Mavericks (6-3) at Celtics (7-1) Game #9 11/11/19

[gouki88]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

I'm not questioning his quality, he's breaking the league right now at the age of twenty. I'm just questioning the Bird comparison - why is a youngster who functions as an on ball maestro in the mould of legends like LeBron/Magic (and even Jordan) is compared to a legend who blended efficient volume scoring and passing together into a mainly off ball profile in Bird?

Because his mindset seems far more like Bird's, and the way he does things (not very vertical, but lots of fakes, slight of hand, predicting the defence, etc.) is more like Bird than those other guys. He's not nearly the athlete Magic was, let alone LeBron or MJ.

[liam]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

I'm not questioning his quality, he's breaking the league right now at the age of twenty. I'm just questioning the Bird comparison - why is a youngster who functions as an on ball maestro in the mould of legends like LeBron/Magic (and even Jordan) is compared to a legend who blended efficient volume scoring and passing together into a mainly off ball profile in Bird?

I don't think Bird is an off ball profile? They coined the term point forward for Bird. I guess I just see something different.

[Somebody]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Doncic is very Bird like in the way he plays and he's only 20.

Yeah I disagree with that. I think he functions closer to Magic and LeBron than Bird, I just don't see the Bird comparison at all unless you're just going with looks.

It's Luka's all around game and court vision that remind me of Bird. He's a much better shooter than Magic or LeBron at 20. I don't think Luka looks anything like Bird.

Bird wasn't even a relevant player at the age of 20 lol, it makes no sense to compare past legends when they were 20 years old to Doncic just because of his current age. Magic and LeBron eventually developed a pretty good outside shot, and their prime play is closer to how Doncic functions imo.

[tenn_smoothie]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

Woahhhh, hold on. Does this guy rebound like Bird or pass like Bird or even play team defense like Bird ? Bird was a wild animal on the boards when he was younger and is the greatest passer from the forward spot in history, plus Bird had obscene scoring nights his entire career and Doncic has not shown the clutch gene that Larry had in spades. I know he is young - but he is not Larry Bird.

[ETNCeltics]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

I'm not questioning his quality, he's breaking the league right now at the age of twenty. I'm just questioning the Bird comparison - why is a youngster who functions as an on ball maestro in the mould of legends like LeBron/Magic (and even Jordan) is compared to a legend who blended efficient volume scoring and passing together into a mainly off ball profile in Bird?

He's nothing like either. Neither Magic nor a younger Lebron could shoot outside to save their lives. His passing style is much closer to Bird's than the flashy Magic who got half his assists in fast breaks. He's not a battering ram like Lebron. Don't see the comparison to those 2 at all.

[Somebody]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

I'm not questioning his quality, he's breaking the league right now at the age of twenty. I'm just questioning the Bird comparison - why is a youngster who functions as an on ball maestro in the mould of legends like LeBron/Magic (and even Jordan) is compared to a legend who blended efficient volume scoring and passing together into a mainly off ball profile in Bird?

I don't think Bird is an off ball profile? They coined the term point forward for Bird. I guess I just see something different.

That was what made Bird so special, he was a point forward without requiring the ball to stick in his hands for much of the shot clock. As I said he blended in efficient volume scoring and passing into that off ball profile, he wasn't bringing the ball up the court and calling for a million PnRs.

[jambr380]

8 in a row, boys!

Are the Celtics the best team in the league? That's a Texas-sized 10-4 good buddy!

You always say nice things about the team, jaypotter33. That's what I appreciates abouts you

Pitter Patter! 

[ETNCeltics]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

Woahhhh, hold on. Does this guy rebound like Bird or pass like Bird or even play team defense like Bird ? Bird was a wild animal on the boards when he was younger and is the greatest passer from the forward spot in history, plus Bird had obscene scoring nights his entire career and Doncic has not shown the clutch gene that Larry had in spades. I know he is young - but he is not Larry Bird.

He's a guard. Of course he can't rebound like the 6'9 Bird. No, he's not as good yet as Bird, but he's 3 years away from being the age Larry was when he was a rookie.

But IMO, his offensive style is very much like Bird, and also like Bird, he's the best player in the league. I thought that when I first saw his draft highlights 3 years ago, doubly so now.

[Somebody]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

I'm not questioning his quality, he's breaking the league right now at the age of twenty. I'm just questioning the Bird comparison - why is a youngster who functions as an on ball maestro in the mould of legends like LeBron/Magic (and even Jordan) is compared to a legend who blended efficient volume scoring and passing together into a mainly off ball profile in Bird?

He's nothing like either. Neither Magic nor a younger Lebron could shoot outside to save their lives. His passing style is much closer to Bird's than the flashy Magic who got half his assists in fast breaks. He's not a battering ram like Lebron. Don't see the comparison to those 2 at all.

I was talking about how they function. All 3 were the main ballhandlers on their squads and quarterbacked offenses to elite levels. And as I said in an earlier post, it makes no sense to compare a younger Magic or LeBron to Doncic because the times have changed - Bird wasn't even a relevant player when he was 20.

[Green Bones]

Great win! I felt like this would be a loss tonight with the Hayward loss, but this team is showing grit and grinded it out. Love me some Kemba, he is just the type of leader this team needed. Hopefully he’s feeling better tomorrow after that collision.

The bench really came through tonight. Really picked up the slack with Tatum’s dud, but he’ll bounce back fine.

And JB. Man. He’s looking like a killer. Flashes of MJ. I see big things coming from him.

But people were saying that 107M for four years of Jaylen is an overpay! great to see Jaylen winning people over

I was happy he signed that contract. He’s shown improvement every year, and he handled going to the bench last year with great maturity and still produced. His body control really reminds me of MJ. So important to this team

[apc]

Another good D from Smart on a big. Prozingis couldn't score on him

[Vox_Populi]

I was disappointed in Porzingis. He looks like the ~35 year old version of Zadrunas Ilgauskas out there.

I said earlier I wasn't worried about him, not that was a bold prediction, but he just doesn't look like his previous agile self. He's been out a long time.

[liam]

Another good D from Smart on a big. Prozingis couldn't score on him

Smart and the rest of the teams defense has been so good. This team is a totally different animal than last years team. Another great win!

[RockinRyA]

lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.

I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?

Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.

Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.

I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.

Woahhhh, hold on. Does this guy rebound like Bird or pass like Bird or even play team defense like Bird ? Bird was a wild animal on the boards when he was younger and is the greatest passer from the forward spot in history, plus Bird had obscene scoring nights his entire career and Doncic has not shown the clutch gene that Larry had in spades. I know he is young - but he is not Larry Bird.

Actually yes to all your question. No comparison is perfect, but you could say Doncic is Bird-lite.

[SHAQATTACK]

i have a man crush on Smart