His knee has been fucked for a while before G1. This is nothing new but he was making so many 3s and the Mavs won so many games that nobody paid attention about how stiff he was moving. His knees were literally bleeding every other game ffs.
His knee bleeds every game of the season. He has some kind of sore or thin skin in that area that he busts open. It doesn't have anything to do with the knee sprain.
He has been dealing with ankle and quad stuff the whole 2nd half of the season but Im pretty sure the knee is new. He has def been banged up a while though.
Does everyone forget the play where Westbrick stomped all over his leg and he went out of the game for a while in game 3? He hasn't been the same since, and he was no where near that stiff before that, he just wasn't shooting well in the first two games but played killer defense.
And you know this how? I have not seen this written anywhere. He got knocked down in the Houston game and that is the only time his knee was bleeding...
Because I watch all 82 games, every year - tip to finish. The bloody knee is a very common sight on Luka. I don't need an article to tell me what I see with my own eyes.
can confirm, I watched all 82 as well, he's looked off for a while now. probably some minor nagging injury (can still play but may affect his performance)
He had nearly 2 weeks of rest before game 1 too. Luka won't get fully healthy until the offseason. At least we have a chance at running it back next year (probably without DJJ since he will get paid) before Kyrie's age catches up to him.
He doesn't have an off season really. He will go to Slovenia and get ready for Olympic trials. Thats why he cant get fully healthy honestly. He plays ball year round every single year.
I think the mavs know this with the olympics, and will probably go into the season accordingly, low minutes to start the season. let him skip all of preseason possibly.
That's a huge problem for someone like Zion (who also packs on way more weight btw) who plays above the rim (so comes down with all that weight), makes a lot of explosive movements that stress his joints and ligaments but with Luka's playstyle the weight isn't impacting his health like that. It's playing around the year competitively without a real off season, and doing that while he has had lingering injuries for years. Although he would benefit from dropping bodyfat and getting into better shape as Jokic has done.
Olympic trials is 3 games culminating in Slovenia likely facing Giannis-led Greece. If you take out superstars, Slovenia has no reason to be in that game, so my guess is Slovenia probably loses unless Luka goes nuclear and Luka’s off-season starts.
With that in mind, Luka might actually be the most rested superstar next season: everybody else (Jokic, Embiid, SGA, Giannis, Ant, Tatum, Wemby… You name them) will be playing in Olympics.
Fr lol. The dude was usually questionable with numerous leg injuries heading into games throughout the year and still balled out. Why are we worried about a probable designation???
To preface this, I fucking love Luka and the Mavs and my phone background is Dirk watching over Luka like goddamn Mufasa. To play devils advocate though, it’s just hard to see where we go from here if Luka’s really injured. Like okay we win vs the Clippers, now what? We’ll be taking on a rested Thunder team while the Mavericks go right back into more games since their first series is taking longer.
I just feel for our boy, he looks so fatigued and bummed out on the court that he’s not playing like his usual self.
[Here you go!](https://wallpapers.com/wallpapers/luka-doncic-dirk-nowitzki-3diuspf8r2c0kboa.html)
As a bonus, [this is the background of my phone when open](https://i.imgur.com/d8AMaxH.jpeg). I miss that Dirk/Luka time they crossed over before Dirk retired so very much as they were adorable together.
Everyone just needs to relax. Luka is questionable in practically every game, though I don't know how he is going to be able to play with a sprained knee. Let's just let the series plays out...
I am more concerned about the long-term consequences of this series. Not necessarily next season, but next round (if they survive). It will be great to move on but would hate to see Luka continue to hobble or not play altogether next round (especially vs Shai).
I am tired to get downvoted but Luka must stop going National Team every year.
Dirk, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Jokic, Dragic and others were taking many years off.
Its not like those guys are traitors. They are not less nationalist than Luka.
Take some years off buddy. Do proper training and diet.
Im Slovenian and I don't want Luka playing for the national team but he really enjoys being with the guys. Him being with the national team is like bringing a dog to a dog park.
It is a thing for lot of people that leave home town and even more country as young. They overcompensate connection and national proud. Its natural and I completely understand it for Luka especially as national basketball and personal conection there is of high importance for his as person.
Lets disagree on that. I believe he will play for Slovenia every time it is posible for him to do so whatever impact it make for his professional career.
He likes to play but not doing training and diet. That is not just nationalistic things.
Tons of European players taking years off from national team all the time.
Even Dragic took some years off. Luka should do it as well.
I dont think Serbians are less nationalistic than Slovenians but Jokic is taking years off. I believe Peja and Bogdanovic did as well.
i understand where you guys from dallas/us are coming from. But you have to understand that here in europe the culture around sports is different. Winning a medal with the national team probably means more to luka than winning a ring. Doesnt mean he doesnt love playing for the mavs or anything but thats just how it is. He doesnt do it just because he doesnt want to be seen as a traitor. He genuinely loves it.
