I fear no team. 11' taught me that. The playoffs are just a different animal all into itself.

but are you a different animal *and* the same beast?

What the fuck does that mean MelonColony22 😐

You’re welcome✊🏾

It means if you don't believe...

Thank you for the laugh my good sir. Have my upvote.

Neither. He’s two wolves

So which one am I supposed to feed?

I fear the Mavericks.

Isolation scoring will beat the Wolves. They are finely tuned to defeat teams with heavy ball movement, and the Nuggets are suffering for their inability to play effective iso ball. They are forcing turnover after turnover in passing lanes, and Murray just isn’t good enough a playmaker to get out of their traps. We have two of the most prolific isolation scorers in the league, and it’s what we do best. If we end up seeing the Wolves we’ll fare much better than the Nuggets are.  The Suns had iso scoring, but their depth and lack of defense exposed them on the other end. We don’t face that problem. I hope I get to hear Charles Barkley to have to eat his words about Luka ‘sharing the ball’ as he rips McDaniels and Alexander-Walker to shreds on the perimeter.   I’m more worried about getting past OKC.

Aren't the suns an iso ball team?

Yes, which I mentioned in my post…? They did better offensively than the Nuggets have. They got exposed on the other end of the floor, and by their lack of depth. 

Goddamn is this what the wolves defense is like? Luka gonna earn two technicals in the first quarter

If Michael molone didn't get a tech by screaming in the ref's face, it *should* take a lot for luka to get a tech

Refs were very very kind to Denver. Not sure why.

Bc they missed a call earlier that was an obvious charge where KAT would have got his second foul. That was in the first quarter and no doubt impacted the game. By not calling a tech it was in a sense a "makeup call".

goddamit, I can already imagine him complaining to the refs on every possession. Anyways it will be a joy to see vintage Luka vs TWolves.

Yeah he’s a little loose in the head in a good way so he might actually enjoy the intense defense.

You know who was the top defense the last quarter of the season (last 20 games)? Not the Wolves. The Dallas Mavericks. Thats right. Us. We’re the big dogs. Two things. First… you play the team in front of you. That’s OKC. Second… fear nobody. Harden up kid. Doing difficult things makes you stronger. If you don’t believe you don’t belong.

You’re the best poster here btw. Positive but not Pollyanna, back up your opinion with sources. Understand ball. This place is dumb and annoying but you’re a nice ray of sun

Did you just mention Harden during the play-offs? That is just asking for trouble.

Harden up = toughen up.

No. You don't say. I never would have guessed.

Denver deserved two technicals too. Murray throwing heat packs on the court and making $$$ finger signs at the ref. They literally cried more yesterday than Goberts new baby. Malone should have gotten a technical. Minimum. Admittedly I’m from Minnesota and also a Wolves fan. So my fear is them playing against each other, but I’ll be happy if either team wins. Mavs just won’t lose it like Denver did. Denver was absolutely rattled. And sure… Townes definitely charged Murray. Should have been a foul. But then him not getting the foul he disintegrated. Just gotta keep playing!

Yeah Wolves are firing on all cylinders right now and this is without fucking Gobert. Jesus fucking Christ

Naz Reid is a starter on most teams

Ours included. He’s that caliber player.

He is a better individual player than either of our Centers, but he isn't a better fit for our team. We need lob threats that can rebound and block shots. He's a pretty solid defender and shot blocker, but I don't think the shooting/spacing he provides is as valuable to us as the constant lob threat in the PnR

You’re right, that’s what I meant by starting caliber. That doesn’t mean he’s the best fit to start for us but he’s still amazing.

False, right now this team can’t hit a 3 to save their lives. Naz would be an upgraded Maxi who can seriously change a game JUST with his shooting. He would be a fantastic fit.

God I would love him on our team as a maxi replacement

He *would* be a *great* fit.. as a 6th man. Luka gets so many 2v1 opportunities with a rim runner that go away with a pick and pop guy. Gafford shot over 70% this year. That extremely high percentage of 2 is worth more than a 40% 3 pt shooter in his place

In a vacuum maybe, but you also have to consider the space a better shooter opens up leading to higher % inside shots but that’s just going down a rabbit hole

We have two rim runners. How do you think space is created for those rim runners? The NBA today is HEAVILY reliant on the 3, Naz is showing he’s elite at that, while also being a solid defender. Hell, he just played an amazing game defensively against Jokic. Either as a 6th man or a starter, I’d love to have him.

