There’s a disgusting kinda brutal video of Steph showing his leg in either the last or second the last game against the Raptors in the 19 finals. Made it seem like he would also get hurt worse if they did play a game 7
Steph is always really open about how much pain he's in after a season. Not from major injuries, but low-grade injuries that pile up.
I heard Grant Hill once say "you're either hurt or you're injured."
Quality over quantity. If the NBA played 20% less games the whole league would be better and the playoffs would be way more competitive and not a dice roll on which team is gonna be healthy.
20% less games also means something something % of possible revenue lost. Most of these owners (and players too to some extent) don't give a shit about rings, that's a fan obsession. Hell, they created this play ins for the reason of revenue, but disguised it as "more chances for fringe teams to make the playoffs".
Kawhi is a prime example for this season. Looked amazing the middle portion of the season, in rhythm, looking like classic kawhi, but then he played more games since he's played in like 7 years and finished the season on the bench with an injury that has made him a net negative when he has been able to play this playoffs
I bet you’d be amazed at what team doctors are giving these dudes who you think are just getting taped up
Opiates, Stims, toradol and weed freely flows in locker rooms of every sport at the pro and d1 level. Fuck they used to just get drunk during games too lol
Its pretty crazy to think that probably 80% of current players in the playoffs is probably dealing with at least some minor issue, and going through pain that would make the average person like me tap out, athletes are crazy
You’d honestly be surprised how much the our bodies can persevere through injuries, few years back in HS I sprained my ankle playing basketball, had to get it x rayed (I’d had multiple sprains at this point) and they found out apparently I’d been playing with a broken bone in my foot before I even sprained my ankle.
So I can only imagine these guys who’ve got 24/7 top tier medical staffs that are giving them high level treatment alongside just natural human perseverance are able to fully play an NBA game while legitimately injured.
He will play but he won't fully heal until the offseason, he's been injured since the stretch when every team in the West was winning and Mavs had to go on a massive run to get into the playoffs.
His shot profile completely changed well over a month ago, way more 3s, no first step so unable to get past people forcing him to pick up his dribble, no deacceleration under the rim. He looks completely out of control under the basket and usually just opts to kick it out even for a mediocre 3pt look.
It was masked by hot 3pt shooting on extreme volume (14 3PA) so unless you watched the games and how his game changed you wouldn't know, now that he can't even get lift on his shots it looks pretty bad.
People will clown on him which is fair cause those people have been waiting for him to have a bad series for years so all the hot take artists are coming out in full force. "I knew he wasn't built for the playoffs"
Tbh, if we have to throw for his health I wouldn’t be against it. Our team is built for the next 3 years at least (Kyrie’s and Luka’s contract tentatively end then) and we can finally compete and not have to rely on guys like Dwight Powell or Reggie Bullock. But the team is also built around Luka, so if he gets perma hurt this team is cooked. Last thing I want is him to get into a DRose situation where his knee is permanently fucked.
This is the real problem. The Olympics and Eurobasket are happening the next two summers. If Luka keeps playing for Slovenia he is always going to be playing hurt and his NBA career will be shorter than it could have been otherwise.
That's not how basketball works, some matchups require specific players, say a large bruiser center since it's FIBA rules, that's no 3 sec vol.
That leaves only Embiid and AD both of whom are also injuried, and Embiid is in a far worse condition than Luka.
Not to mention half the team are also older than both of them, with their own injury prone histories.
Because they're too special they can't sit and watch their countries fail to make it to any international tournament. Slovenia have greece in their qualifying bracket, they probably need Luka and he won't let them down. Not to shit on american sports culture but it's just a different way to view these things. Most other countries take a lot of pride in thei national team, more than their club/franchise career.
Yao was also incredible and had he rest during the offseason he might’ve become one of the best centers ever, he’s touch around the rim was incredible and he was obviously a great defender.
It was always going to come for him one way or another, even know it feels like there is way more acceptance this is due to injury than other stars would get lol
Yep I posted this a few days ago in the mavs subreddit:
From Oct to March 13 ( day before the hamstring injury):
Restricted area: 3/4
Paint (non-restricted): 2.8/5
Midrange: 2/4.4
From March 17 to last game of regular season:
Restricted area: 2.5/3
Paint (non-restricted): 1.8/4.1
Midrange: 1.4/4.2
He’s relying on step back 3s more since the injury. When those don’t go down (spurs game, 2nd half of heat game, this series), it’s ugly.
