill with the turnovers we would be blowing them out. 

[RexWilson 1348]

7 minutes ago, RexWilson said:

Exum has done nothing in the playoffs

I guess he needed me to call him out. 

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

Great defense that quarter. 

[Bigpoppapump 532]

I guess he needed me to call him out. 

You’re calling yourself out

['stache 21825]

Why was that a free throw on the inbound foul?

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

Yeah, ref show quarter 

Goodness Green

[gsoda3 3274]

Why was that a free throw on the inbound foul?

If you commit a foul before the ball is inbounded the other team gets a free throw and possession

[cafe society 2872]

two things:  first, in 2006, Stern made a phone call,  Second, Dort is doing stuff to Luka that would get him locked up off the court.

[dcar00 14317]

holy shit.  they call that with all the bullshit going uncalled.  such horseshit.

[Etexhorn13 3052]

This mother fucker Dort just bulldogs his way to the paint looking to get bailed out. 

[ITHorn 801]

If Luka and Kyrie can get remotely warm at same time this is going to get ugly quick. 

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

Lu, I am your father. -Darth Luka

2 minutes ago, Etexhorn13 said:

This mother fucker Dort just bulldogs his way to the paint looking to get bailed out. 

He’s the player I hate playing against and also wish was on my team. 

Edited May 14 by Firemans4Horn

['stache 21825]

I’m sort of liking this no call shit, it’s going both ways, so both fan bases can bitch, lol.

[dcar00 14317]

1 minute ago, cafe society said:

two things:  first, in 2006, Stern made a phone call,  Second, Dort is doing stuff to Luka that would get him locked up off the court.

2006 was absolutely payback for all of Cuban's(rightful) bitching about the refs.  They still hold that against him.  He exposed the absolute incompetence of NBA refs. 

Dirk paid for it and now Doncic is as well.  I believe it is part of the reason stars don't want to come to Dallas.

1 minute ago, 'stache said:

I’m sort of liking this no call shit, it’s going both ways, so both fan bases can bitch, lol.

Dort definitely got fouled there but so did Luka.