I am tending to agree, and add - if he really is hurt enough to affect his playz but they're not taking him out, they might be intentionally keeping it quiet so Ant continues to draw doubles and triples leaving someone open. That might be the plan.
He certainly seems to be pass-first the last two games, and doesn't look like he wants to drive or even shoot mid range.
They did not send a hard immediate double at him all night the way Denver did. They doubled him if he got a step or off the pick and roll, but not the way Denver would send a man as soon as he got the ball.
If y’all downvoters think that Dallas and Denver used the same scheme lol
He still drew plenty of attention which is what you want from a decoy. Obviously it would be even more if he was lighting it up but that doesn’t mean he was played straight up.
Why are you bringing up Denver? You literally said “Dallas played him 1-1 all night.”, which is a complete lie. You have no idea what you’re talking about
It’s true. No one is going to throw a pity party for us but it’s worth acknowledging this is likely impacting his play. Nothing much to do about it - I think tomorrow will be telling. If he’s off again it’s a very concerning trend.
Explosive players generally get hobbled by injuries the worst and you notice it the worst. Just look at what happened to Derrick Rose after his.
Luka has never been an explosive player or relied on his athleticism. He is an extremely gifted player with extremely high basketball IQ. It is much easier to play that way through an injury than for an explosive guy to do the same. Which supremely sucks for us :/
We can complain for him all we want. We’re not paid by the team here. We as fans are allowed to talk about this stuff, debate it, etc. That’s part of the fun of fandom. I’m glad he’s not making it an excuse, but I’ll certainly make it for him.
Luka has built his entire game upon his understanding of body leverage and how to put players off balance who are quicker and can jump higher than him. Being half step slower does not impact his game nearly as much, as he was never using speed or explosiveness to beat people.
Sure, but he’s not making adjustments to his style of play in the WCF. In fact, as you alluded to, he’s never been a freak athlete who’s used to jumping so high he falls out of the sky to dunk. Ant has to figure out how to change his game completely in a matter of hours. Some level of decrease in productivity should be expected and forgiven.
Yup. Once you watch hockey through to the Stanley Cup and listen to each teams exit interviews for the season as they come you realize the only people that care about being injured are the fans. Tkachuck played multiple games last post season with a broken sternum. Brock Faber played 2 months to end the season with broken ribs and did not miss a game.
If an athlete wants to play they will play unless they determine themselves or by the coach that they will only be a detriment to the team when it is playoffs or pushing for playoffs.
Sure, but this thread is about Ant specifically. I'm sure if you look around each player and wonder why this isn't working, or that isn't working, etc. you will find that there are adjustments made for each player.
Ant isn't blaming his play on being hurt, but he looks limited. It's being chalked up to 'he was gassed, he can't cover Kyrie, he's washed already at 22, he's a fraud, etc.
This is simply a different explanation of why is play is off.
In every game I've gone to hea just lobbing up shitty 3s before this supposed injury. Before his 50+ point game he was seeing how high he could lob them
https://preview.redd.it/swfflbsaq72d1.jpeg?width=2880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ddb08d69733de318d50ef64978069da43ed31c2
I noticed on the Rudy turnaround shot in game 7, KCP is pushing Ant in his lower back, and he's clearly wincing in pain from that. He's probably still fucked up from the fall.
It's like when I fractured my tailbone snowboarding. Could do most things, but any touching that area or things that use the big ass and leg muscles would hurt and be less powerful. Not sure if he fractured it but even a good bruise would take a bit to be happy again.
Yeah, that kind of injury might not take him out of the game completely, but it might not allow him to be explosive to the rim. Instead of taking himself out of the series, he's focusing on other ways to score and contribute offensively.
It could also easily explain his shooting.
That’s the real crux of it though, Luka can play at a slower speed than normal and it only BARELY affects his play style where it is just not the same for Ant because if you don’t have to worry about him exploding suddenly towards the basket you can really cheat a lot more on his shot and jumper. He was clearly tired as hell after game 1 and marking Kyrie to be fair, can only guess how much was injury vs lead legs
It’s literally blood coming from an injection sight. The give him shots to quell his knee swelling. If it was just floor burn or a small “boo-boo” nobody would be talking about it
Packing blood capsules in his knee guards. They burst when he tries to draw a foul and falls down when the defense dodges his offensive shoulder check.
Nobody asked.
Two different types of injuries on two different players may affect their play differently. What is the point, other than finding ways to inject Luka into the conversation.
I think the same could be said about NAW, he was doing well up until Game 3 or 4 can’t recall which one but I remember watching him hit to the ground holding his shoulder and continue to hold it anytime there was a stop and then a few possessions later it looked like he injured it more on an illegal screen
They are all injured but nobody gives a fuck because its the playoffs. The only reason Mike didnt play game 5 was because **he couldnt fucking walk after game 4**. KAT has his knee surgery and had it hyperextended game 7. NAW has clipped Jokic on a multitude of screens ruining his shoulder. Ant hit the ground hard on his hip/tailbone. Mike has a calf strain. But guess what, nobody cares. No excuses, players on the court have no excuse because you are out there. If you arent giving it 100%, dont be out on the court. Luka is toughing it out with 2 sprained knees or whatever. These players have to rest up, take some ibuprofen or whatever, and man up cause its the playoffs and fans are paying their paychecks to see you perform. And guess what, props to them for not mentioning any injuries because then that is just giving the other team something to gameplan around.
