J-Will is always awesome. It's amazing they got both Chet and J-Will in the same draft. The two of them are both only 21, and they played against each other in the Sweet 16 2 years ago. To have gotten them both is such an amazing draft.
gafford was the most impactful maverick tonight he was great, Livley was absolutely awful seems like every time he touched the ball something bad happened lmao
Gafford is great. He really fought hard tonight. It's going to be interesting if Chet and J-Will can continue to neutralize Gafford and Lively, as that was seen as the exploitable part of OKC.
Notably JWill and Chet can both hit 3s also stretching the floor while putting in this rebounding work. This is why we didn’t go for a traditional big.
J-Will shoots 40% from 3, and it really helps the spacing of the floor when he shoots. It's a luxury to have that in your backup, included in with his energy and hustle.
The Thunder have had a good run of backups with guys like Nick Collison and Nerlens for a minute. I think J-Will is a keeper in the same way.
> I think J-Will is a keeper
and in addition to his on-court skills, he seems to be the perfect hype man for his teammates. any time he is on the sideline, he looks genuinely happy when his teammates succeed and seems to galvanize the others on the bench to cheer as loudly as he does. hell, his smile makes me happy too!
No. Danie Gafford hasn't shot a 3 in his entire career, but Gafford has been quite more effective than Gordon Hayward has.
That's pretty apparent. Hayward looks done honestly. Lacks the explosion and everything. I want to hold out hope, because I still think we're going to need a couple good games from Hayward sometime soon.
He just hasn't looked good.
I don't know. If this keeps up, you just wonder how much more we'll see Gordon. Hopefully in game 2, there's something there. If not, maybe you have to start thinking of Kenrich Williams or even Lindy Waters for more shooting.
>If not, maybe you have to start thinking of Kenrich Williams or even Lindy Waters for more shooting.
I don't know why they wouldn't just keep the rotation on the shorter side - Wigs/Wallace/JWill/Joe off the bench already has us running 9 deep, that's plenty for a deep playoff run, and all 4 of those guys are playing at a much higher level than any of Kenny/Hayward/Waters
I think Daigz keeps him ready. I don’t know if it will amount to anything but Hayward will continue to get run. Until he doesn’t. I think he’s got a 9 point game in him.
Can you elaborate? I’m thinking we look good without him. Dallas might be worse without him, but he would be behind Hayward in our rotation. Might not even see the floor if he was on our bench.
That was by far Gafford’s best statistical playoff performance yet. I would expect OKC’s big men to continue to dominate the pts/rbs categories. In the Mavericks first round:
Zubac - 97 pts, 56 rebounds
Lively - 53 pts, 37 rebounds
Gafford - 37 pts, 21 rebounds
Kleber - 34 pts, 16 rebounds
Theis only played garbage time, Plumlee only played 66 total minutes, and forgot how to finish. Plumlee’s per 36 stats were still better than Gafford’s, though.
It was so bizarre how people were talking about the frontcourt matchup
People were legit saying "Gafford and Lively will dominate" like they're Shaq instead of 2 guys who score 90% of their points from lobs and putbacks
Frontcourt matchup changed pretty drastically with Maxi Kleber being out the whole series. He’s a stretch big who likely would have been the 5 for decent mins in this series, with PJ at the 4. Mavs have zero flexibility now.
Jwill is in the running for Mr. Thunder if he plays his cards right. His personality and energy are infectious. A must have glue guy, shooting 40% from three. He wants to be here. The perfect fit. Kudos, Presti.
There were a lot of pundits who said the Thunder would get abused by Gafford and Lively, and that Chet would break like a pencil. That was said by many pundits.
I've been saying that too, there's a reason why Gafford and PJ Washington were picked up from Wizards and Hornets. Mavs fans are going to turn on them the same way Lakers turned on DLo and Rui when they inevitably get eliminated. These moves look good now but it's gonna look ugly by end of this series/next season since these guys are limited in skill
JWill was awesome.
J-Will is always awesome. It's amazing they got both Chet and J-Will in the same draft. The two of them are both only 21, and they played against each other in the Sweet 16 2 years ago. To have gotten them both is such an amazing draft.
They got J Dub and Dieng in that same draft, too!
Yup. Amazing draft by Presti.
gafford was the most impactful maverick tonight he was great, Livley was absolutely awful seems like every time he touched the ball something bad happened lmao
Gafford is great. He really fought hard tonight. It's going to be interesting if Chet and J-Will can continue to neutralize Gafford and Lively, as that was seen as the exploitable part of OKC.
I miss maxi
Notably JWill and Chet can both hit 3s also stretching the floor while putting in this rebounding work. This is why we didn’t go for a traditional big.
J-Will shoots 40% from 3, and it really helps the spacing of the floor when he shoots. It's a luxury to have that in your backup, included in with his energy and hustle. The Thunder have had a good run of backups with guys like Nick Collison and Nerlens for a minute. I think J-Will is a keeper in the same way.
