Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko
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| data 📈📊 & 🏀 | Contributor at @DMagazine | enthusiastic R learner |
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Pinned Tweet
After much thought and motivation from many people, I've decided to launch a Substack called Digginbasketball (LINK IN MY BIO).
I appreciate y'all taking a look & sharing this tweet if you like it to help me reach more
#MFFL
🙏
Quentin Grimes deep-dive already waiting there 👀
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Luka's face when asked about Booker's imitation of him 😂
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Mavs-Celtics Finals Preview👇
If you got this far...you know this is gonna be a loooong thread.
I'll do it in 5 parts: 1-Intro, 2-About the juggernaut Celtics, 3-Dallas on Offense, 4-Dallas on Defense and 5-Closing thoughts
So, Mavs & basketball sickos hop on board.
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So a 20-year-old rookie center, two grade-D trade guys, an agent of chaos, and a 4th-best 25-and-under player whose impact on winning is suspect walk into a bar...and ask 'Who is going to the FREAKING NBA FINALS???'
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Mavs-Timberwolves WCF Preview👇
Advance warning this is gonna be long, so for basketball sickos :)
This is gonna be another war, another bloodbath series imo. Two physical defensive teams that pack the paint.
But also incredible opportunity for Mavs to make the NBA Finals.
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A hilarious moment from last night game 😂
Luka yelled at Bones Hyland to pass the ball to his 🇸🇮 national team teammate Vlatko Čančar who plays...for the Nuggets.
After Bones played iso ball for 15 secs
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Is this you Jacob the Clipper?
“This era of the NBA has the greatest athletes ever”
Meanwhile this chubby and slow Slovakian is dominating the NBA and just got to the NBA finals..
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Most "blitzed" players in the pick-and-roll this season (per 100 possessions):
1. Luka Doncic
2. Steph Curry
3. Damian Lillard
..
..
28. Kevin Durrant
Source: second spectrum data
"I asked Jason Kidd 'I said well s--t, you paid Dorian Finney-Smith all that money is he a defender or you gonna rely on this [constant doubles and traps]...."
-Kevin Durant admits he tried to convince J-Kidd to single cover him but it didn't work.
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Dallas Mavericks reached 50 wins and currently have 6th best record in the NBA.
Preseason projection/rank for the Mavs:
ESPN 17
Athletic 18
NBA com 17
Sports Illustrated 16
Ringer 17
Hoopshype 16
NBC sports 15
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It’s not a joke. Luka’s been working on this jumpshot during the summer with his dad and you could see glimpses of it in some games this season.
Luka: “This is me next year!”
Kyrie: “I believe it.”
Luka: “I’m working for next year.”
This duo is hilarious 😂
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I saw several national media people saying Luka had a slow start to the season and using that as an argument against him in MVP debate.
And it's literally the opposite. Said this at several points this season, Luka's hot start probably saved the Mavericks season.
Here's why👇
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Dallas-OKC Preview👇
Advance warning this is gonna be long, for bball sickos like me :)
After playing the oldest team, Mavs play the youngest. Not gonna be younger, faster, more athletic team anymore. But still bigger.
Luka vs SGA, Kyrie vs J Dub, Kidd vs CoT Daigneault.
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Here it is
@WorldWideWob
...Slovenian local beer Laško with the "Recovery Edition" lol
next million dollar business is whoever gets first-to-market with the Recovery Beers trademark
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Mavs-Wolves G5 observations👇
Plenty of time to talk Finals, but G5 was so awesome we have to do a thread about it. So let's go!
1. Luka & Kyrie tsunami
Those who follow my game threads know I talked about Luka & Kai coming at you in waves. Luka's 20 pts in Q1 was a tsunami🌊
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The Dallas Mavericks are shooting 24% from 3 in the NBA Finals. They shot 37% in the regular season and 37% prior to this series.
The Boston Celtics are shooting 32% from 3 in the NBA Finals. They shot 39% in the regular season and 37% prior to this series.
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Good morning Texas! Over the last 10 games Luka Doncic is averaging a 30-point triple-double. That's the tweet.
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Terrance Mann career high is 25 points, Luka Doncic scored 23 tonight in the last 7 minutes.
