20 years (and 1 day) later- Finals Game 1 GDT

[FNG]

Tim has a new knee, and we have a new NBA Finals series. We lost to the Lakers both in Game 1 and the series in 2004, but that was then and this is now. I just checked the rosters, and I'm 99% certain that neither Shaq nor Kobe will suit up against us tonight. We are favored by 4 1/2, and both teams are relatively healthy, except for Kleber and Luka's fake knee injury.

This is a difficult one to predict, because many current Maverick starters didn't play in this year's 4 games- I think our 3-1 season record means little. Dallas has two stars, two aggressive wing defenders, and a 2-headed dunking monster at center...they are a formidable opponent.

But if I were to pick the key player in this Game 1, I would say Anthony Edwards (wow, really going out on a limb in that one, FNG). I actually like that he shot 6 for 24 in Game 7 against Denver. That subpar performance will have him coming into this one just a little hungrier.

Marc Davis's crew gets Game 1. and that makes us happy. Jason Kidd is winless as a coach in Game 1's...let's keep him that way!

[Q-is-here]

Thanks for kicking this off FNG! So happy that we get Marc Davis! That means we might get him again this series since this is just Game 1.

[Wolvesfan21]

I thought Luka looked more "injury" slowed down then Murray last series. He very well could be closer to 95-100% now though. Gotta be ready for a full strength Luka for sure.

I imagine this crowd is going to be bananas tonight.

[BloopOracle]

Marc Davis is back along with prison ball!!!!

[Carlos Danger]

[Q-is-here]

I thought Luka looked more "injury" slowed down then Murray last series. He very well could be closer to 95-100% now though. Gotta be ready for a full strength Luka for sure.

I imagine this crowd is going to be bananas tonight.

I agree. Luka looked pretty beat up and there were a lot of bad shots and turnovers mixed in with his great shots and passing against OKC.

I really think the key is not to sell out on Luka and really do everything possible to limit the others. OKC did a great job on Irving in my opinion, but they were so aggressive against Luka that it led to a ton of easy looks for guys like PJ Washington. It isn't the end of the world if Luka works his butt off to get 35 or 40 points. But what if in the process of doing that everyone else is largely held in check and Luka turns it over 4 or 5 times and wears down on defense? We should be OK with that.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Wait.

So we heard exactly 2,933 times about how Jamal Murray was injured in the last round. Will we have to hear that after every missed Doncic shot this round?

[Q-is-here]

Wait.

So we heard exactly 2,933 times about how Jamal Murray was injured in the last round. Will we have to hear that after every missed Doncic shot this round?

Heh, I think Luka legit got beat up more than Murray did in the OKC round. Of course, he doesn't rely on speed or burst that much. I also think we will see and hear a lot of noise regarding his foul-baiting and on going dialogue with the refs.

Speaking of which.....For those that firmly believe that the NBA and refs conspire to favor certain teams and stars, is Anthony Edwards now getting to the point of being one of the preferred guys, if not THE preferred guy? I think a lot of the U.S.-born NBA "elites" in positions of power and influence want to see someone actually born in the U.S. become the face of the league. Not sure Tatum quite does it for a lot of folks....So wouldn't the conspiracy theorists believe that Ant will see a better whistle than Luka?

[Coolbreeze44]

I think we are going to get tired of Luka during this series, for multiple reasons. The foul baiting, shot making, incessant whining come to mind.

[BloopOracle]

Wait.

So we heard exactly 2,933 times about how Jamal Murray was injured in the last round. Will we have to hear that after every missed Doncic shot this round?

Heh, I think Luka legit got beat up more than Murray did in the OKC round. Of course, he doesn't rely on speed or burst that much. I also think we will see and hear a lot of noise regarding his foul-baiting and on going dialogue with the refs.

Speaking of which.....For those that firmly believe that the NBA and refs conspire to favor certain teams and stars, is Anthony Edwards now getting to the point of being one of the preferred guys, if not THE preferred guy? I think a lot of the U.S.-born NBA "elites" in positions of power and influence want to see someone actually born in the U.S. become the face of the league. Not sure Tatum quite does it for a lot of folks....So wouldn't the conspiracy theorists believe that Ant will see a better whistle than Luka?

I'm one of those conspiracy theorists, and this has been on my mind the past 24 hours. If we don't see at least decent Timberwolves whistles I'm going to malfunction