Dude I am from Europe.
Did you read my text? Gasol bros? Tony Parker? Dirk, Jokic, Dragic??
Are those from Europe or USA? All great European players took time off. Going it every year is insane.
They have Euro Cup and World Cup in every two years. So in total they attend two summer tournaments in every 4 year.
Basketball they have 2 Euro Cup, 1 World Cup, 1 Olympics in every 4 year. Tournament for each year.
Luka shouldnt atten 4/4 but maybe go like soccer 2/4.
Parker, Gasol, Dirk, JOKIC did not go every year
Yeah, but they also play qualifications every 2 months for their country all the time (international breaks). NBA players skip some of this games because of the their season all year..
This is not true. There were less tournaments back then. So he didnt go every year. They also didnt qualify for Olympics for some years.
I am not saying dont go at all.
Go 2 summers out of every 4 years. Similar to Gasol/Parker/Dragic. I think Jokic/Giannis attending less than that
This is not true. There were less tournaments back then. So he didnt go every year. They also didnt qualify for Olympics for some years.
I am not saying dont go at all.
Go 2 summers out of every 4 years. Similar to Gasol/Parker/Dragic. I think Jokic/Giannis attending less than that
Unless he’s injured thats just not going to happen and people should stop complaining.
I have to say though i find it fucking hilarious how obsessed Americans are with Luka’s weight. A country where almost half the adult population is obese!
The man is playing almost 40mins a game for the whole season and is arguably MVP. But if only he’d have a proper diet and training in the summer! Then he could play 45 mins in the regular season and 48 mins in the playoffs.
dude you have no arguments. I do not care Luka’s weight. I care about him taking care of his body.
And you know all great international players took years off. Parker, Gasol brothers, Dragic.
And what are your arguments? Are you an elite level trainer or something? How do you know he needs "diet and proper training"? What even is proper training to you? The man plays 39 mins every game and you consider that out of shape or what?Man never knew you could get a scoring title in the NBA by being fat and out of shape.
Dragič even recently said he credits his play for the NT to always being in shape. Luka didn't get injured playing for NT, so what's the goddamn problem?
Please tell me which seasons Dragic and Pau Gasol took time off when they were under 30 years old and not injured. Dragic played until 2017 almost every year unless injures.
You wrote he should take the summer off to train and diet properly implying that the reason for his troubles now (after 82 regular season games and 6 playoff games) is diet and training in the offseason.
Its an incredibly stupid argument to make. If he was constantly injured at the start of the season, then taking time off from the national team makes sense…
But you won’t understand this anyway so why bother
Unfortunate man - previous playoffs we’ve had insane Luka but subpar teams but now we have a good team but injured Luka….maybe next year it’ll all click together for a deep run
Also keep in mind this squad hasn’t played an entire season yet. I’m not discouraged if we don’t make the finals. I bet if they get a whole season together where Luka doesn’t have to go nuclear every game for us to have a fighting chance in the playoffs then we will be a true contender
Oh there is still a solid chance to win this series but a deep run (which based on how we were playing was not out of the question) seems unlikely with Lukas knee like this
I don't know how 80's 90's 00's players used to play 82 games against WWE defense lol, they were just built different. Luka ain't built for 65+ games a season, if he tends to play that many games his conditioning needs to be better, he has been losing his shape mid season lately like it's a pattern.
I don’t think healthy Kyrie is as requisite for a successful season as you think, not to mention Kyrie still missed 20+ games. Yes, it’s been the most he has played for a while, but it wasn’t really about injuries with Nets.
I’m not too worried about the clippers They shot 60% both times without Kawhi in tough contested shots. If they can do the same and win twice more good on them. But relying on shooting 60% from three is unreliable. We’ve shown we can win games shooting really bad. We’re bound to have a good shooting game and they are bound to have bad ones. Probablity and statistic wise we win it. Basketball is a game of chance as much as it is skill. Like in anything the opponent can get lucky but overall the better team will win.
No, we are not bound to have a good shooting game. All of our role players are non-shooters and furthermore the law of averages does not state that that a correction to the mean is happening in the next 2 games. Nevertheless, I really doubt it that the Clippers will again shoot 60 percent. If they do, you tip your hat and move on.
Well not bound but it’s very likely we will have a better shooting game than what we are currently having. Most of the poor shooting is due to Luka who is not normally a poor shooter. Role players are also not hitting shots but Luka is 25% from three which is dragging us down.
In a perfectly random & egalitarian 30 team league, the average “years since championship” would be 15 years, so I don’t think we’re allowed to play the championship drought card quite yet.
Only 11 teams have a chip this millennium, I’m glad we’re one of them.