Terance Mann owns free real estate in Luka Doncic’s head. Every damn game.
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5⃣ Mavs - Spurs observations
1. Mavs have 2 superstars, when one struggles the other picks up the slack
Luka struggled with his shoot & early turnovers then Kyrie took over.
Special to watch when Kyrie gets into 'I'll score no matter what' modes: 26 pts in Q2/Q3 on 12/15 FGs
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Damn, I'm going to the NBA Finals!
A season that started with a trip to Madrid back in October, hundreds of pregame notes, postgame observations, a canceled trip earlier... can't think of a better way to close this crazy Mavs season.
See y'all in Dallas for G3 & G4 💪
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Luka Doncic - Home vs Away 2022 Playoffs splits:
Home
4 games, 29.5 ppg, 43% FG%, 23% 3P%
Away
5 games, 32.4 ppg, 49% FG%, 39% 3P%
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A team from country of 2 million and one NBA player beat a team with eight NBA players on it's roster.
American NBA players might see World Cup as a second-tier competition...but both Slovenia and Australia showed why it means the "world" to international players. What a game.
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For good passers this would be a career passing highlight mixtape. For great ones it would be a season highlight reel. For Luka Doncic this was just a Wednesday night in Los Angeles 🤷♂️
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A lot of valid Luka criticism yesterday. Yet, here he is playing B2B in a meaningless game.
But not meaningless for fans in Manila who paid $$$ for their only chance to see him play. As he did in Ljubljana, Malaga, Japan. He coud easily skip it like Jokic or Wembanyama did...
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Mavericks tomorrow
Mavericks list Luka Doncic as questionable for Game 4 due to a cervical strain. He said after the Game 3 loss that the pain started in his neck and went down his left arm.
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So, my 4 games here Dallas is 4-0 and Luka just had career high 51. There might be something there…
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Strange stuff happening with NBA refereeing lately. Ref missed an obvious foul call...then gives quick tech. No review.
But they review an out of bounds on a Luka made 3 minute and a half later with more than 2 mins to go in Q1. And it's written on at the end of 1st qtr?
I've
good no call by the ref
good job giving a tech to a player getting mad at this missed call too
good work guys
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5⃣ Mavs - OKC observations
1. New faces, new energy, big win
You could feel the energy with PJ & Gafford ready to go. Dallas landed an early punch, scoring 47 in Q1 and 146 in total.
But it was 104 pts per 100 allowed on D that impressed more. Great game plan & execution.
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5⃣ Mavs - Suns observations
1. Best Luka game ever?
I watched every Luka game in NBA and this one is up there. Especially once you add defense.
On the other hand once you start thinking that might not be even best one vs the Suns (Doncic had 27 and 9 in a half in Game 7)🤷♂️
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Goran Dragic on Slovenian TV in an interview about the trade to Toronto "I haven't heard from Toronto yet, I'm still waiting for the news. Everything depends on the third team, we'll have the news in the next few days."
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5⃣ Mavs-Heat observations
1. 50 wins & immaculate vibes
This team is in such a groove, so confident. Miami had tons to play for, started aggressively, but Mavs needed 5 mins only to take over.
J Kidd did an early Maxi sub, who changed the tone on D and Mavs never looked back.
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Dallas beats NO 1 seed to go to WCF for the 2nd time in 3 years. Analytics experts (even ex-Mavs ones) doubting Luka's impact on winning. Talking locks for under, others not picking them to make the playoffs. Doubting Kyrie, PJ, J Kidd, this defense...so many redemption stories
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Mavs-Wolves Game 3 observations👇
1. Confident Luka, confident Kyrie, confident Mavs
I wrote how confident & poised this teams looks in my D Mag recap. Esp when Luka & Kyrie are on top of their games.
Both scored 33 on 20 FGA. Both made awesome clutch plays when it mattered.
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Some Naji Marshall-DJJ swap thoughts after a quick deep-dive.
Overall, I dont think it makes a big difference, none a NBA level starter, both career bench/role guys who earn their $ with defense.
Stylistically they are (quite)different on both ends, but overall imo same level.
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Mavericks are struggling with Kawhi's physical play both on offense and defense. But he gets away with a lot of stuff on both ends, where his reputation as a great defender helps him play with force.
