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I don't think there is a better example of box score watching than seeing people on twitter blame Luka for this game, when he had a 30 point triple double while clearly hurt/gassed and his entire team playing like ass, because "he had 8 turnovers"
When 3 of those were just objectively not his fault at all (the shoulder tackle on the fast break that should have been called, getting insta trapped after trying to bail out one of Kyri's awful possessions, and the bonehead PJ Washington play bringing the ball up), 2 were just good defensive plays (the Tatum deflection and the hustle to break up the full court lob), 1 was just the court being slippery as hell (there were like 3 travels in a row on both ends? shit was weird), and then 1 normal turnover on a drive and one legitimately awful pass in the 3rd
God I really should stay off NBA twitter/reddit during the playoffs; shit just becomes incredibly toxic with all the discourse chasing bullshit
Dallas needs a consistent 3rd scorer and not just a bunch of lob guys. It goes Luka (29), Kyrie (22), then drops off big with PJ Washington being the only double digit scorer (13) per game. The Celtics have 5 players averaging double digits.
the celtics aren’t a normal team, they are a combination of extreme luck and things no longer possible under the current cba. it’s like saying the kd warriors were something people should shoot for.
I do agree with you that I hate how negative/toxic NBA discourse becomes. Every player who doesn't win a title is labeled a fraud, even getting to Luka now who's team could not have reasonably been expected to win this game, and looks quite outmatched.
That being said, there is some criticism of Luka to be had. He was getting quite sulky, and wasn't bothering on defense and off ball a lot in that game. He's dealing with AGGRESSIVE double and triple teams, and no one else on his team is providing any real serious help, but this is the NBA Finals. Sulking, checking out, taking plays off, and conditioning problems shouldn't be cropping up for a player in contention for best in the world. His team was still in it and he was not bothering to contest three pointers, and they all gave up with 30s to go and only down 7.
But yes, there definitely needs to be more space in the discourse between "greatest player ever?" and "complete chump and fraud", for which there is basically none and players swing between those poles on a game to game basis.
I do not think Luka was sulking last night at all?
He was tired yeah, and it wasn't his best defensive game (though the Mav's scheme doesn't really call for him to close out on many 3s, they usually switch/rotate so that he is there to swipe at drives/trap/grab the rebound), but his body language or whatever was fine
Speaking of toxic, my NBA brainworms are giving me a fear of a "darkest timeline". This is basically the same stupid shit where everyone is always worried about "legacy" in real time, and how anything that happens is "bad news. . .for Obama!" type 4 dimensional chess stupidness.
Anyway, I can't help it, but I am really starting to fear a Jrue Holiday Finals MVP, just because I'm a big Dame fan and I know the grumbling of "Damian Lillard, bad actually?" stupidness will grow to a low roar if that happens. I mean, I like, Jrue, he's great, but I hate how the discourse and my own involvement in it makes me hate on him just because this outcome would have only tangential relevance to a player I like, but it will 100% affect how people talk about Dame if that happens.
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The JudgeThe Terwilliger CurvesRegistered Userregular
Hurley has officially turned down the Lakers.
Let's get nuts.
Last pint: What Fresh Beast '24 / Breakside - Untappd: TheJudge_PDX
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
There is no job security with the Lakers. If Hurley wants to make the leap to the pros he'll have options that didn't include moving across the entire country just to get fired by LeBron in 6-24 months.
LeScapegoat successfully avoided . Plus you know he wasn’t going to have power over personal and other organizational matters . All that to be paid less than Monty fucking Williams ? ( wtf Detroit we haven’t forgotten about that!)
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
It's not Monty's fault. He said no initially and then got an offer he couldn't refuse.
A bunch of medical terms saying basically he's hurt again.
Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon and is day-to-day for the NBA Finals, the team announced Tuesday.
There is no job security with the Lakers. If Hurley wants to make the leap to the pros he'll have options that didn't include moving across the entire country just to get fired by LeBron in 6-24 months.
getting fired in 2 years with a 70 million dollar payday sounds pretty good to me.
he might not ever get another chance, the ncaa to nba pipeline isn’t really a thing as ncaa coaches rarely work in the nba.
+1
The JudgeThe Terwilliger CurvesRegistered Userregular
A bunch of medical terms saying basically he's hurt again.
Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon and is day-to-day for the NBA Finals, the team announced Tuesday.