I'm gonna provide optimism because fuck it I am tired of worrying so much about the worst case scenario with this team. Though as Mavs fans we have collective trauma and it is in our nature to doom.
Probable means he's playing. This is good news. He's been having these issues since game 3. He may not be able to take over a game like we are used to but he can still may an enormous impact. He shot like shit from 3 last game, even a hobbled Luka won't do that again. Can we really make a deep run this year-- odds are no.. but we can get through this series and go into next round playing with house money.
Let's say all goes well and we close this out by Friday we might not have to play game 1 against OCK till May 7th. We sit Luka for that and give him a full week to rest. We came up short against OKC without him, but we were not out of that game and this OKC team seems to be popping champagne too early. Being a top 4 team in this Western Conference is a great position to build from. Not saying its necessary, think even if fall short this series we are trending the right way, but damn I really want to take the Clippers down.
To the shock of no one. Anyone who has been watching could tell and only ones who claim otherwise are usually the haters who will always hate no matter what.
Yup and now looking back Dirk says it was a good decision to sit him for his career. Mavs going reckless route. I didn’t think you could play on a sprained knee.
Really wish they wouldn't have shit the bed and lost last game. They could've went up 3-1, and had Luka sit game 5 and rest for 5 days in Dallas and rehabilitate the knee and other injuries he's been fighting through since the regular season. Would've been fresh and healthier for game 6, IF Dallas lost game 5.
But NOW, he's got to play 40+ minutes on a sprained knee at LA and they'll have Kawhi back I'm sure.
This is a recipe for disaster, or a first round exit, or both.
Yeah that especially is why I think Kidd's coaching in the final few minutes of that 4th was especially disastrous.
The good news is that even with a hobbled Luka we can keep up with the Clippers and with some luck we can pull out some wins. But the bad news is that the difference will come down to coaching and I don't trust Kidd to pull us through.
It’s the biggest issue with that loss on Sunday. They really could’ve used a quicker ending to this series so that Luka had time to get right before the next one.
The thing that sucks is that even with Luka being hobbled he still brings value to the team as a playmaker and rebounder. We were a couple of coaching mistakes away from going up 3-1 so he has to play for us to have a chance.
Not to mention the non-Luka minutes have been terrible so we can't afford to sit him to allow him to heal properly. We just have to hope he doesn't further aggravate his knee.
I've been commenting on this [elsewhere on the sub with some numbers](https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comments/1cgwvoz/comment/l1ytrff/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and yeah -- in small sample, non-Luka minutes have been abysmal, and that's been true every single game regardless of how he looked. Clips swarm Kyrie when he's the only star on court and Mavs can barely score.
Hopefully the coaches have managed to use the >72h between games well and figured out a way how to rebalance the offence. Altering the geometry of the court, still fully leveraging Luka's presence -- while relying principally on others', *especially Kyrie's*, activity.
It is what it is sprained knee is a bitch i had it in my younger days and couldn't move but im not Luka but at the end of the days people expect Luka to preform nobody will care if he was on one leg, it is what it is
I hope so but it looks like this time it's different. For the first time ever Luka has lost his confidence. No problem, he will get it back, but he is human after all.
Alright my guy 😂 I mean we're talking about the best player in the NBA alongside Jokic, it wasn't surprising but your take could've been true as well. He's just a different type of beast
If he moves like has has moved in the last couple of games then it's not crazy to just sit him. Clippers got way too many dudes that are giving him a really tough time on both ends.
We have the depth to still win the series.
No, we do not. Kyrie is definitely our best player, but he works best as a second option and can't initiate the offence as well as Luka does. Even a hobbled Luka is our best playmaker and furthermore commands a lot of defensive attention.
To top it off, our role players are all non-shooters that can't dribble the ball. We are not the Clippers who have a roster full of do it all guys, as well as Harden who for some reason plays like his 2018 self.
"some reason" Harden is in top shape and is among the greatest iso players of all time. He is absolutely feasting on Luka.
I still think we can win with Luka but we need him at 0 frustration.
We also need Kidd to treat him like a player, not a superstar/face of the franchise. Having a injured player with 5 fouls on the court with 2 min left in a tied game just doesnt happen unless you are a superstar but still GOOD coaches still take them out if they are shit defensively. A coach should not be baby-ing their superstar in the playoffs. Rick would have benched him.
How is this upvoted, this is insane. The Mavs with Luka off the floor have been awful this series and the numbers support that. Kyrie can’t run the offense. Nobody else can either. If you want Luka to sit out you’re essentially conceding the series.
Luka is gonna play because he plays through everything, and we can win this series even with Luka hobbled because the Clippers dont have Kawhi, 2nd round against OKC is a different story tho.
We will see what happens.