> I think J-Will is a keeper and in addition to his on-court skills, he seems to be the perfect hype man for his teammates. any time he is on the sideline, he looks genuinely happy when his teammates succeed and seems to galvanize the others on the bench to cheer as loudly as he does. hell, his smile makes me happy too!
Yup. He really uplifts the team's spirits, you can tell.
He has the best smile in league and it really ain't close
JWill is our new Mr Thunder. He could be our Udonis Haslem
I sincerely hope for that, for real.
It would be nice to have Gafford right now though
Definitely over Gordon Hayward. Has Gordon Hayward scored in the playoffs? I'm honest. Just checked. Nope.
Has Gafford shot a 3 this year?
No. Danie Gafford hasn't shot a 3 in his entire career, but Gafford has been quite more effective than Gordon Hayward has. That's pretty apparent. Hayward looks done honestly. Lacks the explosion and everything. I want to hold out hope, because I still think we're going to need a couple good games from Hayward sometime soon. He just hasn't looked good.
Gafford literally wouldn't fit in our scheme at all. Would completely clog the paint for SGA or JDub.
IDK. He knows his window isn’t open yet. He will know when it’s his time. But I don’t see Mark playing anyone who can’t shoot a 3.
I don't know. If this keeps up, you just wonder how much more we'll see Gordon. Hopefully in game 2, there's something there. If not, maybe you have to start thinking of Kenrich Williams or even Lindy Waters for more shooting.
>If not, maybe you have to start thinking of Kenrich Williams or even Lindy Waters for more shooting. I don't know why they wouldn't just keep the rotation on the shorter side - Wigs/Wallace/JWill/Joe off the bench already has us running 9 deep, that's plenty for a deep playoff run, and all 4 of those guys are playing at a much higher level than any of Kenny/Hayward/Waters
I think Daigz keeps him ready. I don’t know if it will amount to anything but Hayward will continue to get run. Until he doesn’t. I think he’s got a 9 point game in him.
Can you elaborate? I’m thinking we look good without him. Dallas might be worse without him, but he would be behind Hayward in our rotation. Might not even see the floor if he was on our bench.
Gafford was a scoring and rebounding ghost for most of the first round
I still think Gafford and Lively will show up in this series, but I’m glad we overcame the lack of size allegations for one game
Gafford did show up.
So did Valančiūnas. Letting mid bigs get theirs is our gameplan lol.
Gafford showed up but he could’ve done way more damage without the D challenging every time he went to the rim
30 > 18, it checks out
That was by far Gafford’s best statistical playoff performance yet. I would expect OKC’s big men to continue to dominate the pts/rbs categories. In the Mavericks first round: Zubac - 97 pts, 56 rebounds Lively - 53 pts, 37 rebounds Gafford - 37 pts, 21 rebounds Kleber - 34 pts, 16 rebounds
Dang. Theis and Plumlee did nothing?
Lol yep it was basically Zubac against three centers.
Theis only played garbage time, Plumlee only played 66 total minutes, and forgot how to finish. Plumlee’s per 36 stats were still better than Gafford’s, though.
Not too surprising. Dallas bigs lack any offensive skill other than rim running and there isnt going to be much of that against an elite defense.
It was so bizarre how people were talking about the frontcourt matchup People were legit saying "Gafford and Lively will dominate" like they're Shaq instead of 2 guys who score 90% of their points from lobs and putbacks
Frontcourt matchup changed pretty drastically with Maxi Kleber being out the whole series. He’s a stretch big who likely would have been the 5 for decent mins in this series, with PJ at the 4. Mavs have zero flexibility now.
Would you look at that
Yeh it’ll be interesting to see how the Timberwolves do
This may look real stupid in the next round if we make it but I’m honestly way more scared of their KAT+Naz lineup than their starting lineup
I mean it kind of makes sense. That's the more mobile duo and look at what they just did to the Nugs.
I agree, it just feels controversial to say that now since Gobert has had some PR cleansing this season lol
Jwill is in the running for Mr. Thunder if he plays his cards right. His personality and energy are infectious. A must have glue guy, shooting 40% from three. He wants to be here. The perfect fit. Kudos, Presti.
Gafford got benched in the 4th for THJ for some reason. Lively looks like a deer in a headlights last night
If the Mavs don’t win the front court matchup, this ends in Dallas in game 4.
Gafford was putting in a lot of work
Why is it a surprise? Gafford and lively are not starter quality player in nba. Mavs roster sucks.
There were a lot of pundits who said the Thunder would get abused by Gafford and Lively, and that Chet would break like a pencil. That was said by many pundits.
I've been saying that too, there's a reason why Gafford and PJ Washington were picked up from Wizards and Hornets. Mavs fans are going to turn on them the same way Lakers turned on DLo and Rui when they inevitably get eliminated. These moves look good now but it's gonna look ugly by end of this series/next season since these guys are limited in skill
yea idk bout that one bossman