Luka Doncic & Dallas Mavericks are BIGGEST THREAT to Nikola Jokic & Nuggets in West | Nerd Sesh

Luka Doncic & Dallas Mavericks are BIGGEST THREAT to Nikola Jokic & Nuggets in West | Nerd Sesh

The Mavs are surging they have won seven straight games and it seems like it’s time to ask are they the biggest threats to the nuggets in the West for me it would be the Lakers or the Mavericks and they’re definitely two or two and three for me respectively uh

Out west and I before we get into this too I want to emphasize you know this isn’t a knock on Oklahoma City this isn’t a knock on Minnesota I want to applaud those teams for the amazing regular seasons that they’ve had uh they’ve overachieved they’ve had terrific

Campaigns uh and instead of knock on like the Pelicans either like these are really good teams but I think they all have fatal flaws I think the Thunder is slight and inexperienced uh I think Minnesota has one offensive engine Anthony Edwards I love him I think he’s going to be one of

The best players on planet Earth one day but it’s you know it’s just not his time I think that’s a few years than the Pelicans you know I really think that whoever goes up against New Orleans it’s going to be a grimy first round series I

They can really grind teams they got a lot of athletes a lot of rebounders but I think their perimeter shooting is going to come back to bite them a little bit I just don’t think they have enough really good floor spacers um and I think it’s going to get

Them so Dallas and in La for for a few reasons and it can start with the star power right Luca and Kyrie star offensive guards one can can just go toe to- toe and manufacture offense it will but uh specifically when we’re looking at the matchup I think Luca and joic defensively are

Going to be X factors in this series especially with what I think Dallas can do versus Denver in the pick and roll you know I’m involving joic in a lot of high pick and roll and getting him involved early uh with Luca with Kyrie up top and it’s not specifically

Attacking joic but it’s just getting the defense in rotation early where I can get an early switch and then reset or kick it um we only got to see Carson one match between these two teams after the trade deadline uh that was a loss for Denver right they’re two- one in the

Season series Denver won but in the one matchup where they had this construction to their roster it was a two-point loss it was the Kyrie Lefty floater hook man man what a gnarly shot uh I went back and and rewatched this game and and got some of the numbers I know we talked

About this a couple of weeks ago when it happened uh Dallas out rebounds Denver 60- 37 overall they outrebound him on the offensive glass 22-6 they beat them in points in the paint 62 to 38 and they beat them in Second Chance points 23-6 and like I said I just think you

Get the defense in rotation early with that joic pick and roll um see what you can do there and then I think they really match up physically with Denver um that’s why I like the Lakers too you know you got to be big in physical and

Athletic if you’re going to try to beat Denver in a seven game series they got big guards that thr at them Luca Dante exom Tim Hardaway Jr they got athletic wings that I like like uh Josh Green BJ Washington Derrick Jones Jr they’ve got big men that I like Daniel Gafford

Derrik Lively and you know I’m not the biggest Maxi kba guy but it’s still a thick dude that you can throw out there and he’s a big body so physically I think they match up well with him and I’ve really like Daniel Gafford defensively he is a X Factor for me in

Dallas changing this series he is that caliber of a Defender that smart kind of Veteran presence that not only is a real to turn around the rim but he’s smart you know what I mean he knows when he needs to get out and switch out to the perimeter and Dallas has really improved

Post Gafford trade when they have solidified this rotation not only are they more big physical and athletic they’ve just been a better defense um before Gafford they had a defensive rating of 117.1 they were equivalent to the 22nd ranked defense in the NBA post Gafford trade they have a defensive

Rating of 111.6 that’s a top 10 defense that’s legit man again I don’t know if it’s going to make a real difference against Denver because I do think Denver’s inevitable I think Denver is just that overwhelming of a caliber of basketball team but I think Dallas has a Fighting Chance rebounding 41.5 rebounds

Per game without Gafford before the trade with Gafford they’re averaging 45.3 rebounds per game that’s the difference between being the number six rebounding team in basketball and the number 28 rebounding team in basketball that makes a real difference for me and so I you know and you’ve said this

Before too on the show Carson Luca could be the best player in that series so I think it’s going to take a lot of boxes being checked for Dallas this is not an easy thing right Denver to me is the overwhelming favorite and I will be

Shocked if they do not make it through the west but there’s a formula I think one I think Luca has to be the best player in the series right I think two I think you have to crush nonan yic minutes you just talked about that in

