I was going to note the same thing as so many posters contend that jump shooting teams are destined to lose. The Mavs used their outside threats to open driving lanes for their points in the paint. The effort they showed on D was excellent. They were very unselfish with the ball and attacked as a team not as individuals. Sort of reminded me of the dynamics the Blazers vs Sixers championship and the Detroit vs Lakers where the better team prevails over the better individual talents. I like that Portland took as many games against Dallas as anyone else. STOMP
Patty can hardly get out of his own way bringing the ball up the court at times It makes for a great laugh, though
It shows that the Blazers truly are ready to compete. And how much they're not. But as much as we critique the Blazers defense and offense, they weren't that bad. Jason Terry has said numerous times, and I believe he said this both before and after winning the championship, that the Blazers were the toughest team they faced. He credited the Blazers defense, saying it was tougher than Miami's. I liked the way we played this year more than I liked OKC, Memphis, LA, SA, Chicago, Atlanta, and even Miami.
He's already a much better defender. He's already a much better interior player. Granted he'll never have the same make a jumper out of nothing or flop as well as Dirk, but I'll take LA as he is.
If it shows that all you need is Dirk Nowitzki, then what did the last ten years show? How about: it shows that you need a team of great veterans coming together at the right time, plus a great coach and some luck (given that at least two of those wins could've gone the other way)? Or is common sense too boring?
Portland has the defense to win a title, but not he offense. We need more consistent bench scoring and a game finisher. But one thing that did impress me was that Dirk showed a big man can be a go to player at the end of a game. I think LA can be the same.
I don't think so, Barea plays with tremendous intelligence; knowing instantly what his best option is, pass, slither here, slither there, etc. Don't see that in Patty.
That's a skillset that Barrea didn't really show last season. It takes time to develop those instincts.
Interestingly, his scoring efficiency was lower than his past two playoffs, as was his Assist Rate. His Rebound Rate was lower than in his playoffs season before last and only slightly above last season's playoffs. He probably wasn't better this playoffs, it's just that his performances were spotlighted more because of the team's success.
A big difference between our Blazers and these Mavs is that the Mavs ALWAYS seemed to get to their spot on the court for a shot. They didn't end up with Tyson Chandler trying to shoot from outside, but rather Dirk or Terry or Jason hitting their best shots. The Blazers tend to give in to the Defense and take shots they aren't familiar with taking.
But the Blazers are always shooting wide open shots? LOL It's the master design of one of the best young coaches in the league. I never stop being amazed ayt the people who say that after games. There is a reason certain players are open from where they are open from. Percentages say to let that player shoot from there. I couldn't agree more with this. Portland "settles" constantly on offense. It really hurts them in the playoffs where teams can prepare better
No it didn't...http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_/id/30410/how-mavs-style-swap-beat-the-heat Jump shooting teams suck
Except when they don't... they did beat us on jump shooting (more FTA's even though we outscored them in the paint consistently).
