<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SAN ANTONIO ? The decision that rocked the Spurs and evened the series didn't come Monday afternoon when Avery Johnson informed Devin Harris that he would start Game 2. It came two months earlier. The way Johnson managed injuries over the final weeks of the regular season is paying dividends for the Mavericks in the Faux Western Conference finals. Harris jumps to mind with the way he jumped on San Antonio for 20 points in Tuesday's game. But it's not just him. The Mavericks took a cautious approach with Josh Howard and Adrian Griffin in March and April. All three are fresh for the playoffs. That's more than can be said for San Antonio's Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili as the series waits to resume Saturday night at the American Airlines Center. It's not that the Spurs and coach Gregg Popovich did anything wrong. It's just that Johnson seems to have done everything right. "To me, it demonstrates a tremendous amount of insight and wisdom," said Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks president of basketball operations. "I'd say the vast majority of coaches have the mind-set of 'how are we going to win this game tonight. I'll worry about everything else tomorrow.' You live in this daily existence where I need to get through this next battle and then this battle. "The special coaches are able to maintain the daily dedication it takes to succeed and see things from 10,000 feet. That's a rare combination, especially for a young coach." Think about it. You're a coach in your first full season and have a chance to finish ahead of San Antonio. You know a Southwest Division title earns the No. 1 seed in the conference and pushes the Spurs down to No. 4. Every bone in your body tells you the best course to follow to defeat the defending world champions is to own home-court advantage in the playoffs. Johnson rejected conventional wisdom and focused on the big picture. "I think we had a little criticism in there from maybe not rushing them back sooner rather than later, but like I told you guys, it gave us our best chance," Johnson said. "Maybe it hurt us a little bit in winning a game or two at the end." Maybe? Harris played only seven minutes over the final five weeks of the regular season. He missed 23 of the team's final 27 games. The Mavericks were 13-10 in his absence. A three-game losing streak to end March, followed by a loss to Golden State with one week left in the regular season, sealed the Mavericks' No. 4 fate. </div> Source
From day one, Avery has been building this team for a championship run. He has never kept his eye off the ultimate prize, and he now has the Mavs playing like champions. They haven't acheived anything yet, and Avery makes sure every player on his roster knows that. That's how he keeps their edge. That's how he keeps them hungry. Kudos to the Coach of the Year.
now i hate AJ lol jk they were talking about retirung his jersey this year but i think it may be delayed just kidding, i hope some day avery returns to coach the spurs. Good job AJ
