He had 19 overall...I think the Mavs should have beaten the Suns, but their inability to keep a lead is scary.
Yeah I know...one that pissed me off was that lead we had against the Lakers during the regular season, about 3 years ago.I believe the Mavs went on a 20-3 run to end the half, with a score of 63-40 DAllas, or something like that...and the Lakers won that game.If you can't hold a lead of 23 points, you have issues.Normally the Mavs cough up leads, or close to it, BUT they normally still win most of those games.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AirBlaze @ May 23 2006, 04:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Small? I say go big. It worked with the Lakers for the first 6 games, and they managed to win 3 games by doing that. The Mavs are a better more experianced team and could probably do the Lakers' job much more effectively.</div>Yes, by putting Diop and Dampier in, the Mavs should be able to keep up with a team who averages 100+ points.
Well by putting Diop in, they slowed down a team enough for them not to score 100 points, in a Mavs win.But they shouldn't be seeing 45 minutes combined like in the SA series...I think if you have both average a combined 32-35 minutes a game, and then just put Dirk down there for the rest, it's the right combonation to win more games than not against the Suns.
Diop really impressed me with his play last game. I liked how he was able to bother Diaw more on the perimiter than Damp was. He has better foot speed and a longer arm length. I expect Diop will be starting tonght in place of KVH. Van Horn has sort of let me down this series with his play. I think its due to his injured hand rather than him choking or just sucking. I still think he'll have 15 to 20 minutes a game coming off the bench. The one player that i thought would flourish in this series that hasnt is Marquis Daniels. They really dont have anyone that can guard him or Josh Howard. That player was Raja Bell and we all know what happened there. Hopefully he can play well in the small minutes he is getting. I look for the Mavs to win this game like they did the last one.1.Giving the ball to Dirk and having him work and not settle for jumpers. 2.Only sending 1 player on the offensive glass and everyone else getting back. 3.Have Harris and Howard drive to the basket hard.4.Keep the pace to how they want to play.
I would say start Marquis Daniels but have Diop play his 31 minutes. Dallas wants to stop the fastbreak game early. Even if that means to go without a shotblocker early in the game. Phoenix is really good at running at the start of games and than slows down so that is the time to put in Diop. Daniels also gives Dallas another offensive threat that can score in the paint which is needed against Phoenix.
And who does Daniels start over? I think you need to realize Avery is not starting him. I think he can help as well in guarding Nash, but I'm not Avery and I don't see Daniels starting over Harris or Terry any time soon.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Marvinmartian @ May 28 2006, 09:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>But they shouldn't be seeing 45 minutes combined like in the SA series...</div>Yeah, this is mostly what I was getting at... I mean, it's just not going to work the same as with the Lakers. Big to them is not the same as big to us. It's different scoring and different speed. Honestly, I didn't really see all of either game, but when I watch the first part of game one, Damp wasn't exactly getting the job done.
Am I the only one who thinks DJ/Powell shoud play in this series? They would be incredible, they are both athletic and defensive minded and Powell has some offense too!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Saint Baller @ May 28 2006, 03:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Am I the only one who thinks DJ/Powell shoud play in this series? They would be incredible, they are both athletic and defensive minded and Powell has some offense too!</div>Nope, Rok and I were talking about this on AIM earlier in the series and thought that they could get some minutes here and there. I think they are the kind of players that could play well and keep up with the pace. Both are athletic and give Avery 2 extra bodies and 12 fouls. Only problem is that if you suit up both of them, you have to either sit Armstrong, KVH, Daniels, Dampier or Griffin. I would rather have Mbenga suit up than Powell. Both are very foul prone, but with Mbenga, it at least forces the Suns to play somewhat bigger than they usaully do, or pay the price. I really wouldnt mind seeing Mbenga play a few minutes if Diop or KVH get into foul trouble. He would be better than Damp in this series.
