Dallas @ Suns Game 2 (R2) Wednesday 5-4-2022, 7PM

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The only thing I’d add is that Book was never as fat and out of shape as Luka is. And Book is the superior athlete. Luka might be a batter offensive player , but Book is the better athlete and I’d say might even be more competitive than Luka.

True but luka has 3 inches on book, better vision, and even a trimmed down luka would be heavier than book. Those things kinda counterbalance imo.

And I’ll not question his competitiveness. People did that with Booker in the past and we all poo poo’ed that. Tough to compare levels of competitiveness unless it’s obvious. I’ll give that a wash.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Nick is just delusional. Not a great defensive player? He's a pitiful defensive player.

Yeah he was a complete sieve last night.

 

[Ronin]

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[Mainstreet]

Monty talks about going at Doncic.

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[AzStevenCal]

Damn you. I was trying to figure out some name to trash Luka a couple of pages back and my brain was too fried from work today to come up with anything even remotely clever.

Also, slight credit to Oncic in the post game presser. First question was someone begging for him to blame the officiating and he swatted that junk away.

Yeah he's the Hans Gruber of pro basketball. He's pure evil but surprisingly likable at times.

 

[Mainstreet]

Admittedly Chris Paul knows all the tricks. It's wise not to get on his bad side.

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[Lorenzo]

In Lukas defense, I don't really see any of his teammates cracking the Suns rotation.

I mean, none of the Mavs starters except for Luka would start on the Suns, and quite a few of their starters wouldn't be top subs on the Suns.

If you read Mavs fans reactions they pretty much all talk about how Luka needs more "good" players. I'd argue that it's worse than they think.

Imagine if Luka was on the Suns...they would still be great and he wouldn't be as tired. NBA will always be about superstar players, but the best teams always win, you only have to look at the Spurs and Mavs beating the Miami Heat in the finals. I'm glad the suns passed on Luka though, because where would dallas be without him? I think Dallas are far away from a title, but they have a legit superstar to build around. If Luka doesn't lose any weight he's still a top 10 player in the league

 

[GatorAZ]

Luka and Trae are the same person.

Nah

Luka is getting cooked by a generational backcourt. Let’s give the Suns some credit…

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Imagine if Luka was on the Suns...they would still be great and he wouldn't be as tired. NBA will always be about superstar players, but the best teams always win, you only have to look at the Spurs and Mavs beating the Miami Heat in the finals. I'm glad the suns passed on Luka though, because where would dallas be without him? I think Dallas are far away from a title, but they have a legit superstar to build around. If Luka doesn't lose any weight he's still a top 10 player in the league

If Luka was on the Suns he would be on the bench. You need to play 2 ways to play here.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

If Luka was on the Suns he would be on the bench. You need to play 2 ways to play here.

To clarify this statement, he wouldn't start over Paul, Booker, Bridges or Ayton. He could start over Crowder but that puts Bridges as the 4 so that isn't happening.

 

[Lorenzo]

Remember when Suns fans said the same thing about Booker?

Sports fans have this popular idea that players don't get a whole lot better once they near 30. I think that's hogwash. Mentally players get so much better as they age, and we've seen that with Booker.

I think Doncic is a giant Richard. You can see how selfish he is, how narrow-minded he is. But heres the thing...that's really common with young alpha types. Doncic is likely to grow more humble over the years.

Watching last nights game is proof that Doncic isn't a full on superstar yet. A guy who can get beat so thoroughly on one side of the court isn't a true superstar. That was absolutely embarrassing. That was like watching 3rd string rando center vs. Shaq back in the day.

I honestly can see Doncic working out two ways: 1) he is humbled by this, works harder on his body, and becomes a top 5 player all time. He has that type of potential. OR 2) He stays in his current delusional mindset, ends up getting hurt down the road and we look at him as a "what could've been" type of star.

I think this is a bit harsh. if he doesn't play another game in his career he's already a superstar.

Phoenix going after him on defense makes perfect sense, they are trying to wear him down, and no I don't think Doncic is a lock down defender, but I think that's the way to attack him and poke holes in his game.

As far as him being selfish on the court, I could see that perception, but from what I've heard of him from his teammates and other people is that he is a very humble guy. he has also openly addressed his weaknesses as well, which is not always easy for players.

 

[Lorenzo]

If Luka was on the Suns he would be on the bench. You need to play 2 ways to play here.

I agree he would sit more and he would be more affective with that type of cast around him. you said it best.

 

[Mainstreet]

A picture tells a thousand words.