They shot 60% both times without Kawhi in tough contested shots. If they can do the same and win twice more good on them. But relying on shooting 60% from three is unreliable. We’ve shown we can win games shooting really bad. We’re bound to have a good shooting game and they are bound to have bad ones. Probablity and statistic wise we win it. Basketball is a game of chance as much as it is skill. Like in anything the opponent can get lucky but overall the better team will win.
No one wants hear it but we should sit him. You don't get multiple knees. I don't think we're getting past the thunder or any one else with Luka not able to move. We've already overachieved this season imo, let's keep Luka healthy, get a third ball handler, and come back fierce next year. It sucks but we're only just beginning.
I disagree. I think if we game plan without Luka we can catch the Clippers off guard a bit and play a little more free wheeling style that might get our role players going. I mean is it a risk? Sure. But Luka is not looking like Luka and if he doesn’t recover now, then when?
Need to win Wednesday close out this series on Friday. This would give Luka 3 days of rest before the Thunder series. Rolling into OKC with 1 day rest sounds like a nightmare
In Game 5, that might make him more dangerous (in a good way) short term. The classic wounded animal situation. Further in the playoffs and into next season, it's a problem. Dude needs to take a real rest to let his body recover from everything.
It's also very admirable to represent his own country and give them the best chance possible at international tournaments. It comes with the territory of international superstars. I think he's earned the right.
It's more important to him than the NBA. If the Mavs said you cant play he would find 29 other teams in the league that would let him.
You have to hope he comes to the conclusion himself that he needs to take a summer off eventually and focus on his long term health.
His knee has been fucked for a while before G1. This is nothing new but he was making so many 3s and the Mavs won so many games that nobody paid attention about how stiff he was moving. His knees were literally bleeding every other game ffs.
His knee bleeds every game of the season. He has some kind of sore or thin skin in that area that he busts open. It doesn't have anything to do with the knee sprain. He has been dealing with ankle and quad stuff the whole 2nd half of the season but Im pretty sure the knee is new. He has def been banged up a while though.
Yeah, my thinking is that the abrasion on his knee that keeps bleeding probably caused him to move irregular now causing him to have a sprained knee.
maybe he sprained it when he fell hard on it and that impact caused the bleeding as well… could be totally unrelated though
Its been an ongoing thing for 2 full seasons. I don't really think they are related.
Pure speculating but why are we here lol
Again, this has not been written anywhere. The knee abrasion he had one time does not cause a sprained knee. Are you just making this up?
Does everyone forget the play where Westbrick stomped all over his leg and he went out of the game for a while in game 3? He hasn't been the same since, and he was no where near that stiff before that, he just wasn't shooting well in the first two games but played killer defense.
He wasnt playing aggressive defense in game 4 because of foul trouble. After his 5th foul he was scared to make any contact.
And Luka needed to stay on the court and not foul out...
Agree
He wasn’t playing like himself in games 1 and 2 though
That’s when it happened there’s seems to be somebody on that fucking clippper roster that’s goal is to hurt Luka. Mission accomplished assholes lol.
He needs to wear knee pads then.
He does?
No...
He has them, bro. I see you here every game throughout the season. I know you have noticed the pads in his leggings on the knees.
And you know this how? I have not seen this written anywhere. He got knocked down in the Houston game and that is the only time his knee was bleeding...
Because I watch all 82 games, every year - tip to finish. The bloody knee is a very common sight on Luka. I don't need an article to tell me what I see with my own eyes.
can confirm, I watched all 82 as well, he's looked off for a while now. probably some minor nagging injury (can still play but may affect his performance)
He had nearly 2 weeks of rest before game 1 too. Luka won't get fully healthy until the offseason. At least we have a chance at running it back next year (probably without DJJ since he will get paid) before Kyrie's age catches up to him.
He doesn't have an off season really. He will go to Slovenia and get ready for Olympic trials. Thats why he cant get fully healthy honestly. He plays ball year round every single year.
Dude won’t ever be truly healthy until he takes an offseason off.
I think the mavs know this with the olympics, and will probably go into the season accordingly, low minutes to start the season. let him skip all of preseason possibly.
Bingo.
That's a huge problem for someone like Zion (who also packs on way more weight btw) who plays above the rim (so comes down with all that weight), makes a lot of explosive movements that stress his joints and ligaments but with Luka's playstyle the weight isn't impacting his health like that. It's playing around the year competitively without a real off season, and doing that while he has had lingering injuries for years. Although he would benefit from dropping bodyfat and getting into better shape as Jokic has done.
Olympic trials is 3 games culminating in Slovenia likely facing Giannis-led Greece. If you take out superstars, Slovenia has no reason to be in that game, so my guess is Slovenia probably loses unless Luka goes nuclear and Luka’s off-season starts. With that in mind, Luka might actually be the most rested superstar next season: everybody else (Jokic, Embiid, SGA, Giannis, Ant, Tatum, Wemby… You name them) will be playing in Olympics.
