How the Mavs Role Players & Defense Did Play Better at Home vs Clippers in Game 3

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It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

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On today's show, the Dallas Mavericks get a game three win at home, and it turns out role players do play better at home. We'll tell you why. And today's Locked on Mavs WORK_OF_ART.

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I'm Nicolnsich, and this is Locked on Maritz ORG. He's a Macon Mavericks ORG. He hit him!

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He hit it! It's good! And the Mavericks ORG have won the game! If you don't believe you shouldn't be here.

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Loyalty never fades away now. And... And... Welcome! You are Locked on the Dallas Mavericks. My name is Nick Engstead PERSON. Media member and Mabergia. And welcome.

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You are locked on to the Dallas Mavericks ORG. My name is Nick Engstead PERSON, media member and I'm being channel manager for the Lockdown Podcast Network ORG, where we let it ride. Thanks for reading part of the showand making Lock Time Maps ORG here. First listen today where the best way to help us grow. The show is to listen every day, leave a five-star review on any podcast platform, like the video on YouTube,and comment anything below. Let me know in the comment section. Actually, just say, let it ride in the comment section. And then go to Lockdown Clippers and just comment, let it ride in Locked on Locked on Clippers ORG YouTube channel. And joining me as he does on every post game live via the AAC ORG. Unblock him. Unblock him.

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The famous slightly biased, what you got for me? Two things. I need you guys to understand. I was wearing my shirt.

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And if you're at the game, like, why?

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Was he in the 300? Yes, I was in the 300. Where all the real fans are. But also, second, if I was offbeat dancing, I can't hear the music.

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You can't hear it. So it wasn't me. It was off because of my lead. Yeah, it was not me. Oh, man. We're here after a game three win by the Dallas Mavericks ORG.We'll talk about how the role player stepped up, how the bigs were massive in the first half. We'll talk about how Luca and Kyrie PERSON got some help. Yeah. Got some help in this game. A lot.Which is absolutely massive. But I just got to let it ride a little bit more. If you say so, I can't hear it again, in case you're wondering.

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Case it looks wonky.

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Just in just the case. Not because we're white. Right. I usually have great rhythm. Oh, man, absolutely awesome. The Mavericks ORG get the win.They crack 100 points, 101 to 90. That's a miracle. In this game there. And I guess I'm going to start here. I told the subtexters before, I texted everybody, and I send, here are my keys to the game, or here are my things that I'm watching in the game.And the one thing that I really wanted to say was, at some point, this Mavs ORG offense is going to break open.

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The dam is going to break, and the Mavericks ORG are going to score in a way that they haven't so far in the series. 105.5.5 offensive rating in both the first two games. And in this one, the first quarter was not looking like I was going to be right about that prediction at all. But then the second quarter, you get 36 points from the Mavericks ORG. That second quarter, I feel like really broke the game open.The Mavericks ORG were getting a lot of things rolling. And then we finally got to see this Mavericks offense, acting like a real NBA ORG offense again.

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It only took one quarter, but that's what they got. Well, what did Luca finish with this game? Nine assists? It felt like finally, because we had talked about this. Like at some point, Luca PERSON is going to kind of figure some stuff out with this offense.

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And you saw it with the lobs because Gafford PERSON, I mean, if Gafford has a bad game in this one, that might be the series for him.

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Yeah, right. Yeah. Can we use this guy? People were asking me before the game, hey, is Gaffer has a bad game in this one. That might be the series for him. Like genuinely. Yeah, right. Yeah. Can we use this guy?

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People were asking me before the game,

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hey, is Gaffer going to play? And I was like, he may play, but what are we even going to get from him if he plays in this game?

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And Gafferner PERSON was questionable coming into this game, a game-time decision.

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And immediately, I mean, right out the gates, they had the lob threat going with him with Gafford PERSON and lively.

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And, I mean, that just offensively got the ball rolling.

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And we saw it, like, I don't know what Luca PERSON finished shooting wise. They don't display those stats here at the game. And I was so locked in that I couldn't quite tell you.

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7 of 25. 28% from the field.

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I would have guessed it was that. I would not have guessed 28% from the field. But, I mean, you could see, though, that he was figuring it out. And I think that's what offensively you want to see. I was rewatched game two. And you could just tellthe offensive process, even though they didn't break 100 points, the offensive process was just so much better in game two. Like they got so many good looks and they just failed to convert them. And I think the same thing can be said for tonight and you win a game in which your megastar, you win a game where you shoot 26, is that what that says? 26% from three, and your megastar shoots 28% from the field, and Kyrie has two points with like four minutes left in the third quarter.

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And I mean, that's just a testament to, again, you got the bigs going early and often, and you could feel that. You could just feel how that shifted the entire scheme for the clippers.

