Just wanted to let you guyz know of what my opinion is.....I think Ryan Bowen would be the best defender......and as for making Dirk work on defense...........I think you would run the same Yao-McGrady game, but you screen T-Mac with Bowen so that Dirk switches.....what this can do is have T-Mac make Dirk work and T-Mac can drive in and draw fouls on Dirk.......that would be splendid..........also....if the driving doesn't work you can still throw it to Yao and run the inside-out game where Yao can take Dampier.......or pass it out to one of the other 3 shooters on the court....when I say shooter I mean someone with 3-pt range........then when Dirk sits you can run Padgett and rest Bowen so then the bench player for Dallas will have to work on his defense rotation against Padgett or work inside against a worker like Weatherspoon......... lol sorry if I bored you guys with this......I mean I'm only 15 no need to pay attention to what I say....
I know Dallas has a lot of offensive firepowers but that's not the reason we have to be afraid of because we view the match-up in psychological aspects. With the exception of Nowitzki who pose match-up problems for us we can take any Mavs with our hardworking roster. What does Terry, Van Horn, Finley and Stackhouse have that causes us to worry about them? Offensive production? We should remember that they became big time because they were the only star in their respective teams who somehow struggled before. How about Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard? Their only advantage is their youth and athleticism. On our side with the exception of Yao and TMac we have someone that fits perfectly as role players. Sure some of them(Mutombo,Howard,Weatherspoon and Wesley) became a star in their respective teams in the past while others are already contented on being part of a team but always play their best on the court. Sura, Barry, Padgett, Bowen and James are not big timers because they played with teams with a lot of all star before. With them surrounding Yao and TMac the Rockets manage to have a successful season. It doesn't matter if you have lots of blue chips in your team. As long as there's team chemistry and hardworking players the Rockets can upset any team as underdogs.
I just read on chron.com that braggs was put on injurd list and Vin baker is in the playoff roster as well as moochie. I don't know why this happened since baker is old and if jvg wanted to play him , at least give him some season games to adapt again since he hasn't played for a very long time> I would rather have kept braggs as backup to bowen :S. Braggs wasn't bad when i saw him play in his limited minutes. Yes, I wanted seatttle but jvg didn't strategize and he was alittle greedy , he wanted to have a better looking record. If we steal one of their home games we might have a chance. Dallas having a lot of firepower might backfire them, since on a bad night, firepower=many bricks and also each player might want to hog the ball. Hopefully they get a bad night. But if dallas are smart enough to have smart shot selection and give most shots to Dirk (who has the hottest hand for a big man and is the biggest threat to the rockets), the only thing stopping them form winning is if dirk has a bad shooting night which is rare. If we play well as a TEAM, we have a chance in winning
Is it just me or does anyone else think the rockets will win this series, because I think we're mentally tougher than the Mavs????
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If we steal one of their home games we might have a chance.</div> It's impossible to win the series without stealing one of their home games...
As requested, here's an opinion from a Mavs fan. I predict that JVG will have anyone who defends against Dirk (be it Padgett/Witherspoon/Bowen), play with aggression. Basically, the plan would be to force Dirk to put the ball on the floor, and then bring a second defender once he does. This would foce Dirk to either pass or shoot against 2 defenders. The weakest part of Dirk's offensive game is passing on the move. So the chances of Houston getting a turnover are much greater when he is doing this. Moreover, just as the Mavs will try to wear McGrady down with multiple defenders, I believe the Rockets will do the same against Nowitzki. That's one reason why Vin Baker was activated, because he is a much quicker defender than Braggs. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, but that's what I would do against Dirk if I were Jeff.
kingrex, I doubt anyone has welcomed you to JBB yet, so here's my welcome. Your post really explained a lot about how Dallas would play us. I'd had a vague impression of them rotating defenders on McGrady, but your idea of forcing Dirk to turn the ball over sounds excellent. One thing I would fear from double teaming though is leaving the likes of Finley, Terry and Van Horn open for three point attempts. If we do double, the Rockets would have to rotate well on defense to avoid any open looks. I can bet that Van Gundy is working on rotation with the Rockets in practice right now. So once again, welcome to the boards and I'll look forward to discussing with you again as the series wears on. Best of luck to both teams.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">That's one reason why Vin Baker was activated, because he is a much quicker defender than Braggs.</div> Welcome to JBB man! Wait a second there. Isn't Braggs a much younger and athletic player than Baker who's like a half recovered alcoholic and so out of shape he can't really play?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting DynastYWarrioR6:</div><div class="quote_post">Just wanted to let you guyz know of what my opinion is.....I think Ryan Bowen would be the best defender..... sorry if I bored you guys with this......I mean I'm only 15 no need to pay attention to what I say....</div> Are you the boi in the Yao's pepsi commercial? lol <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sniper:</div><div class="quote_post"><div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If we steal one of their home games we might have a chance. </div>It's impossible to win the series without stealing one of their home games...</div> Yea.. it's <strike>bullshit</strike> and the key to the series. 45 CIVIL WAR IN TEXAS IS COMING UP! <font color="red">Please refrain from profane language. ~Trip</font>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sniper:</div><div class="quote_post">It's impossible to win the series without stealing one of their home games...</div> Let me get the facts straight for u <strike>son</strike>. I meant stealing one of their first 2 home games. If they win the first 2 games, it wont be easy to recover. We might be doin that, we're leading well in the 1s half so far. <font color="red">Stop your name-calling, or suspensions will be handed out. ~Trip</font>
Thanks for the warm welcome fellas. I hated to be right about Game 1. Bowen was the aggressor and Dirk was out of his game. Dirk turned it over on the dribble after the double team, and at least once with McGrady guarding him straight up. If the Mavs play like they are capable of, then we will be in for more of a game tonight.
I observed that when TMac was on Dirk, Dirk basically didn't look to shoot, but rather pass off. It makes sense, as TMac's explosiveness could block Dirk's potential shot, and passing it off would mean a basket for whoever is open on the weak side. Playing Dirk at center with Yao/Mutombo on the floor for the Rockets is scary; Yao actually had to guard Josh Howard. If I were Johnson, I would let Howard take it to the basket at Yao.
Houston took advantage of the mismatches, and even when the Mavs had a mismatch, they didn't make the Rockets pay for it. JVG had his team prepared and flat out beat the Mavs. The Mavs need to come in with alot more game than they put out Saturday.