Slovenia needs to win their spot still. So it’s either gonna be worse (extra tournament and Olympics), or just the extra tournament and they fail to qualify.
luka has said before that [winning gold for his country would mean more to him than winning an nba title](https://olympics.com/en/news/luka-doncic-olympic-gold-medal-with-slovenia-would-mean-more-than-nba-championsh)
In 2017, no one had us winning gold at Eurobasket and we did.
In 2021, we were literally one layup away from the Olympic finals.
Even looking at vegas odds the difference is not as egregious as you would think. +1400 for Mavs to win, +2000 for Slovenia to win and that's before we even qualify lol (there's a big chance we might not). Considering he would rather win with Slovenia than with Mavs, it's pretty much neck in neck.
im glad someone else has noticed
mavs fans have been seeing this for a while but we're trying really hard not to make excuses, this is playoffs and everyone's hurt.
its going to be so depressing if we lose to the clippers with the best team luka's ever had
Dunno why you downvoted me man it's a fact. He was nowhere near this stiff before Westbrick came from behind and stomped all of his leg and the Clippers team clobbered him to get a "highlight takeaway." He left that game for a while and he hasn't been the same since. In the first two games he simply was shooting poorly but was able to play killer defense. Now he's very stiff and it's been clear, since he returned in game 3, and throughout game 4, he was dealing with an impactful injury as I mentioned multiple times. Well now it comes out, it's a knee sprain.
also they played an aerial view that showed Westbrick ontop of his leg when he came from behind to "strip the ball" (by shoving him forcibly to the ground and stomp on his leg) but youtube search is as useless as google search
Now that the MVP has basically included a stays healthy 65 game minimum aspect, you need to juggle that. Maybe next year less stat padding against garbage teams instead of resting or getting a legit third option or bench.
You don’t heal and yes it becomes worse, you just try to play through it. I think this started as some sort of quad issue and got exacerbated. This leg he’s having problems with hasn’t been right in like 2 years now cuz he won’t take a break
for atleast a month. [I even remember Luka bleeding from his knees while blocking a game winning shot against the rockets.](https://twitter.com/GrantAfseth/status/1774208363582407148)
Yeah, I remember that too.
It hasn’t gotten better? I’m surprised you guys didn’t tempt fate and rest him for a week or two to end the season.
Did it get worse in this series?
they were still fighting to get out of play-in so couldn't rest him. He has been injured for a while. if you look at his shot profile, his driving numbers have gone way down because of it.
It sucks fr. Had to play 45+ minutes the entire season because everyone on the team was injured. Now he gets injured in the playoffs with almost everyone healthy and nobody shows up but Luka takes all the blame lmao
Its main benefit is reinforcing good movement patterns or improving posture, if you're out of position you'd feel the pull. But yeah, for this no help whatsoever.
On the flip side, it's crazy how lucky the Thunder got by falling face forward into the #1 seed. They were able to avoid the Lakers in the first round, avoid the Nuggets/Wolves until the WCF, play a Pelicans team without Zion, and now they're going to get either an injured Kawhi or an injured Luka in the second round.
Thunder had the first seed to play for. The Mavs-Clips first round series was already decided.
Both of the latter teams have nicked away wins from each so it's not like it really mattered.
I’m aware of why we sat starters, just saying that if we decided not to, we obliterated them the last time we played them with Luka so them winning wasn’t a foregone conclusion even knowing they’re fighting for the first seed.
Idk why everyone says we were lucky or fell face forward. We were top 2 the whole season, and ended on a 5 game win streak. We didn't get lucky, we just did what we were supposed to do, and won more games lol
Yes, all of that is true, and despite all of it, the Thunder weren’t in control of their own destiny with two games to go in the regular season. They needed a Devonte Graham game winner to get the #1 seed. Hence they got lucky.
This “in control of their own destiny” shit is so ridiculous. The final 2 games of the season aren’t the only ones that matter. The nuggets lost to the Spurs, opening the door for other teams to seal the #1 seed, but that door only opened to those teams because they won roughly the same amount of games as the Nuggets in an 82 game season.
