2023-24 NBA Season

[OttoinGrotto]

He could also do both!

Luka is definitely not in incredible (cosmetic at least), but either is Jokic and he's pretty good also.
You can always play better, but he's averaging 29/10/9 in these playoffs and he just eviscerated the #1 defense in the league in the last series.

Dallas did a good job at the deadline salvaging things, I will say that. I think they can get to the full mid level this offseason, which they probably need to bring Derrick Jones back. After the draft, they would be able to trade two firsts plus swaps as well, so I think they can probably be pretty active.

I know but a binary choice is more fun.

 

[Eric15]

I'm going to assume Boston gets 2 more wins out of 6 chances.

This year's Best of 8 Finals series is highly unorthodox.

 

[MikeSU02]

I'm going to assume Boston gets 2 more wins out of 6 chances.

Luka's career from here goes one of two ways. The path of least resistance is he blames the Dallas franchise for not putting a championship caliber roster together around him, and he casts his eyes to other places in the NBA.

Or, this is the wake up call that if he wants to win at the NBA level being a chubby neck beard ain't it, he gets in shape, and kicks the NBA right in the nuts for the next 5-10 years.

I'm hoping for the latter.

You cannot possibly be talking about Luka after this game. He's arguably the best player in the world right now.

Luka will continue to be dominant. Heck, I won't even write off this series just yet because I still have that PHX series from a few years ago in mind. But people nitpicking Luka at this point are insane. He dragged that sorry team with Dwight Powell starting to the WCF a few years ago.

Literally every superstar at his level gets to a point where chips are dependent on the rest of the team and the team he is playing. He is dealing with three injuries concurrently. He beat three fifty win teams to get here. There is no question he was the MVP of each of those series.

Kyrie doesn't no show or any of the other guys hit their wide open threes that Luka creates for them and they win this game.

There is nothing to show that a guy who has won ROY, has made five consecutive first team all nbas, been to 2x WCF and 1x Finals appearance is not doing everything he can to dominate.

He has a player option in '26-'27 and it should be the most coveted potential free agency if Dallas doesn't do better. The 2011 title and drafting Luka covered a lot of mistakes by Dallas in between. Both from a personnel situation and from an organization situation. Granted, I'd be surprised if Luka doesn't sign an extension that would be paying him like $70+ million per year, but he'll have leverage.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

This year's Best of 8 Finals series is highly unorthodox.

Well, you know how Silver do.

 

[Eric15]

Well, you know how Silver do.

I was 99% sure you were going to say "You're a Best of 8 series."

 

[OttoinGrotto]

You cannot possibly be talking about Luka after this game. He's arguably the best player in the world right now.

Luka will continue to be dominant. Heck, I won't even write off this series just yet because I still have that PHX series from a few years ago in mind. But people nitpicking Luka at this point are insane. He dragged that sorry team with Dwight Powell starting to the WCF a few years ago.

Literally every superstar at his level gets to a point where chips are dependent on the rest of the team and the team he is playing. He is dealing with three injuries concurrently. He beat three fifty win teams to get here. There is no question he was the MVP of each of those series.

Kyrie doesn't no show or any of the other guys hit their wide open threes that Luka creates for them and they win this game.

There is nothing to show that a guy who has won ROY, has made five consecutive first team all nbas, been to 2x WCF and 1x Finals appearance is not doing everything he can to dominate.

He has a player option in '26-'27 and it should be the most coveted potential free agency if Dallas doesn't do better. The 2011 title and drafting Luka covered a lot of mistakes by Dallas in between. Both from a personnel situation and from an organization situation. Granted, I'd be surprised if Luka doesn't sign an extension that would be paying him like $70+ million per year, but he'll have leverage.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I was 99% sure you were going to say "You're a Best of 8 series."

Dah missed opportunity.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

He’s baaaack.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

He could also do both!

Luka is definitely not in incredible (cosmetic at least), but either is Jokic and he's pretty good also.
You can always play better, but he's averaging 29/10/9 in these playoffs and he just eviscerated the #1 defense in the league in the last series.