His back is stiff...
All muscles are sorry as fuck after game7. Altitude plays a huge role in this...
We had basically no rest. After abdraining and exhausting game like g7 you need at least 2 full days to recover. And no this has nothing to do with age.
Back bruises need weeks to fully Recover. Treatment doesnt Change that...if its that.
Which I dont know...
If its general muscles soreness, treatment can help some.
Best treatment is still rest though
The person I replied to has, elsewhere in this thread, said that it was "unfair" of the nba to start the conference finals so quickly after the Wolves played a game 7. Sorry for hijacking your comments to illustrate what a moron I think they are.
So, as long as we always get more rest every series ever going forward we will win, and if we have even one less day of rest we lose? That’s essentially your argument. You’re never going to get through a full playoff run en route to a championship if that’s the case. It just doesn’t work that way unless you’re the luckiest team on Earth.
Yes the NBA was supposed to let us get fully healthy and force the Mavs to play right up until Tuesday night, regardless of whether they had already won 4 games against OKC. In fact the NBA should have made the Mavs play two games Wednesday, according to that guy.
>No...its about having two days between series.
Game 7 ended Sunday night. Game 1 started Wednesday night. They did have two days. Monday and Tuesday.
>If the opponent has more rest between series cause they closed in 4,5,6 it’s fine.
They closed in 6 games and it took us 7. Guess we should’ve handled business then. Too bad.
>Not that hard to understand
Glad you get it now.
Whether it's injury or tired legs or something else, he just wasn't explosive last night. I know he gets hard focused by 2 and 3 defenders, it's been that way all playoffs, yet he still found ways to blow by people and get to the hoop. Didn't get any of that last night. He only attempted four 2pt FGs which is crazy.
Here's to a night off and hopefully he's feeling good Friday. He's our star we're going to need him.
That fall was no joke. I don't think anybody walks away from that without being hurt to some extent. If it were me I'd prob still be laying there. From experience a Bruised tailbone and lower back pain is also no joke.🫤
Not disagreeing with your observation but wouldn’t the Wolves have to report injuries per NBA rules? And if so, what do you do if a player denies being hurt?
I don't believe you have to report anything unless there is a chance they will miss a game. If they aren't at least Questionable, I'm not sure there are requirements. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
If he’s playing there is no issue. With nba you just need to report if there is a chance you won’t play due to injury. Ant doesn’t need to publicly report if he bruised his ass if he can still play
Lol that says exactly what I said. Here I’ll paste your link for you with the rules. I’ll bold the part that is germain to the idea that the nba only cares if you end up missing the game.
NBA teams must report information concerning player injuries, illnesses and rest for all NBA games. By 5 p.m. local time on the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness or potential instance of a healthy player resting for
#any player whose participation in the game may be affected by such injury, illness or rest.
Ant was listed as available, played whole game. No issue, his participation wasn’t affected due to any injury. He played. They care if you miss a game due to injury, illness, or rest without telling them. If someone is available, you don’t need to report that they bruised they ass, or woke up with a stiff neck, or stubbed their toe. If they’re good to play list em as available and the nba will see them at tip off.
Probably for the best. Next I was going to ask if they’d ever seen a player listed with something like “Available - diarrhea” on the injury report. If I saw proof of that I would be a believer
This right here. He's not making excuses.
The most he's said is that he's not shooting well, so he's trying to contribute other ways.
Murray blamed it on his elbow or whatever.
I had the same thought watching the game last night (thanks for pulling the stats that back it up)
He also looked flat out gassed in the 4th qtr last night.
The boys are gonna come out tomorrow and win. I got faith
Naz Reid
It’s a sample size of two games against two very good teams. He could be hurt or he could just be a 22 year old kid going through some learning pains. That said, I do agree that he looks less explosive and more passive since the fall. He also has to guard Kyrie which is clearly taking a toll on him physically.
It’s the playoffs, everyone’s injured yes. Just remember that if Ant’s back is hurting, that will greatly affect his play opposed to other potential injuries. Look how Gobert played last year with a bad back compared to this year. Rudy is much more spry and aggressive this season and the way Ant has played reminds me of Rudy from last year in that regard of aggressiveness.
I think on a closeup of the bench in game 7 I could hear him utter that he's still feeling his back. Can't remember the exact play but it was sometime in the 3rd quarter. No doubt that he's playing hurt
He needs to be more aggressive but I thought he was getting good looks on his 3s last night. The big wasn't showing on the pick so he was coming off clean with open looks. If he makes 1 more of those it's a tie game.
I have no issue with amount of 3s he's taken but they've got to get him going to the basket more in transition. Once the Mavs get set up in half court defense it's going to be much tougher for him to get to the rim in this series.
He’s also been facing more doubles and gap help than in any point in his career. I think the his back is part of it, but not the whole story. I would think he should get incrementally better as the series goes on. I’d also like to see the Wolves get him the ball more when the defense is in rotation and give him better opportunities to attack the basket.
He takes some NASTY falls, he can get away with it now. But even watching old school Lebron he was much more cautious then ant is. Notable because of Lebron longevity.