2 plays from Game 4. A foul on Dončić & a similar play no-foul call on Kawhi.
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Meanwhile in Portland...
NBA spokesman Mike Bass: "The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions.”
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End of a great and long Mavericks season. Seemed like they ran out of gas at the end against a better team.
The next step for this team, which changed so much over the course of last year, is consistency and building on what got them to the NBA Finals. The future looks bright.
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I think Luka should rest, I think Luka probably feels he should rest, people around him probably feel the same.
But I cant be mad at him for wanting to play and being loyal to Slovenian NT...loyalty & love for basketball are why people love him in Dallas (and why I think he
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Mavs-Celtics Game 1 observations👇
Rough game for Dallas, bad execution. And good Celtics (KP outlier?) shooting game.
We've seen first coverages, schemes on both sides.
Dallas struggling to score and adapt to Celtics 5-Out, fast-paced, fast-3pt trigger game in the 1st half.
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5⃣Mavs- Kings observations
1. A joy to watch Mavericks collectively show up
This game was on the calendar for a long time and everybody stepped up:
Luka dominating in 1st, Kyrie in 2nd half. Everyone locked in on D.
Coaching with a great game plan & counters (like vs zone).
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Re-watched this 100 times. Bullock realizes the ball is getting to him and lifts his hands to catch it...when the ball is half-way there, past both Cade's and Powell's heads. Unbelievable👀
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As we are analyzing is Luka a winning player...need to consider this.
Luka & Mavs never lost a playoff series they were favoured to win. They never lost a series to a team that won less than 65% of reg season games(53 wins). They won 3 series vs teams that won 56 games or more.
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Games played since 2019:
Kyrie Irving 143
Kristaps Porzingis 193
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5⃣ Mavs-Rockets observations
1. Doncic's case for Player of the Month & MVP
Luka was getting blitzed a lot lately, so I guess he was waiting for this one.
Udoka, again, stubbornly kept switching and Luka kept scoring🤷♂️
47 pts in 3 quarters, 44 per game in 2 games vs Rockets.
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Mavs-Celitcs Game 4 observations👇
Haven't done one of these in a while bc of the travelling and all things going on here in Dallas, but finally have a quiet day in the hotel and Mavs played great so why the hell not.
Urgency, force and flying around on D was awesome to watch.
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5⃣ Mavs - Suns observations
1. Superstars getting at you in waves
Nobody wants to see Luka & Kyrie in the playoffs is a cliché by now but this game was a good reminder why.
Luka & Kyrie scored 70 pts on 25/45 FG
Here's a minute and a half, 9 pts Luka tsunami from 3rd qtr👇
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Appreciate Mavs doing the final push in Luka's MVP campaign...supercharging his on/off stats
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Mavs-Wolves Game 5 preview👇
1. Adjustments to Wolves latest adjustments
Luka & Kyrie had inefficient scoring G4 and they'll need to be better tonight. But a lot had to do with Finch adjustments.
Putting longer McDaniels on Kyrie & Ant on Luka got most of the attention but...
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This Mavs team and this run is so special.
It's hard to grasp how confident and how locked in they are... beating all these great Western Conference teams (57 win team, 56 win team, 51 win team).
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Most overrated NBA players watch 👀
Players with more than 40 points and 0 turnovers this season:
Luka Doncic 49 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast - 0 turnovers vs the Nets
Luka Doncic 41 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast - 0 turnovers vs the Rockets
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5⃣ Mavs-Warriors observations
1. A win on ultimate 4-on-3 play
Talked about it in preview & recap after last Warriors loss. Mavs had to be better in 4-on-3 after blitzes and Draymond roaming.
A game winner after blitz on Kyrie, with THJ making the play and PJ finishing was🤌
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PJ Washington versatility on defense is so special to watch in Dallas.
Defend Sabonis, Fox, Murray...
Chases Murray off screens, switch on Sabonis, uses his strength to take him several feet way from the basket...forces shot clock violation.
