I have the Mavericks beating the Spurs in 7 games, if Stackhouse didn't take the 3 pointer they might've been 2-0 right now
this was a great game by the mavs. they came out and executed well on offense and defense. they did good tonight. i have the mavs beating the spurs in 6 or 7
They key to the series is really Harris and Howard. With Dirk drawing the attention by their best defenders, this leaves for blowup games by Harris and Howard. Dirk doesn't need a big series to win this. Spurs are going to have to learn if they play Bowen on Dirk, that leaves Howard/Daniels/Stack on their bigs, not a favorable matchup.
Whoever Duncan or Horry has to gaurd on the perimeter is the one that needs to drive to the basket and attack the defense. Everyone on the Spurs looked a step slow this game. Hopefully it carries over into the next game. Amazing stat for me, Dirk only took 11 shots and made 7 of them. He didnt force anything. Stackhouse also hit some timely 3's. Did anyone else think Stack's technical foul was uncalled for? I dont think Stack was "taunting" Finley at all. Diop and Dampier also combined for 10 fouls on Duncan. Duncan made 12-14 free throws. I dont think he can keep up that % from the line. Most of those are hard fouls on Duncan. Nice adjustments for Avery. What do you guys think Coach Pop is going to do to adjust to Avery's up and down play of game 2?And I agree with Rok on what he said.
I think he will try to focus on Howard and Harris but that just may cause Dirk to have some open looks and score a lot next game
Pop is a great coach, and I'm sure he'll come up with something.But like Jhowardfan said, the only thing I can see him doing is keeping Bowen on Dirk...and not sagging defensively at all against Stack, Harris, or Howard...and even Terry.That's going to be his problem. If the Mavs get a balanced contribution from everyone...than it'll be tough to beat the Mavs.
^I agree. When Mavs are a whole team contribution then they might be the best team in the NBA. But I see San Antonio bouncing back and possibly turning this game into a 7-game series. Which would be fun to watch.
The mavs were amazing. I have to give most of the credit to Harris but Howard took advantage of Horry on the break and attacked him consistently. The changes I expect from the spurs are put Bowen on Howard and put Horry on Nowitzki. Also have more plays for Ginobili in which he could take advantage of Terry's size. Probably put Ginobili closer to the rim.
How about crediting Stack for once, who has played great in the playoffs so far this year. And please don't bring up that shot in game 1, one shot doesn't take away what he did in the game. He's taking good shots, and attacking. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The changes I expect from the spurs are put Bowen on Howard and put Horry on Nowitzki. Also have more plays for Ginobili in which he could take advantage of Terry's size. Probably put Ginobili closer to the rim.</div> That leaves Dirk with a favorable matchup. Horry is not the defender he was, Dirk should be able to take him. On Manu/Terry, it's good thing Manu isn't much of a post player to take advantage. Also, that shot he took from Harris seemed to rock him a little. He wasn't as aggressive after that and seemed out of it. We should able to take anything Spurs try to do.
Stack, Harris, and Howard all had great games for us. And Dirk got his 21 and 9 that I fully expect him to get every game.But I credit Howard more than Harris for this win, with Avery's move to start Harris, not Harris actually playing, as the bigger move.Now I think Harris played great, and I hope he keeps it up for the whole series.
Dallas beat San Antonio first game, plus they killed them by like 13pts. Dallas will kill them again in the 2nd game.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Dallas beat San Antonio first game, plus they killed them by like 13pts. Dallas will kill them again in the 2nd game.</div> What?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CroZ-King @ May 10 2006, 02:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Dallas beat San Antonio first game, plus they killed them by like 13pts. Dallas will kill them again in the 2nd game.</div>Wow just wow :no3:
I guess were all wrong about what happened so far in this series? Maybe someone should call up ESPN and tell them the series isnt actually tied..