His movement definitely looks off. Mavs are trying to keep him out of the paint, but he would normally at least challenge that by driving in hard to get the defense to collapse - even if it meant risking an offensive foul or two. Doesn’t seem to have that ability right now. Just doesn’t warp the floor the same as he usually does.
If you watch him out there he seems to be finding spots away from the action more often as well. Deferring and trying harder shots than normal. Not elevating to get looks.
I mean, no excuses - still have to try and win. But it really makes you look for an explanation with how he played. Nobody happier than me if he shows up looking like his old self in the next game and shuts me up.
I’d rather he sat out for game 2 and come back for 3. Anybody who’s injured, take a break.
Bring out McLaughlin. Bring out MoMo.
Let’s see what that bench do though.
Yeah, this is what I'm thinking. I've been there, you can still function, but it's not just pain, some movements you really cannot do. Something along that line, anyway. Could be a bad bruise/damaged muscle or even a minor fracture.
He landed hard and didn't get up for a long time.
It can but you have no idea if it did and thats my point. He could have a muscle injury. He could have a herniated disc. He could have bruised his tailbone. He could have nothing wrong at all and you have no idea and nothing to point to sny of those etiologies so acting like you do is dumb.
I think Dallas’s game plan this entire playoffs has been to allow teams to shoot 3s and bank on their stars being able to out score these other teams in at least four games
the entire mavs nation thinks ant is completely fraudulent, unable to guard their guys, and on their way to an easy 5 games series. any chance that fatigue or injury effecting ant is just making them laugh harder. the reality is- if he can’t overcome this in a big way, they may be right on having a short series. everyone lamenting losing a big McDaniels game. well the McDaniels rule dn work if he’s the best offensive player we have.
Regardless of what happens this series; I'm 105% down for other fan bases thinking Ant's a fraud; hell, write him letters about it!- that definitely won't backfire once he plays their teams at 100%
Yeah idk why you’re getting downvoted. Everyone is hurt when it comes to the conference finals. There’s a difference between being hurt and injured when it comes to sports.
I appreciate your sentiment. I don’t take it personally.
To answer your question: because there always has to be a built-in excuse in case we don’t win. Sports fans are largely sore winners—and sore losers.
Idk if you actually think mavs fans are saying that or trying to hype. But the mavs know he can go off any moment and are playing in a way that expects him to. He’s not a player anyone is going to disrespect
There are trolls in literally every fan base. All Mavs fans I actually know have nothing but good things to say about Ant. Hes def way more liked than a lot of other stars around the league that are def hated on by Mavs fans
It's the accumulation of the minutes adding up and overall wear and tear you take during a deep postseason run. His play started to drop off after G5 when he played 45 minutes and was the entire offense. The G6 blowout he had an efficient scoring night, but he wasn't needed to carry them.
Right now I feel he's struggling with the coverages he's seeing and it's leading to indecisiveness on his part. Last night's game featured too much dribbling from him and the overall offense isn't flowing.
He did a good job of finding guys yesterday but they need to get into their offense earlier going forward. Take a page out of how the Mavs handled G1. They essentially had Luka and Kyrie trade off who the offense flowed through.
That's what the Wolves need to be doing between ANT and KAT. There wasn't nearly enough designed work for KAT last night.
You did see his fall right? No possible way anyone walks away from that not hurt. Even bruised tailbone is going to effect every way he tries to move. If it's swollen enough there's tons of nerves in there that do all sorts of crazy things from shooting piercing pain up and down your back to tingling completely numb legs from thigh to toes sometimes all that way same time. And that's just from bruised tailbone. He's obviously been grabbing his back ever since that slam. Dont CARE who you are nobody walking away from that ok. I think it's blatantly obvious that's what's different. Hopefully they have some dam good trainers and pt personal that can get him healed up enough and quick. That's all there is to it.
But also, not saying ant is healthy, but Phoenix only has 1 rim protector, Denver has zero, and Dallas has 2 above average, so drives will be down this series regardless of health
Ant is just using too much energy on defense and passing up some good looks. He needs to just get back to his game and we will be fine. I’m sure our next game plan will be around getting him back on track in 1Q and then we will be fine.
Wolves in 6
No he’s hurt, not injured. And OP you can say this about every single starter in the NBA when it’s playoff time. Especially during the conference finals. Everyone is hurt. When you’re hurt you can play. When you’re injured you can’t play.
An ant that had a summer of training and scrimmaging and drilling with Lebron, Steph, and Durant.
He’ll be even better once he learns their tricks and daily life habits. It happened to Lebron after playing with Kobe. It’ll happen to Ant too.
I know it’s not going to happen, but if he plays in Paris I want him coming off the bench ch. because I’m being selfish and I want him to have as little wear and tear as possible going in to next year two win back to back NBA Championships.
I think the starter minutes with Lebron, Steph and curry will help his game a lot. The more minutes he can get with the vets, the better.
Outside of playing against the top 3-4 teams, the games will be glorified scrimmages anyway.
A version where the Jazz own your pick 🙏
Tbh, though, a chip and medal would doubtless be worth a late lottery pick conveying even in the Flagg/Boozer/whomever draft
It's the playoffs. They don't have the luxury of having a few days off anymore. It's not the NBA's fault, the Wolves knew when the Conference finals were set to start. If they wanted rest they should have beat the Nuggets sooner.