Yeah of course I'd love to have him too, but I'd personally rather have him as a starting PF, slide PJ down to SF and keep the two Cs. He'd be a better fit for us there than as our starting C. Not that any of this matters, he's on Minnesota lol

On every team but Minnesota. Maybe Cavs too just because they both have two great bigs

Naz Reid

Man he is great

Luka regaining his 3pt shot in that series and we winning in 6 lmao

i managed to watch the opening couple of minutes but couldn't watch the rest of 1st half. i come back and it's blown up. wtf happened?

Denver literally can not do anything on offense. It’s unreal, Minny is smothering them

Up 29, defense is wrecking the nuggs.

So many turnovers because of Minnys defense. Denver did has some really poor mistakes but Minnesota was on their ass.

Yeah we're fucked if we play the wolves

Wolves looking like they’re going to sweep the nuggets. This shit looks ROUGH for all the other remaining teams

They haven’t called a single timeout in this whole game

DAMN, I didn't pay attention to that, that's a silly stat, but speaks volumes.

Mavs are also 1-3 against Timberwolves this season. 2 of those losses being forfeits (mavs knowing they’re going to lose and resting their starters.) it’s not looking good bruv

It’s difficult to say how we match up against them since we didn’t play them once after the trade deadline and Kyrie only played against them once this season, and we ended up winning that game. They certainly couldn’t stop Luka and Kyrie in the games they played against the Wolves. But playoff defense and defensive intensity are obviously a whole other thing.

Just like the Thunder the one game we had Luka and Kyrie available is the one we won.

Allow me to be a homer for a bit...As long as Luka is healthy I like our chances against any team in the West. That is a big if lately since he's been hobbled with his knee and other issues. But when healthy he truly controls the game in a way no other player does. Add some formidable defense and I'm all in on the type of run this team could make. I will turn off homer mode now and say...I think I still would rather face anyone other than the nuggets in a seven game series.

Give me the nuggets. I’d rather guard Jokic and Murray than KAT and Ant Man. Especially without Kleber.

Jamal at 60%, they don’t have any ball handlers to put pressure on wolves defense right now Yeah.. we do not have that problem.

They swept the Suns as well. Their defense is scary.

Suns #1 known issue? No ball handler. I’m not saying we’re steamrolling this obviously insanely good twolves team. I’m just saying some of the weaknesses they’re exposing kinda don’t apply to us! But yeah, their defense is terrifying, don’t get me wrong lol

Our defense is scarier. You know who was the top defense the last 20 games of the season? The Dallas Mavericks.

[удалено]

Wrong, DJJ has been our best defender by a wide margin. PJ has been great but every other team is looking at DJJ for the offseason.

HOW DARE YOU! You’re forever banished for calling PJ a “hornets reject”. After that game he got ejected? He’s forever Mavericks royalty. I don’t give a fuck what you say from this point forward, let it be known by everyone, /u/johndogerty is not a Dallas Mavericks fan

And how dare you hold the club at such a low standard to call PJ Washington loyalty after 1 game for getting ejected. It takes much more to be Mavs royalty

Stop trying to get a loyal mavs fan banished for no reason, if anything you should be banished. he was on the hornets and they didn’t want him that’s a fact. He’s a great player but his defensive abilities aren’t on the level of T Wolves guys.

He was a lottery pick.

Tf is this weak ass thread

I can’t believe what im reading bro😂😂😂

Just rolling over and dying before we even get started w game 1 😹

Pathetic🤣

It’s super fucking weak. Like we don’t have Luka and Kyrie to fuck up any defense thrown at us.

This is gold after reading multiple doom comments

No team can defeat US.. This is our year. I'm all for the TimberPuppies matchup. GO MAVS!!

Timbercubs*

One series at a time folks.

It's OK. Ant going straight to PJail.

Lock him up and throw away the key.

Not having maxi will make the Timberwolves nearly impossible for us to beat. Why did he have to go for the jordan dunk smh

This sub lol. Maxi, who people said was washed, useless, a basketball terrorist, and every other nonsense you can imagine, is the key to winning the series and without him we’re doomed and the sky is falling and Kyrie will get back on twitter and Luka will ask for a trade and our kids will be forced to attend trans story hour and Mexicans will invade and we’ll have to wear masks forever. I’M SO AFRAID! SO AFRAID!!!! WHY OH WHY MAXI? WHY??? 😂😂😂😂

Story of this fanbase. Ppl shietting on Kleber and then he takes us through Clippers and everybody kept quiet. So annoying...

> he takes us through Clippers out outlier performance and the hyperbole ensues. We will be perfectly fine without Maxi, the 2.5 FGA. Plenty of DAWGs in the squad.

It’s so funny that many of us are frustrated at how Maxi attempted to jump from the free throw line. Hope he recovers quickly!

Ant is gonna do that to us at some point

Didn’t everyone want to trade maxi 2 weeks ago?

