GUARDS: I would put Terry on Nash and put as much pressure on him on both ends of the court. Nash has been known to wear down and it might affect his play as the series goes on. Finley did suprisingly well against McGrady and I would hope he could get a handle on Joe Johnson. Keep a hand on his face and force him to his left. FORWARDS: Josh Howard will be key in keeping Richardson from hitting those 3's. More than anyone, Richardson is dangerous on the perimeter. He is also an excellent post player, and this is where he canl be most effective against Howard. Nowitzki does not match-up well against Marion. Marion is quick and a strong leaper, two qualities which does not describe Dirk. If Dallas falls apart on defense, then this is the first place that I would guess it would occur. CENTERS: Dampier can defend Amare on the blocks, but if Damp has to defend him away from the basket, then that his where Amare could dominate him. Damp must give up open jumpers to keep Amare from driving the ball to the basket. However, if Amare starts hitting those shots, then Damp must put pressure on him and get some defensive help when Amare drives around him. The Suns are a match-up nightmare, and the Mavs are definitely the underdogs in this series.
Well for Game 1, its a simple answer. Dallas` D was too weak and the Sun`s offense was just too strong. The Mavs can`t win with that kind of playing. Game 1 also showed how effective Amare can be, we have to work harder on that. Lets hope on Game 2 we can come out more defensive minded.
I'd agree with all your matchups, even though game 1 didn't have a good result. Now why I think these are the best matchups... Terry on Nash - Obviously becuase Terry is the best player that can keep out with Nash, and maybe even wear him out, he's played very well against our Rockets... Finley on Johnson - I don't really know what to say here...I think Joe will still get his averages, maybe with a lower PCT or maybe a point or two less. Josh on Richardson - Simply because I think it would work, for some reason I just can't see Quentin scoring well with Josh Howard on him, but I don't know the two very well... Dirk on Marion - Well for offense you'd be fine but like you said, on defense you have a problem, Marion could blow by Dirk numerous times for a dunk, he's extremely quick and very versatile. Damp on Amare - Here's trouble, in game 1 Amare scored 40 points! I couldn't watch the game but obviously something has got to change, I don't know many centers that could guard Amare, when he's inside he'll go up strong for a dunk or get his 2 shots, but he can also hit that jumper, sorry I have no idea on this one.
I'd say play a small ball. Phoenix indeed doesn't have a tall inside presence but Dallas center (Dampier) is not very good offensively so you can't exploit that advantage. Therefore i think Dallas should play small ball so that you will have a better matchup defensively. So it goes like this : Terry - Nash : Terry is the quickest so he is responsible on guarding nash. Just try to wear him down and tag him along always. Also try to go through Terry offensively, force Nash to play defense.. Remember Terry has a height advantage.. Bring in armstrong if Terry is exhausted.. Do NOT put devin harris to guard nash.. he's still a rookie and you would want him to guard the league MVP in the playoff? He coudln't even guard mike james.. Stackhouse - Qrich : Qrich is not explosive and seldom drive into the lane so stackhouse just need to be carefull on not letting him taking wide open threes. He is deadly from downtown.. Finley - Johnson : I think this is the key matchup. I'm seeing that Johnson is the key player for Suns. He can shoot 3, he can drive to the lane, basically he is a threat offensively. Finley will have a tough time guarding him Howard - Marion : I know that Marion can still blow pass Howard anytime but at least he is quicker than Dirk. He should play hustle like he did to t-mac. If he is tired, he can rotate with daniels. Nowitzki - Amare : Dirk's job is a lot easier here rather than guarding marion. Amare is not as quick as marion and amare doesn't play outside the perimeter so he can't bait Dirk to go out like Marion can. If Dirk can still get a onesided call from the ref like he got against Yao (still angry and biased.. hehehe) then there's a chance he can stop amare.
Interesting adjustments in game 2 by Avery: v. Nash Avery is putting a taller defender against him such as Howard or Daniels when Terry has to sit. I suppose to make it harder for Nash to shoot over or pass over them. v. Richardson On the occasion that Howard is defending Nash, Terry gets this assignment. Since Richardson mainly hangs out in the perimeter, then Terry size disadvantage is a non-issue. v. Stoudamire They're forcing him to catch away from the basket and as soon as he drives, they send 1 and sometimes 2 extra defenders to clog the paint. Amare hasn't been successful passing out of this, and when he does the Dallas defenders have been quick enough to recover to their man. Since Amare scored 30+ points in game 2, it obviously didn't stop him, but it did slow him down somewhat. And at the very least made him work for his points.