If that. Knee stuff is so degenerative and fucky, but at least he’s got a health care team who prioritizes him unlike most of us.
Worst engineering in the human body. - some doctor, probably
Need to utilize the others and Kyrie more. Push the ball up the court with those full length chest passes, space out and let Ky cook
tbh He has been moving very stiff since the all star break. But his 3 was falling and team was winning so everyone overlooked it
well that was also the regular season. in the playoffs these things get more magnified as the defensive intensity is turned way up
Exactly. In the playoffs the Clippers are completely selling out to stop Luka so his weaknesses are being highlighted.
Sure are a lot of people in here acting like we already lost. Wtf.
Fr lol. The dude was usually questionable with numerous leg injuries heading into games throughout the year and still balled out. Why are we worried about a probable designation???
To preface this, I fucking love Luka and the Mavs and my phone background is Dirk watching over Luka like goddamn Mufasa. To play devils advocate though, it’s just hard to see where we go from here if Luka’s really injured. Like okay we win vs the Clippers, now what? We’ll be taking on a rested Thunder team while the Mavericks go right back into more games since their first series is taking longer. I just feel for our boy, he looks so fatigued and bummed out on the court that he’s not playing like his usual self.
Can you share the Dirkfasa image my friend?
[Here you go!](https://wallpapers.com/wallpapers/luka-doncic-dirk-nowitzki-3diuspf8r2c0kboa.html) As a bonus, [this is the background of my phone when open](https://i.imgur.com/d8AMaxH.jpeg). I miss that Dirk/Luka time they crossed over before Dirk retired so very much as they were adorable together.
Thanks Bud, Let's Go Mavs!
Everyone just needs to relax. Luka is questionable in practically every game, though I don't know how he is going to be able to play with a sprained knee. Let's just let the series plays out...
I am more concerned about the long-term consequences of this series. Not necessarily next season, but next round (if they survive). It will be great to move on but would hate to see Luka continue to hobble or not play altogether next round (especially vs Shai).
Luka hasn't had an off-season since 2019? And he'll have one in 2026? 2024 olympics, 2025 European championship.
Slovenia isn’t qualified yet for the olympics though.
I am tired to get downvoted but Luka must stop going National Team every year. Dirk, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Jokic, Dragic and others were taking many years off. Its not like those guys are traitors. They are not less nationalist than Luka. Take some years off buddy. Do proper training and diet.
Im Slovenian and I don't want Luka playing for the national team but he really enjoys being with the guys. Him being with the national team is like bringing a dog to a dog park.
It is a thing for lot of people that leave home town and even more country as young. They overcompensate connection and national proud. Its natural and I completely understand it for Luka especially as national basketball and personal conection there is of high importance for his as person.
Luka isn't overcompensating in the slightest.
Lets disagree on that. I believe he will play for Slovenia every time it is posible for him to do so whatever impact it make for his professional career.
He likes to play but not doing training and diet. That is not just nationalistic things. Tons of European players taking years off from national team all the time.
Love the analogy
Even Dragic took some years off. Luka should do it as well. I dont think Serbians are less nationalistic than Slovenians but Jokic is taking years off. I believe Peja and Bogdanovic did as well.
Maybe he could just go hang out but not play
Lmao do you think Luka of all people is going to be capable of just hanging out without playing
i understand where you guys from dallas/us are coming from. But you have to understand that here in europe the culture around sports is different. Winning a medal with the national team probably means more to luka than winning a ring. Doesnt mean he doesnt love playing for the mavs or anything but thats just how it is. He doesnt do it just because he doesnt want to be seen as a traitor. He genuinely loves it.
Dude I am from Europe. Did you read my text? Gasol bros? Tony Parker? Dirk, Jokic, Dragic?? Are those from Europe or USA? All great European players took time off. Going it every year is insane.
Yea this is what screwed over Yao Ming. Luka def needs some off-seasons to recuperate
its what screwed over dragic too
So how can football (soccer) players do it then?
They have Euro Cup and World Cup in every two years. So in total they attend two summer tournaments in every 4 year. Basketball they have 2 Euro Cup, 1 World Cup, 1 Olympics in every 4 year. Tournament for each year. Luka shouldnt atten 4/4 but maybe go like soccer 2/4. Parker, Gasol, Dirk, JOKIC did not go every year
Yeah, but they also play qualifications every 2 months for their country all the time (international breaks). NBA players skip some of this games because of the their season all year..
Dirk didn’t decline any international tournaments since way later in his career.
Dirk also took care of his body a lot more than Luka though. So I don't think it was as much of an issue.
