duncan228
04-22-2009, 04:29 PM
Don't worry too much about Dirk (http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/dont-worry-too-much-about-dirk.html)
Tim MacMahon
Dallas Morning News
The Spurs deserve credit for their defense on Dirk in the series' first two games. You have to do a lot of things well to hold one of the league's top scorers to 16.5 points per night.
In Big Ed Sefko's story about Dirk's struggles in San Antonio (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/042209dnspomavslede.2fbb1ab.html), the question was asked whether Rick Carlisle or Dirk could do anything different to get the big German going.
"Not really," Dirk said. "That's their game plan. Maybe catch the ball a little more on the move. They're not giving me any room."
That got me thinking about exactly how Dirk was getting his shots this series. And because I'm a basketball geek with nothing better to do, I went to the DVR and watched every scoring opportunity.
My conclusion: Dirk will put up close to his normal point production during these games in Dallas if he keeps getting the same kind of looks. The Spurs made it tough for Dirk, but if he had a hot hand, he could have been in his typical 25-point range either night.
To see what I mean, wade through the basketball minutiae after the jump.
GAME 1
Made 18-footer over Roger Mason (and-1) from right wing after Antoine Wright set pindown screen on Matt Bonner
Missed 16-footer from left elbow with Bonner in face. Ran FT iso, but Bonner made catch tough by fronting, pushing Dirk out to 3-point line. Took two dribbles and shot with Michael Finley coming over to help, leaving Josh Howard wide open in the corner.
Missed 14-footer (good look) over Tony Parker. Caught ball in transition at top of 3-point arc, took four dribbles to set up spin left away from Roger Mason at free throw line.
Missed wide-open 16-footer from just inside right elbow after getting great screen by Erick Dampier on Kurt Thomas. It was a well run play, which looked like it would be a pick-and-roll with Jason Kidd on the left wing until Dirk moved down toward block, popping back into the middle as Dampier came from the free throw line to set up the pick, allowing Kidd to make an easy pass from the top of the arc.
Missed open 3 after getting pass from Kidd at top of the arc in transition. After getting an outlet pass, Kidd pushed up the floor quickly enough that the Spurs were caught scrambling, with Finley closing on Dirk to late to bother his shot.
Made layup from right side over Ime Udoka after rebounding missed 3 by Jason Terry from the opposite corner.
Made 15-foot catch-and-shoot fadeaway from left baseline over Bonner. Howard beat Finley baseline on a clearout on the opposite side of the floor and made a beautiful bounce pass when Bonner came over to help.
Made 16-foot fadeaway over Bonner from the left elbow. Got pass from Kidd at top of 3-point arc after a Kidd/Dampier pick-and-roll on the left wing, put it on the floor twice with his left hand, pump-faked and shot the fadeaway with no defender coming to double.
Made two-hand dunk after beating Bonner baseline. Made easy catch after slipping the pick as Bonner tried to hedge to keep Kidd from getting from the left wing into the middle of the court. Bonner had time to recover, but gave Dirk the baseline and had his palms in the air after the play, wondering what happened to his help.
Missed 16-foot fadeway with Drew Gooden's hand in his face. Kidd posted up Parker on the right block and delivered the pass to Dirk right above the elbow after Dampier set a screen in the middle of the floor. Instead of shooting immediately after the catch while Gooden was recovering or going to the basket - Tim Duncan was in the paint - Dirk pump-faked, took a dribble to his right, gathered himself and shot the fadeaway.
Missed 18-footer from right side. After Howard was doubled on the opposite block, Mavs moved the ball around the arc to Dirk in the right corner. Tony Parker was scrambling from doubling Howard to close out on Dirk due to the rotation, and Dirk created space with one dribble to his left before pulling up. Dirk let Dick Bavetta know on their way downcourt that he thought Parker hacked him on his shooting elbow.
Made two free throws after getting hacked by Bruce Bowen while going up for a jumper at the right elbow. J.J. Barea penetrated to draw Gooden, who was guarding Dirk, and passed the ball after Dirk popped up from the block to the elbow. Bowen, who was guarding Terry, smacked Dirk's left elbow as he tried to stay within closing distance of Terry on the left wing.
Missed 3-pointer from left wing, a good look with Kurt Thomas a step late in closing out. Thomas sunk down to the free throw line to help against Barea, who had run a pick-and-pop with Brandon Bass on the opposite side of the floor.
Made driving right-handed layup after beating Roger Mason on an iso. Dirk caught the ball straddling the 3-point line, a few feet right of the middle of the court. With Mason bodying him up, Dirk took two hard dribbles with his left, blowing by a half-hearted help attempt by Parker, and finished over Duncan with his right hand.