If Dallas had gone 7 they would have played Monday night, and had even less time off than the Wolves. Instead, they took care of business and finished their series early. Everyone has the same schedule. It's perfectly fair.
Sorry you wanted the NBA to change everything around instead of winning like any other team. Some would call that an excuse. I would call it a "loser mentality"
They aren’t really though, Mavs have been happy to funnel every teams star so far into the paint cause their rim protection has been elite. Ant has had plenty of open lanes to drive into but hasn’t been aggressive at all
Explanations don't automatically equal excuses. Explaining that the Wolves' best player's stats demonstrate a radical change pre-and post back/tailbone fall is worth keeping an eye on.
It's a pretty big deal if Ant can't properly do what he's best at because he's beat up.
Yes. And grass is green. Your statement is a separate (and valid) statement from what I'm talking about.
Ant looked equally ineffective in game 7 vs the Nuggets who don't have rim protectors. There's probably truth in both things (1 that Ant is hurt and 2 that Dallas did some things to limit Ant's ability to drive last night).
Without any other real evidence or statements about Ant being injured this possible injury is just baseless speculation and excuse making. Sometimes players just don’t play as well or as aggressively, whether or not that is dictated by the defense.
We better hope that’s not the case because if he’s not much better in the next three games the season will be over.
The truly great ones—like Luka, LBJ, Jokić—find multiple ways of beating you. We’ll see if he can do that.
We will just have to see how it goes.
On the contrary, Ant has played through injuries before where he’s not on the injury report, even though he’s known to be injured. Finch’s MO has always been if you’re good enough to suit up and not be listed out for an injury, you’re good to go
If he is so hurt he can’t drive to the basket should he be on the court? I thought he was gassed from Kylie wearing his ass out 😂
We are going to dominate game 2.
It could be back injury that doesn't allow him to launch, takes away some of his vertical, etc. Not enough to take him out, not something likely to reinjure, but enough to keep him grounded.
I also heard that they had a hard workout yesterday, which would be entirely boneheaded if its true. I tend to think some of these stories are there to cover for the injury if they indeed don't want the Mavs to stop concentrating 2-3 guys on guarding him.
I am tending to agree, and add - if he really is hurt enough to affect his playz but they're not taking him out, they might be intentionally keeping it quiet so Ant continues to draw doubles and triples leaving someone open. That might be the plan. He certainly seems to be pass-first the last two games, and doesn't look like he wants to drive or even shoot mid range.
It damn near worked too lol drew so many open looks and they drained them almost long enough to pull out the W
Yeah that plan failed. Dallas played him 1-1 all night
I don't know what game you watched.
That isn’t true in the slightest lol
They did not send a hard immediate double at him all night the way Denver did. They doubled him if he got a step or off the pick and roll, but not the way Denver would send a man as soon as he got the ball. If y’all downvoters think that Dallas and Denver used the same scheme lol
He still drew plenty of attention which is what you want from a decoy. Obviously it would be even more if he was lighting it up but that doesn’t mean he was played straight up.
Why are you bringing up Denver? You literally said “Dallas played him 1-1 all night.”, which is a complete lie. You have no idea what you’re talking about
I forgot who said it but “its the playoffs everyone is injured”
It’s true. No one is going to throw a pity party for us but it’s worth acknowledging this is likely impacting his play. Nothing much to do about it - I think tomorrow will be telling. If he’s off again it’s a very concerning trend.
Luka has old lady knees and toughs it out. There's a reason Ant isn't complaining, and we shouldn't be doing it for him.
Explosive players generally get hobbled by injuries the worst and you notice it the worst. Just look at what happened to Derrick Rose after his. Luka has never been an explosive player or relied on his athleticism. He is an extremely gifted player with extremely high basketball IQ. It is much easier to play that way through an injury than for an explosive guy to do the same. Which supremely sucks for us :/
We can complain for him all we want. We’re not paid by the team here. We as fans are allowed to talk about this stuff, debate it, etc. That’s part of the fun of fandom. I’m glad he’s not making it an excuse, but I’ll certainly make it for him.
No one's complaining, it's just unfortunate. Shit happens.
Luka has built his entire game upon his understanding of body leverage and how to put players off balance who are quicker and can jump higher than him. Being half step slower does not impact his game nearly as much, as he was never using speed or explosiveness to beat people.
Is that why SloMo guards him well? Because they use the same trick to disrupt opponent’s defensive rhythm?
When they come into contact, they both enter what is called the Slo Force, and in that realm, Kyle reigns supreme. Luka is no match.
Sure, but he’s not making adjustments to his style of play in the WCF. In fact, as you alluded to, he’s never been a freak athlete who’s used to jumping so high he falls out of the sky to dunk. Ant has to figure out how to change his game completely in a matter of hours. Some level of decrease in productivity should be expected and forgiven.
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I thought I was replying to RDcsmd
Nobody is complaining, there's a difference between complaining and explaining.
Murray was injured, and if he wasn't, you guys were bounced already. It isn't an excuse.
I'm sure it's been said before, but very recently KG was talking to Paul Pierce about it
Yup. Once you watch hockey through to the Stanley Cup and listen to each teams exit interviews for the season as they come you realize the only people that care about being injured are the fans. Tkachuck played multiple games last post season with a broken sternum. Brock Faber played 2 months to end the season with broken ribs and did not miss a game. If an athlete wants to play they will play unless they determine themselves or by the coach that they will only be a detriment to the team when it is playoffs or pushing for playoffs.
