Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 98. (Read 914926 times)

Yeah, even if Klay isn't in his prime anymore and didn't perform well last season, others are saying he is already done. Yeah, maybe, but hey, they can't just leave Klay wide open. Still a good addition to the Mavs lineup, I believe, especially on offense. Even more so now that things have ended like that between him and the Warriors. His pride might boost his confidence back, showing them that he is still worth it and can bounce back.

Back injury, yes.

I was following that kid when he started his career in the NBA but sadly that back problem had a big impact on his performance. I even remembered one game where he was forcing it but he played like he was laboring and I could see in his face that it really hurt bad but the game was too important for him.
He has a lot of heart for the game but he cannot force it or else his career will be ruined.
After he took some rest, he played differently. More like a Klay Thompson after the injury too. Mental effects. This is what we don't see in reports because they always just tell about the physical condition but not the mental ones.
It's a surprise that they won a championship with that and Murray just came back from an injury too. I guess that year was really for them.

Yes, I will agree that this guy could play better if not for that injury. PG13? Maybe. Or a sharpshooter type.

The Dallas Mavericks looks really scary to be honest especially with the addition of Klay Thompson now, but they might have some lapses in defense though with losing Derrick Jones Jr which means Klay Thompson would have to do some defensive duties, however my major concern is Luka Doncic, I think he does inhibit the performance of some his teammates with being on the ball 95% of the time, perhaps there should some rotation and him playing a bit more off the ball to help improve the teams chemistry a bit more, just like like Curry play off the ball with Green a lot, it would unlock even better opportunities for Doncic, it might reduce his numbers a bit, but it will be at the benefit of the team because just like in the finals against Celtics, after the Celtics cut out Luka Doncic passes to his teammates, they ran out of options and needed Luka do the scoring alone, while the Celtics were fine with him scoring 100 points by himself the limited connection to his teammates but if the teammates were able to play more off another facilitator besides Doncic, they might have had stood better chance. With like the Celtics asides Jaylen Brown and 70% of the players on the court are pretty good ball handler, unlike with the Mavs where you players like Tim Hardaway Jr, Derrick Jones and PJ probably not being to touch the ball at all unless they needed to catch and just shoot, or grab a board.

^^ Yeah and that's what we love about Luka, he trash talks but he can back it up with his game specially close out games. Just like what they did against the Wolves, before that series, I think the Wolves is the favorite on the strength of Edwards, Towns and Gobert.

But Luka has been on the same spot, and he knows how to respond with this kind of pressure. I do agree, it will still be the same teams, but I will put OKC as the likely dark horse again for this year. SGA will lead this team again and most likely in the top 3.

Yeah experience probably had a lot to do with it.  Closing out series after series takes some stamina mentally as well.  I expect Dallas, minn, okc and Denver during it out all year.  The rest of the teams just can't compete.  If I had to give honorable mention it might be sacramento but either sabonis or fox needs to take it to all nba level to get them in with that other tier.  Just can't wait to watch some meaningful nba again.

Fair enough, I guess we can say that Minnesota doesn't have that experience last season, after a long time, this is the closest that they get and with Edwards athleticism still not enough to overcome Dallas. Luka has been in this situation before, and so very familiar on how to play and close out games. But with the the Wolves exposure to this kind of situation, they could really improved this year. For the Center of Dallas, they are underrated, but the good thing is that Lively is still very young and a lot of leg room to improved as well. And getting Gafford and Washington in the trade deadline really help the chances of Dallas last season to go to the finals. As for Klay, let's see, he might have this chip on his shoulder and with that he could be motivated this season.

I think that's exactly why they got klay.  Luka and especially kyrie like to operate in the 2 point area and this will open it up a little.  Now klay needs to make them pay but if he is there as a spot up shooter I don't think he will have any issue succeeding in that role.  The problem will be on the defensive side.  But no team is solid all the way round.  It's about covering as much holes as you can.

This is true, even if Klay doesn't shoot that well, it's a psychological thing where other teams just can't leave him wide open, so it's another player they need to defend, and Luka could find more free room to play, that's all that matters.

Luka is just a very very talented player, he really does super well and I believe that he is going to be MVP soon enough, not saying it will be this season (which it could be) but he is going for that triple double season and may achieve that soon and could take his team to high seeds, in which case he might be given the MVP as well.

This is going to be a tough season for them because expectations are super high, just because they got to finals doesn't mean they will do it again and again, however that is the expectation. If you reach the finals once, people expect you to build the team better and go there again which is hard to achieve, took Celtics so many years but Dallas looks like they are on the right path at least.