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Reggie Bullock basically had one terrible shooting month / slump this season 🤷♂️
October (6 games) 41.4%
November (13 games) 19.6%
December (16 games) 37.5%
January (15 games) 44.8%
February (4 games) 42.3%
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We’ll remember the most recent thing, this finals series. And they should because failure is the best teacher. But also good to remember this team overachieved and did a lot of great things to get here.
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I don't know if this game on this big stage makes Luka a real hooper...but he should definitely get some MVP love.
32 points / 15 assists / 8 rebounds and dominating against the best NBA defender and the current MVP.
A great win for the Mavericks.
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I said it in the first round and will say it again. This is a resilient team.
Great response by Luka, by the whole team, and some great adjustments by the Mavericks coaching staff.
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Imagine what if, if Nuggets dont trade for Gordon & KCP. Or Warriors dont trade for Wiggins. Or if Bucks dont trade for Jrue. Insane to not think about it?
It is not insane to think the Mavs would be swept if they hadn't traded for PJ Washington.
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Seeing the Finals up close I'm even more convinced that more empathy is needed to change the way we cover this great sport. Instead of empathy there is huge appetite for eyeballs & clicks. So we get stories without empathy. In the long run all this appetite creates is apathy...
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My prediction...if Tim Hardaway Jr. averages 24.5 pts per game on 65% 3pt shooting for the rest of the Playoffs, the Mavericks can win the NBA title.
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Reminds me of a story Goran Dragic told about the night before the Eurobasket Finals in 2017 when he and Luka were roommates.
Dragic a 31-yr vet & team captain said he couldn't fall asleep until 6am, he was so nervous. While 18-yr old Luka was snoring next to him whole night😂
Brian Windhorst tells the story how he went to watch Game 5 between the Clippers and Mavs and how everybody was so tense on the Clippers side, and then comes Luka 😏
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5⃣ Mavs-Rockets observations
1. Chemistry, trust & Kyrie
I watched the game in studio and I'm on the road so this one is based on feelings rather than usual play-by-play analysis.
Watching this team win a game that they had no business winning was awesome. As was Kyrie again.
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5⃣ Mavs - Magic observations
1. I was wrong - Luka & Kyrie played (and kicked ass down the stretch) on a B2B
Dallas is 6-0 in clutch and this season one can be confident if they get even going into 4th they're gonna win. Both stars made several key plays on both ends in clutch.
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So Tatum and Jrue are elite 1-on-1 defenders and cant stay in front of slow footed Luka Doncic...
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Cmon now...
Also part of playing with Luka is knowing when to duck
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People kept disrespecting this Mavs D. Remember after G1 when Clippers shot lights out, 50% from 3...their beat writer saying that 'Clippers offense still left meat on the bone w/o Kawhi Leonard'. They scored 99 per game in next 5.
Kyrie, Luka & this D are so awesome to watch.
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Luka's 'free-throw vs three-point % trends' continue to be hilarious...when ones goes up, the other goes down in perpetual balance⚖️
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Luka and Giannis...the only 2 players that made the All-NBA 1st team the last 3 seasons. Unbelievable 3-year run for Luka.
Giannis made his 4th straight. And Lebron had a 11-year run where he made All-NBA 1st team every year from 07-08 to 17-18.
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Mavs-Wolves G2 Notes👇
I'm on the road next couple of days so just quick notes for G2.
Key question going into G1 was how Wolves defend Luka (& Kyrie) pick-and-roll.
Minnesota mostly defend Gobert screens with him in drop in G1. And Luka did well against it in mid-range game.
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A dominant MVP Dončić performance against Toronto. Picked apart every coverage & gimmick Nick Nurse threw at him
Raptors TV announcers agreed saying this after seeing the Hawks just a couple of nights ago👇
"Respectfully to Trae Young...I think Dallas made a pretty good deal"
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What jumps out to me is...how versatile the NBA leading scorer is, because he is not a leader in any of the zones
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Talked to a lot of people in Dallas today. Mavs people, media people, fans. All they wanted was a RESPONSE. And they got one.
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Imo the KP trade is about future flexibility. They’ll be worse this yr. Only Luka & Brunson are solid starters out of starting 5, with KP gone. But then again there were no guarantees KP makes it to the Playoffs healthy
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A compilation of the Dallas Mavericks putting the lid on the rim 🔒
The Mavericks currently lead in rim defense this Playoffs...the Clippers shooting just 32/63 (51%) at the rim.