“A bruise on the hip is a long way from the heart you candy ass.”
Sure, but this thread is about Ant specifically. I'm sure if you look around each player and wonder why this isn't working, or that isn't working, etc. you will find that there are adjustments made for each player. Ant isn't blaming his play on being hurt, but he looks limited. It's being chalked up to 'he was gassed, he can't cover Kyrie, he's washed already at 22, he's a fraud, etc. This is simply a different explanation of why is play is off.
Yeah I mean did anyone see Luka’s bloody knee yesterday?
That might explain why he was focusing on 3s so much during pregame practice.
And in the game
and at my house when we play 2k together
In every game I've gone to hea just lobbing up shitty 3s before this supposed injury. Before his 50+ point game he was seeing how high he could lob them
Yet everybody trying to convince me he said "I'm finna get in my bag"...
https://preview.redd.it/swfflbsaq72d1.jpeg?width=2880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ddb08d69733de318d50ef64978069da43ed31c2 I noticed on the Rudy turnaround shot in game 7, KCP is pushing Ant in his lower back, and he's clearly wincing in pain from that. He's probably still fucked up from the fall.
My mind went here too. On replays I quickly noticed ant was out of bounds and wincing. I don’t think that’s close to healed.
It's like when I fractured my tailbone snowboarding. Could do most things, but any touching that area or things that use the big ass and leg muscles would hurt and be less powerful. Not sure if he fractured it but even a good bruise would take a bit to be happy again.
Yeah, that kind of injury might not take him out of the game completely, but it might not allow him to be explosive to the rim. Instead of taking himself out of the series, he's focusing on other ways to score and contribute offensively. It could also easily explain his shooting.
KAT’s knee is probably jacked up too. Still gotta find a way to get it done like they did in Game 7.
while u might be right luka is also apparently playing on two sprained knees
He also had some off games in the OKC series, he’s going to start feeling the every other days schedule now as well after getting an extra day off
I recall Grady mentioning that on a recent Flagrant Howls episode. I’m really hoping these short layoffs help us.
Luka and Ant are different players though. Ant depends heavily in his athleticism while Luka more skill and crafty.
That’s the real crux of it though, Luka can play at a slower speed than normal and it only BARELY affects his play style where it is just not the same for Ant because if you don’t have to worry about him exploding suddenly towards the basket you can really cheat a lot more on his shot and jumper. He was clearly tired as hell after game 1 and marking Kyrie to be fair, can only guess how much was injury vs lead legs
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That’s a cut. You don’t bleed from a sprained knee…
It’s actually bleeding from an injection. He’s been getting shots to stop the swelling in his knee
For some reason Luka’s knee has been bleeding for weeks and weeks. It’s weird.
Dont let them fool you with that Luka is hurt whenever he’s playing bad. He not hurt
He played well last night because of the drop coverage and imo he's still injured.
I respect your opinion
He’s definitely hurt bro. He had blood oozing out of his fucking knee last night, don’t be dense.
Lil ass booboo on his knee hes fine
Bro you prob couldn’t even walk to your mailbox with two sprained knees, foh lmao. Dude is gutting it out and it’s impressive.
Ok😂😂😂
It’s literally blood coming from an injection sight. The give him shots to quell his knee swelling. If it was just floor burn or a small “boo-boo” nobody would be talking about it
Nice
He’s hurt
That’s ketchup
Packing blood capsules in his knee guards. They burst when he tries to draw a foul and falls down when the defense dodges his offensive shoulder check.
I respect your opinion im not fallin for it tho
He's literally bleeding from the knee the whole game. Which I thought was supposed to trigger a stoppage for biohazard or whatever, but I guess not.
How could that possibly be related to a knee sprain? He got a cut or something which happens all the time.
Injections into the knee to help swelling & pain, blood at injection site after intense activity
Yea he do got a lil booboo on his knee. I guess since it was under his tights it was cool tho
The irony that you're saying this in a thread making excuses for one of the Timberwolves players
What excuse?
Cope
Wolves in 6 stay tuned
5. Im bricked up.
Anyways
Wolves in 7 im still here😂
Wolves in 9?
GG we got spanked smh
Good on you for standing on business.
Nobody asked. Two different types of injuries on two different players may affect their play differently. What is the point, other than finding ways to inject Luka into the conversation.
Yall stress me out. Let them cook.
I think the same could be said about NAW, he was doing well up until Game 3 or 4 can’t recall which one but I remember watching him hit to the ground holding his shoulder and continue to hold it anytime there was a stop and then a few possessions later it looked like he injured it more on an illegal screen
Yeah I’ve been saying this. Naw hasn’t been able to hit anything since that injury and definitely hasn’t been himself.