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That set a tone, and it was right from the beginning of the game. You saw that the clippers weren't sending the help over to the roller,

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and they've been doing that the first two games.

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The low man, whoever, it was Terrence Man, or whoever, would come over, and they started doing that in the second half. They would send the low man over to help on the roller, and they just didn't do that in the first half. There's a scout next to me that was just like going off about how, how are they not sending this help tothe roller and they're just giving these wide open alley-oops and they're giving up these buckets there and the MAVs got offensive rebounds too.

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Gafford. In the first couple minutes the game you could tell the Mavericks were going right for Gafford PERSON every single time. They're like, we got to get this guy going, got to get this guy involved in participating in this series and he gets six points and three offensive rebounds reallyquickly in this game and that's set a tone for the rest of it. Yeah, 100%. I mean, that's, again, like, I'm not entirely sure why the Clippers ORG made that defensive decision. I'm not entirely sure if maybe they had the mindset a lot of us have had, which is Luke is going to have his game at some point.

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Yeah.

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So we have to make sure that we don't allow that to happen. And we talked about Lucas PERSON shooting procedures. But again, like, I thought the Mavs ORG offense got the looks that they wanted. And a lot of those looks being lobs at the rim. I mean, those are, like, those are the shots that Mavs ORG want when they run those pick and rolls. Yeah.They want either Lucas stepping back or the Mavs, you know, lobbying it up to Gafford PERSON or lively. And they got those. And without those two playing as well as they did, I don't know if the Mavs ORG pull out this win. And, I mean, they pulled it out comfortably. Like, I was telling Nick PERSON before we went live, my voice sounds hoarse.

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I was getting into it. You guys need to understand. Like I was really into it. Extremely biased in this game. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm just going to say it. This is a

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horrible loss for the Clippers ORG. Like this is a disastrous. Yes. This is a disastrous loss for them.

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They cannot have a loss like this where the Mavs shoot 26% from three, Luca shoots 29% from the field, and Kairi has two points with three minutes left in the third quarter. You can't lose that game. You just cannot in a playoff setting where you only have four chances to beat the other team. Like, I guess seven chances technically, but it's just like...

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Seven chances to beat them four times. Seven chances to beat them four times. Everyone got where

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I was going with that one. But it's just like, I think this is a really bad loss for the Clippers ORG.

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And if you're the Mavericks, you're walking out here thinking, we're going to get a three-point

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shooting game at some point. Do you think the Mavericks ORG will? You can get a good offensive game?

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That was my thing. It's like eventually this is going to break open for the Mavs ORG' offense.

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Because this Clippers ORG' defense is not that good.

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No, I mean.

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Right?

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Like, even at their best during this season, they were 13th or 14th in the NBA ORG.

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They weren't like a top five defense where you go, oh my gosh,

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this Clippers ORG team is such a good team.

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But this Clippers team, last two games, 101.1. Offensive rating, exactly the same in both these losses. The Mavericks ORG defense just put clamps on them and they couldn't get anything going. And all the stuff I said about Kauai making their offense worse in the last couple episodesbetween games two and game three, it was exponentially more in this game where they just didn't have the diversity. They didn't have anything really going. And the Mavs ORG got all the hustle plays. Josh Green PERSON was in there getting hustle plays. PJ Washington, Derek Joe Jr., you know, everybody. the Mavs got all the hustle plays. I mean, Josh Green was in there getting hustle plays.PJ, Washington, Derek Jones, Jr. PERSON, you know, everybody. I felt like they were getting the hustle plays in this game, which makes it seem like an even worse loss for the Clippers

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because they're old and they weren't winning those possessions.

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I'm so happy you mentioned Josh Green PERSON.

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He was so – I don't know what his stats he says. You want to look at it? Because, you know, usually I'm at home and I have all the stats just delivered to me. But here – okay, three of five – I mean, eight points. Like, he's not, it's not blowing you away. Five rebounds, too offensive. His energy and effort in this game was unbelievable. Like, that's the type of role player performance you need in the playoffs. Is the guy just saying,he's showing up to the game saying, hey, I'm not scared of this moment. I'll shoot when I'm open, and I'm going to make the hustle plays. I'm going to make, I'm going to make the other team pay whenever they fall asleep. I'm going to get an offensive rebound. I'm going to tip the ball plays. I'm going to make the other team pay whenever they fall asleep. I'm going to get an offensive rebound. I'm going to tip the ball out. I'm going to keep the play alive.Like Josh Green PERSON, I thought was incredible in this game. All of the role players were incredible. I mean, did anybody have a bad game in this?

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Like role player-wise? Exum ORG is scaring me a tiny bit. Exxon played 11 minutes.