Strong stuff: Mavs get even, 113-91By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning NewsSAN ANTONIO A dozen hours earlier, the Mavericks' big men had huddled at center court and were told to stop treating San Antonio's Tim Duncan like he's Pau Gasol.Treat him instead like he is Shaquille O'Neal. Rough him up. Poke. Prod. Gouge.Turns out, they treated every Spur that way.A strong-armed defense and perhaps even more physical offense allowed the Mavericks to turn the Western Conference semifinals in their favor by decimating Duncan and the Spurs, 113-91, Tuesday night at AT&T Center.They leveled the series at a win apiece and stole away the home-court advantage after feeling they'd let Game 1 get away. Game 3 is Saturday at American Airlines Center. And they will return home having earned every bit of the Spurs' attention."Everybody together, say it: The Mavs played great and deserve credit," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They kicked [butt]."And any other body part the Spurs left exposed. Josh Howard had a monster evening with 27 points and nine rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki was as efficient as ever with 21 points on 11 shots. The Mavericks went ahead by 20 points in the second quarter, and only once in the second half did the cushion drop below 15 points. That 14-point lead lasted just 19 seconds before it was rebuilt."The biggest fear was going back home 0-2," said Howard. "We were in that position last year. That position last year was bad."Avery Johnson pulled a mild shocker by inserting Devin Harris into the starting lineup for Adrian Griffin. It could not have worked out better.The offense which went south in the second half of Game 1, leading to the two-point loss was revitalized behind the energized Harris.And the Mavericks definitely looked like the more-rugged of the teams."If you want to beat the world champions, they're not going to give it to you," Nowitzki said. "You have to take it. And that's what we did tonight."They did so by rolling up a 58-38 halftime lead, during which they put Duncan on the bench with three fouls and plenty of bruises.Johnson said the Mavericks were "more forceful" offensively."That's a big thing," he said. "We were a little bit on our heels offensively in the first game."And while Duncan made 14 trips to the free throw line, the Mavericks battered him with double-teams that helped convolute the Spurs' offense."That's something we've been preaching," Howard said. "They do the same thing to us."Avoiding a 2-0 hole was crucial for the Mavericks. Teams who fall behind 2-0 have a 10-176 record in NBA history."It's good to get the confidence back," owner Mark Cuban said.The game could not have started better for the Mavericks, with Harris instigating a quicker, more efficient offense and the Mavericks' big men doing all they could to thwart Duncan.After he dumped 31 points on the Mavericks in the opener, Duncan had 16 with seven minutes still remaining in the first half.But the Mavericks were making him earn those points at the line. And on offense, they attacked him, drawing the third foul with 6:21 left in the half.Things were already rolling for the Mavericks. They were up by 11 at the time. But the gap grew quickly and steadily after Duncan's departure.The second half was bound to produce a Spurs rally, right? Not exactly.At the start of the fourth period, Harris pounded each teammate in the chest and reminded them what part of the game it was winning time."We were up 18 and we wanted to deliver the knockout punch," Harris said.Consider it a haymaker that left the defending champs emotionally whipped.The physical part had come much earlier.---------------------------------------------------------------Parker feeling the painBy DWAIN PRICEStar-Telegram Staff WriterSAN ANTONIO - When San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker crawled out of bed Tuesday morning, his body was aching.And for good reason.Parker has a left quad contusion, which he suffered when he charged into Mavericks guard Devin Harris on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. That came two days after he charged into Sacramento's Mike Bibby and came away with a mildly sprained right hip during the Spurs' first-round playoff series against the Kings."Both times I got charged and I got hurt, so I'm going to stop charging," Parker said. "It was just sore [Tuesday] morning. It's just like a big knot and every time I run, I feel it. But I can't get worse, except if I get hit again."Parker and the Spurs got hit hard again Tuesday as the Mavericks physically whipped the Spurs 113-91 at the AT&T Center to even the series at 1-1. Games 3 and 4 will be Saturday and Monday in Dallas before the series returns to San Antonio for Game 5 next Wednesday.Parker did his best to keep the Spurs in contention Tuesday. After Tim Duncan left with three fouls at the 6:21 mark of the second quarter with San Antonio trailing 43-32, the Spurs' offense revolved around Parker dribbling, dribbling and dribbling until he could find a crease to the basket.But the Mavs eventually figured that strategy out, holding Parker to just nine points on 4-of-10 shooting in the first half when the Mavs held a 58-38 lead. Parker finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting and just one assist.During the game, Parker wore so many pads around both thighs he could feel the extra weight that was used for protection."I feel like my legs are heavy," Parker said. "But they're doing a good job of packing the lanes. But every team is doing that against us. It's just a matter of us making shots."The loss was the worst of the season for the Spurs, who will be looking for Parker to help them regain home-court advantage."Tony is pretty hard to guard," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "I don't think there's anybody that can necessarily stay with him."He's a tough cover. That's why he's an All-Star. That's why he's the player that he is."-------------------------------------------------------------------PLAYOFF NOTESWhen Howard holds up his end, Mavs are 21-0By MERCEDES MAYERSTAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITERSAN ANTONIO -- Even Josh Howard is baffled by the numbers.After beating the San Antonio Spurs 113-91 in Game 2, the Mavericks are 21-0 in the regular season and postseason combined when Howard scores 20 or more points."I have no explanation for it," Howard said.The Mavs had to feel pretty good when Howard had 18 points -- and a 58-38 lead -- at halftime.Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Howard made two free throws to reach 20 points."Whatever I get that's open, I'm going to take it," said Howard, who finished with 27 points and nine rebounds. "Whenever my teammates find me, I try to knock down those shots."In Game 1, Howard had 14 points at the half but attempted only four shots in the second half, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds.Tempers flareFirst, it was Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Mavs counterpart Avery Johnson. Then it was former Mavs and current Spurs guard Nick Van Exel. This series is pure emotion.Popovich and Johnson were called for technical fouls in the first four minutes of the game.Van Exel was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with an official midway through the second quarter. Soon after that, he was upset about not getting a call on a 3-pointer he missed. Van Exel threw his warm-ups toward the basket when he went to the bench, getting his second technical foul, and an automatic ejection.By the middle of the third quarter, Spurs fans let Game 2 crew chief Steve Javie know how they felt, yelling "Javie Sucks" in unison.The rash of technicals brought back memories of Game 2 of the Mavs-Spurs 2003 Western Conference Finals, when four technical fouls were called in the first 10:11. Then-Mavs coach Don Nelson was ejected along with assistant coach Del Harris in a 119-106 Spurs victory. The Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki and Van Exel also had technicals.Nellie to Kings?Don Nelson's name quickly surfaced as one of the candidates to replace Rick Adelman as coach of the Sacramento Kings. Adelman and his staff were fired Tuesday.Nelson stepped aside as coach of the Mavericks with 18 games remaining in the 2004-05 season but has remained as a team consultant. The Mavs still paid Nelson the $5 million he had remaining on the coaching portion of his contract for this season.Mavs owner Mark Cuban said Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof don't necessarily have to contact him to get permission to talk to Nelson about their coaching vacancy."Once the season's over, Nellie is a free agent and he can do whatever he wants," Cuban said. "I'm sure, if they want to talk to him, they would call me anyway, knowing the Maloofs."Donnie Nelson, the Mavs' president of basketball operations and Nelson's son, would not speculate on whether his father wants to coach again."Happiness is different to different people," Donnie Nelson said. "I just want him to be happy."Van Horn's progressAvery Johnson's hopes that Keith Van Horn (broken hand) can return by Game 3 are fading.Van Horn said X-rays will be taken today to monitor the healing process. If the news is good, Van Horn will start noncontact drills Friday and, hopefully, begin contact drills next week. That all but keeps him out of Games 3 (Saturday) and 4 (Monday) in Dallas.Seed restructuringCommissioner David Stern said the NBA will "probably" restructure the playoff seeding process next season by taking the top four teams in each conference and seeding them according to their won-loss record. That would prevent a repeat of this year when the two winningest teams in the Western Conference -- the top-seeded Spurs and fourth-seeded Mavericks -- met in the second round.Popovich having funGregg Popovich had some fun with the media during Tuesday morning's shootaround.When asked his take on the long break between Games 2 and 3 of this series -- Game 3 isn't until Saturday in Dallas -- Popovich said: "I have no take. Having a take only takes away concentration. So the take is not taken seriously."Staff writers Dwain Price and Jeff Caplan contributed to this report.
Focus factor: Mavs can't relaxDallas says it must keep attacking02:00 PM CDT on Friday, May 12, 2006By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning NewsTwo things you never thought you'd hear somebody ask about your little Mavericks:Are they meaner than San Antonio? And are they overconfident?To the first question, Avery Johnson and the Mavericks plead guilty, with no apologies.As for the second, Thursday's lengthy film session and practice was aimed specifically at avoiding any letdown, pitfall or overconfident vibe. With Game 3 at American Airlines Center on Saturday (7 p.m. tip), Johnson is watching for any sign that there might be even the slightest loss of focus."We're at home," Johnson said. "We know that doesn't guarantee a win. So I'm going to really look at our players' body language. It was OK in practice. It's going to have to be better tomorrow. We know we're probably going to get a better game from them. But we got to be better."The same sort of determined effort the Mavericks had in their Game 2 win in San Antonio is exactly what Johnson expects from the Spurs on Saturday. The Mavericks must be ready for it or the same sort of blowout that San Antonio suffered could befall Dallas."With the Spurs, you can never relax," Dirk Nowitzki said. "They won 63 games. Good teams win on the road. We showed it in Game 2."To me, home court doesn't mean that much if you play great teams because if you have a great defense and are tough, you can win on the road. We have to keep attacking."Therein lies the key. Thursday was spent not worrying so much about what San Antonio will do differently after losing at home for the first time in the playoffs, but addressing the still-plentiful problems the Mavericks had in Game 2.The Mavericks weren't flawless, Johnson said. But if the scale of their worst game of the season to their best game ranges from 1 to 100, Tuesday's was 100."That was pretty sharp on both ends," Nowitzki said. "But we've been battling consistency all season long."Hence the need for Johnson to address the overconfidence problem. No matter how high the stakes, when a team returns home after doing a commendable job on the road, human nature can rear its ugly head.But this team won't think about the big picture because Johnson won't let them."Our focus is to win one game," Jason Terry said. "We got to win this next game coming up. Our focus is to execute our game plan. Win or lose. If we execute our game plan, we like our chances."E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com[url="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/051206dnspomavslede.219d0ff0.html"]http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...e.219d0ff0.html[/url]
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ May 13 2006, 09:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Can you stop posting articles mavsfan, your worst then vig.</div>You speak the truth
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ May 12 2006, 11:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Can you stop posting articles mavsfan, your worst then vig.</div>can you stop posting rok? Articles add a lot to this site. What's the point of having team forums without articles. Those articles add a lot more to this site than most peoples posts.
Some articles are fine, but sometimes they can go overboard. I think if people really wanted to read the articles, they could find them themselves with ease.