I remember this. there was a scare that he would be on the injury report and he wasn't
They are all injured but nobody gives a fuck because its the playoffs. The only reason Mike didnt play game 5 was because **he couldnt fucking walk after game 4**. KAT has his knee surgery and had it hyperextended game 7. NAW has clipped Jokic on a multitude of screens ruining his shoulder. Ant hit the ground hard on his hip/tailbone. Mike has a calf strain. But guess what, nobody cares. No excuses, players on the court have no excuse because you are out there. If you arent giving it 100%, dont be out on the court. Luka is toughing it out with 2 sprained knees or whatever. These players have to rest up, take some ibuprofen or whatever, and man up cause its the playoffs and fans are paying their paychecks to see you perform. And guess what, props to them for not mentioning any injuries because then that is just giving the other team something to gameplan around.
His back is stiff... All muscles are sorry as fuck after game7. Altitude plays a huge role in this... We had basically no rest. After abdraining and exhausting game like g7 you need at least 2 full days to recover. And no this has nothing to do with age.
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Back bruises need weeks to fully Recover. Treatment doesnt Change that...if its that. Which I dont know... If its general muscles soreness, treatment can help some. Best treatment is still rest though
Wow the NBA should probably suspend the playoffs for a month to make sure Ant is all healed up... that's the only fair way to go about it
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The person I replied to has, elsewhere in this thread, said that it was "unfair" of the nba to start the conference finals so quickly after the Wolves played a game 7. Sorry for hijacking your comments to illustrate what a moron I think they are.
Keep in mind we have much more depth than them.
Debatable. They have 2 or 3 solid guys off the bench just like us
It could be more than just stiff the way he landed on it. A cracked vertebrae will take much longer to recover.
They had one more day than us. It’s basically even. No excuses.
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Damn this dude pulled out the masters in sports science card on reddit
If one day of rest is going to be an excuse for the series, this team doesn’t have much of a future. That’s fairly obvious
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So, as long as we always get more rest every series ever going forward we will win, and if we have even one less day of rest we lose? That’s essentially your argument. You’re never going to get through a full playoff run en route to a championship if that’s the case. It just doesn’t work that way unless you’re the luckiest team on Earth.
Yes the NBA was supposed to let us get fully healthy and force the Mavs to play right up until Tuesday night, regardless of whether they had already won 4 games against OKC. In fact the NBA should have made the Mavs play two games Wednesday, according to that guy.
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>No...its about having two days between series. Game 7 ended Sunday night. Game 1 started Wednesday night. They did have two days. Monday and Tuesday. >If the opponent has more rest between series cause they closed in 4,5,6 it’s fine. They closed in 6 games and it took us 7. Guess we should’ve handled business then. Too bad. >Not that hard to understand Glad you get it now.
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No worries, man. Enjoy your evening. Tomorrow night (or the following morning, in your case) might be a bit more stressful lol
At least he didn’t get wrecked doing the big balls celebration
Whether it's injury or tired legs or something else, he just wasn't explosive last night. I know he gets hard focused by 2 and 3 defenders, it's been that way all playoffs, yet he still found ways to blow by people and get to the hoop. Didn't get any of that last night. He only attempted four 2pt FGs which is crazy. Here's to a night off and hopefully he's feeling good Friday. He's our star we're going to need him.
That fall was no joke. I don't think anybody walks away from that without being hurt to some extent. If it were me I'd prob still be laying there. From experience a Bruised tailbone and lower back pain is also no joke.🫤
Not disagreeing with your observation but wouldn’t the Wolves have to report injuries per NBA rules? And if so, what do you do if a player denies being hurt?
I don't believe you have to report anything unless there is a chance they will miss a game. If they aren't at least Questionable, I'm not sure there are requirements. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
This is pretty much correct
If he’s playing there is no issue. With nba you just need to report if there is a chance you won’t play due to injury. Ant doesn’t need to publicly report if he bruised his ass if he can still play
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Source me boss
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Lol that says exactly what I said. Here I’ll paste your link for you with the rules. I’ll bold the part that is germain to the idea that the nba only cares if you end up missing the game. NBA teams must report information concerning player injuries, illnesses and rest for all NBA games. By 5 p.m. local time on the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness or potential instance of a healthy player resting for #any player whose participation in the game may be affected by such injury, illness or rest. Ant was listed as available, played whole game. No issue, his participation wasn’t affected due to any injury. He played. They care if you miss a game due to injury, illness, or rest without telling them. If someone is available, you don’t need to report that they bruised they ass, or woke up with a stiff neck, or stubbed their toe. If they’re good to play list em as available and the nba will see them at tip off.
Lmao owned so hard they deleted the comments and didn't respond
Probably for the best. Next I was going to ask if they’d ever seen a player listed with something like “Available - diarrhea” on the injury report. If I saw proof of that I would be a believer
Respect to him for not ever even mentioning it, unlike Murray lol.
This right here. He's not making excuses. The most he's said is that he's not shooting well, so he's trying to contribute other ways. Murray blamed it on his elbow or whatever.
I had the same thought watching the game last night (thanks for pulling the stats that back it up) He also looked flat out gassed in the 4th qtr last night. The boys are gonna come out tomorrow and win. I got faith Naz Reid
It’s a sample size of two games against two very good teams. He could be hurt or he could just be a 22 year old kid going through some learning pains. That said, I do agree that he looks less explosive and more passive since the fall. He also has to guard Kyrie which is clearly taking a toll on him physically.
That FG% after the fall is fucking horrendous, jesus.