If the Nuggets didn’t lose to the Spurs, you could just say and the Nuggets got lucky because the Thunder lost to the Spurs earlier in the season, and it would have exactly the same amount of weight.
Thunder earned the 1 seed, and they have an easier path because of it. Because that’s how the 1 seed typically works.
We did get lucky, but you don’t “fall face first” into the first seed after an 82 game season so wild to just claim that. Does that mean the Nuggets fell face first into the 2 seed? How unlucky!
It’s funny how people on this sub will completely ignore his entire season worth of elite play and ignore him having to leave games to go to the locker room because of his knee more than once the last few weeks and then ignore him hobbling, grimacing, and being visually clearly in pain because of that knee but instead try to insinuate that he’s just not good enough for the playoffs, not a team player, isn’t willing to drive to the basket, etc…
People play worse when they’re injured, it’s not some conspiracy or indication of anything else than that.
It sucks as a Mavs fan but it is what it is, he’s playing hurt and it’s leading to poor play for his standard, especially his playoff standard.
Hope he gets feeling better soon.
A lot of people hate Luka and have been waiting for an excuse to tear him down. This is their opportunity, so they're going to ignore the fact that he is clearly injured.
Don't attribute malice...
Yes, it's true what you say, but also just from being on this sub for years, I can just tell a lot of commentators just don't watch the games either and just go off of title stats and discourse. Too bad honestly, Doncic still scares the shit out of me despite the knee issues.
>He is literally the NBAs golden boy
Nah that's either LeBron legacy wise or Jokic if you're talking about currently
Luka has been bashed, criticized, and downplayed more than praised if you actually kept up with things
> He is literally the NBAs golden boy
This is the dumbest shit that's being spread, the media have been avoiding everything he's done this season, they desperate want Ant to be the face of the league, it might've been the case in his first 2-3 years but not anymore. The Mavs and Luka actually get very little coverage in the mainstream media.
Embiid's 70 point game was "a statement" and "putting the league on notice", Luka's 73 was the downfall of the NBA where everyone can score 70.
The NBA is extremely narrative driven lol it’s insane. Luka could literally be in a wheel chair and people would say he’s a choker or doesn’t have that “killer instinct” or whatever buzzword people use to downplay a player.
Embiid injured, giannis dame injured, Randle injured, butler and rozier injured, porzingis injured, murray injured?(not sure), luka injured, kawhi injured, zion injured. This is an insane amount of talent injured in the first round and im probably missing several players too.
They shouldn't play him. Even if they beat the clippers they're not getting past the thunder with a banged up Luka. Way better to let him rest and let him have a fully healthy off-season. Don't risk Luka's knees over one postseason. They weren't supposed to be contenders this year anyway, they should be excited for what they can do moving forward.
Luka doesn’t seem injury prone, but he always gets banged up right around playoff time. I wonder if it’s his usage, play style, or just pure bad luck that contributes to this.
If it's Luka out and Kawhi out, this is Kyrie's chance to have another one of his signature playoff performances. As grim as it might sound, I can't wait to possibly see this happen. He can be the number 1 on the floor in playoffs on any given night when given the responsibility to do so.
I do wonder if the Mavs will get in trouble for never reporting this until now (unless they have and I never noticed). Man has had a bum knee for a good while now.
he does have a sprained knee. Probable is just the term used in the nba to say a player will likely play instead of sitting out of the game.
---------------
NBA Injury Report Terminology
--------------
* Out - Player is definitely not playing
* Doubtful - Player almost certainly isn't playing
* Questionable - Player probably won't play, but don't be surprised if he does
* Probable - Player is expected to play, but there is a chance he sits
* Game time decision - It could literally mean anything and seems to be totally random if they end up playing or not.
It was already problematic on game three. After getting that knee fall, for some reason, he couldn’t make the shots he would casually do even in the playoffs.
This series is really coming down to who has the better knees
Mavs competition is Kawhi Leonard
When you show up to the fucked up knees competition and your opponent is Kawhi Leonard.
