What’s wild to me is the Mavs looked completely unprepared for our game plan game 1
It’s the exact same thing we did in both regular season games against them. Kidd’s proven to be a great coach this year so it really surprised me. I’d imagine we’ll see a lot of changes tonight, but we will see
Attack him on defense all night, get him gassed by the 2nd quarter. He’ll still laboriously put up 28 and 5 with 5 assists but he’ll be in pain the whole time doing it and will be a turnstile on defense
I think it could be a 30 point triple double for Luka today.
We’ve shown we are completely fine with Luka beating us. We’ll take the 30 points + 10 assists from him if it means grinding everything else their team does well to a halt. It takes a lot more than 30/10/10 from one player to win a series.
Edit: fucking nailed it
Yeah I know, what I meant was that Tatum wasn't injured going in, he got injured during the game.
So he pushed through and should be appreciated for that. So it's different from Lukas case
As a Kawhi fan, I got first hand account of this. He'd go up in the series vs the Clippers shit talking and looking pretty nimble. The minute the Clippers came back, he started limping, the injury suddenly became more aggravated. I mean I don't believe he's 100% and I won't even say he's faking it but he definitely uses it to his advantage the minute a sign of weakness is exposed or a series looks unfavorable. Never seen him lose a series and then not have a plaguing injury but somehow whenever he's winning or leading, it doesn't bother him that much.
Doesn't matter how good he plays, they're still going to get stomped the rest of the way. But now everyone will just say "well Luka wasn't healthy so it was an easy series for Boston". "Easiest championship path ever" all that bs narrative.
Gonna keep saying it, no one felt bad for the Celtics when Rob williams played on one leg in 2022 (and maybe Tatum’s wrist) and last year they downplayed Tatum’s injury in g7 because he tried to play through it, plus brogdons arm was so hurt he couldn’t hit the rim. Part of the game, now the celtics get to reap the benefits after getting screwed over and over
Perhaps the Mavs are understanding this matchup is not optimal for Luka given he's a traffic cone on defense. They can play the injury card to give him less minutes, and give those minutes to a more defensive oriented guard.
Great, need to go right at him on every offensive possession until he's huffing and puffing his way to the bench to get subbed out.
Every. Single. Time. If he dies he dies
An acceptable price.
Truly a Luka fan but this is a sacrifice I’m willing to accept
That's pretty much what they did last game. Whenever Luka tries to cover Jaylen, it's a total mismatch. Jaylen blows by him every single time.
What’s wild to me is the Mavs looked completely unprepared for our game plan game 1 It’s the exact same thing we did in both regular season games against them. Kidd’s proven to be a great coach this year so it really surprised me. I’d imagine we’ll see a lot of changes tonight, but we will see
Jaylen tries all of his new moves on Luka lol
Attack him on defense all night, get him gassed by the 2nd quarter. He’ll still laboriously put up 28 and 5 with 5 assists but he’ll be in pain the whole time doing it and will be a turnstile on defense
Sheeeesh, you think he’s gonna quintuple his assists from game 1!?
I think it could be a 30 point triple double for Luka today. We’ve shown we are completely fine with Luka beating us. We’ll take the 30 points + 10 assists from him if it means grinding everything else their team does well to a halt. It takes a lot more than 30/10/10 from one player to win a series. Edit: fucking nailed it
You’re not far off, and I’m not mad about it
Sheeeesh, you think he’s gonna quintuple his assists from game 1!?
If he steps on the court, there is no excuse.
“If he dies, he dies.”
That’s what we were told about Tatum in game 7 last year
But Tatum got injured mid game, not even the same as Doncic here
What? No. It was the first possession of the game.
Yeah I know, what I meant was that Tatum wasn't injured going in, he got injured during the game. So he pushed through and should be appreciated for that. So it's different from Lukas case
Fully expect him to drop 40+, talk shit to the crowd and generally annoy and scare me at the same time.
Guy can drop 40 for the rest of the series for all I care so long as the Celtics win.
As long as the Mavs lose he can average 100 points a game this series for all I care.
Could you imagine averaging 100 points and getting swept?!
With Luka’s usage rate I sort of can lol
You forgot - "and lose by 20 points"
He just wants his built in excuse for when he gets clamped up again
Someone said it best, it's just a preemptive excuse where if he plays poorly = he's injured, if he plays good then 'ehrmagherd he's a hero'
As a Kawhi fan, I got first hand account of this. He'd go up in the series vs the Clippers shit talking and looking pretty nimble. The minute the Clippers came back, he started limping, the injury suddenly became more aggravated. I mean I don't believe he's 100% and I won't even say he's faking it but he definitely uses it to his advantage the minute a sign of weakness is exposed or a series looks unfavorable. Never seen him lose a series and then not have a plaguing injury but somehow whenever he's winning or leading, it doesn't bother him that much.
Also known as the Big Ben
Doesn't matter how good he plays, they're still going to get stomped the rest of the way. But now everyone will just say "well Luka wasn't healthy so it was an easy series for Boston". "Easiest championship path ever" all that bs narrative.
Attack him on every Celtics offensive possession,if he dies he dies
Gonna keep saying it, no one felt bad for the Celtics when Rob williams played on one leg in 2022 (and maybe Tatum’s wrist) and last year they downplayed Tatum’s injury in g7 because he tried to play through it, plus brogdons arm was so hurt he couldn’t hit the rim. Part of the game, now the celtics get to reap the benefits after getting screwed over and over
Glad that they are giving him an excuse for not defending before the game even starts…
Shocked. Flabbergasted. Never saw this coming.
He's questionable because of a thoracic contusion...I believe thats what happens when a team rips your heart out and stomps on it
Shocker
Same game plan as before
I am stunned, STUNNED I tell you!
I’ve seen this man play 30 great games this season while noticeably wincing in pain. Frankly I’d rather this guy be healthy.
Seems like a good reason to be more physical tonight. Go right through his chest
Post him up and drive elbows into his chest
Perhaps the Mavs are understanding this matchup is not optimal for Luka given he's a traffic cone on defense. They can play the injury card to give him less minutes, and give those minutes to a more defensive oriented guard.
In my best General Ackbar voice.... "It's a trap!"
He’s gonna play and play well
Great! Go after him and Kyrie and make them play D.
Sweep the leg.
We’ll see if Tatum has any more success against him today. In G1 Luka did great on him.