Mavericks' Big 3 Must Be More Than Just Decoys

[duncan228]

Dallas Mavericks' Big 3 must be more than just decoys (http://www.star-telegram.com/mavericks/story/1328645.html)
David Moore

Sixth man Jason Terry declared before Game 2 that the Mavericks could win this series if San Antonio insisted on turning him and Dirk Nowitzki into decoys.

He might want to rethink that stance.

Nowitzki and Terry combined to average 45 points a game during the regular season. They combined for 30 points in Monday’s loss. That’s too much slack for the rest of the roster to pick up on a nightly basis.

While we’re on this topic, let’s not forget Josh Howard.

The forward didn’t get enough credit for what his 25 points meant to open this series. J.J. Barea created a buzz with his performance in Game 1, but Howard was more crucial to the victory. When the Spurs lock their defense on Nowitzki and Terry, Howard is the player who must step up.

Howard didn’t step up this night, scoring just seven points on 3-of-8 shooting.

The Mavericks Big Three? There was nothing big about them this night. Nowitzki, Terry and Howard combined for 37 points and shot 32.4 percent from the field.

That’s one fewer point than San Antonio point guard Tony Parker scored.

The Mavericks got away with a win in Game 1 because they had good ball movement and their role players stepped up. But the role players can’t be asked to step up night in and night out. That’s why they are role players.

Terry is wrong. He and Nowitzki are too important to the success of this team to be content as decoys. They must force the issue on occasion. Impose their offensive will on the game.

If not, San Antonio’s defense will dig in the rest of the way and make postseason life unbearable.

[duncan228]

How hurt is Dirk? (http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/golden/entries/2009/04/21/how_hurt_is_dirk.html)
By Cedric Golden

Losing to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 may be the least of Dallas’ problems.

We all suspect the San Antonio-Dallas series will go six or seven games but the Mavericks took a hit Monday night down the stretch. If you saw the game, you noticed that Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki looked like he had been through a war by the time it was all over.

He was favoring one of his thumbs (which was wrapped) while also was flexing his knee in the final five minutes. My question would be: why the heck did Rick Carlisle still have him in the game when the Mavericks were down by 20 points? This is a playoff series, not a one-and-done deal. It was shocking to see Nowitzki out there with five minutes remaining in a game that had no chance of being won.

San Antonio’s 105-84 win not only evened up the series at a game apiece but may have evened up the injury situation. Tim Duncan’s knee is iffy and he benefited greatly from getting to rest in the fourth quarter. Now we will see how the Mavs respond. I bet Dirk is glad Game 3 isn’t until Thursday. Get the icepacks ready.

[duncan228]

Mavericks star search (http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/mavericks-star-search.html)
David Moore

Math has never been my best subject. But let me give it a shot.

Jason Terry (16 points) plus Dirk Nowitzki (14) plus Josh Howard (seven) equals 37 points.

Tony Parker equals 38 points.

San Antonio wins.

Terry has declared that if the Spurs insist on turning him and Nowitzki into decoys that the Mavericks can still be successful. He needs to re-think that stance after Game 2.
Below average nights by Nowitzki and Terry to open the series didn't doom the Mavericks because Josh Howard made the Spurs pay with 25 points and the bench came up big.

Counting on Howard is one thing. But role players can't be expected to step up night in and night out. That's not their role.

The Mavericks Big Three shot 32.4 percent from the field and combined for 26 fewer points in Game 2 than they did during the regular season. That drop is too dramatic to ask the rest of the rotation to pick up.

Nowitzki and Terry decoys? It can't happen. They are too important to the Mavericks success. They must impose their offensive will on this series and force the issue on occasion. Howard must relieve the defensive pressure on the two by slicing to the basket and forcing the Spurs to account for him. If he doesn't, San Antonio's defense will dig in the rest of the way and make their lives unbearable.

There are other issues Rick Carlisle and his staff must address before Game 3. Defense and rebounding are at the top of the list. This team fell back into one of its worst habits, pouting on defense when their shots don't fall on offense. But here's the bottom line after two games.

The Mavericks won Game 1 because their role players stepped up.

They lost Game 2 because their stars didn't.

[GSH]

How hurt is Dirk? (http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/golden/entries/2009/04/21/how_hurt_is_dirk.html)
By Cedric Golden

He was favoring one of his thumbs (which was wrapped) while also was flexing his knee in the final five minutes.

San Antonio’s 105-84 win not only evened up the series at a game apiece but may have evened up the injury situation. Tim Duncan’s knee is iffy and he benefited greatly from getting to rest in the fourth quarter. Now we will see how the Mavs respond. I bet Dirk is glad Game 3 isn’t until Thursday. Get the icepacks ready.

Dirk wasn't flexing his knee. It's a groin injury. Bruce Bowen drove to the basket, and as he was going up he got shoved from behind (I think it may have been Dampier who shoved him), and he got a whistle and two free throws.

But the shove caused Bruce to fly into Nowitzki, and as he came down the point of his knee landed directly on the inner part of Dirk's thigh. Those adductor muscles are fan-shaped, and provide a relatively thin covering to the bone. A direct shot like that hurts like a bitch, and those muscles will be tightened up like a rock today.

The Spurs need to test him out early next game. If the injury was on the right side (I think it was), there is a good chance that he won't be moving to the right as well as usual. They also help extend the thigh, so it will be interesting to see how he shoots 3's. He attempted one 3-pointer after the injury, and missed miserably.

I never want to see a player get hurt, but it's good to be aware when they are.

[scanry]

How hurt is Dirk? (http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/golden/entries/2009/04/21/how_hurt_is_dirk.html)
By Cedric Golden

Losing to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 may be the least of Dallas’ problems.

We all suspect the San Antonio-Dallas series will go six or seven games but the Mavericks took a hit Monday night down the stretch. If you saw the game, you noticed that Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki looked like he had been through a war by the time it was all over.

He was favoring one of his thumbs (which was wrapped) while also was flexing his knee in the final five minutes. My question would be: why the heck did Rick Carlisle still have him in the game when the Mavericks were down by 20 points? This is a playoff series, not a one-and-done deal. It was shocking to see Nowitzki out there with five minutes remaining in a game that had no chance of being won.

San Antonio’s 105-84 win not only evened up the series at a game apiece but may have evened up the injury situation. Tim Duncan’s knee is iffy and he benefited greatly from getting to rest in the fourth quarter. Now we will see how the Mavs respond. I bet Dirk is glad Game 3 isn’t until Thursday. Get the icepacks ready.

That doesn't make sense. Doesn't he know the Spurs are without Manu???