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He was 0.4, but we don't have to focus on him just yet because the role players did play better at home. This is something that I wondered, and I asked Daniel Larson on the episode the other day, is this a fallacy that role players just play better at home? And so I asked Tailu PERSON about it actually before the game. And he had not been answering a lot of questions this whole time in games one and two. And even before this one, he was shooting down some questions.There's a lot of Kauai stuff that he was just shooting down with one-word answers. I mean, it felt Greg Popovichian. Yeah. But I asked him, I said, you've played in the NBA ORG.

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Do you believe in the idea that role players play better at home? And he goes, well, I was a role player. And then he said, and Alan Iverson stepped over me. No, he didn't. He didn't say that.

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Okay. I was at the same. Well, that is true. Do you remember?

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That did happen. I was a role player. Do you remember when Alan Iverson stepped over me that one time?

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It was like the greatest thing. But guess what? We beat them five in five games. That's true. He said. I was a role player. Do you remember when Alan Iverson stepped over me that one time? It was the greatest thing. But guess what? We beat them five games. That's true.

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He said, I was a role player and I liked playing on the road better than playing at home. And maybe that was just, yeah, I think that was just what he thought at that time. But I thought that was interesting that he said that. And it proved to not be the case at all for the Mavericks ORG because their role players really did step up. You got 13 points from Lively. You got 13 points from lively. You got 11 points from Derek Jones Jr. 10 points and a great incredible pose from PJ Washington.

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Oh my God.

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I mean, just one of the greatest Mavs ORG moments.

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So coming up, let's talk about that. Let's talk about PJ Washington in the moment with Russell Westbrook PERSON. Let's talk about Luca and Kyrie PERSON, not really getting into their bag or their offense at all.

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Thanks everybody. We're hanging out of locked on Mabbs ORG. Being part of the show, part of the Raccoon ORG squad, listening every day. Thanks to everybody that I saw here at the game tonight. And thanks to every single person, all like, honestly, 25 of you that said,let it ride to me at some point tonight.

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And one listener came up and said,

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we need to get a let it ride chant after Mabbs ORG wins at games. And I was like, I don't know if I have that much power yet.

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Maybe I'll get there.

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I don't know if I'm full cult leader yet. That I can make that happen. We're close. But you know who is on his way there? It's slightly biased. He is on his way there.I appreciate everyone who came up to me.

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And it was a lot of people. And I really do appreciate that. I came with a group of friends. and I was like, I'm sure that you guys, I don't know how this is going to play out. Hey, guys, I'm going to this game tonight,

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and I appreciate you guys coming with me, but I might be famous. I literally did know. I was like,

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there could be zero. I have no clue how this is going to transpire. So shout out to everybody

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that came up to us at games. We appreciate it and appreciate you guys listening and all that.

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I also want to say, I don't know, like in in a live thing, how often I look at the camera, how often, because I like eye contact, but then it's like, I don't want to be the whole podcast. Like, yeah, no, great point, Nick PERSON. That was good. I can take direction. Would you like more eye contact? Yeah, we could just sit here like this to hold it. The viewers are like, what the hell's going on in this show?A lot of tension.

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They won't look each other in the eyes at all.

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These guys even like each other?

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I don't know. You know who does like each other? The Dallas Mavericks. Yeah, they do. This chemistry on this team is feeling special and it's feeling like this team is totally connected. Russell Westbrook, who I dubbed a W.W.E. Star back when I went to game one and game

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two in L.A. GPE He's playing to the crowd. He's egging him on. He's screaming at the crowd in L.A. He's from there, and they cheer really loud every time he checks in. Honestly, it's probably the loudest I heard them cheer in L.A. was when Russell Westbrook PERSON checked into the game.

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Not like a moment he had, but when he checks in, they're ready. And they're like, they want him out there and they're excited for him. Can I say, I love it personally. I do. Oh, it's fine. I know like he's going to be the heel in this series and Mavs ORG fans, rightfully so. We should boo him and, you know, all of that stuff when he's on the court. Personally, as a basketball fan, I think it's awesome. I think it's great. And this is the type, you know, you felt it in

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this game, really. Honestly, through this, like, rivalry that these two teams have, it doesn't really feel like a rivalry a lot of the times. Well, the main players, Kauai, Paul George PERSON, are just like, mild-mannered. Mild-mannered. They don't really talk a lot, and they don't really get in your face. Even like Terrence

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man, like kind of complains, but it doesn't really like, I mean, he was jarring at guys a little bit here and there. Zubots PERSON, he's not going to get in guys. Right, yeah, Zubots PERSON isn't doing that. Think about the Mab side of it. I guess Josh Green PERSON a little bit, but he hasn't played that much. Maxie PERSON, man, he'll get under some of these.

