High5

8 minutes ago, thecampster said:

Tell that to Detroit, Cleveland and in a few years Houston.

We could have just as easily ended up with Bagley, Bamba and been watching reruns of South Park right now.

OK? But instead we used our picks and cap space to put together a young team that is 3 wins away from a Finals appearance. No route is without risks, but people who were adamant that tanking wouldn’t work have obviously been proven wrong. 

KB and anyone who agreed with him on this subject were emphatically proven wrong. Period. That’s fine. We can all move forward thrilled as Hawks fans. But stop trying to change what was said.

He has exorcized his demons and then some. I’ve been under the assumption that he’ll be our HC next season but it wouldn’t be that shocking if he wanted to move on from being a HC on a good note. Still feel like he’ll keep the job, though. 

3 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

Too Small to be a starting center in this league and if he develops his offensive skills, we would be an all star power forward!

He just played some great playoff minutes against Dwight and Embiid as a rookie. He’s going to get stronger and smarter. I would not count him out.

Some people thought we were punting the season by not acquiring a veteran backup. I’m starting to suspect Schlenk may know what he’s doing. His defense is already so good. Can’t wait to see what he can do with a full offseason.

You’re seeing why Luka won’t be leaving Dallas. Cuban will cut ties with anyone including his own children to keep Luka around.

5 minutes ago, Final_quest said:

We've learned that the player dictates if he leaves or not.  

One of the reasons they picked Trae is that he was a fit for our franchise.  That was amazing foresight.  

I would bet any amount of money that Luka happily signs a huge contract with Dallas. Now does he sign another one after that? Who knows, but it's not a real concern right now. 

There is zero chance Cuban allows Luka to leave Dallas. He’s the most valuable asset in pro sports outside of maybe some soccer player.

2 hours ago, Diesel said:

Obviously, you don't.    We limited them to possibly 2 points.   Simmons was 3 for freakin 10 from the FT line.    Our defensive rebounding would have still been an issue had they gotten a shot up.   If we can't box him out on a free throw then what the hell will we do win Curry shoots a three?

Oh... and about that.   We keep their 3 pt shooters cold because they never get the chance to drop a 3 pter on us. 

If I have a choice between:  Curry shooting a 3 and Embiid possibly getting a rebound and a putback.... vs. Simmons shooting 2 free throws and Embiid possibly getting a rebound and a putback, give me Simmons... because if we have all of our players in position to rebound from the free throw with the advantage and Embiid still gets it... That's not about the strategy.. that's about our inability to stop him from rebounding.   That means, he gets the rebound either way. 

You understand???

 

You’re ignoring the most important part: the clock. There are 16 seconds left and you’re not allowing any of that time to go when you immediately foul Simmons. Nate (or whoever made the call) was overthinking in that moment and it almost cost us the game.

No I understand the strategy fine. But it was dumb in that situation. We just stopped the clock and gave the largest man on the floor a chance to get set for an offensive rebound. 

32 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

But that's what you want when your star is struggling - for the 'others' to step up and carry the load.

Yep no one is complaining about that.

16 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Nate's not going any where. 

 

Kind of unusual after the first round, but given his playoff history and how much criticism he has take over the years I can imagine how great this must feel. 

7 minutes ago, AHF said:

While "masterpiece" is indeed a high bar, I think you are asking too much.  He put up 36 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.  That is a huge playoff game.  He should be lauded for bringing such a huge impact to game 5.  That was a big game to close out the series on the road.

Counting stats aren’t everything, and context matters, but alright I won’t say anything more about it. It was a great series from Trae. 

2 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

It might feel like luck but our defense was locked in last night, and they've been locked in all playoffs.  It's actually surreal watching a team with a solid defense because you get so many more opportunities to build on a lead or come back in a game.  Reminds me of watching those 90s Braves teams with stupid good pitching, and then when it's gone, you're like "wow, we're not always just one swing away from winning the game"

No, I said Trae was lucky (not that he hasn’t bailed the team out countless times). Like you said, his team had his back and suffocated the Knicks. It was beautiful. 

8 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Trae in the 4th quarter

5 - 7 FG ( 2 - 4 3FG ) . . . . 8 - 9 FT . . 18 pts

Right, but he was very lucky to have a 12 point lead in the 4th the way he shot the other 3 quarters. He got some of those points when the Knicks were already checked out. It is what it is, not every game can be a masterpiece. 

Somewhat disappointing close out game from Trae, but you couldn’t have asked for a cooler ending than that shot and bow. Never has an opposing player embarrassed a fan base more than that.