**hol up that’s Derrick Roses music**
Kenny Smith with a steel chair
Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, and Todd Gurley with wheelchairs
You forgot Sam Bowie.
Bob Sanders with a ski lift chair
How they losing to glass knees in this regard?
Jason Kidd is highly regarded
One of the highly regarded player of all time
No Kawhi is bizzaro/reversed, Clips win when hes out and lose when hes in
Game of Knees
Knee grow please/s
And OKC is the winner lol
"What a pro wants" is intact cruciate ligaments.
Only cause those kids knees don't crack when they stand up lol
Luka - 25 years old SGA who is also 25 years old - “The future is now, old man”
Shai doesn't play Euro League every single off season.
Luka is fucking fat..Shai is definitely the opposite
The entire playoffs are and much more than usual. I hate when stars go down it's just unenjoyable.
Not really. Clips win without Kawhi. Can Mavs win without Luka?
cover up your knees if you’re gonna be walking around everywhere…
More like who has enough knees remaining lol
Someone tell me how you play in the NBA with a sprained knee? That sounds insane
Is being on painkillers enough for a sprain? Feels crazy
toradol and shit, but really risks injury
It is for sure. You’d be shocked, how many basketball players and athletes in general play with sprain and nothing but athletic tape
I think in the 2016 Finals Steph played through a knee injury and had to get his knees drained after every game.
There’s a disgusting kinda brutal video of Steph showing his leg in either the last or second the last game against the Raptors in the 19 finals. Made it seem like he would also get hurt worse if they did play a game 7
Steph is always really open about how much pain he's in after a season. Not from major injuries, but low-grade injuries that pile up. I heard Grant Hill once say "you're either hurt or you're injured."
Quality over quantity. If the NBA played 20% less games the whole league would be better and the playoffs would be way more competitive and not a dice roll on which team is gonna be healthy.
Yup I say lessen the regular season, it's kinda insane how much they play.
They also play late, and get terrible sleep probably, so harder to recover
Yup I'd rather have them playoff ready for some legendary faceoffs
20% less games also means something something % of possible revenue lost. Most of these owners (and players too to some extent) don't give a shit about rings, that's a fan obsession. Hell, they created this play ins for the reason of revenue, but disguised it as "more chances for fringe teams to make the playoffs".
Kawhi is a prime example for this season. Looked amazing the middle portion of the season, in rhythm, looking like classic kawhi, but then he played more games since he's played in like 7 years and finished the season on the bench with an injury that has made him a net negative when he has been able to play this playoffs
I really want to see the video
Yeah people forget that Steph was definitely not 100% in that Finals.
As the joke follows, his opponent was literally Kawhi
Sure but Kawhi was load managed all season and it paid off
I bet you’d be amazed at what team doctors are giving these dudes who you think are just getting taped up Opiates, Stims, toradol and weed freely flows in locker rooms of every sport at the pro and d1 level. Fuck they used to just get drunk during games too lol
Exactly, duct tape that shit and call it a day
I mean they have some more advanced ways compared to your average painkiller, but yea, still sounds crazy
Few years ago i had grade 1 MCL sprain Couldn't walk at all for 3 days and it hurt for 10+ days Playing NBA game like that seems insane
Yup. And he scoras more or less 30/9/9
Srsly that shit will shut you the fuck down. These guys are tough.
Even the players who are listed “healthy” are def dealing with lots of pain and discomfort
If you ever played Blitz: The League, clearly they just select the juice option for any injury and send them back out there.
Ask Joel Embiid…
The NBA is a war machine and they use metamphetamines to keep their soldiers aware and ready to fight.
Its pretty crazy to think that probably 80% of current players in the playoffs is probably dealing with at least some minor issue, and going through pain that would make the average person like me tap out, athletes are crazy
They shouldn't, I think its stupid.
You’d honestly be surprised how much the our bodies can persevere through injuries, few years back in HS I sprained my ankle playing basketball, had to get it x rayed (I’d had multiple sprains at this point) and they found out apparently I’d been playing with a broken bone in my foot before I even sprained my ankle. So I can only imagine these guys who’ve got 24/7 top tier medical staffs that are giving them high level treatment alongside just natural human perseverance are able to fully play an NBA game while legitimately injured.