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[Lorenzo]

To clarify this statement, he wouldn't start over Paul, Booker, Bridges or Ayton. He could start over Crowder but that puts Bridges as the 4 so that isn't happening.

I can't argue that, the only player that makes sense for a like position is Chris Paul and he's a hall of famer. I would still put Luka over Chris Paul at this point in their respective careers, but that's my opinion based on upside. Of corse Paul's experience is greater and more likely to lead a team to a title. I don't think they would ever fit on the same team. I think if you swapped Paul to the Mavs and Luka to the Suns, the suns would still kill the mavs in a 7 game series. I'll add that I'm glad the Suns took Ayton and the mavs took Luka. I think it was a good fit for both teams considering where they are both at now.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'd take Booker over Luka at this point. I don't care what the media or national fans think, Booker has a way better all around game.

Due to his defense I think I’d agree. But man if you replaced book with luka on this team…I dunno.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

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Insane

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Monty talks about going at Doncic.

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Grind em

 

[JCSunsfan]

excellent post! I missed the game today, but I heard about Luka from some of the dallas media. They were talking about how it looked like the same Luka/Mavericks from the times they played the Clippers in the playoffs. and I heard about his poor defense as well.

I think you hit the nail on the head about his competitiveness. He takes a lot of heat from fans for his hyper competitiveness, even in Dallas, but I want a guy that wants to win every time down the court. dirk was the same way. I remember dirk head butting a ball at a ref and asking a ref to fight him lol, and those were regular season games. he also broke things in the locker rooms and yelled at his teammates, yelled at fans on the road, yet he never had the reputation that Luka has because I think Luka is already a bigger star than Dirk was, especially early on. Of corse Dirk got to play with Steve Nash and Michael Finley early on in his career, Luka has not had that same type of help.

I think Luka will work on his fitness, and he does have a mentor in Dirk who has been open about his own flaws in his younger days and Dirk has talked about how he is trying to mentor Luka into improving his off court lifestyle as he matures. In the end it will be up to Luka to make his game better, but I agree he has done nothing but improve every year. They have won their first playoff series in 10 years. Of corse this series isn't over yet so there is no reason for people to discard Luka and the mavs yet, but worst case scenario they get swept by the Suns and no one will blame anyone on the Mavs roster because the Suns are clearly a much deeper and talented team overall.

Luka needs the pain of defeat, kind of like Booker did. People keep blaming the talent around him, but I think that is partly Luka's fault. I fully believe CP3 could make this a very competitive series if he and Luka switched places. It's not that CP3 is better overall, he is not, it's that Chris knows how to get his team involved. They would all be scoring and that would engage them defensively. They also would not have the gaping hole defensively that Luka is.

Luka is far from his ceiling. He is a smart player and very, very, young. He will improve his body, and I believe he is going to learn how to involve his teammates more and dominate the ball less. He will learn how to get his teammates involved early and then dominate the 4th quarter--he is probably learning that from CP3 right now. Motivation and competitiveness is a factor--but I think that will improve as he comes under criticism. Up until now basketball has been easy for him.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

If Luka was on the Suns he would be on the bench. You need to play 2 ways to play here.

Cmon man

 

[Krangodnzr]

Imagine if Luka was on the Suns...they would still be great and he wouldn't be as tired. NBA will always be about superstar players, but the best teams always win, you only have to look at the Spurs and Mavs beating the Miami Heat in the finals. I'm glad the suns passed on Luka though, because where would dallas be without him? I think Dallas are far away from a title, but they have a legit superstar to build around. If Luka doesn't lose any weight he's still a top 10 player in the league

I don't disagree at all, and I think Luka likely figures it out.

I would be concerned if I were a Mavs fan because even though they are in the top teams in the Western Conference, they are actually further off than their peers. It's nice to have a superstar, but he has only a few players you'd want on your team.

 

[Lorenzo]

A picture tells a thousand words.

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that's comforting, I've seen other guys on other dallas teams smiling when they lose.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Cmon man

Who does he start over between Paul and Booker?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

To clarify this statement, he wouldn't start over Paul, Booker, Bridges or Ayton. He could start over Crowder but that puts Bridges as the 4 so that isn't happening.

No luka would defend the 4. In todays nba that’s not as difficult.

 

[Lorenzo]

I don't disagree at all, and I think Luka likely figures it out.

I would be concerned if I were a Mavs fan because even though they are in the top teams in the Western Conference, they are actually further off than their peers. It's nice to have a superstar, but he has only a few players you'd want on your team.

for sure and I think they are probably 4 years away from being a title contender unless they somehow make a miraculous overhaul.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns need something out of Torrey Craig.

In the last 6 games he has played he only has 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.