Dallas did a good job at the deadline salvaging things, I will say that. I think they can get to the full mid level this offseason, which they probably need to bring Derrick Jones back. After the draft, they would be able to trade two firsts plus swaps as well, so I think they can probably be pretty active.

Also Jokic did go through this.

Nikola Jokic Is Gone. Meet Nikola Joked.

After starting the season out of shape, the Denver Nuggets’ All-Star big lug has spent the NBA hiatus glowing up

www.theringer.com

 

[Knicks411]

Also Jokic did go through this.

Nikola Jokic Is Gone. Meet Nikola Joked.

After starting the season out of shape, the Denver Nuggets’ All-Star big lug has spent the NBA hiatus glowing up

www.theringer.com

Everything from around covid feels so long ago, I barely remember it.

I feel like Jokic is fatter now than in some of those pics. But anyway, like I said, you can basically always get in better shape so I take the general point.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I'm going to assume Boston gets 2 more wins out of 6 chances.

Luka's career from here goes one of two ways. The path of least resistance is he blames the Dallas franchise for not putting a championship caliber roster together around him, and he casts his eyes to other places in the NBA.

Or, this is the wake up call that if he wants to win at the NBA level being a chubby neck beard ain't it, he gets in shape, and kicks the NBA right in the nuts for the next 5-10 years.

I'm hoping for the latter.

You always root for the meaty fellows.

 

[NashvilleOrange]

Always been somewhat of a Celtics hater but this laundry list of reasons has made it pretty easy to cheer for them:
1. Kyrie Irving is an antisemitic schmuck.
2. Luka is the biggest whiner in the entire association.
3. Dallas is in Texas.
4. Celtics win will move them ahead of the Lakers in all time titles.
5. The Mavs owner has pledged 9 figures this upcoming election to help Tr*mp.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Kyrie has been bad. He needs to be better for Dallas to have any shot.

 

[Day2]

You cannot possibly be talking about Luka after this game. He's arguably the best player in the world right now.

Luka will continue to be dominant. Heck, I won't even write off this series just yet because I still have that PHX series from a few years ago in mind. But people nitpicking Luka at this point are insane. He dragged that sorry team with Dwight Powell starting to the WCF a few years ago.

Literally every superstar at his level gets to a point where chips are dependent on the rest of the team and the team he is playing. He is dealing with three injuries concurrently. He beat three fifty win teams to get here. There is no question he was the MVP of each of those series.

Kyrie doesn't no show or any of the other guys hit their wide open threes that Luka creates for them and they win this game.

There is nothing to show that a guy who has won ROY, has made five consecutive first team all nbas, been to 2x WCF and 1x Finals appearance is not doing everything he can to dominate.

He has a player option in '26-'27 and it should be the most coveted potential free agency if Dallas doesn't do better. The 2011 title and drafting Luka covered a lot of mistakes by Dallas in between. Both from a personnel situation and from an organization situation. Granted, I'd be surprised if Luka doesn't sign an extension that would be paying him like $70+ million per year, but he'll have leverage.

This series is over. Doncic has a big mouth and a terrible attitude. His “injuries” are just an excuse for when the Mavs fall behind in a series.

 

[Eric15]

Sometimes I get James Harden vibes from Luka. Meaning, they’re one of the most talented offensive players in the history of the game, but they simply have the ball in their hands too much and sometimes that ball dominance impedes the fluency of their teams offense.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Always been somewhat of a Celtics hater but this laundry list of reasons has made it pretty easy to cheer for them:
1. Kyrie Irving is an antisemitic schmuck.
2. Luka is the biggest whiner in the entire association.
3. Dallas is in Texas.
4. Celtics win will move them ahead of the Lakers in all time titles.
5. The Mavs owner has pledged 9 figures this upcoming election to help Tr*mp.

No concerns that free agents stay away from Boston because of the racism of its fans? Also, LBJ is the biggest whiner.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Sometimes I get James Harden vibes from Luka. Meaning, they’re one of the most talented offensive players in the history of the game, but they simply have the ball in their hands too much and sometimes that ball dominance impedes the fluency of their teams offense.