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There's not a lot of guys who get minutes on the Mavs who were in that series a few years ago.

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No.

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And so Westbrook in the second quarter is chasing down Josh Green PERSON and nails him in the back

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of the head on a dunk attempt. And I said immediately, it's at least a flagrant one. At least. I thought that was a good call, Flagher PERSON one.

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At least. And then he, as soon as he, as soon as it's done, the crowd's cheering at him, he looks at the crowd and goes, nah, nah, that's nothing. Like, looks at everybody.

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Oh, that's not all he said. There are kids listening.

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I have met some of those kids.

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That's true. There are.

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I'm witnessing the show. I cannot say the things that he said, and neither should you.

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You shouldn't say those things. I thought Nick PERSON would always like about that, but he's true.

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And so then he gets a flagrant one on that one. And then with 610 left in the game, he has a hard foul in Luke PERSON over,

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he grabs his arm and like spins him around. Hard foul. Not a basketball move. And you know it's not a basketball move because you follow Grant Assef PERSON on Twitter. He's 100% all basketball all the time.Like not really like fan commentary from him. Yeah, that's true.

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And he was like, he finally commented like another quote unquote basketball play from Russell Westbrook PERSON.

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And I was like, if you lost Grant PERSON in the basketball thread, you've lost the plot in the game, I think.

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And so Westbrook PERSON, you know, he then, you know, Luca PERSON gets in his face after that. Love that. Westbrook PERSON gets in his face. And then PJ PERSON comes over to defend Luca because PJ has been that guy that will come over and defend.And so Westbrook shoves Luca, Westbrook shoves PJ PERSON, and then PJ PERSON just kind of stands over on the side, stares at the Clippers ORG bench. Just absolutely amazing.

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That's what it looked like from my angle way up in, you know, Section 700 FAC, where he was just...

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The pose was actually before that. 1024, PJ and Man PERSON.

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Oh, that's right.

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That's right. They're different moments.

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I was just talking about the Westbrook PERSON part. You're right. My bad. But he shoves him. He gets ejected. But PJ also gets ejected for that Westbrook PERSON thing because earlier in the fourthquarter, him and Terrence Mann are getting into it as Terrence Man is trying to bring up the ball or something like that. And Terrence Man is like John PERSON at

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him and kind of like pushes him and tries, he's trying to get to him and the refs are like he's doing

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like holding me back bro to the refs. Yeah. And PJ PERSON just stands like this, just stands like this poses. You've probably seen the picture by now on Instagram or Twitter ORG or wherever and just poses. Honestly, that was the hardest I've ever laughed at an NBA game oh because I was I was staring right down the barrel at PJ PERSON's pose like right from where I'm sitting he was if if he was doing it at me and I was dying laughing because it was so funny just the the juxtaposition of PJ PERSON doing the pose like off to the distance and thenTerrence PERSON man like trying to get to him yeah yeah yeah cartoon and then it was pretty funny and then Terrence man, like, trying to get to him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like a cartoon.

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And then you see Luca PERSON come, like, skipping in, just cracking up and, like, laughing at it. The chemistry on this team, man, is something else right now. Yeah, I mean, the crowd, I can't, like, it's been a long time since I've experienced Dallas Mavericks ORG home crowd. And I had people tweet, I mean, they're like,was the crowd as dead as it sounds on ESPN ORG? The answer to that question is no. I thought the crowd

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was very into it tonight. And there was a stretch in the third quarter where the Mavs offense was struggling mightily. And a lot of that was due to like some terrible shots and turnovers and stuff. But man, when that PJ Washington moment had when Terrence Mann PERSON, and he's sitting there at half court with his arms crossed. The crowd was so into it, man. Like, I just feel like this fan base has been waiting for so long for just some. And, you know, we had it with Dorian PERSON, because Dorian was that guy.And you could just feel it any time Dorian PERSON did anything. Everyone loved it. But then since Dorian's left, we've been trying to replicate that and Grant tried it. But it always felt, God bless Grant Williams PERSON, but it always felt like manufactured. Rest and peace.

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May a soul rest. Didn't die.

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He's just playing for the Hornets ORG. He's not, he's not, he's not, the equivalent of a basketball death. But it was just always felt manufactured. And PJ PERSON, you just, he really has it. Like in Gafford PERSON, he gets a block and he's yelling at the crowd.

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Everyone is just going crazy. Lively PERSON does anything. The crowd goes crazy. Like there's so many electric guys on this team. And it just, I think it goes through not only the crowd, but the team. Oh, they love it.

Speaker 21192.08s - 1192.72s

It absolutely does.

Speaker 11192.76s - 1195.46s

This crowd loves an offensive rebound, a hustle play.

Speaker 21195.82s - 1196.9s

Stuff that Josh Green PERSON does.