Made 16-footer over Mason. Ran similar iso play on other side of the floor, taking one dribble to his left, pulling up at the elbow, pump-faking to create some space and shooting the jumper that gave the Mavs a 10-point lead with 2:35 to go.
Missed 15-foot fadeaway over Mason. Ran another iso, catching the ball at the top of the 3-point arc, taking three dribbles with his back to the basket and pulling up for a fadeaway at the right elbow.
Made two free throws after being fouled in backcourt with 26 seconds remaining.
GAME 1 TOTALS: 19 points, 7-15 FG, 0-2 3-pointers, 5-5 FT
GAME 2
Made 17-foot jumper from right baseline. Catch-and-shoot over Mason after Wright set a good pindown screen on Bonner.
Made left-handed layup after beating Gooden off the dribble. Caught the ball at the right elbow after setting a screen on the wing for Howard, immediately put it on the floor with his left when Gooden tried to crowd him and got to the basket before Thomas could get over to help.
Missed open 3-pointer from left wing. Had a ton of space after he set a pick for Terry about 35 feet from the basket and Thomas trapped with Parker.
Made two free throws after Thomas delivered a forearm to the ribs when Dirk tried to face up at the top of the 3-point arc.
Missed 16-footer with Gooden in his face. Ran pick-and-pop with Terry, who was trapped by Bowen and Thomas, leaving Dirk one-on-one with rotating Gooden at the top of the arc. Took two dribbles with left, spun right just above the free throw line and shot a fadeaway with Gooden standing straight up. Bowen was coming to help, but he sprinted back to Terry at the 3-point line when Dirk picked up his dribble.
Made two free throws after being hacked by Thomas. Dirk set a double screen with Bass for Terry at the left elbow, popped out to the wing, got the pass from Terry and beat Gooden with two hard dribbles with his left before Thomas hacked him as he was shooting a layup.
Made right-handed layup after driving past Bonner. Got ball just inside top of the key after a pick-and-pop with Barea. Bonner hedged and had to recover, making it easy for Dirk to beat him with a dribble to the left. With Gooden stepping in to help in front of the basket, Dirk had to get creative with his finish, going glass with his right hand despite jumping off his right foot.
Made one of two free throws after running a similar pick-and-pop with Barea, catching the ball on the right wing this time. Dirk blew by the recovering Bonner with a right-handed dribble and was fouled by Gooden while shooting a right-handed layup.
Missed 11-foot fadeaway with Bonner in his face. On a broken play, which was originally a Dirk iso at the top of the key, Dirk took a pass from Bass a couple feet above the right elbow, put it on the floor twice with his left, spun right and shot a fadeaway just inside the circle in the lane.
Missed 14-foot fadeaway. Caught the ball with Finley at the right elbow after Kidd set a pick on Bonner, dribbled twice with his left, pump-faked and shot the fadeaway over Finley.
Missed open 16-foot jumper. Catch-and-shoot from a little outside the right elbow after getting a pindown screen from Barea on Bonner. Bowen came over late to try to challenge.
Made a free throw after Spurs called for defensive three seconds.
Missed open 16-foot jumper. Caught the ball at the top of the key and had plenty of space to operate after Bruce Bowen (switched to Dirk after Barea screen) stumbled. Dirk put it on the floor with his left while spinning away from Bowen and pulled up behind the free throw line, getting a great look despite Duncan coming over to help.
Missed 16-foot fadeaway. Ran pick-and-roll with Terry on right wing. Thomas and Bowen trapped Terry in the middle of the floor, leaving Dirk one-on-one with rotating Gooden on the wing. Dirk took one dribble with his right and got a great look by the elbow.
Made two free throws after getting fouled by Thomas on a drive to the basket. Before Bass made a pass from the block to the top of the arc, Kidd set a back screen on Gooden to force Mason to switch onto Dirk. Dirk beat him off the dribble to his left, and Thomas committed a blocking foul a few feet in front of the hoop.
Missed open 3-pointer from top of key. Ran pick-and-pop with Terry, who was trapped on the right wing by Bowen and Thomas. Gooden didn't get close enough to Dirk on the rotation to bother his shot.
Airballed a 3 from the top of the arc. Kidd, freelancing as the Spurs were setting up their defense, dribbled a few feet in front of the free throw line, setting a quasi-pick on Thomas while shoveling the ball to Dirk. Thomas got a hand in Dirk's face anyway, but it was still stunning to see an airball. ("Whoa!" was the call by Mavs play-by-play man Mark Followill.)
Missed 3-pointer from right wing. Ran a pick-and-pop with Kidd in transition, and Parker challenged the shot after switching onto Dirk.