The MVP case Carson in that one game we saw between Denver and Dallas in that uh late third quarter or early fourth quarter stretch when joic wasn’t out there Dallas crushed those fourth quarter minutes you got to do that three we need a hellacious effort you know the

Rebounding numbers and the points in the paint and the second chance points from that game that’s not just because Dallas is that overwhelmingly dominant on the glass right that’s not going to happen every game it was also due to a hellacious effort Luca Kyrie everybody

In that game was going hard man we need that seven games from Dallas man where they have just got to beat them in the effort and hustle category to win this series and not only do you have to get superhuman Luca I think you have to get

Superhuman Kyrie and Dallas has to shoot the lights out that’s a lot of boxes to check to just knock off you know Denver and that’s why I wouldn’t pick Dallas to do it but I think it’s possible if if I had to predict it if we got Denver and

Dallas in a head-to-head series I would take Denver in six I think Dallas puts up a really good fight I think they battle I think Luca steals a couple of games but Denver shuts the door but I wouldn’t count Dallas out man I think Dallas really has a Fighting Chance

And for me because all those factors they are my second favorite out west over the likes of an LA I think they are for me as well and since the gaffer trade they had that little skid I mean they’ve had the two big win streaks and the one down stretch

But overall they’re 16 and six number two in terms of offensive rating number 10 in defensive rating which is probably more significant that they’ve been able to defend at this level and you talk about their Improvement in terms of rebounds per game rebound rate I prefer because it’s the percentage of available

Rebounds that you’re grabbing and so Pace doesn’t factor in because Dallas has been playing at a faster Pace really this entire season but also sense trading for Gafford but their 13th in rebound rate versus 29th so this is not an elite rebounding team but this is now an above average rebounding team whereas

Previously they were hanging out with the Wizards and the Thunder like the slightest teams in the league the Wizards just are barely even an NBA basketball team and you’re not going to do anything serious if you’re getting bullied physically and bullied on the glass like that now they do check a lot

Of boxes when you were talking about threatening a just great basketball team like Denver they have the best player in the conference outside of Denver Luca donic who I believe is one of just a couple guys on the planet who could legitimately outplay joic in a series we

Have seen Luca have these flamethrower runs flamethrower runs from Beyond The Arc with his step backs in previous playoff series now he’s the best that he’s ever been as a stepb shooter and three-point shooter overall and we know that physically he’s going to impose himself he’s going to dominate you as a

Playmaker and the nuggets have a lot of good perimeter Defenders and they don’t have anybody who you can just hunt and pinpoint over and over again but they also don’t have anybody who can really do all that much with Luca I like Aaron Gordon in that matchup but Luca is still

Probably mostly going to get what he wants they also have the best duo in the conference outside of Denver because of how phenomenal Kyrie has been as a shot maker and as an offensive Robin this year they are a good shooting team which gives you that volatility that upside

That you probably are going to need you got to get really hot they are second in the league in threes made that comes both from their two primary creators but also a lot of their spot-up guys 10th and three-point percentage now post deadline they have two hyper athletic

Rim finishing bigs who can protect the hell out of the rim and that has first of all just Grease the wheels of their offense Luca is going to make any big look good out of pick and roll he did it with Dwight pal but when you give him

Big athletes like Derek Lively and like Daniel Gafford well then you just have a constant vertical spacer and defenses are constantly compromised out of pick and roll because it’s all right we’re going to concede a Luca floater which is a 55% shot or he’s going to torch us

With a lob and then that’s just free offense for the team and again they have transformed the defense and they’ve transformed things on the glass as well and this is a solid deep rotation of wings here I think that at times we’ve underrated Dallas’s depth like when I

Just look at the bench compared to say the Clippers compared to a lot of teams out west like it’s impressive and overall they have just been hyper competitive as of late like this is a team that is taking the home stretch of the Season very seriously they are kind

Of flying around on that side of the ball and even if I don’t love their defensive p backourt with Kyrie and Luca out there first of all when those guys compete they can be okay they can be passable defensively I mean they’re smart guys they have good hands they

Have good instincts they just both have physical limitations but then the wings and The Bigs are significantly improved from what Dallas had last year for sure so I really like that formula man amazing number one Elite second shot Creator good spot up shooting cast bigger and more athletic in the front