Speaker 11196.98s - 1200.38s

I mean, everybody, they're going crazy for it. And you got it.

Speaker 21200.46s - 1208.58s

You got it in this game. Like, you got those things. Mavs had seven blocks. They had 12 steals in this game. Clippers turned it over 19 times. Mabs only turned it over this game. You got those things. Mavs had seven blocks. They had 12 steals in this game. Clippers turned it over 19 times. Mabs only turned it over eight times.

Speaker 01208.72s - 1211.16s

They got a lot of great stuff in this game.

Speaker 21211.16s - 1219.14s

And the Clippers, they didn't shoot the ball well in the second half at all. I think they shot, well, they shot three of 12 from three in the second half. The Mavs ORG just clamped down on them.

Speaker 11219.62s - 1220.42s

This defense, man.

Speaker 21220.7s - 1225.9s

It's real. It's... This Clippers ORG' offense is... I just have to reiterate this. This Clippers ORG' offense is supposed to got to, I just have to reiterate this. This Clippers' offense

Speaker 11225.9s - 1231.08s

is supposed to be very, very good. I mean, even like some of the shots, especially in the first

Speaker 21231.08s - 1235.26s

quarter that Hardin and Paul George and Kauai PERSON later in the game were hitting, it was like,

Speaker 01235.34s - 1263.84s

you live with that shot. Like there's just like no contest for any of those shots. The effort, and I don't know if it's just like this game specifically or if it's just more apparent in person, but like the effort that Clippers ORG have to exude to get anything offensively is insane. Like I don't know if it's just like this game specifically or if it's just more apparent in person, but like the effort the Clippers have to exude to get anything offensively is insane. Like I haven't seen anything like it from a Mavericks team in the Luke PERSON era for sure, even going back to 2022. Like their defense was good because they flew around and they hustled.But this is like smothering stuff. Like they prevent teams from even getting open looks at all, even from three.

Speaker 11263.94s - 1265.22s

Like it's just, it's insane.

Speaker 21265.78s - 1271.2s

It's been insane. It's been insane to watch. PJ PERSON and Derek Jones Jr. have just taken their matchup so seriously.

Speaker 11271.56s - 1288.1s

Got good defense again from Luca and Kyrie PERSON. I'm excited to watch back and to see some of the things that we got from them. But Luca PERSON got a couple steals and, like, we just saw great defense for both of them, just taking care of business and not needing help. Like, not needing help defense. And that's, that has changed everything.

Speaker 21288.34s - 1321.5s

It really has. There was one possession, I think it was, in the third quarter, I don't remember the exact, but Norman Powell hit a three. And it felt like the Mavericks ORG defensive old, where somebody's driving to the rim. I don't remember who it was specifically. But it felt like there was three guys converging. And like, it was normally, I don't, it might have been normal pal driving.He kicked it out. Either way, three guys converged. And it was like, oh, so much overhelping just happened because I think they're just, in the past, we're so used to that. And they just don't have to do that anymore. And, you know, there's still going to be some place exactly like that where, you know, you overhelp maybe and you leave a guy open for three.

Speaker 01321.5s - 1333.46s

And Luke PERSON has been like, don't overhelp. And when Luca PERSON makes a defensive stand, and he made a defensive stand in the fourth quarter where he's talking, he's talking to the Clippers ORG bench and the crowd's just going crazy. I mean, it's a beautiful thing.

Speaker 21334.24s - 1352.82s

It really is. It's a beautiful thing to watch and to witness. The Clippers ORG kind of went on a run, though. Clippers ORG put on their best run. They went on like a 17 to 5 stretch in the third quarter. They cut it to six at one point. That was the closest they kind of got it. But the Clippers ORG' offense. You mentioned this is a bad loss for the Clippers. Clippers have a lot of questions. Before we get to some of the

Speaker 01352.82s - 1357.94s

Mavs stuff, I would just want to go over. Like, Paul George, or Quai Leonard played 24 minutes in this

Speaker 21357.94s - 1375.66s

game. He played like six minutes to start the game and then sat out for a long time. I'm, I'm not sure. I don't think Kawhi Leonard PERSON is right. Like, I don't think that he's in a good physical state right now. For him to only play 24 minutes in this game where they couldn't get any offenseand couldn't get a lot going, that's not a good sign at all for them.

Speaker 11375.66s - 1377.86s

I was just about to say if he sits another game in the series,

Speaker 21377.94s - 1378.56s

that would not shock me at all.

Speaker 11379.28s - 1384.82s

Because he just does not look, he like, if you did not watch basketball at all and you watch this game, you would think he's just a role player.