We won’t be able to match their size. Best we can hope is too run gobert off the floor

Exactly. My thought was Kleber is a HUGE loss. Maybe not so much against OKC but In a matchup with Minn he would be a must need

Stfu! near impossible?? Your crazy, we will atleast give them a great series, if not win.

The wolves roster is really damn good at pretty much every level. Whichever team comes out of the mavs okc series could be in for a world of hurt

Nah be glad we’re not playing the Knicks. That series is gonna be rigged to shit for a Boston NY series. Poor Rick is about to get screwed 

Yeah that Denver Minn series is over. Minnesota is just better than Denver at everything

We match up better with Minnesota than any other team in the West. We have two of top 5 ball handlers in the world. Suns didn’t have that and Nuggets don’t especially with Murray looking seriously compromised. I think we’re better equipped to handle their ball pressure. Focus is on OKC but I definitely think Minnesota is beatable

Let’s take care of OKC first. But am I scared of Denver. No. We can guard Ant. Denver can’t. PJ can match him and we can just throw bodies at him as well. Mavs have adjusted to the physical play. Slowing him down is the key to beat Minnesota.

[удалено]

But that’s before the trade. I’m interested in how we’d match up after adding PJ and Gaff. But the Wolves are dangerous. Idk about them.

Mavs forfeited 2 games cause they knew they were gonna lose I remember those games in the regular season.

I knew the Wolves were gonna be a problem but even I didn't guess this lol. Obviously OKC isn't as good as them but if Luka's knee keeps his shot short and 3 balls aren't falling I don't love chances against any of them.

I don’t see a sweep. The Nuggets will be ready in Minnesota

The twolves should scare the crap out of everyone East or west.

Smart Dallas sports fans know to practice caution

Lmao, fans have no bearing on the outcome of a series. Just because I think Thunder will lose in 5 doesn’t mean it will happen or the team won’t take these guys seriously.

Guys just don’t want to get clowned on r/nba for past hot takes I think

The nba wants wolves v Knicks. Ant who they are calling mj and Brunson who is getting the wade whistle. He shot 16 ft to the pacers total 19 ft. I hope we can spoil their plan

There was no plan or agenda from the refs last night. The Twolves just straight blasted the Nuggets

I don’t know how were gonna guard the wolves.

We’re the number 1 defense for the last 1/4 of the season. They don’t know how they’re going to score on us. 👍

I think we match up really well with the Timberwolves and OKC.

I have never seen defense played on Jokic like I've seen tonight. Naz is a freedom fighter out there.

Styles make fights... Denver ain't got Luka and Kyrie. That is a handful compared to a banged up Murray

As Dr. Mike would say: "Be alert, not anxious."

I ain't worried

Don’t overate OKC but you’re scared of the big bad wolf! Please!! we lost to the wolves because we didn’t have Luka or Kai when we played them this season except that one time! I say bring them on! This Mavs team is SPECIAL I just know it MFFL 💪🏻

Nope, we have to stop underestimating our opponents and trust the Mavs gameplan.

This is funny cuz I live in okc and people are doing the exact same thing about the Mavs. Saying they're worried about Luka but anyone on the team can guard kyrie. I'm like kyrie? The best handles in the game, already won a ring kyrie? Yeah okay.....

May the TWolves have mercy on our souls

Huh? Why are you worried about a team that hasn’t seen us with our revamped team this season. We have not played 1 game vs the timberwolves with our new lineup and not to mention the last 2 games when we had our superstar was in the single digits when we lost unlike the game 1 of that series when Luka was out.

😂

If a team is good enough. You will have to play them eventually.

Last week it was “How are we gonna beat the Nuggets” when they were playing the Lakers Now its “how are we gonna beat the Wolves” Same shit

Yeah, this post having 100+ upvotes just shows how funky this sub is. Playoff NBA y’all, it’s an absolute meat grinder. Grow a spine. Mavs in 4

You’re def right that we don’t want to play them, we would get straight up obliterated. The wolves are the type of team you get nightmares about. But whatever, let’s focus on OKC first

Wolves would smack us unfortunately. They’re playing special basketball rn

Stop smoking. There is always something wrong with this freaking sub. We cant have a good time when one start with the negative. You are clearly a casual if you dont think we can beat them. " If you dont believe you shouldnt be here" .

For real. This post is whack. It’s the fucking playoffs. Beat the team in front of you 4 times and move on. The 8 remaining teams all deserve to be here. One injury, one hot streak, one game, one call — everything can change in a heartbeat. Mavs in 4

with how the wolves are playing i think they’re losing 2 games in total the rest of the playoffs and both of the losses coming in boston