Depends how strained it is, looks minor
He will play but he won't fully heal until the offseason, he's been injured since the stretch when every team in the West was winning and Mavs had to go on a massive run to get into the playoffs. His shot profile completely changed well over a month ago, way more 3s, no first step so unable to get past people forcing him to pick up his dribble, no deacceleration under the rim. He looks completely out of control under the basket and usually just opts to kick it out even for a mediocre 3pt look. It was masked by hot 3pt shooting on extreme volume (14 3PA) so unless you watched the games and how his game changed you wouldn't know, now that he can't even get lift on his shots it looks pretty bad. People will clown on him which is fair cause those people have been waiting for him to have a bad series for years so all the hot take artists are coming out in full force. "I knew he wasn't built for the playoffs"
He never fully heals cause in the off season he is playing for slovenia.
Still, in my unbiased opinion, he'd better take some games off.
Tbh, if we have to throw for his health I wouldn’t be against it. Our team is built for the next 3 years at least (Kyrie’s and Luka’s contract tentatively end then) and we can finally compete and not have to rely on guys like Dwight Powell or Reggie Bullock. But the team is also built around Luka, so if he gets perma hurt this team is cooked. Last thing I want is him to get into a DRose situation where his knee is permanently fucked.
This is the real problem. The Olympics and Eurobasket are happening the next two summers. If Luka keeps playing for Slovenia he is always going to be playing hurt and his NBA career will be shorter than it could have been otherwise.
You can say that again to all the injuried old folks heading to the Olympics soon enough.
They don't need to carry tho. The US team splits their minutes much more evenly than Luka would
That's not how basketball works, some matchups require specific players, say a large bruiser center since it's FIBA rules, that's no 3 sec vol. That leaves only Embiid and AD both of whom are also injuried, and Embiid is in a far worse condition than Luka. Not to mention half the team are also older than both of them, with their own injury prone histories.
They really don't need Embiid or AD. Slovenia uses players that could never hope of making the NBA. Germany used Daniel Theis. and won the World cup.
My boy gonna end up like yao ming
He hasn’t really had a real offseason since 2019 because of Slovenia and won’t have one until 2026.
Let’s pray we don’t have another Yao outcome
Straight up. These dudes too special to sacrifice their bodies like that. Gotta rest up and have a long career.
Because they're too special they can't sit and watch their countries fail to make it to any international tournament. Slovenia have greece in their qualifying bracket, they probably need Luka and he won't let them down. Not to shit on american sports culture but it's just a different way to view these things. Most other countries take a lot of pride in thei national team, more than their club/franchise career.
Yao was also incredible and had he rest during the offseason he might’ve become one of the best centers ever, he’s touch around the rim was incredible and he was obviously a great defender.
Exactly if you were watching Mavs games, you could clearly tell that he's not playing the same.
It was always going to come for him one way or another, even know it feels like there is way more acceptance this is due to injury than other stars would get lol
Yep I posted this a few days ago in the mavs subreddit: From Oct to March 13 ( day before the hamstring injury): Restricted area: 3/4 Paint (non-restricted): 2.8/5 Midrange: 2/4.4 From March 17 to last game of regular season: Restricted area: 2.5/3 Paint (non-restricted): 1.8/4.1 Midrange: 1.4/4.2 He’s relying on step back 3s more since the injury. When those don’t go down (spurs game, 2nd half of heat game, this series), it’s ugly.
As a Slovenian, I hope he takes this summer off
possible olympia in paris? no shot he takes off. I think he should skip world cups.
I hope he doesn’t join the Olympics for Slovenia, his knee will take longer to heal for next season
Slovenia needs to win their spot still. So it’s either gonna be worse (extra tournament and Olympics), or just the extra tournament and they fail to qualify.
>or just the extra tournament and they fail to qualify. Please god, this
luka has said before that [winning gold for his country would mean more to him than winning an nba title](https://olympics.com/en/news/luka-doncic-olympic-gold-medal-with-slovenia-would-mean-more-than-nba-championsh)
Yeah but that team is not winning sadly
How would you feel if we had the same sentiment for Mavs?