Court improved team defense like this is why I flagged Dallas as a team post deadline that was significantly improved that could be a threat to Denver and I don’t think anybody’s going to beat Denver but if you’re just talking about who has the upside to do it I think

They’re checking the most boxes right now I’m not freaking out about the Clippers like some people are I get that they’ve sucked for the better part of two months I just don’t think it’s that surprising given the composition of this team that they have just taking their

Foot off the gas defensively but I still don’t love what I’m seeing from from them like The Vibes are really bad and they need to lock in defensively so right now just with the consistency that I know Luca is going to dominate offensively with frankly the fact that

I’m just much more confident in Dallas being healthy throughout a playoff run with the fact that I like their depth more that they’re defending better right now I do slightly prefer them and then I do still think the Lakers are scary for these playoff environments because of their dynamic duo and their secondary

Shot creation their defensive ceiling but Dallas is just a different level as an offensive team the consistency with which they’re going to produce there it’s just in a different tier than what the Lakers are doing and I think they’re more capable of physically matching up

With all of these big teams in the west now so I think it’s Dallas for me as well which is a hell of a turnaround because before the year I thought this was going to be a playing Team yeah as did I I mean dude it goes to show like this is something

That I think teams need to take notes on you know Carson I think I made a a flawed argument or a bad faith argument last episode we were talking about the Phoenix Sons and their roster construction uh with Bradley Beal right I asked you know maybe you should have

Held on to Chris Paul no I mean the move to go and get Bradley Beal wasn’t upgrading Talent right Chris Paul declining same money it made sense but what I think you’re seeing here is that you know roster construction goes way deeper than just talent and I questioned at the time if

Mark Cuban made the right decision to go out and get Kyrie Irving you know we asked could this lead to them losing both Kyrie Irving and Luca donic pulling all these assets together and not building a competent roster around them well they really have built a solid

Rotation around them and I think that’s the the emphasis point that a lot of teams need to take back is it’s like always at the top of your roster it is so important to have Superstars and Superstar talents that give you such a high Baseline to compete right luuk and

Kyrie are always going to make you a great off and every single night they are going to give you a Fighting Chance because they are that sh caliber of shot makers and offensive weapons but around them you need guys that complement them and guys that do the little things

Around them and guys that just fit and so what has Dallas gone and done around these guys they didn’t go all in on a gimmick like hey let’s let’s get a bunch of Shooters out here like the Houston Rockets and Go full small ball and let’s

Try to out Warrior the Warriors right no let’s fill this team with a bunch of stout sturdy strong physic physical wings and bigs that can really pick up for these guys deficiencies and compliment them and I think it’s just been a master stroke in roster construction and and finding assets that

Work around these guys obviously Luca and Kyrie make this thing go but if they don’t make the Gafford trade at the deadline this is not a team that I have faith in being competitive this is not a team that if they don’t get out and go

Get Derek Lively in the draft which I wondered about at the time cuz I didn’t fully love Derek Lively as a prospect you know I thought he was really offensively turns out when you have Luca donic running your offense he can just kind of here you go Derek you know he

Can just throw it up there around the rim and make it work um Dallas has really crushed their roster building the past two off seasons in the past two years in make you know and building back to where they were with jayen Brunson and that team and they’ve made it better

I think this is a much better unit than the team that went to the Western Conference Finals a few years ago and uh they’ve really done a a tremendous job at building this team around Luca and Kyrie ever since going all in with that move yeah I think that this team

Is probably better than the 22 team that went to the Western Conference finals this team is definitely not better than what they could have built if they held on to Jaylen Brunson for four years 48 million like then this Dallas team could be a juggernaut right now the resources

They would have been able to allocate in adding three andd players just all sort of supporting Talent they could legitimately be like pushing Denver for the favorite so that is still disappointing there is no wiping away the Brunson move and how bad it was but you’re right they have done an

Incredible job of coming back from what should have been a death now should have been like the dagger for at least the next half decade so shout out to the Mavs for that they’re playing really good basketball and they’re scary man Luca is just a psycho like I know the

Clippers do not want to see Luca he’s going to get give him 40 a game in that series legitimately and I’m excited to see whoever draws them that’s not going to be a fun first round series and I think the Mavs are probably going to get out of the first round

The nerds discuss how Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have turned the Dallas Mavericks into the most dangerous team in the Western Conference for Nikola Jokic & the Denver Nuggets.

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