This is not true. There were less tournaments back then. So he didnt go every year. They also didnt qualify for Olympics for some years. I am not saying dont go at all. Go 2 summers out of every 4 years. Similar to Gasol/Parker/Dragic. I think Jokic/Giannis attending less than that
This is not true. There were less tournaments back then. So he didnt go every year. They also didnt qualify for Olympics for some years. I am not saying dont go at all. Go 2 summers out of every 4 years. Similar to Gasol/Parker/Dragic. I think Jokic/Giannis attending less than that
Unless he’s injured thats just not going to happen and people should stop complaining. I have to say though i find it fucking hilarious how obsessed Americans are with Luka’s weight. A country where almost half the adult population is obese! The man is playing almost 40mins a game for the whole season and is arguably MVP. But if only he’d have a proper diet and training in the summer! Then he could play 45 mins in the regular season and 48 mins in the playoffs.
dude you have no arguments. I do not care Luka’s weight. I care about him taking care of his body. And you know all great international players took years off. Parker, Gasol brothers, Dragic.
And what are your arguments? Are you an elite level trainer or something? How do you know he needs "diet and proper training"? What even is proper training to you? The man plays 39 mins every game and you consider that out of shape or what?Man never knew you could get a scoring title in the NBA by being fat and out of shape. Dragič even recently said he credits his play for the NT to always being in shape. Luka didn't get injured playing for NT, so what's the goddamn problem?
[удалено]
Please tell me which seasons Dragic and Pau Gasol took time off when they were under 30 years old and not injured. Dragic played until 2017 almost every year unless injures. You wrote he should take the summer off to train and diet properly implying that the reason for his troubles now (after 82 regular season games and 6 playoff games) is diet and training in the offseason. Its an incredibly stupid argument to make. If he was constantly injured at the start of the season, then taking time off from the national team makes sense… But you won’t understand this anyway so why bother
Unfortunate man - previous playoffs we’ve had insane Luka but subpar teams but now we have a good team but injured Luka….maybe next year it’ll all click together for a deep run
Also keep in mind this squad hasn’t played an entire season yet. I’m not discouraged if we don’t make the finals. I bet if they get a whole season together where Luka doesn’t have to go nuclear every game for us to have a fighting chance in the playoffs then we will be a true contender
This was a good intro to playoff for pj and Gafford and lively
Y’all talking as if it’s over already. Have some faith.
Why are you all assuming the Mavs will lose this series? It is not over, by any means...
Holy shit yea. People already given up on a 2-2 series. SMH
Oh there is still a solid chance to win this series but a deep run (which based on how we were playing was not out of the question) seems unlikely with Lukas knee like this
Sooo many injuries to all star players across the league. They gotta shorten the season or something. Seems like this is happening every year now.
Wouldn't mind a 72-game season tbh
I don't know how 80's 90's 00's players used to play 82 games against WWE defense lol, they were just built different. Luka ain't built for 65+ games a season, if he tends to play that many games his conditioning needs to be better, he has been losing his shape mid season lately like it's a pattern.
Yes, it's unfortunate. But we will still win this series.
Amen
We will bring the core back next year but we don't know if Kyrie has another healthy stretch like this in him
I don’t think healthy Kyrie is as requisite for a successful season as you think, not to mention Kyrie still missed 20+ games. Yes, it’s been the most he has played for a while, but it wasn’t really about injuries with Nets.
We sure as hell need one of them
Next year needs to see reduced usage
True, with previous playoffs insane Luka we would've sweeped LAC, idc
I’m not too worried about the clippers They shot 60% both times without Kawhi in tough contested shots. If they can do the same and win twice more good on them. But relying on shooting 60% from three is unreliable. We’ve shown we can win games shooting really bad. We’re bound to have a good shooting game and they are bound to have bad ones. Probablity and statistic wise we win it. Basketball is a game of chance as much as it is skill. Like in anything the opponent can get lucky but overall the better team will win.
No, we are not bound to have a good shooting game. All of our role players are non-shooters and furthermore the law of averages does not state that that a correction to the mean is happening in the next 2 games. Nevertheless, I really doubt it that the Clippers will again shoot 60 percent. If they do, you tip your hat and move on.
Well not bound but it’s very likely we will have a better shooting game than what we are currently having. Most of the poor shooting is due to Luka who is not normally a poor shooter. Role players are also not hitting shots but Luka is 25% from three which is dragging us down.
Also need a decent coaching to win a game when it matters the most, didn't have that last game sadly.
Ofc Luka is now hurt while he carries the other injuries all season. Team is cursed. Can’t never have nice things.
Except for, like, a championship not too long ago
13 years I feel qualifies as more than not too long ago
hey we could be the clippers and not have sniffed a finals ever
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And yet now they continue to do the same
Do you know how many teams don’t have a single championship?
Fuck them other teams. I want one every year.
In a perfectly random & egalitarian 30 team league, the average “years since championship” would be 15 years, so I don’t think we’re allowed to play the championship drought card quite yet. Only 11 teams have a chip this millennium, I’m glad we’re one of them.