I think the PG addition won't move the needle.  He is 34 and the last 4 years has been in and out of the lineup with perennial injuries.  Those things don't magically get better as you get into your late 30s in the NBA.  Same with embid.  That body has some miles on it amd think he has one or 2 more years before we start to see his game deteriorate.  The real x factor is maxey.  I bet by the end of next year he is gonna be the one that defenses have to worry about.  Philly will love amd die based on how much maxey steps up

Ya, it has a lot to do with the type of injury. PG13 did suffer that horrific leg break in the Olympics a few years back but 1) he never was as good as he was pre-injury, & 2) his injury while looking absolutely horrific, was just a broken bone and those tend to heal well and not hinder a player beyond getting them out of shape and out of practice. MPJ’s injury could have been career ending.

There’s always a talk like this but remember that even the players that are using as reference for what if skills use to suffer some injuries too yet they can still perform better. Injury is part of the players career so this is one thing be always look forward to avoid in every game if they want to become great player.

Some players use their injury as an excuse with their bad game telling the same exact words on the post that you share while others keep moving forward without giving much shit about injury and work hard.

Even PG13 bad injuries but still can perform good.

I was just talking about how Michael Porter Jr’s injury fresh out of college set him back and had he not had that injury he would’ve been one of the best in the league. Today, Trae Young gave an interview talking about just that and said he would have been as good as Paul George without the injury. Watch a clip of the interview here: https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/1824456803641438655

That was a big achievement for him, considering he wasn't really a star player but was still chosen to be part of Team USA. Holiday is best known for his defense, and we all know that players who excel in defense are often less attractive to fans than those who shine on offense. Now, he's still fully healthy, has gained more confidence after winning gold, and the Celtics have become even more dangerous.

As for Tatum, he might have been disappointed that he wasn't used much in the Olympics, so perhaps to avenge that, he'll play harder to win another championship with the Celtics. Plus, Brown was disappointed as well for not being included in the list.

The Bucks have not improved as a team because they rely too much on Giannis and Lillard. Sometimes, we don't even see Middleton, who is also a star player, because he is only the third option, and sometimes not even that.

They gamble on getting Dame Lillard, but is a gamble that didn't pay off. And for sure, Holiday is having the best time of his NBA career winning a championship and then gold medal in the Olympics.

And I do agree, there's not much of a difference in the lineup and so the best thing for them is to hope that either Dame or Giannis will healthy throughout the season and see if Dame has adjusted with the Bucks game play. As for PG joining the Sixers, yeah a lot of hype on it, we've seen Joel paired with the Beard and it almost work for them two seasons ago. Now it's PG time, so let's see if this is a good combo or another bust.

There's a big reason why Portland gave up Lillard, and that's because he's not in his prime anymore. The Bucks gambled on him, and now they're paying the price, especially with Giannis's injury being a huge factor. I think they really messed up everything, starting from acquiring Lillard and then changing to a new coach despite maintaining a good standing.

I understand that they wanted more, but instead of seeing an improvement, it resulted in a big struggle for the whole team. So next season will be another test to see if the roster and the new coach will really work. I hope there are no more excuses, as one season should be enough for a new and veteran coach to handle and improve a team.

Nothing will be change since there's no impressive changes happen to them. They just waste holiday which is totally more helpful for their team. Now we see how they struggle and automatically became a  trash team after they made that move.

Although they are still strong since they have Giannis and Lillard but it seems they are struggling to figure out their system and also in defensive end.

But let see if there's changes and we could able to see Bucks became an exciting team to watch in upcoming season.

They learned their lesson the hard way. The guy they traded won a championship with the Celtics, and now the team is struggling with defense. I don't know how exciting their next season will be, but since I don't see any significant changes to the team, I wouldn't expect them to be a championship contender.


This one is just hype, PG maybe a great player but chemistry plays a vital role and that we have to find out once season starts.

We will see if how the Bucks will bounce this season I think they are not that good when Dame been traded while Giannis suffer to an injury and they let Jrue go after that big help he did when they make it to the finals and win a title, there are expectations with those known contenders in the East but yes, Boston still a good team to beat and maybe they can still win another title with the same core that they've got.

Let see if what changes from the team like Sixers who just got PG on their squad, it will be good to them if they both played healthy during the entire seasons.

Luka will play that PG. He had been doing so and he sometimes let Irving do his thing but most of the time it's an isolation play to let him score. Luka on the other hand has some plays where he does kick out passes like a point guard which is the reason why he gets triple double.

About Klay Thompson, it's obvious that they will make him a catch-and-shoot guy. They don't have that. Luka don't do that. Kyrie only does it sometimes but Klay is a specialist on that kind of technique. I think Coach Kidd will probably use these three players to space the floor and it will probably work.
Then their next option if those shooters are defended is their big man inside the paint which could do alley-oops. Lively or Gafford. Their number 4 will be PJ Washington.

Klay's championship experience could be very useful to the Mavs, especially if they have a deep run in the playoffs again.
I'm wondering what positions the Mavs coach will use Irving, Klay, and Luka at. The PG position would be best for Irving, Klay would be good at the SG position, but what about Luka? In principle, he is more versatile and can play as a PG, SG, or SF.