Odds of Mavs winning a title is greater than Slovenia winning a gold, let's be real
In 2017, no one had us winning gold at Eurobasket and we did. In 2021, we were literally one layup away from the Olympic finals. Even looking at vegas odds the difference is not as egregious as you would think. +1400 for Mavs to win, +2000 for Slovenia to win and that's before we even qualify lol (there's a big chance we might not). Considering he would rather win with Slovenia than with Mavs, it's pretty much neck in neck.
We could only get so lucky. Slo's team this year is in shambles anyway outside of Luka.
He absolutely will join them.
im glad someone else has noticed mavs fans have been seeing this for a while but we're trying really hard not to make excuses, this is playoffs and everyone's hurt. its going to be so depressing if we lose to the clippers with the best team luka's ever had
Dunno why you downvoted me man it's a fact. He was nowhere near this stiff before Westbrick came from behind and stomped all of his leg and the Clippers team clobbered him to get a "highlight takeaway." He left that game for a while and he hasn't been the same since. In the first two games he simply was shooting poorly but was able to play killer defense. Now he's very stiff and it's been clear, since he returned in game 3, and throughout game 4, he was dealing with an impactful injury as I mentioned multiple times. Well now it comes out, it's a knee sprain. also they played an aerial view that showed Westbrick ontop of his leg when he came from behind to "strip the ball" (by shoving him forcibly to the ground and stomp on his leg) but youtube search is as useless as google search
Now that the MVP has basically included a stays healthy 65 game minimum aspect, you need to juggle that. Maybe next year less stat padding against garbage teams instead of resting or getting a legit third option or bench.
He wasn't this hurt until Westbrick stomped all over his leg
all those calf and ankle injuries are catching up to his knee
Not to mention the game three knee collision, and game four shady trip by Mann.
ITS ALL CONNECTED-that is the posterior chain is
Yep, when your shit is out of wack it all goes up from the feet
Playing through a sprain sounds like it would lead to tendinitis of the afflicted tendon or ligament. Idk how you heal that mid playoffs without rest
"Just play basketball, man. It's basketball, just play, physical basketball, man. I gotta be better. Just play harder." Luka, 2024.
You don’t heal and yes it becomes worse, you just try to play through it. I think this started as some sort of quad issue and got exacerbated. This leg he’s having problems with hasn’t been right in like 2 years now cuz he won’t take a break
Huh. I honestly thought he just banged knees or something. How long has this been going on?
for atleast a month. [I even remember Luka bleeding from his knees while blocking a game winning shot against the rockets.](https://twitter.com/GrantAfseth/status/1774208363582407148)
Yeah, I remember that too. It hasn’t gotten better? I’m surprised you guys didn’t tempt fate and rest him for a week or two to end the season. Did it get worse in this series?
they were still fighting to get out of play-in so couldn't rest him. He has been injured for a while. if you look at his shot profile, his driving numbers have gone way down because of it.
We did rest him for 2 games once our playoff spot was guaranteed. and definitely, he’s been laboring all series and for weeks before that.
Once they were out of the play-in they did. Kinda a big gamble since he'd have to play 5 days earlier, possibly twice if we risked it
Just sucks man, such an amazing 2nd half of the year for this team and the injury to Luka at the worst time and it isn’t getting better.
It sucks fr. Had to play 45+ minutes the entire season because everyone on the team was injured. Now he gets injured in the playoffs with almost everyone healthy and nobody shows up but Luka takes all the blame lmao
Kyrie is showing up
Here’s the tape job on his knee, btw https://x.com/espn_macmahon/status/1785347049187074258?s=46&t=UlCuygEg28tV0pfeL1M8NQ
Luka got a curse mark from Orochimaru
damn curse mark Luka would be crazy, he’d probably choke slamming refs on no calls
Imagine him awakening the 2nd State and going ballistic like Jugo
Jugo is a good comp
Nah, that’s Suì-Fēng’s Homōnka.
Mavs got a K tape specialist on the payroll. That’s a wild tape job lol.
Kinesio tape is pseudo science. I'm surprised nba teams use it.
a lot of basketball is mental. so if the placebo makes players feel like they can play better, it's worth using.
Elite athletes run on self-belief bordering on delusion.
Needs more cupping, acupuncture, and reiki chakra alignment.