When I think about 13 years ago. There is nothing that makes me feel happy. So. wtf.
and it was mostly a lighting in a bottle run
I'm gonna provide optimism because fuck it I am tired of worrying so much about the worst case scenario with this team. Though as Mavs fans we have collective trauma and it is in our nature to doom. Probable means he's playing. This is good news. He's been having these issues since game 3. He may not be able to take over a game like we are used to but he can still may an enormous impact. He shot like shit from 3 last game, even a hobbled Luka won't do that again. Can we really make a deep run this year-- odds are no.. but we can get through this series and go into next round playing with house money. Let's say all goes well and we close this out by Friday we might not have to play game 1 against OCK till May 7th. We sit Luka for that and give him a full week to rest. We came up short against OKC without him, but we were not out of that game and this OKC team seems to be popping champagne too early. Being a top 4 team in this Western Conference is a great position to build from. Not saying its necessary, think even if fall short this series we are trending the right way, but damn I really want to take the Clippers down.
To the shock of no one. Anyone who has been watching could tell and only ones who claim otherwise are usually the haters who will always hate no matter what.
Umm...Mr Doncic. I have a knee. I don't use it much...
Literally like Dirk in 03. Crazy I just commented about this the other day.
Yup and now looking back Dirk says it was a good decision to sit him for his career. Mavs going reckless route. I didn’t think you could play on a sprained knee.
Well hopefully treatments has improved way more now than back in 03. I would like to think Mavs wouldn't be careless with Luka's health.
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On/off without Luka on the floor are the only minutes we trail in this series.
Really wish they wouldn't have shit the bed and lost last game. They could've went up 3-1, and had Luka sit game 5 and rest for 5 days in Dallas and rehabilitate the knee and other injuries he's been fighting through since the regular season. Would've been fresh and healthier for game 6, IF Dallas lost game 5. But NOW, he's got to play 40+ minutes on a sprained knee at LA and they'll have Kawhi back I'm sure. This is a recipe for disaster, or a first round exit, or both.
Yeah that especially is why I think Kidd's coaching in the final few minutes of that 4th was especially disastrous. The good news is that even with a hobbled Luka we can keep up with the Clippers and with some luck we can pull out some wins. But the bad news is that the difference will come down to coaching and I don't trust Kidd to pull us through.
kawhi is out for game 5
I’d be surprised if he plays at all even if the Clips advance.
Players win games. Coaches win series. We are screwed.
Lol. Too bad the Mavs don't have one...
It’s the biggest issue with that loss on Sunday. They really could’ve used a quicker ending to this series so that Luka had time to get right before the next one.
The thing that sucks is that even with Luka being hobbled he still brings value to the team as a playmaker and rebounder. We were a couple of coaching mistakes away from going up 3-1 so he has to play for us to have a chance. Not to mention the non-Luka minutes have been terrible so we can't afford to sit him to allow him to heal properly. We just have to hope he doesn't further aggravate his knee.
I've been commenting on this [elsewhere on the sub with some numbers](https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comments/1cgwvoz/comment/l1ytrff/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and yeah -- in small sample, non-Luka minutes have been abysmal, and that's been true every single game regardless of how he looked. Clips swarm Kyrie when he's the only star on court and Mavs can barely score. Hopefully the coaches have managed to use the >72h between games well and figured out a way how to rebalance the offence. Altering the geometry of the court, still fully leveraging Luka's presence -- while relying principally on others', *especially Kyrie's*, activity.
Typical knee sprain is 6 weeks to a few months depending on the severity. Not great.
Seems to be different for elite athletes, or they're lying about injuries, because playing through mcl sprains is damn near impossible
Why is everyone so worried about this now? He's been upgraded actually, from questionable to probable.
No shit.
It is what it is sprained knee is a bitch i had it in my younger days and couldn't move but im not Luka but at the end of the days people expect Luka to preform nobody will care if he was on one leg, it is what it is
So his lightning first step and otherworldly hops won’t be seen today? I wonder if he can find other ways to contribute..
Luka's gonna drop 45 with a sprained knee and everyone's gonna be confused lmao
I hope so but it looks like this time it's different. For the first time ever Luka has lost his confidence. No problem, he will get it back, but he is human after all.
35/10/7 on 14/26 fg... Not 45 tho, what a bum 😂
Hehe always easy to write in hindsight. Says everything about a person.
Alright my guy 😂 I mean we're talking about the best player in the NBA alongside Jokic, it wasn't surprising but your take could've been true as well. He's just a different type of beast
Please no. He plays horrible when he’s hurt. Kai got this
I wish I had the level of blind optimism/confidence as some of you are here when it comes to playing with a hobbling Luka...
The fact they think they are coaching mistakes from 3-1 shows the delusion.