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MVP kind of night: 46 minutes, playing best defensive game of his career, game clinching clutch 3, game high 32 points.
Per
@ESPNStatsInfo
, the Clippers were 2-of-17 from the floor when Luka Doncic was the primary defender tonight.
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Coming from a country of 2 million, seeing a Slovenian winning the NBA scoring is not something I ever envisioned.
Seeing Doncic on the list of other scoring champs like Jordan, Shaq, Iverson, McGrady, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, KD, Carmelo, Westbrook, Curry, Harden, Embiid is surreal.
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But Harden, Paul George, Jalen Williams, KAT, Anthony Edwards arent playing that well argument…
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Christian Wood woke up from an NBA nightmare that lasted 6 years...can't stop smiling after he realizes that is what real life could look like.
"Last year playing against him (Luka) it's incredible, I don't even know what to talk about...how he gets everyone set up its amazing...I'm just trying to play hard, do the best in the role that I'm in."
Christian Wood after the W 💪
#MFFL
|
@dallasmavs
on
@BallySportsSW
📺
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Mavs-OKC Game 4 notes👇
1. Win the possession game again
Been saying this before each game but it's crucial as OKC is a better shooting team.
Mavs have been great on off glass in G3 (35% OREB rate) and above 30% in each of the three. Apart from G1 they controlled DEF glass.
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What a response by Luka after 2 days of criticism. And a day after the analytics crowd tweeting about his impact. Again.
But impact aside what we forget is that basketball is a show. It's played for the fans. For the memories. And this guy was born as a performer. Luka magic.
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Jusuf Nurkic doesn't believe Anthony Davis can shoot...
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If you want to compare Luka and Tatum see what happens after Luka blitz vs Tatum blitz
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Paul George made 3 of 15 shots in this series with Derrick Jones Jr. as the closest defender based on tracking data.
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Reality is that halfcourt defense has been good enough for Dallas to win. Boston at 95.8 per 100 in half-court. Worse than playoff average and almost 10 pts below their playoffs & RS leading hc offense.
It's the offense and turnovers/transition that are killing Mavs.
/shrug
They got away with daring two teams and they dared this one. Losing this shot variance game reveals the reality of their perimeter defense. Drives are EASY for Boston.
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Dallas-OKC Game 5 notes👇
1. What a difference a Luka makes
We were waiting for this game to happen and it did in key G5.
Luka got first bucket in transition, made next 2 tough ones. Then things started to roll for Luka, forcing OKC to change the coverage, starting doubling.
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Kyrie made some crazy shots last night, scored 16 points in 4th quarter and overtime.
But this play surprised me the most. A help / low man rotation on Sabonis in pick and roll...and an unbelievable block.
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5⃣ Mavs-Hawks observations
1. We used to call them ugly, but they're becoming signature wins
Luka had a bad, scoreless first quarter and Mavs shot only 8/24 in Q1.
But the 'new' Mavs have defense and Kyrie's calming presence to withstand quiet Luka spells on offense.
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Mavericks vs Clippers in 7 gms:
- when Luka Dončić and both Kawhi Leonard & Paul George were on the floor in this series: DAL 537 points, LAC 532 points
- when Luka Dončić and one of Kawhi Leonard or Paul George were on the floor in this series: DAL 106 points, LAC 100 points
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Mavs-OKC Game 2 notes👇
Apart from 'star player be better' adjustment, I liked how Mavs opened G2 using Luka as decoy instead of going right into his pick-and-roll actions.
1st play of the game, away stagger twirl decoy, focus on off ball Luka,letting PJ post SGA with no help.
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I made an amateur video showing why the Raptors announcers know what they are talking about...
Luka Dončić manipulation against Raptors traps, double-teams, pick-and-roll and some fun in 'a box-and-1' at the end 👇
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5⃣ Mavs - Warriors observations
1. Great performance to end the year, led by Doncic in MVP form
Mavs started focused on D, built a lead and responded to every run.
Luka had 39/10/8 and controlled all key parts of the game. Including taking over and scoring 11 in 4th quarter.
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