duncan228
04-20-2009, 12:38 PM
Dallas Mavericks know there's three more to go (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/042009dnspomavslede.3b70ed7.html)
By Eddie Sefco / The Dallas Morning News
SAN ANTONIO – As great moments in franchise history go, Game 1 was a nice one.
The Mavericks stood up to San Antonio and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 first-round series, looking dominant in the second half and doing a pretty decent impersonation of their blue-collar, hard-nosed opponent.
And then, the Mavericks did nothing.
No dancing off the court as if they'd won a title, or even a series. No celebration in the locker room. Just a subdued, we've-done-nothing-so-far shrug.
"You see our approach," Antoine Wright said Sunday. "We don't feel like we're a team that anybody is counting on to win these games. We're the only ones who believe we can do it. There was no big celebration or jumping around. It's all business."
Added Erick Dampier: "We haven't done anything. We weren't out there ranting or raving about it. There wasn't anybody celebrating, because we didn't want that."
This may represent another step in the recovery of a team that had lost nine straight playoff road games dating to 2006 and hasn't won a series since the conference finals that year.
The Mavericks played the second half Saturday like they knew they were the superior team and were supposed to cart a W off the AT&T Center court.
There was no tentativeness.
"We knew we could come out here and get the win," J.J. Barea said. "I'm not going to lie – it was a good feeling. But we still know we've got a long way to go. We've got to beat them three more times. It's not an easy task. We've got to keep our heads and not get too excited."
The Mavericks know the harder part starts tonight in Game 2. The Spurs will throw the kitchen sink into their game plan to try to put a shackle on the Mavericks' diverse attack, which sliced up the home team in the opener.
Barea was driving without fear to the basket. Wright was making jump shots. Dampier earned a virtual draw with Tim Duncan, emotionally if not statistically.
The Mavericks know Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will do some things differently. It won't be the same old Spurs.
"They've got four banners in here?" said Josh Howard, glancing to the rafters. "They're a championship-caliber team. They know what they're doing. You can't expect them to roll over and lay down."
The Spurs did not play poorly in the opener. The Mavericks won in spite of San Antonio hitting 11 of 14 3-point attempts. They won in spite of Michael Finley's 19 points, which were nine above his season average.
And they won in spite of large statistical nights by Duncan and Tony Parker.
Can the Spurs rely on all those things happening again?
Of course, the Spurs also can legitimately ask, "Can the Mavericks expect to get such large production from Barea, Brandon Bass and Dampier again?
"They're going to do something different," Barea said. "But that means something else will be open for us. We've just got to see what they do and take advantage."
Win or lose, the Mavs have learned not to let their emotions get the best of them. In the opener, they did a splendid job of not allowing bad breaks to sour their disposition. Dirk Nowitzki got in foul trouble in the first half, but it was Duncan who spent most of the second half griping about calls.
An even keel usually serves playoff teams better than wild mood swings.
"I've been in this a lot," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Pop's a master. He's been through this a zillion times. You don't get too high or too low. They won't get too low. We won't get too high. We are a humble team. We know these games are going to be difficult. But we're hungry, and we're going to keep battling."
By Eddie Sefco / The Dallas Morning News
SAN ANTONIO – As great moments in franchise history go, Game 1 was a nice one.
The Mavericks stood up to San Antonio and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 first-round series, looking dominant in the second half and doing a pretty decent impersonation of their blue-collar, hard-nosed opponent.
And then, the Mavericks did nothing.
No dancing off the court as if they'd won a title, or even a series. No celebration in the locker room. Just a subdued, we've-done-nothing-so-far shrug.
"You see our approach," Antoine Wright said Sunday. "We don't feel like we're a team that anybody is counting on to win these games. We're the only ones who believe we can do it. There was no big celebration or jumping around. It's all business."
Added Erick Dampier: "We haven't done anything. We weren't out there ranting or raving about it. There wasn't anybody celebrating, because we didn't want that."
This may represent another step in the recovery of a team that had lost nine straight playoff road games dating to 2006 and hasn't won a series since the conference finals that year.
The Mavericks played the second half Saturday like they knew they were the superior team and were supposed to cart a W off the AT&T Center court.
There was no tentativeness.
"We knew we could come out here and get the win," J.J. Barea said. "I'm not going to lie – it was a good feeling. But we still know we've got a long way to go. We've got to beat them three more times. It's not an easy task. We've got to keep our heads and not get too excited."
The Mavericks know the harder part starts tonight in Game 2. The Spurs will throw the kitchen sink into their game plan to try to put a shackle on the Mavericks' diverse attack, which sliced up the home team in the opener.
Barea was driving without fear to the basket. Wright was making jump shots. Dampier earned a virtual draw with Tim Duncan, emotionally if not statistically.
The Mavericks know Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will do some things differently. It won't be the same old Spurs.
"They've got four banners in here?" said Josh Howard, glancing to the rafters. "They're a championship-caliber team. They know what they're doing. You can't expect them to roll over and lay down."
The Spurs did not play poorly in the opener. The Mavericks won in spite of San Antonio hitting 11 of 14 3-point attempts. They won in spite of Michael Finley's 19 points, which were nine above his season average.
And they won in spite of large statistical nights by Duncan and Tony Parker.
Can the Spurs rely on all those things happening again?
Of course, the Spurs also can legitimately ask, "Can the Mavericks expect to get such large production from Barea, Brandon Bass and Dampier again?
"They're going to do something different," Barea said. "But that means something else will be open for us. We've just got to see what they do and take advantage."
Win or lose, the Mavs have learned not to let their emotions get the best of them. In the opener, they did a splendid job of not allowing bad breaks to sour their disposition. Dirk Nowitzki got in foul trouble in the first half, but it was Duncan who spent most of the second half griping about calls.
An even keel usually serves playoff teams better than wild mood swings.
"I've been in this a lot," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Pop's a master. He's been through this a zillion times. You don't get too high or too low. They won't get too low. We won't get too high. We are a humble team. We know these games are going to be difficult. But we're hungry, and we're going to keep battling."