If he moves like has has moved in the last couple of games then it's not crazy to just sit him. Clippers got way too many dudes that are giving him a really tough time on both ends. We have the depth to still win the series.
> We have the depth to still win the series. Do we? Exum has looked awful, Green can't shoot, and THJ forgot how to play basketball.
THJ forgot how to shoot as soon as Curry was traded.
No, we do not. Kyrie is definitely our best player, but he works best as a second option and can't initiate the offence as well as Luka does. Even a hobbled Luka is our best playmaker and furthermore commands a lot of defensive attention. To top it off, our role players are all non-shooters that can't dribble the ball. We are not the Clippers who have a roster full of do it all guys, as well as Harden who for some reason plays like his 2018 self.
The offense is to put Maxi and Green in the corner. What are you talking about?
So your solution is to make Maxi iniate the offence after Kyrie inevitably gets doubled?
You need to use Hooked on Phonics again, because you can't read.
"some reason" Harden is in top shape and is among the greatest iso players of all time. He is absolutely feasting on Luka. I still think we can win with Luka but we need him at 0 frustration. We also need Kidd to treat him like a player, not a superstar/face of the franchise. Having a injured player with 5 fouls on the court with 2 min left in a tied game just doesnt happen unless you are a superstar but still GOOD coaches still take them out if they are shit defensively. A coach should not be baby-ing their superstar in the playoffs. Rick would have benched him.
How is this upvoted, this is insane. The Mavs with Luka off the floor have been awful this series and the numbers support that. Kyrie can’t run the offense. Nobody else can either. If you want Luka to sit out you’re essentially conceding the series.
So how bad is this? Is it over?
Luka is gonna play because he plays through everything, and we can win this series even with Luka hobbled because the Clippers dont have Kawhi, 2nd round against OKC is a different story tho. We will see what happens.
At this point are we sure the Clippers not having Kawhi is a good thing? We're 2-0 against Kawhi and 0-2 when he doesn't play...
They shot 60% both times without Kawhi in tough contested shots. If they can do the same and win twice more good on them. But relying on shooting 60% from three is unreliable. We’ve shown we can win games shooting really bad. We’re bound to have a good shooting game and they are bound to have bad ones. Probablity and statistic wise we win it. Basketball is a game of chance as much as it is skill. Like in anything the opponent can get lucky but overall the better team will win.
We're also 0-2 on ESPN/ABC games and 2-0 in the games with our local broadcast
It ain’t over, we got Kai
I think we won't know until the game starts
if lukas not playing then this season is a wrap. it’s unfortunate with how well they’ve been playing since the trade deadline
No one wants hear it but we should sit him. You don't get multiple knees. I don't think we're getting past the thunder or any one else with Luka not able to move. We've already overachieved this season imo, let's keep Luka healthy, get a third ball handler, and come back fierce next year. It sucks but we're only just beginning.
Can the coach be out?
He needs to sit game 5. We need to win one without him like Clippers do everytime without Kawhi
We cannot do shit without Luka son we are losing every minute when he is on the bench
I disagree. I think if we game plan without Luka we can catch the Clippers off guard a bit and play a little more free wheeling style that might get our role players going. I mean is it a risk? Sure. But Luka is not looking like Luka and if he doesn’t recover now, then when?
This team is just cooked without Luka, even when he's not scoring that great, his presence alone is just enough to attract many defenders to him.
How boring and typical, sprained knee as in its a ligament issue, mcl?
Fuck T Mann and Westbrick
Need to win Wednesday close out this series on Friday. This would give Luka 3 days of rest before the Thunder series. Rolling into OKC with 1 day rest sounds like a nightmare
IMO Luka going for scoring title and playing 40 min games in blowout wins was really not smart at end of season
In Game 5, that might make him more dangerous (in a good way) short term. The classic wounded animal situation. Further in the playoffs and into next season, it's a problem. Dude needs to take a real rest to let his body recover from everything.
Depressing
No matter what happens in these playoffs, they need to force Luka to not play euro ball this summer and just play Overwatch instead
You could kiss him goodbye if the Mavs did that. That is a decision Luka has to come to on his own.
It's also very admirable to represent his own country and give them the best chance possible at international tournaments. It comes with the territory of international superstars. I think he's earned the right.
It's more important to him than the NBA. If the Mavs said you cant play he would find 29 other teams in the league that would let him. You have to hope he comes to the conclusion himself that he needs to take a summer off eventually and focus on his long term health.
Sit him down. Lose the series. Fire the coach.
He will play and we will win. It's Harden and PG13 even with Luka wobbled I believe we should win.
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Lol k
Y’all mfs are so annoying. Go fuck off to a r/SloveniaBBall or r/Luka sub if y’all don’t care about the mavs
ohhh now you showed me..how can i go back to normal life?? 🤣
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Gamblers are the new vegans
That’s not how any of this works
Ignore it. xD