Also, Harden... not known for his conditioning.

 

[jncuse]

Sometimes I get James Harden vibes from Luka. Meaning, they’re one of the most talented offensive players in the history of the game, but they simply have the ball in their hands too much and sometimes that ball dominance impedes the fluency of their teams offense.

But that's the modern game. So much space due to the floor being spaced out... stars hold the ball a lot because they can find shots easier than the past (due to spacing and great skill) It becomes a constant cat and mouse game of adjustments... star dominates the ball, defense then pays more attention to him if they can, then they start kicking out the ball more. If the team is hitting their outside shots, then the defence adjust back. Its the constant back and forth.

 

[Knicks411]

I wish we had tracking stats from back in the day cause I feel like Jordan had the ball in his hands a lot. LeBron too

 

[jncuse]

I wish we had tracking stats from back in the day cause I feel like Jordan had the ball in his hands a lot. LeBron too

I guess the closest we have is usage rates, and of course that is not a direct correlation because it doesn't necessarily measure possession time.

And usage rates amongst the top players are a fair bit higher now than they have historically been. I attribute it to spacing which allows a top player to shine more easily.

Usage rates for each of the last 10 years, based on ranks.
#1, #5, #10, #20
2024 - 36.0, 32.3, 30.8, 29.3
2014 - 33.0, 29.8, 28.3, 26.9
2004 - 35.3, 30.2, 28.5, 26,5
1994 - 32.0, 29.0, 27.1, 25.5

Add tempo increases, efficiency increases, and usage increases and we are getting gaudier gross stats than ever.

 

[djcon57]

Sometimes I get James Harden vibes from Luka. Meaning, they’re one of the most talented offensive players in the history of the game, but they simply have the ball in their hands too much and sometimes that ball dominance impedes the fluency of their teams offense.

I think they are pretty similar, but I feel like the dunking on Luka is confusing to me in regards to stuff like shting on his defense and suggesting he's impeding offense which I've seen a bunch of spots, not just your post here.

He's in the NBA finals (Harden never was as #1 option) and he's the #1 reason why they are there. That should count for something. Now can he and should he improve? Absolutely. He's 25.

 

[Knicks411]

I guess the closest we have is usage rates, and of course that is not a direct correlation because it doesn't necessarily measure possession time.

And usage rates amongst the top players are a fair bit higher now than they have historically been. I attribute it to spacing which allows a top player to shine more easily.

Usage rates for each of the last 10 years, based on ranks.
#1, #5, #10, #20
2024 - 36.0, 32.3, 30.8, 29.3
2014 - 33.0, 29.8, 28.3, 26.9
2004 - 35.3, 30.2, 28.5, 26,5
1994 - 32.0, 29.0, 27.1, 25.5

Add tempo increases, efficiency increases, and usage increases and we are getting gaudier gross stats than ever.

Yeah for sure the game is more heliocentric (stealing that from Seth partnow). Who is the 35.3 from 2004? Going to guess t-Mac. That’s way ahead of anyone else from that era.

Jordan had a 38.3 early in his career and in the 33-34 range in the title years. In the playoffs that jumped to more like 38. Luka is down from 40 the last few years in the playoffs to 32 this season.

 

[jncuse]

Yeah for sure the game is more heliocentric (stealing that from Seth partnow). Who is the 35.3 from 2004? Going to guess t-Mac. That’s way ahead of anyone else from that era.

Jordan had a 38.3 early in his career and in the 33-34 range in the title years. In the playoffs that jumped to more like 38. Luka is down from 40 the last few years in the playoffs to 32 this season.

Iverson in 2004.

 

[NashvilleOrange]

No concerns that free agents stay away from Boston because of the racism of its fans? Also, LBJ is the biggest whiner.

Fair concerns for sure. I notice Luka staying back and arguing with the refs more frequently than LBJ. I do think LBJ is more entitled but both of them have an excuse in that department each being anointed the next legend by the age of 16.

 

[cuseattle]