Re: Mavs' break a matter of rest vs. rust Mavs' break a matter of rest vs. rustRecent history indicates there's an upside to downtime11:03 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 3, 2006By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News Bring on the rest. That's Avery Johnson's battle cry, and he doesn't mean bring on the rest of the NBA. He means bring on the downtime, which won't exactly be spent sipping wine spritzers and enjoying the good life while waiting for the second round of the playoffs. Beyond the mental and physical rest that he wants his players to stock up on, Johnson and his team refuse to get caught up in rooting for San Antonio or Sacramento. The way he sees it, the Mavericks are in a win-win situation as they wait for the Spurs and Kings to settle their issue. "Either way, it's good for us," Johnson said Tuesday. "Obviously, if we play San Antonio, the travel will be shorter for us. "And if we play Sacramento, we'll have home-court advantage. So we're fortunate to be in the situation we're in." That includes at least five full days of rest between their first-round sweep of Memphis and the start of the second round. Unlike the last three years, when the Mavericks have typically jumped out of one series and into another with minimal rest, time is on their side now. It's possible that they won't open the second round until Tuesday. So they wait. And watch. And rest up for what promises to be a second-round series that will not be for the faint of heart. "We'll sit back now and see what San Antonio and Sacramento do," Jason Terry said. "We handled our business." Believe it or not, the Mavericks have the odds in their favor, no matter whether the Kings or the Spurs survive their first-round match ? which San Antonio leads, 3-2, after a 109-98 win Tuesday night in San Antonio. Since the playoffs went to the best-of-7 format in the first round in 2003, there have been nine occasions when one team had five or more full days off and their next-round opponent had three days or fewer to prepare. The rested teams are 8-1 in Game 1 of those series and 7-2 in the series. The Mavericks opened a 2003 second-round series against Sacramento on one day of rest and lost Game 1 but outlasted the Kings in seven games. The only case of the team on short rest winning Game 1 and the series came when Miami had eight days off before last season's Eastern Conference finals and Detroit had three full days to rest. The Pistons won the series in seven games. "All I can remember is how mentally and physically exhausted we were after that Houston series last year," Johnson said. "And then, we had to turn around and play with one day off. "We'll take all the rest we can get. Give me a month off and I'll take it." And yet, one of the first questions asked of Johnson after the Mavericks finished the sweep of Memphis was whether he was worried about a weeklong break between playoff games. It's not like the Mavericks won't be working. Johnson will see to that. The players got exactly one day ? Tuesday ? to recharge their batteries. Today, it's back to the practice court and the film room. "The year we won the championship, we had two breaks," Johnson recalled about his experience with San Antonio. "After the second round, we waited eight days. Then going into the Finals we had 10 days, I think. "I've been on both sides. Good rest and good practice, especially as much as we've been injured [is important]." What the Mavericks don't know is whom they will be playing. The Spurs, of course, would provide the marquee series that everybody would like to see. It also would allow the Mavericks to avoid anybody suggesting that they were allowed to dodge the defending champions. The last thing they want is a cushy road to the NBA Finals. No asterisks here, please. And there's nothing like knocking the crown off the kings ? and we don't mean the Kings. E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...de.2890c91.html
Re: Mavs' break a matter of rest vs. rust Mavs hope wait fuels Finals runBy ART GARCIAStar-Telegram Staff WriterThe Mavericks aren't used to sitting around waiting on a playoff opponent.That's not to say they can't get used to it.R&R, and a good bit of practice, are on the docket while they wait on San Antonio or Sacramento to emerge as the next opponent on the path to the NBA Finals.Yes, the NBA Finals.Avery Johnson has a special feeling about the team he's coaching, and special teams can do special things."I had that feeling when we lost three in a row," Johnson said Tuesday. "I had it when we won 13 in a row. I just had it."This is a situation where we can do something special. I've been telling them that all year. They have to believe it."There wasn't much to doubt in a dominating first-round sweep of the Grizzlies, punctuated by Monday's 102-76 runaway in Memphis that moved the Mavs into the Western Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year under Johnson.The playoff sweep, only the second in franchise history, leaves the Mavs in the unfamiliar position of watching the playoffs unfold. The Spurs-Kings series won't be done until Friday at the earliest or Sunday if it goes the distance.Faced with possibly a week of down time -- the team took Tuesday off -- Johnson's staff