Speaker 21388.32s - 1392.44s

Yeah, like him and Terrence Man are like the same. Yeah, like like they're not even like they're not even looking at him offensively really even no it's not even part of their game plan so

Speaker 11392.44s - 1396.92s

it would not shock me at all of kawai PERSON sits another game in the series and another thing that

Speaker 21396.92s - 1404.94s

i'm really liking about what the mavericks are doing but the clipper should be concerned james hardin 44 minutes in this game and he has to carry a lot of the offensive burden he only took

Speaker 11404.94s - 1406.66s

13 shots in this game but he's five of eight from lot of the offensive burden. He only took 13 shots in this game,

Speaker 21406.72s - 1408.72s

but he was 5 of 8 from 3 and hit a bunch of them.

Speaker 11408.8s - 1409.52s

He did some tough shots?

Speaker 21409.62s - 1418.48s

How many did he even take in the second half? It didn't feel like a lot. Yeah, he took four shots in the second half total. But they rely on him for a lot of their offense.

Speaker 11418.94s - 1432.64s

They're having him guard a lot too, and he's the one that's worn down in series before. Who even shot a lot in the second half for them? Because Paul George PERSON was in foul trouble the entire time. Zubots had, or Paul George went one of six.

Speaker 21433.14s - 1433.98s

Took six shots.

Speaker 11434.28s - 1439.84s

Kauai five, but at three, five, no three's attempted. And if Kauai PERSON is hitting those tough contested midrangers, where you have to make them work a little bit,

Speaker 21439.88s - 1454.92s

I think you're 100% okay with that. And that's pretty much what every single one of those makes felt like. And Norman Powell, like this is where, if I was a Clippers ORG fan, I'd be very concerned because you got, I think I talked about this on here with you where they're going to get a Norman Powell PERSON game at some point where Norman Powell plays really well. And he did tonight.

Speaker 11454.92s - 1458.08s

Four of six from three, from three, seven, eleven from the field, 21 points.

Speaker 21458.16s - 1460.3s

I mean, for a role guy, that's really good. This is the Norman Powell PERSON game, my name.

Speaker 11460.3s - 1469.16s

Yes, that's what I'm saying. You're going to get that game at some point. And I mean, this is a disastrous loss for the Clippers ORG. It really is. And they can play a lot better.

Speaker 21469.36s - 1472.94s

I mean, they'll regroup and the Quile Leonard thing is concerning for sure. But the Mavs ORG can play

Speaker 11472.94s - 1480.34s

so much better than this. Offensively. The Mavs shot 26% from three. And like Luka PERSON, 28%

Speaker 21480.34s - 1484.62s

from the field, man. 22 points. That is 12 off of his regular season average.

Speaker 11485.14s - 1504.54s

22 points on 25 shots. And granted, he had that knee thing. Yeah, let's talk about that. And that felt very scary because he's at the scores table bent over. And I'm like, oh, my God, is this a real Luca PERSON thing? And he came out, back out.Everyone's like, yeah, Paul Pierce PERSON. And then I think he got the ball at the first possession of the first quarter. He came back in with six seconds left for the first quarter. Gets the ball immediately.

Speaker 21504.64s - 1506.9s

And everyone's like, yeah. And then he turns it over. I was like, oh. Luca, about three minutes left of the first quarter, he came back in with six seconds left for the first quarter, gets the ball immediately. Everyone's like, yeah, and then he turns it over. I was like, oh.

Speaker 11507.54s - 1510.44s

Luca, about three minutes left in the first quarter,

Speaker 21510.98s - 1520.46s

he kind of comes down weird on his knee, and then he limps over to the scorers table, or he just limps around the court, and then he limps over the scorers table. He's keeled over, like, leaning over the scores table.

Speaker 11520.52s - 1522.14s

It's a scary-looking thing,

Speaker 21522.14s - 1526.4s

and then you're like, man, is this a Luca PERSON boo-boo? Like, is this just a Luca PERSON? Will he get, is he injurious? The scores table thing made me think, like, this is not a boo-boo. And then you're like, man, is this a Luca PERSON boo-boo? Like, is this just a Luca? Will he get, is he injurious?

Speaker 11526.5s - 1528.36s

The scores table thing made me think, like, this is not a boo-boo.

Speaker 21528.6s - 1540.32s

But then he, like, he played it up. And then he went to the bench, and then he sat down on the bench. And the way he was sitting on the bench and the way he was, like, wincing in pain. I was watching him. It just didn't look right at all. Then he kind of gets help to the locker room.It wasn't like a full.