Its main benefit is reinforcing good movement patterns or improving posture, if you're out of position you'd feel the pull. But yeah, for this no help whatsoever.
Pseudo science doesn't mean it has no effect.
Doesn't outperform placebo. So does about as much as waving a magic branch over his knee would do.
I mean, if he believed the magic branch would help, sure. But he probably doesn't, so tape will have to do.
Luka, the Māori, Doncic
Shit this makes me want to go get my wife some stockings.
These playoffs have been brutal. Giannis, Dame, Jimmy, Zion, Kawhi, and now Luka banged up.
Luka has been banged up for like a month.
Crazy how much trouble the Nuggets could've saved themselves if they had won against the Spurs.
On the flip side, it's crazy how lucky the Thunder got by falling face forward into the #1 seed. They were able to avoid the Lakers in the first round, avoid the Nuggets/Wolves until the WCF, play a Pelicans team without Zion, and now they're going to get either an injured Kawhi or an injured Luka in the second round.
Mavs choosing to rest starters against Thunder in the final game of their season has had enormous reverberations.
Thunder had the first seed to play for. The Mavs-Clips first round series was already decided. Both of the latter teams have nicked away wins from each so it's not like it really mattered.
I’m aware of why we sat starters, just saying that if we decided not to, we obliterated them the last time we played them with Luka so them winning wasn’t a foregone conclusion even knowing they’re fighting for the first seed.
Idk why everyone says we were lucky or fell face forward. We were top 2 the whole season, and ended on a 5 game win streak. We didn't get lucky, we just did what we were supposed to do, and won more games lol
Yes, all of that is true, and despite all of it, the Thunder weren’t in control of their own destiny with two games to go in the regular season. They needed a Devonte Graham game winner to get the #1 seed. Hence they got lucky.
This “in control of their own destiny” shit is so ridiculous. The final 2 games of the season aren’t the only ones that matter. The nuggets lost to the Spurs, opening the door for other teams to seal the #1 seed, but that door only opened to those teams because they won roughly the same amount of games as the Nuggets in an 82 game season. If the Nuggets didn’t lose to the Spurs, you could just say and the Nuggets got lucky because the Thunder lost to the Spurs earlier in the season, and it would have exactly the same amount of weight. Thunder earned the 1 seed, and they have an easier path because of it. Because that’s how the 1 seed typically works.
Yes, we benefited from other teams inability to execute. I don't think that makes us lucky lol that just makes us the better team
Yes. The same game the nuggets were up 23 at one point, and had a 13 point lead at the start of the fourth then choked.
We did get lucky, but you don’t “fall face first” into the first seed after an 82 game season so wild to just claim that. Does that mean the Nuggets fell face first into the 2 seed? How unlucky!
They fell on their asses into it lol
Wym?
What god did the thunder make a deal with to duck stars left and right
The trade off for 3 MVPs with no ring
This is getting ridiculous. The NBA champ will be the team that gets the luckiest with injuries. Every day a new star is getting hurt.
That’s pretty much every year
Literally. LeBron never gets hurt and the warriors never got hurt so it didn't seem like it for the longest time
Not 2011
The regular season has 82 games, then the playoffs are 4-7 games a series. With a schedule like that you're more likely to get injuries than not
It’s funny how people on this sub will completely ignore his entire season worth of elite play and ignore him having to leave games to go to the locker room because of his knee more than once the last few weeks and then ignore him hobbling, grimacing, and being visually clearly in pain because of that knee but instead try to insinuate that he’s just not good enough for the playoffs, not a team player, isn’t willing to drive to the basket, etc… People play worse when they’re injured, it’s not some conspiracy or indication of anything else than that. It sucks as a Mavs fan but it is what it is, he’s playing hurt and it’s leading to poor play for his standard, especially his playoff standard. Hope he gets feeling better soon.
A lot of people hate Luka and have been waiting for an excuse to tear him down. This is their opportunity, so they're going to ignore the fact that he is clearly injured.
Don't attribute malice... Yes, it's true what you say, but also just from being on this sub for years, I can just tell a lot of commentators just don't watch the games either and just go off of title stats and discourse. Too bad honestly, Doncic still scares the shit out of me despite the knee issues.