mapped out a practice schedule taking into account whether San Antonio and Sacramento go six or seven games.Johnson experienced breaks of eight and 10 days when he played with San Antonio en route to the 1999 title."It's time for us to try to get some rest, get some bodies healed and get back to practice because that's my favorite part of this whole deal," Johnson said.Jerry Stackhouse called the break a just reward for maintaining a level of focus and consistency."We did a lot of things differently this year that we took advantage of with a good regular season," Jerry Stackhouse said. "We took care of our home-court advantage, we came on the road and continued to be a good road team like we've been all year."Now, we're kind of in the position Phoenix was last year, sitting and waiting for our opponent. Hopefully, it will bode for us like it did for them -- just being able to be rested, be sharp, be able to get in the gym at our own leisure and go from there."After sweeping Memphis last year, the rested Suns opened the semis with a 127-102 rout of the Mavs in Phoenix on a Monday night. The Mavs' seven-game series against Houston had ended two days earlier.The Mavs were spent just getting to Game 1."Last year, we came out of a series we were down really bad in," Johnson said of the 2-0 deficit against the Rockets. "It's still pretty miraculous to think about what we did."We put so much physical and mental energy in having to get back and then had to turn around in less than 48 hours and play Phoenix. I'd rather have it the other way."Johnson credited his veterans -- namely Stackhouse, Darrell Armstrong, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry -- for the businesslike approach in finishing off the Grizzlies."We've grown up a ton in this series," Terry said.Added Johnson: "Internal leadership did that for us. The times that I did go crazy during the year, I was trying to get that to come to the forefront."We're pretty consistent there now. There are times during the game I don't have to say much because the guys are doing the talking. I can just coach." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------MAVERICKS NOTESMavs sit as wildness ensues in wide-open WestBy JEFF CAPLAN and MERCEDES MAYERStar-Telegram Staff WriterSThe wild West is also the wide-open West.Defending champion and top-seeded San Antonio is in a surprising dogfight with No. 8 Sacramento. No. 2 Phoenix was caught flat-footed by the No. 7 LA Lakers, who have suddenly become much more than just Kobe Bryant.The No. 6 LA Clippers are in the second round for the first time since the 1970s, and the Mavericks, coming off a sweep of Memphis, appear as equipped as anyone to make a title run."We knew going in that it was wide open," point guard Jason Terry said. "This is the best basketball I've seen in years. I'm glad we took care of our business and now we can kind of watch and see what happens in those other series and prepare mentally and physically."The Clippers dusted off Denver on Monday, and the Mavs are content to sit back this week and watch the Spurs and Kings battle in Game 6 on Friday and, the Mavs hope, in a Game 7 Sunday."It shows the balance of the powers," guard/forward Adrian Griffin said. "Every team is playing well, and that's kind of rare all at once."Injury updateAn MRI exam of Marquis Daniels' right hamstring came back negative Tuesday. Daniels missed Game 4 against Memphis but is expected to play in Game 1 of the second-round series.Keith Van Horn, out of the first round with a broken hand, will have an X-ray taken today. Coach Avery Johnson said Van Horn could be ready early in the next series.Bring 'em onDeSagana Diop is new to the Mavs-Spurs rivalry, but after playing in four games this season -- which the teams split -- he said the recent hex the Spurs seem to have held over the Mavs should have no bearing if the division rivals meet in the second round."Look at the Red Sox, how many years before they won, 86?" Diop said, referencing Boston's long-awaited 2004 World Series title. "We've got a chance. That's all we want is a chance. If we go out and play hard, we can beat them."I don't think anybody in this room is scared of them."No fouls, big harmThe numbers might not always show it, but Josh Howard, with his long wingspan and aggressive style, is always active.Except when he's in foul trouble.It was obvious that quick fouls in Game 1 altered Howard's ability to enforce his attacking game. He had only eight points and one rebound in 18 minutes."That's my whole problem," Howard said after Game 4. "The refs understand that I'm an aggressive player. But that's the whole part -- staying on the court."Howard returned to his dynamic form in Games 2, 3 and 4, scoring 17, 16 and 24 points. In Game 4, he also had nine rebounds and hit 3-of-4 3-pointers."He was making shots and being aggressive, taking guys off the dribble," Dirk Nowitzki said. "He was everywhere on defense. He was great."Not satisfiedAfter the Mavs defeated Memphis on Monday, owner Mark Cuban was asked if he's proud of Avery Johnson for winning Coach of the Year and guiding Dallas to a first-round sweep, a first for the franchise in a best-of-seven series."I'm always proud of Avery," Cuban said. "But how proud? Ask me in June and I'll tell you."