Speaker 11540.52s - 1549.26s

Yeah. He's limping back in somebody's, like, carrying him to the locker room. But he did get some help, go back to the locker room. And. And then like two minutes later, he comes back on the bench and

Speaker 21549.26s - 1555.46s

he's just sitting on the bench. And then he gets back in at the end of the first quarter. So you're like, all right, he's going to play and he's good. But it's another knee thing where you

Speaker 11555.46s - 1581.68s

just, it is concerning. Yeah, he's obviously not 100%. And I think any, you know, knee bump or whatever the case, maybe falling on it weird or whatever, is going to aggravate it a little bit. So, you know, it's interesting because I think we talked about this at the top of the show. I can't remember if we talked about it before we went live or what, but I felt like Luca PERSON had a pretty, shooting-wise, it was rough, but it felt like he kind of figured out the defense a little bit.His playmaking felt really solid, and you know you're getting a Luca PERSON game at some point.

Speaker 21582.24s - 1583.84s

I mean, you'd think so.

Speaker 11583.96s - 1609.98s

I mean, you would think in the playoffs, seven game series, every seven game is a Luca PERSON game, but you're going to get the game where he starts four or six from three. And it's just like, if that game comes on Sunday here in the American Airlines ORG center, the crowd's going crazy,and it's a 15-point game in the first quarter, this is kind of where I'm feeling of this year, being here and watching, it's just like, this just feels like such a different Mavs ORG team, where they're just locked in, loaded. They don't feel scared at all.You have a baseline with this Mavs ORG team.

Speaker 21610.1s - 1613.62s

In Mavs ORG teams in the past, you did not have this same kind of floor. Right.

Speaker 11614s - 1622.42s

All right, we know the bottom is just not going to completely fall out. Now, it kind of did in the first game with their offense, but that's just such an unprecedented quarter. Their second half was so much better, though.

Speaker 21622.52s - 1629.74s

Yeah. It was like they just died. Their second half was better. It's just such an unprecedented quarter for them, but you have the baseline with the defense that you know at least you can bring that. Yeah. If

Speaker 11629.74s - 1633.6s

Luca and Kyrie PERSON are locked in and the other players are locked in, you at least have that part of it.

Speaker 21634.1s - 1645.16s

But what, you know, what can they do above that? And in this game, they got the role player involvement. And that was absolutely massive. They got a ton of role player involvement. And, man, they play better at home. They do.

Speaker 11648.68s - 1649.16s

And you watch, like, the Lakers ORG and Nugget series, and it's like, the Lakers just roll over.

Speaker 21652.66s - 1685.06s

Like, you can just sense that in that series, they just feel something. When the Nuggets ORG start to go on a run or something, they just are like, oh, we just lost the game. Like, we've been here 100 times. You know exactly how this ends. With this one, you know, the Clippers go on that run in the third quarter. It's a six-point game, and it feels kind of, you know, the stadium's like, oh, like, this doesn't feel that good.Lucas PERSON kind of struggling a little bit. Like, we need to get some offense going. And then, you know, they just bounce back, play defense, and it's defense to offense. It's transition offense off of steals, off of blocks, off of whatever the case may be. And, man, I mean, they just grind out wins. Like, it's just, they really do. They like, it's almost, they take great pride in it, too. Yes. You can just sense it. do. They like, it's almost, they take great pride in it, too.

Speaker 11689.9s - 1697.4s

Yes. You can just sense it. Markief Morris is like running out. If you guys haven't been to a Mavs game, you're always questioning Marky Mors PERSON. Let me tell you right now after being here, he is like literally sprinting from the bench to the other end of the court and timeout. It's like

Speaker 21697.4s - 1701.4s

getting everyone hype. Like, he's really that guy. He's involved for sure. The Mavis ORG,

Speaker 11701.4s - 1704.96s

bench is standing up because they know they're not going to complain about. They're not going to

Speaker 21704.96s - 1708.9s

complain about the Theo Pinson rule. At that point, so they is standing up because they know they're not going to complain about they're not going to complain about the Theo pinson rule at that point so they're standing up.

Speaker 11709.5s - 1713.12s

Were you surprised we never really got a full Kyrie Irving PERSON run? I kept waiting for it to happen.

Speaker 21713.12s - 1717.12s

Well, it kind of did happen though. That into the third quarter that felt like that put the game away.

Speaker 11717.4s - 1722.6s

Like that's about when it was a six point game and Kyrie had two points. Eight points in the third quarter.

Speaker 21722.72s - 1725.5s

And it was like hell and that was all within like the last three minutes or so.

Speaker 11725.68s - 1727.2s

And it was like Kyrie Irving PERSON, hello.

Speaker 21727.4s - 1756.78s

And just watching the game, it just felt like it wasn't, it felt like almost there like, Luca PERSON, this is going to be your game. Like you're going to score 40 plus points and carry his home. And it didn't happen. And then Kyrie PERSON just took over. He had an and one, had a crazy, insane three.End of shock like that absolutely felt like the dagger whenever he hit that. And that's just what having a guy like that does. It's not a good game for him numbers-wise or anything like that. But yeah, he had that stretch in the last two minutes or so of the third quarter. And that was the game almost. They still had a double-digit lead going to the fourth.

