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Unless you are a Boston Celtics fan, the NBA Finals have done nothing but stink the bed since the opening game. It's been a tough watch for spectators. Boston has dismantled and stepped over the Mavericks to sit comfy with a 3-nil series lead. Outside of the ferocious 4th quarter flip by the Mavs last night, the series has been one-sided and a complete joke to watch. Mavs have looked disgusting in defeat. Disgusting I tell you. The defense in all realms has been horrendous, and the team gets depleted quick resulting in the Cs running away with the games. Game three was better, but not great. Thanks to the Mavericks' superstar. The cat who holds the weight for this disaster. It's rant time.
Luka is killing the dream! Doing so in nasty-nasty fashion. Never have I seen a superstar player give the defensive effort that he has given (or lack thereof) in the Finals. It's been pathetic beyond belief. Rather it's allowing a blow-by (a slew), disrupting the team's spacing with misplacement, or not getting up the floor- Luka has been awful in all aspects of defense. So bad that his offensive contributions mean absolutely nothing. Nothing! I could give two sh*** about his little 30 points and ten garbage boards when he is allowing far more points on the defensive. Check out this montage of poor defense by Luka (it's not me speaking in the video):
video via @Banner18//X
Luka has given up a 67.7% blow-by percentage in the series; the highest percentage given up in the past decade (min. 10 drives per game defended). Luka is getting cooked and shows zero effort when the ball isn't in his hands. That energy has made his offensive contributions be nothing to rave about when he finishes GM-1 with just 1 assist and has been a driving force for the offense going cold because of the spacing and lack of play-calling (that is also a Kidd blame). So many offensive drives had Kyrie/Luka holding the ball near the perimeter as they dwindled down the shot clock to find a 1-v-1 that usually was stumped by Boston. If Kyrie has the ball in an attempt to iso himself into a slash; Luka is just standing near the perimeter. No movement. No spacing. No nothing. Just stands there. It looks like a Bush League offense. Not a NBA championship winning offense. Luka not being a factor with the ball out of his hands isn't even the most toxic element of his game in the Finals. It's his constant attention to the officials that has become the most toxic element. One that is putting the nail in the Mavericks 2024 coffin.
Luka's behavior on the offensive is just as killer for the Mavericks than his poor defense. Luka is doing what I call the "Embiid Cry". Not sure how public I have been on Embiid and his antics throughout games (especially in the playoffs) regarding the officials and getting to the foul-line. I certainly tweet (post) about it, but I have strong-strong opinions on Embiid and his antics. With Luka displaying the same antics, on the grandest stage; I feel obligated to speak on it in this turn. I wanted Luka ejected in GM-3. I sh** you not. It's overboard, but that's how annoyed I am with the CONSTANT cries for fouls. The foul-baiting makes me sick to my stomach. Makes my eyes bleed when watching. It takes away from what the game can be. Frankly, foul-baiting gives off WNBA level of product. Needs to end.
We see three important cause and effects with this said behavior: we see the player waste an offensive possession in attempt; we see his focus and anger get swayed in the wrong direction putting his personal game and the team in peril; and we also see him not getting back on defense because he's too worried about bitching for a call. Here is a prime example. Consecutive possessions by Luka of foul-baiting and Embiid crying that turned into a 6-point Celtics flip:
video via @garytellez//X
Look how killer of a sequence that was for Dallas. My upper lip goes up every time I watch it. What awful basketball, by an awesome basketball player. Not getting calls and having the attitude he had is a reason why he fouled out as well. Half of his fouls came off frustration. His mind was all over the place, with the constant of the officials being on the top of it. Won't win with that mindset. Luka is a stellar player, but he has to stop this crap. It's killing his team here in the NBA Finals, it's killing the product, and it's killing Luka's game and reputation. I am tired of seeing him screaming at the bench to challenge a ruling as well. You make a bad play and want your team to suffer more, huh? It's f'n pathetic! Luka has looked like an awful teammate, player, and superstar in this series.
Before I close my rant, one last thing: It's ironic to me how we treat the officials when I see players constantly trying to get them involved in the game. We need to start pointing blame at the players as well. Foul-baiting needs to end. It's an era thing. These millennial players are killing the product with the foul-baiting and outroar towards the officials (do I need the LeBron clip?). It's also the reason for getting injured. Embiid and Luka get injured from foul-baiting. They throw their bodies all over the floor on damn near every possession. Embiid really speaks to that. Sorry if the facts hurt, but that's pure facts.
If you don't want the officials to get involved in games, then stop baiting them to. Pretty plain and simple. If my rant wasn't on point enough; here is ESPN's Brian Windhorst hitting on ALL CYCLINDERS, speaking nothing but FACTS:
video via @big_business//X
First time I have had this level of a rant on Luka. I usually speak nothing but good towards his game. He has made that an impossible feat here in the Finals. I wanted to barf while watching GM-3. Boston's defense, team-play, and execution helped keep the nasty in. Luka... dawg, figure it out man. Just a round ago you had me convinced you were a top hooper on the planet (against Jokić), now you have nothing but a scrappy-doo bark. Get it together. You are a far better basketball player than you are showing. I think the series is over, but maybe Luka can still leave it on a decent note. Following up the past three games and getting swept in the process will move a cloud over his rep going into the next season.
It's a bummer to have a lopsided NBA Finals. I know Celtics fans are on cloud nine! Just one more dub. I for one, would love for it NOT to end in a sweep, but part of me just wants this mess to end as soon as possible. My prediction of this being one of the better and more competitive Finals since 2019 on the Championship Cases piece sure sh** the bed, ha. I was wrong on that one. Thanks, Luka! Jokes aside, hopefully Luka and the Mavericks can comeback and win a game. Try and make this series some what watchable.
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