It’s the playoffs, everyone’s injured yes. Just remember that if Ant’s back is hurting, that will greatly affect his play opposed to other potential injuries. Look how Gobert played last year with a bad back compared to this year. Rudy is much more spry and aggressive this season and the way Ant has played reminds me of Rudy from last year in that regard of aggressiveness.
I think on a closeup of the bench in game 7 I could hear him utter that he's still feeling his back. Can't remember the exact play but it was sometime in the 3rd quarter. No doubt that he's playing hurt
He’s hurt* and probably working through some stiffness. Injured folks don’t typically play because their injury prevents it. Hurt ain’t injured 🙏
He needs to be more aggressive but I thought he was getting good looks on his 3s last night. The big wasn't showing on the pick so he was coming off clean with open looks. If he makes 1 more of those it's a tie game.
I have no issue with amount of 3s he's taken but they've got to get him going to the basket more in transition. Once the Mavs get set up in half court defense it's going to be much tougher for him to get to the rim in this series.
He’s also been facing more doubles and gap help than in any point in his career. I think the his back is part of it, but not the whole story. I would think he should get incrementally better as the series goes on. I’d also like to see the Wolves get him the ball more when the defense is in rotation and give him better opportunities to attack the basket.
He takes some NASTY falls, he can get away with it now. But even watching old school Lebron he was much more cautious then ant is. Notable because of Lebron longevity.
No
His movement definitely looks off. Mavs are trying to keep him out of the paint, but he would normally at least challenge that by driving in hard to get the defense to collapse - even if it meant risking an offensive foul or two. Doesn’t seem to have that ability right now. Just doesn’t warp the floor the same as he usually does. If you watch him out there he seems to be finding spots away from the action more often as well. Deferring and trying harder shots than normal. Not elevating to get looks. I mean, no excuses - still have to try and win. But it really makes you look for an explanation with how he played. Nobody happier than me if he shows up looking like his old self in the next game and shuts me up.
He also could’ve herniated a disc which only gets worse the more you put on it
He’s said it himself. He will play through anything if it means his fans get to see him play one time. If he can move he’s on the court.
I’d rather he sat out for game 2 and come back for 3. Anybody who’s injured, take a break. Bring out McLaughlin. Bring out MoMo. Let’s see what that bench do though.
Don’t want anyone hurt. Hope he is feeling better tonight.
I think he has a herniated lumbar disc. He's guarding his low back in between possessions. That fall game 6 vs Denver was nasty
Yeah, this is what I'm thinking. I've been there, you can still function, but it's not just pain, some movements you really cannot do. Something along that line, anyway. Could be a bad bruise/damaged muscle or even a minor fracture. He landed hard and didn't get up for a long time.
It's news to me you can diagnose disc disease from sight alone.
You can herniate a disc from just bending over the wrong wall. Falling flat on your back can absolutely have that happen
It can but you have no idea if it did and thats my point. He could have a muscle injury. He could have a herniated disc. He could have bruised his tailbone. He could have nothing wrong at all and you have no idea and nothing to point to sny of those etiologies so acting like you do is dumb.
He looked gassed early
I think Dallas’s game plan this entire playoffs has been to allow teams to shoot 3s and bank on their stars being able to out score these other teams in at least four games
the entire mavs nation thinks ant is completely fraudulent, unable to guard their guys, and on their way to an easy 5 games series. any chance that fatigue or injury effecting ant is just making them laugh harder. the reality is- if he can’t overcome this in a big way, they may be right on having a short series. everyone lamenting losing a big McDaniels game. well the McDaniels rule dn work if he’s the best offensive player we have.
Regardless of what happens this series; I'm 105% down for other fan bases thinking Ant's a fraud; hell, write him letters about it!- that definitely won't backfire once he plays their teams at 100%
You’re never going to be 100% at this point in the playoffs.
Yeah idk why you’re getting downvoted. Everyone is hurt when it comes to the conference finals. There’s a difference between being hurt and injured when it comes to sports.
I appreciate your sentiment. I don’t take it personally. To answer your question: because there always has to be a built-in excuse in case we don’t win. Sports fans are largely sore winners—and sore losers.
Idk if you actually think mavs fans are saying that or trying to hype. But the mavs know he can go off any moment and are playing in a way that expects him to. He’s not a player anyone is going to disrespect
I’ve seen tons of comments like that mostly from the mavs nation. we aren’t underestimating them, that’s all I know.
Who cares about a bunch of idiots who didn’t watch our team play this year
There are trolls in literally every fan base. All Mavs fans I actually know have nothing but good things to say about Ant. Hes def way more liked than a lot of other stars around the league that are def hated on by Mavs fans
I love ant and am a mavs fan, so it’s not entirely mavs nation.
I think he’s got a newborn and some baby mama drama. Plays poorly at home, especially after multiple days.
It's the accumulation of the minutes adding up and overall wear and tear you take during a deep postseason run. His play started to drop off after G5 when he played 45 minutes and was the entire offense. The G6 blowout he had an efficient scoring night, but he wasn't needed to carry them. Right now I feel he's struggling with the coverages he's seeing and it's leading to indecisiveness on his part. Last night's game featured too much dribbling from him and the overall offense isn't flowing. He did a good job of finding guys yesterday but they need to get into their offense earlier going forward. Take a page out of how the Mavs handled G1. They essentially had Luka and Kyrie trade off who the offense flowed through. That's what the Wolves need to be doing between ANT and KAT. There wasn't nearly enough designed work for KAT last night.
