NBA ***2024 NBA Thread - Let The Games Begin***

[INeedARemedy]

Lmao. Then you see people making excuses for his awful defense because he has to do everything. Then those same people shit on 39 year old LeGoat for missing a defensive assignment once.

Tatum plays monster defense, rebounds, and is somehow the team's point guard in this weird way. Plus chucking bricks, that must be exhausting. And yet nobody gives him any slack for the bricks. I don't wanna hear shit about Luka, he needs to be better.

 

[Corona]

Lucuck needs to hit up LeJuices lab

 

[Revolver]

Lucuck needs to hit up LeJuices lab

He will when he comes to my Lakes.

 

[Sweater of AV]

 

[INeedARemedy]

Are you serious? A reporter just asked him how it felt to be hunted on defense and he blamed the refs.

and just more ref blaming. Get the fuck outa here with this weak shit.

 

[Jonathan Utah]

Are you serious? A reporter just asked him how it felt to be hunted on defense and he blamed the refs.

and just more ref blaming. Get the fuck outa here with this weak shit.

I’m listening to the GOAT song whilst reading this.

 

[wildchild88]

Luka sucked on defense again, but the Celtics went extremely hot from 3 in that game, was unfair.. that's what won it in the end.

 

[wildchild88]

Are you serious? A reporter just asked him how it felt to be hunted on defense and he blamed the refs.

and just more ref blaming. Get the fuck outa here with this weak shit.

You won, why u sooking about Luka? be happy.

 

[rj144]

Luka sucked on defense again, but the Celtics went extremely hot from 3 in that game, was unfair.. that's what won it in the end.

They shot 37%. Not really extremely hot.

 

[INeedARemedy]

You won, why u sooking about Luka? be happy.

I consistently expect the worst and thus wouldn't be surprised if it went 7 games. But beyond that i see a guy with once-in-a-lifetime talent that I'd rather see be legitimately great and not end up like Harden, so the dumb shit like that pisses me off.

 

[MM808]

I consistently expect the worst and thus wouldn't be surprised if it went 7 games. But beyond that i see a guy with once-in-a-lifetime talent that I'd rather see be legitimately great and not end up like Harden, so the dumb shit like that pisses me off.

All of the above can be true though. Refs were shit missing a ton of foul calls on him, but he also deserves the blame for his shit defense. They hunted him out all game and he hurt the Mavs, period. It isn’t a good look he is blaming the refs though, they weren’t the problem tonight and him still bitching about them during and postgame shows he still hasn’t matured in that sense. In fact it’s putting an even bigger target on his back where the refs won’t give him any benefit of the doubt in the future.

Hopefully he takes this finals series and learns from it. Probably needed a wake up call like this

 

[wildchild88]

I consistently expect the worst and thus wouldn't be surprised if it went 7 games. But beyond that i see a guy with once-in-a-lifetime talent that I'd rather see be legitimately great and not end up like Harden, so the dumb shit like that pisses me off.

He also said "I need to be better" (on defense).. he's taken accountability for all these losses..

It's hard being the number one offensive option, and then having to be the primary defender on nearly every play (because they're hunting you).

That said, Luka needs to work on his body and defensive tactics because he won't win like this.

 

[Croaker]

That's what happens when you only *really* care about one side of the ball. I used to love watching this guy but holy shit i cannot stand him now. I know he can score 60pts and win the next 4 himself but man his shit just feels fuckin fake. Like when all the fanciness fades and you see behind the curtain, you see a guy that's out of shape, confused on defense, and not really About It enough to maximize his god-tier potential.

If they do end up losing this series, i hope it's a wake-up call, cuz it's not the refs that turned him into a traffic cone.

No

This is what happens when the offensive load is solely on you and add in the fact he's injured

I feel like people don't understand how hard it is to be that kind of offensive engine and how it takes a toll

 

[MM808]

Another huge issue is the players in the rotation right now. Kleber is a huge liability offensively too scared to shoot or driving and doing stupid things like turning it over or getting blocked at the rim. He is mainly in there for his defense but he has also been horrible in that aspect also. Go small ball at the 4 since the Celtics play 4 guards majority of the game.

Hardaway is another guy who should be not be getting any playing time. For him to be getting 20 minutes in this game and doing absolutely nothing positive is a joke. He literally hasn’t scored since may 18th and is getting this much run for his SCORING smh. Exum/Hardy should be getting all of his minutes, at least they wouldn’t be putting up zero points every game. They literally had 2 and 3 minutes played tonight individually. Exum has a huge dunk on Tatum and is rewarded by being immediately benched for the rest of the game when he has been a solid guard defender and closer. Make it make sense.

Celtics are just the better overall team but Kidd is getting outcoached period. Don’t forget he killed the momentum by calling a needless timeout when the mavs were on their 22-2 run or whatever it was. After that point they couldn’t score and Luka fouls out.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

The goal isn't just to take advantage of Luka's average defense, it's to tire him out so he's less effective on both ends. It's why it's so bloody hard to win a chip in the NBA when everything is on one person's shoulders.

Again, im gonna be annoying when I turn this into a Nuggets comparison, but Warriors had same strategy on Jokic in that year that Murray and MPJ were out in the playoffs. Jokic was the best guy on the court, but the next six best players were all on Golden State. At least Luka has Kyrie, Jokic was stuck with Compazzo and Rivers in his back court. Of course the Warriors relentlessly went after Jokic to make him work and take their chances with having his g-league teammates having to beat them.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

No

This is what happens when the offensive load is solely on you and add in the fact he's injured

I feel like people don't understand how hard it is to be that kind of offensive engine and how it takes a toll

Truth.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Jokic was the best guy on the court, but the next six best players were all on Golden State. At least Luka has Kyrie, Jokic was stuck with Compazzo and Rivers in his back court.

The homerism in this thread is absolutely legendary.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Another huge issue is the players in the rotation right now. Kleber is a huge liability offensively too scared to shoot or driving and doing stupid things like turning it over or getting blocked at the rim. He is mainly in there for his defense but he has also been horrible in that aspect also. Go small ball at the 4 since the Celtics play 4 guards majority of the game.

Hardaway is another guy who should be not be getting any playing time. For him to be getting 20 minutes in this game and doing absolutely nothing positive is a joke. He literally hasn’t scored since may 18th and is getting this much run for his SCORING smh. Exum/Hardy should be getting all of his minutes, at least they wouldn’t be putting up zero points every game. They literally had 2 and 3 minutes played tonight individually. Exum has a huge dunk on Tatum and is rewarded by being immediately benched for the rest of the game when he has been a solid guard defender and closer. Make it make sense.

Celtics are just the better overall team but Kidd is getting outcoached period. Don’t forget he killed the momentum by calling a needless timeout when the mavs were on their 22-2 run or whatever it was. After that point they couldn’t score and Luka fouls out.

The 22 to 2 run was crazy. Boston really let them back in the game - they looked apathetic. Which is also scary, they haven't been pushed into ANY serious adversity the whole playoffs.

 

[MM808]

The 22 to 2 run was crazy. Boston really let them back in the game - they looked apathetic. Which is also scary, they haven't been pushed into ANY serious adversity the whole playoffs.

If only they didn’t decide to play that way when they’re down big instead of majority of the game lol. But Kidd calling that timeout was so idiotic

 

[senri]

Mr. Doncic is on the precipice of being penetrated by the masses, his juices will simply be exquisite when he gapes. Let us get comfortable in such joyous occasion...