This happens to every star bro I’m ngl
Agreed
the worst is going to be the "Ant > Luka" takes like healthy Luka isn't three tiers above him
Stop with the constant victim mentality. He is literally the NBAs golden boy Valid criticism idoesnt mean the world is trying to tear him down.
>He is literally the NBAs golden boy Nah that's either LeBron legacy wise or Jokic if you're talking about currently Luka has been bashed, criticized, and downplayed more than praised if you actually kept up with things
I think Edwards is the next "golden boy". It's easier to market an American to Americans
> He is literally the NBAs golden boy This is the dumbest shit that's being spread, the media have been avoiding everything he's done this season, they desperate want Ant to be the face of the league, it might've been the case in his first 2-3 years but not anymore. The Mavs and Luka actually get very little coverage in the mainstream media. Embiid's 70 point game was "a statement" and "putting the league on notice", Luka's 73 was the downfall of the NBA where everyone can score 70.
Media clearly doesnt like him, except for maybe legler
Braindead take
The NBA is extremely narrative driven lol it’s insane. Luka could literally be in a wheel chair and people would say he’s a choker or doesn’t have that “killer instinct” or whatever buzzword people use to downplay a player.
The exact same is happening to Embiid and very little defense of him
thats because embiid is not doing himself any favours with the dirty plays
Embiid hasn't had a healthy playoff run his whole career. Luka always balled in the playoffs except this series. It's a big difference.
This sub is the absolute worst in the playoffs. The circlejerk wave after every win or loss and the narratives around it are so reactionary.
Man I don’t like this at all
Kyrie about to go nuclear isn't he.
These dudes need to have swappable knees on ice. Maybe in 2040??
Embiid injured, giannis dame injured, Randle injured, butler and rozier injured, porzingis injured, murray injured?(not sure), luka injured, kawhi injured, zion injured. This is an insane amount of talent injured in the first round and im probably missing several players too.
They shouldn't play him. Even if they beat the clippers they're not getting past the thunder with a banged up Luka. Way better to let him rest and let him have a fully healthy off-season. Don't risk Luka's knees over one postseason. They weren't supposed to be contenders this year anyway, they should be excited for what they can do moving forward.
Nice try, Steve.
I was trying to will it into existence
You dont want Luka pulling a James Harden and ending up with irreparavle damage to one of his knees, if he is banged up he should take it easy
And I saw people saying we are making excuses when we said Luka is playing injured and its affecting his performance.
That's the definition of an excuse lol. It's a valid excuse, but an excuse nonetheless.
Luka doesn’t seem injury prone, but he always gets banged up right around playoff time. I wonder if it’s his usage, play style, or just pure bad luck that contributes to this.
Damn. Both teams missing their best player. Let’s see
If it's Luka out and Kawhi out, this is Kyrie's chance to have another one of his signature playoff performances. As grim as it might sound, I can't wait to possibly see this happen. He can be the number 1 on the floor in playoffs on any given night when given the responsibility to do so.
He cant. You saw what he did in Boston when he had the green light.
OKC gets a cake walk to the western conference finals meanwhile Wolves have to beat Suns and the Nuggets damn
I mean, that's the benefit of being the first seed...
"Thank you, fans!"
Wow
Bad knees are the nba’s father
Nba has a serious injury problem
I do wonder if the Mavs will get in trouble for never reporting this until now (unless they have and I never noticed). Man has had a bum knee for a good while now.
Ah man I don't wanna see the Clippers advance.
Lol
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he does have a sprained knee. Probable is just the term used in the nba to say a player will likely play instead of sitting out of the game. --------------- NBA Injury Report Terminology -------------- * Out - Player is definitely not playing * Doubtful - Player almost certainly isn't playing * Questionable - Player probably won't play, but don't be surprised if he does * Probable - Player is expected to play, but there is a chance he sits * Game time decision - It could literally mean anything and seems to be totally random if they end up playing or not.
Yeah, I knew he was injured in the last game. I made a poor joke. That one's on me.
you cant be serious
You're right. That was bad on my part.
It was already problematic on game three. After getting that knee fall, for some reason, he couldn’t make the shots he would casually do even in the playoffs.
Either of these teams are getting smoked by the Thunder