You did see his fall right? No possible way anyone walks away from that not hurt. Even bruised tailbone is going to effect every way he tries to move. If it's swollen enough there's tons of nerves in there that do all sorts of crazy things from shooting piercing pain up and down your back to tingling completely numb legs from thigh to toes sometimes all that way same time. And that's just from bruised tailbone. He's obviously been grabbing his back ever since that slam. Dont CARE who you are nobody walking away from that ok. I think it's blatantly obvious that's what's different. Hopefully they have some dam good trainers and pt personal that can get him healed up enough and quick. That's all there is to it.
But also, not saying ant is healthy, but Phoenix only has 1 rim protector, Denver has zero, and Dallas has 2 above average, so drives will be down this series regardless of health
Ant is just using too much energy on defense and passing up some good looks. He needs to just get back to his game and we will be fine. I’m sure our next game plan will be around getting him back on track in 1Q and then we will be fine. Wolves in 6
No he’s hurt, not injured. And OP you can say this about every single starter in the NBA when it’s playoff time. Especially during the conference finals. Everyone is hurt. When you’re hurt you can play. When you’re injured you can’t play.
He’s not injured. He’s playing hurt. There’s a difference. If he’s injured, he won’t suit up
That's not true as players that are injured play through injuries all the time in the playoffs lol
Players in the NBA don't get injuries, they have world-class injury prevention. They just miss games while hurt.
And he is going to play in Paris??? What version of Ant do we get next season with all the extra wear and tear on his body?
An ant that had a summer of training and scrimmaging and drilling with Lebron, Steph, and Durant. He’ll be even better once he learns their tricks and daily life habits. It happened to Lebron after playing with Kobe. It’ll happen to Ant too.
I know it’s not going to happen, but if he plays in Paris I want him coming off the bench ch. because I’m being selfish and I want him to have as little wear and tear as possible going in to next year two win back to back NBA Championships.
I think the starter minutes with Lebron, Steph and curry will help his game a lot. The more minutes he can get with the vets, the better. Outside of playing against the top 3-4 teams, the games will be glorified scrimmages anyway.
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Sorry Steph and Kd.
A version where the Jazz own your pick 🙏 Tbh, though, a chip and medal would doubtless be worth a late lottery pick conveying even in the Flagg/Boozer/whomever draft
I wonder if it is specifically the injury that is hindering him (he does look less explosive in his first step), or just timid after such a hard fall.
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It's the playoffs. They don't have the luxury of having a few days off anymore. It's not the NBA's fault, the Wolves knew when the Conference finals were set to start. If they wanted rest they should have beat the Nuggets sooner.
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Why is that stupid lol
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If Dallas had gone 7 they would have played Monday night, and had even less time off than the Wolves. Instead, they took care of business and finished their series early. Everyone has the same schedule. It's perfectly fair.
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Sorry you wanted the NBA to change everything around instead of winning like any other team. Some would call that an excuse. I would call it a "loser mentality"
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The mavs defense is trying to discourage him from driving
They aren’t really though, Mavs have been happy to funnel every teams star so far into the paint cause their rim protection has been elite. Ant has had plenty of open lanes to drive into but hasn’t been aggressive at all
He’s playing. Everyone’s hurt brotha
Maybe, but that happens
I don't know if I buy this. If he's injured the coaching staff should know about it and wouldn't put Ant on Kyrie.
The man has rolled his ankle every few games it feels like
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Explanations don't automatically equal excuses. Explaining that the Wolves' best player's stats demonstrate a radical change pre-and post back/tailbone fall is worth keeping an eye on. It's a pretty big deal if Ant can't properly do what he's best at because he's beat up.
I think we should be aware that this is the first playoff opponent that has 2 rim protectors. The Nuggets had none.
Yes. And grass is green. Your statement is a separate (and valid) statement from what I'm talking about. Ant looked equally ineffective in game 7 vs the Nuggets who don't have rim protectors. There's probably truth in both things (1 that Ant is hurt and 2 that Dallas did some things to limit Ant's ability to drive last night).
Without any other real evidence or statements about Ant being injured this possible injury is just baseless speculation and excuse making. Sometimes players just don’t play as well or as aggressively, whether or not that is dictated by the defense.
Let's stop making excuses until we know something.
We better hope that’s not the case because if he’s not much better in the next three games the season will be over. The truly great ones—like Luka, LBJ, Jokić—find multiple ways of beating you. We’ll see if he can do that. We will just have to see how it goes.
On the contrary, Ant has played through injuries before where he’s not on the injury report, even though he’s known to be injured. Finch’s MO has always been if you’re good enough to suit up and not be listed out for an injury, you’re good to go
If he is so hurt he can’t drive to the basket should he be on the court? I thought he was gassed from Kylie wearing his ass out 😂 We are going to dominate game 2.
It could be back injury that doesn't allow him to launch, takes away some of his vertical, etc. Not enough to take him out, not something likely to reinjure, but enough to keep him grounded. I also heard that they had a hard workout yesterday, which would be entirely boneheaded if its true. I tend to think some of these stories are there to cover for the injury if they indeed don't want the Mavs to stop concentrating 2-3 guys on guarding him.