GAME 2 TOTALS: 14 points, 3-14 FG, 0-4 3-pointers, 8-9 FT
Tim MacMahon
Dallas Morning News
The Spurs deserve credit for their defense on Dirk in the series' first two games. You have to do a lot of things well to hold one of the league's top scorers to 16.5 points per night.
In Big Ed Sefko's story about Dirk's struggles in San Antonio (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/042209dnspomavslede.2fbb1ab.html), the question was asked whether Rick Carlisle or Dirk could do anything different to get the big German going.
"Not really," Dirk said. "That's their game plan. Maybe catch the ball a little more on the move. They're not giving me any room."
That got me thinking about exactly how Dirk was getting his shots this series. And because I'm a basketball geek with nothing better to do, I went to the DVR and watched every scoring opportunity.
My conclusion: Dirk will put up close to his normal point production during these games in Dallas if he keeps getting the same kind of looks. The Spurs made it tough for Dirk, but if he had a hot hand, he could have been in his typical 25-point range either night.
To see what I mean, wade through the basketball minutiae after the jump.
GAME 1
Made 18-footer over Roger Mason (and-1) from right wing after Antoine Wright set pindown screen on Matt Bonner
Missed 16-footer from left elbow with Bonner in face. Ran FT iso, but Bonner made catch tough by fronting, pushing Dirk out to 3-point line. Took two dribbles and shot with Michael Finley coming over to help, leaving Josh Howard wide open in the corner.
Missed 14-footer (good look) over Tony Parker. Caught ball in transition at top of 3-point arc, took four dribbles to set up spin left away from Roger Mason at free throw line.
Missed wide-open 16-footer from just inside right elbow after getting great screen by Erick Dampier on Kurt Thomas. It was a well run play, which looked like it would be a pick-and-roll with Jason Kidd on the left wing until Dirk moved down toward block, popping back into the middle as Dampier came from the free throw line to set up the pick, allowing Kidd to make an easy pass from the top of the arc.
Missed open 3 after getting pass from Kidd at top of the arc in transition. After getting an outlet pass, Kidd pushed up the floor quickly enough that the Spurs were caught scrambling, with Finley closing on Dirk to late to bother his shot.
Made layup from right side over Ime Udoka after rebounding missed 3 by Jason Terry from the opposite corner.
Made 15-foot catch-and-shoot fadeaway from left baseline over Bonner. Howard beat Finley baseline on a clearout on the opposite side of the floor and made a beautiful bounce pass when Bonner came over to help.
Made 16-foot fadeaway over Bonner from the left elbow. Got pass from Kidd at top of 3-point arc after a Kidd/Dampier pick-and-roll on the left wing, put it on the floor twice with his left hand, pump-faked and shot the fadeaway with no defender coming to double.
Made two-hand dunk after beating Bonner baseline. Made easy catch after slipping the pick as Bonner tried to hedge to keep Kidd from getting from the left wing into the middle of the court. Bonner had time to recover, but gave Dirk the baseline and had his palms in the air after the play, wondering what happened to his help.
Missed 16-foot fadeway with Drew Gooden's hand in his face. Kidd posted up Parker on the right block and delivered the pass to Dirk right above the elbow after Dampier set a screen in the middle of the floor. Instead of shooting immediately after the catch while Gooden was recovering or going to the basket - Tim Duncan was in the paint - Dirk pump-faked, took a dribble to his right, gathered himself and shot the fadeaway.
Missed 18-footer from right side. After Howard was doubled on the opposite block, Mavs moved the ball around the arc to Dirk in the right corner. Tony Parker was scrambling from doubling Howard to close out on Dirk due to the rotation, and Dirk created space with one dribble to his left before pulling up. Dirk let Dick Bavetta know on their way downcourt that he thought Parker hacked him on his shooting elbow.
Made two free throws after getting hacked by Bruce Bowen while going up for a jumper at the right elbow. J.J. Barea penetrated to draw Gooden, who was guarding Dirk, and passed the ball after Dirk popped up from the block to the elbow. Bowen, who was guarding Terry, smacked Dirk's left elbow as he tried to stay within closing distance of Terry on the left wing.
Missed 3-pointer from left wing, a good look with Kurt Thomas a step late in closing out. Thomas sunk down to the free throw line to help against Barea, who had run a pick-and-pop with Brandon Bass on the opposite side of the floor.
Made driving right-handed layup after beating Roger Mason on an iso. Dirk caught the ball straddling the 3-point line, a few feet right of the middle of the court. With Mason bodying him up, Dirk took two hard dribbles with his left, blowing by a half-hearted help attempt by Parker, and finished over Duncan with his right hand.