Speaker 11756.96s - 1764.22s

And what was that? The pose from PJ was at 10-24. You felt like left in the game and you felt like

Speaker 21764.22s - 1765.7s

the Mavs ORG were starting to gain some momentum.

Speaker 11766s - 1770.8s

Josh Green gets a steal right after that and Luca throws it up to PJ PERSON in transition for

Speaker 21770.8s - 1772.02s

an alley-U, which was massive.

Speaker 01772.2s - 1772.5s

That was great.

Speaker 11772.52s - 1774.5s

Clippers called timeout because it was a 19-point lead.

Speaker 01774.84s - 1786.64s

And then after that time-out, Kyrie PERSON comes out and hits that buzzer beater that he just threw up from the left side. I mean, just an absolute prayer of a shot, but he still hit it. And they were up 21 and he kind of felt like, that was it?

Speaker 11786.7s - 1800.28s

Yeah, that's what you were saying. It was just it at that point because the Clippers ORG' offense could not get enough going. And that's, you know, there's always that PTSD in the back of your brain. But really, it's watching this team, it's like, I don't think they're giving up a 20. Fourth Quarter League ORG. Like, I don't think this team is going to do that.

Speaker 21800.34s - 1801.44s

The baseline. Yeah.

Speaker 11801.54s - 1823.26s

I mean, that's just like, they're going to play defense hard and they're going to do all these different things. And Kyrie PERSON has this, like, speaking of baseline, Kari has this baseline jumper Yeah. I mean, that's just like, they're going to play defense hard and they're going to do all these different things. And Kyrie has this like, speaking of baseline, Kyrie PERSON has this baseline jumper where it's like he had, I don't remember when he hit it, but there was, it was, he had two guys on him, but the corner was open and both guys were on his left. And he just dribbles it right to the baseline and pulls up. It's just such an unguarable shot. And I've been working on that shot. I was working on it today. Oh, you were on the court before?

Speaker 21823.42s - 1825.3s

At L.A., Not here. LA Fitness ORG.

Speaker 11825.84s - 1830.54s

Speaking of L.A., the crowd, 10 times more into it than they were in L.A.

Speaker 21830.64s - 1833s

I mean, I was in the lower bowl for the game, too.

Speaker 11833.1s - 1840.12s

I was in the lower bowl here. The energy is just so different. Compared to Mavericks fans, there are not Clippers ORG fans.

Speaker 21840.3s - 1840.42s

Yeah.

Speaker 11840.8s - 1842.88s

It is not comparable those two.

Speaker 21842.92s - 1844.02s

The crowd felt insane to me.

Speaker 11844.08s - 1871.82s

I mean, this is the first time I've been here in a long time, but it felt everyone was into it. And there's just something about the defensive plays, man. When there's a block or a steel, and it's just like the crowd is just so juiced. Because that's how you win games.Everyone knows it. Like, you know, even the most casual basketball fan understands that you got to play basketball, that you have to play defense. So, like, if you're giving up a 123 defensive rating and you're just giving up points every time on the floor and you hit a three, it's like, oh, well, they're about to give up a three on the otherend.

Speaker 21871.88s - 1875.22s

What team would do that? Like every single game for the last three years.

Speaker 11875.4s - 1883.84s

Exactly. That's what I'm saying. And everyone can sense it where it's like the Mavs going like a six-home run and it's like, oh my God, like they might put this game out of reach right now. It was amazing.

Speaker 21883.98s - 1887.2s

It was a great win for the Mavericks ORG. And they go up 2-1 now.

Speaker 01887.38s - 1892.24s

So we'll keep following this and we'll be back on Sunday to talk more about the Mavs game four.

Speaker 11892.34s - 1893.12s

I'm excited to see.

Speaker 21893.94s - 1910.6s

I'm excited to see how they come out in that one if they take the foot off the gas because they've done that in the past. And we've seen them. They didn't game one. And so I'm hopeful that they won't do that. But we'll have that all covered.Go listen to SlightlyBias on his Slightly Bias ORG YouTube channel. Luca unblocked Slightly Bias ORG. Guys, six words are listening to Locked on Mavs WORK_OF_ART. Peace out.

Speaker 11910.84s - 1911.56s

Mavs in five, baby.

Speaker 21912.12s - 1912.48s

Boom.

Speaker 11914.32s - 1915.52s

Hey, Prime members.

Speaker 01915.92s - 1920.3s

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Speaker 21920.84s - 1923.02s

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