The PJ Washington screen? Yeah that shit was horrible, but I've pretty much decided that getting mad at NBA refs is like yelling at the sun for being too hot
Like at this point they are what they are, just gotta live with it
But like I can't even say the refs were in the tank for Boston, even though obviously I remember the big calls that went against the mavs more
No, the really annoying thing is that the calls are shit and the way they are shit changes all the fucking time over the course of the game
Purely vibes based nonsense; they hold the whistle for 9 minutes and then call everything for 3, and it's just so fucking infuriating when it feels like half of the game is figuring out which mode they're in and playing to take advantage of it
hate it so much, 2nd worst part of watching the NBA right now (absolute worst is Tim Hardaway Jr minutes in a finals game, but that's a whole other post)
Definite upside to Celtics getting another banner is that it makes it so the Lakers are no longer tied for the lead. Its always a silver lining if a side effect is "Lakers get fucked"
Definite upside to Celtics getting another banner is that it makes it so the Lakers are no longer tied for the lead. Its always a silver lining if a side effect is "Lakers get fucked"
Nah Boston's the most annoying city on the east coast to put that on all other sports considered
Posts
When 3 of those were just objectively not his fault at all (the shoulder tackle on the fast break that should have been called, getting insta trapped after trying to bail out one of Kyri's awful possessions, and the bonehead PJ Washington play bringing the ball up), 2 were just good defensive plays (the Tatum deflection and the hustle to break up the full court lob), 1 was just the court being slippery as hell (there were like 3 travels in a row on both ends? shit was weird), and then 1 normal turnover on a drive and one legitimately awful pass in the 3rd
God I really should stay off NBA twitter/reddit during the playoffs; shit just becomes incredibly toxic with all the discourse chasing bullshit
I do agree with you that I hate how negative/toxic NBA discourse becomes. Every player who doesn't win a title is labeled a fraud, even getting to Luka now who's team could not have reasonably been expected to win this game, and looks quite outmatched.
That being said, there is some criticism of Luka to be had. He was getting quite sulky, and wasn't bothering on defense and off ball a lot in that game. He's dealing with AGGRESSIVE double and triple teams, and no one else on his team is providing any real serious help, but this is the NBA Finals. Sulking, checking out, taking plays off, and conditioning problems shouldn't be cropping up for a player in contention for best in the world. His team was still in it and he was not bothering to contest three pointers, and they all gave up with 30s to go and only down 7.
But yes, there definitely needs to be more space in the discourse between "greatest player ever?" and "complete chump and fraud", for which there is basically none and players swing between those poles on a game to game basis.
He was tired yeah, and it wasn't his best defensive game (though the Mav's scheme doesn't really call for him to close out on many 3s, they usually switch/rotate so that he is there to swipe at drives/trap/grab the rebound), but his body language or whatever was fine
{Twitter, Everybody's doing it. }{Writing and Story Blog}
Anyway, I can't help it, but I am really starting to fear a Jrue Holiday Finals MVP, just because I'm a big Dame fan and I know the grumbling of "Damian Lillard, bad actually?" stupidness will grow to a low roar if that happens. I mean, I like, Jrue, he's great, but I hate how the discourse and my own involvement in it makes me hate on him just because this outcome would have only tangential relevance to a player I like, but it will 100% affect how people talk about Dame if that happens.
Let's get nuts.
https://x.com/TheAthletic/status/1800598334379569594
getting fired in 2 years with a 70 million dollar payday sounds pretty good to me.
he might not ever get another chance, the ncaa to nba pipeline isn’t really a thing as ncaa coaches rarely work in the nba.
Like, maybe the worst defense I can remember him playing all year
was just one too many series for them, idk.
Kyrie says hold my beer
Like yeah it was a wild sequence and I'm sure some of our guys were gassed, but come the fuck on you cannot call a timeout there
also doris is so bad i literally want to rip my ears out instead of ever listen to her ever again. she’s the worst color announcer in sports history.
Like at this point they are what they are, just gotta live with it
But like I can't even say the refs were in the tank for Boston, even though obviously I remember the big calls that went against the mavs more
No, the really annoying thing is that the calls are shit and the way they are shit changes all the fucking time over the course of the game
Purely vibes based nonsense; they hold the whistle for 9 minutes and then call everything for 3, and it's just so fucking infuriating when it feels like half of the game is figuring out which mode they're in and playing to take advantage of it
hate it so much, 2nd worst part of watching the NBA right now (absolute worst is Tim Hardaway Jr minutes in a finals game, but that's a whole other post)
{Twitter, Everybody's doing it. }{Writing and Story Blog}
Nah Boston's the most annoying city on the east coast to put that on all other sports considered
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