Made 16-footer over Mason. Ran similar iso play on other side of the floor, taking one dribble to his left, pulling up at the elbow, pump-faking to create some space and shooting the jumper that gave the Mavs a 10-point lead with 2:35 to go.
Missed 15-foot fadeaway over Mason. Ran another iso, catching the ball at the top of the 3-point arc, taking three dribbles with his back to the basket and pulling up for a fadeaway at the right elbow.
Made two free throws after being fouled in backcourt with 26 seconds remaining.
GAME 1 TOTALS: 19 points, 7-15 FG, 0-2 3-pointers, 5-5 FT
GAME 2
Made 17-foot jumper from right baseline. Catch-and-shoot over Mason after Wright set a good pindown screen on Bonner.
Made left-handed layup after beating Gooden off the dribble. Caught the ball at the right elbow after setting a screen on the wing for Howard, immediately put it on the floor with his left when Gooden tried to crowd him and got to the basket before Thomas could get over to help.
Missed open 3-pointer from left wing. Had a ton of space after he set a pick for Terry about 35 feet from the basket and Thomas trapped with Parker.
Made two free throws after Thomas delivered a forearm to the ribs when Dirk tried to face up at the top of the 3-point arc.
Missed 16-footer with Gooden in his face. Ran pick-and-pop with Terry, who was trapped by Bowen and Thomas, leaving Dirk one-on-one with rotating Gooden at the top of the arc. Took two dribbles with left, spun right just above the free throw line and shot a fadeaway with Gooden standing straight up. Bowen was coming to help, but he sprinted back to Terry at the 3-point line when Dirk picked up his dribble.
Made two free throws after being hacked by Thomas. Dirk set a double screen with Bass for Terry at the left elbow, popped out to the wing, got the pass from Terry and beat Gooden with two hard dribbles with his left before Thomas hacked him as he was shooting a layup.
Made right-handed layup after driving past Bonner. Got ball just inside top of the key after a pick-and-pop with Barea. Bonner hedged and had to recover, making it easy for Dirk to beat him with a dribble to the left. With Gooden stepping in to help in front of the basket, Dirk had to get creative with his finish, going glass with his right hand despite jumping off his right foot.
Made one of two free throws after running a similar pick-and-pop with Barea, catching the ball on the right wing this time. Dirk blew by the recovering Bonner with a right-handed dribble and was fouled by Gooden while shooting a right-handed layup.
Missed 11-foot fadeaway with Bonner in his face. On a broken play, which was originally a Dirk iso at the top of the key, Dirk took a pass from Bass a couple feet above the right elbow, put it on the floor twice with his left, spun right and shot a fadeaway just inside the circle in the lane.
Missed 14-foot fadeaway. Caught the ball with Finley at the right elbow after Kidd set a pick on Bonner, dribbled twice with his left, pump-faked and shot the fadeaway over Finley.
Missed open 16-foot jumper. Catch-and-shoot from a little outside the right elbow after getting a pindown screen from Barea on Bonner. Bowen came over late to try to challenge.
Made a free throw after Spurs called for defensive three seconds.
Missed open 16-foot jumper. Caught the ball at the top of the key and had plenty of space to operate after Bruce Bowen (switched to Dirk after Barea screen) stumbled. Dirk put it on the floor with his left while spinning away from Bowen and pulled up behind the free throw line, getting a great look despite Duncan coming over to help.
Missed 16-foot fadeaway. Ran pick-and-roll with Terry on right wing. Thomas and Bowen trapped Terry in the middle of the floor, leaving Dirk one-on-one with rotating Gooden on the wing. Dirk took one dribble with his right and got a great look by the elbow.
Made two free throws after getting fouled by Thomas on a drive to the basket. Before Bass made a pass from the block to the top of the arc, Kidd set a back screen on Gooden to force Mason to switch onto Dirk. Dirk beat him off the dribble to his left, and Thomas committed a blocking foul a few feet in front of the hoop.
Missed open 3-pointer from top of key. Ran pick-and-pop with Terry, who was trapped on the right wing by Bowen and Thomas. Gooden didn't get close enough to Dirk on the rotation to bother his shot.
Airballed a 3 from the top of the arc. Kidd, freelancing as the Spurs were setting up their defense, dribbled a few feet in front of the free throw line, setting a quasi-pick on Thomas while shoveling the ball to Dirk. Thomas got a hand in Dirk's face anyway, but it was still stunning to see an airball. ("Whoa!" was the call by Mavs play-by-play man Mark Followill.)
Missed 3-pointer from right wing. Ran a pick-and-pop with Kidd in transition, and Parker challenged the shot after switching onto Dirk.
GAME 2 TOTALS: 14 points, 3-14 FG, 0-4 3-pointers, 8-9 FT