duncan228
04-22-2009, 09:43 PM
Damage control: How much Parker can Dallas Mavericks handle? (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/042309dnspomoore.366c690.html)
David Moore
Dallas Morning News
No matter how bad something is for your health, a certain amount can often be tolerated.
There is, for instance, an acceptable level for asbestos. For cholesterol. For radon.
I'm sure the same principle applies for Tony Parker.
What is that number? What sort of damage can the Mavericks allow Parker to do in Game 3 tonight and still come away with a victory?
"That's a difficult question to answer," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "A lot of things would depend on how the game's going and what the score is. We want to keep it, you know, under 38."
Hey, it's a start.
Parker scored 38 points in Monday's blowout victory. He's averaged 31 points in the first two games of this series to mirror his average against the Mavericks during the regular season.
The Mavericks dealt with deadly speed in last year's playoffs against New Orleans and Chris Paul. Coaches and players will tell you Parker may be a step faster from baseline to baseline.
Center Erick Dampier has suggested the Mavericks put Parker on his back every time he drives the lane. That makes defensive sense. But my question is this:
How do you knock down someone you can't catch?
Parker is playing in a different stratosphere. Those are Carlisle's words, not mine. The Mavericks must throw everything at him in Game 3. Traps. Zones. Blitz him from different spots the moment he puts the ball on the floor.
"We know how great he is," Carlisle said. "We're going to have to be a lot better with our team defense. I don't know if anybody ever stops a guy like Parker. He's so good and so fast. But we're going to have to do better on him."
The coaching staff rarely consults me on these matters. OK, never is a better word to use than rarely. But here's my suggestion.
Open the game in a zone and start Jason Terry.
The zone impedes Parker's great straight-line speed. The pick-and-roll between Parker and Tim Duncan is also a little easier to defend out of the zone. Terry's value is on offense.
The Mavericks must attack Parker on defense. They can't allow him to catch his breath against Jason Kidd or Antoine Wright.
Parker would open on Kidd, not Terry. But the Mavericks can force Parker to switch off the pick-and-roll and bounce him off a few Dampier screens, something they have a better chance of doing with Terry than Wright. The Mavericks can post Kidd on Parker more than they did in the first two games of this series.
What Kidd did against Steve Nash late in the regular season comes to mind.
"We've got to make him work on both ends and try to wear him down," Kidd said. "He's young, but if he just has to work on the offensive end, he's going to be a nightmare for us.
"We've got to get him involved in whatever it is and not let him sit in the corner and rest."
So, what is the acceptable level for Parker? Carlisle said the Mavericks want to keep him under his 31-point average. Push him into the mid-20s, and this offensively-challenged Spurs team will find it difficult to win.
To accomplish this, the Mavericks must take away two to three layups, do a better job on the pick-and-roll and make Parker work on defense.
"We'll try to mix some stuff up," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "That's the main thing with a great scorer. You can't give them just one look.
"Great players adjust, so we'll keep mixing it up and see what happens."
David Moore
Dallas Morning News
No matter how bad something is for your health, a certain amount can often be tolerated.
There is, for instance, an acceptable level for asbestos. For cholesterol. For radon.
I'm sure the same principle applies for Tony Parker.
What is that number? What sort of damage can the Mavericks allow Parker to do in Game 3 tonight and still come away with a victory?
"That's a difficult question to answer," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "A lot of things would depend on how the game's going and what the score is. We want to keep it, you know, under 38."
Hey, it's a start.
Parker scored 38 points in Monday's blowout victory. He's averaged 31 points in the first two games of this series to mirror his average against the Mavericks during the regular season.
The Mavericks dealt with deadly speed in last year's playoffs against New Orleans and Chris Paul. Coaches and players will tell you Parker may be a step faster from baseline to baseline.
Center Erick Dampier has suggested the Mavericks put Parker on his back every time he drives the lane. That makes defensive sense. But my question is this:
How do you knock down someone you can't catch?
Parker is playing in a different stratosphere. Those are Carlisle's words, not mine. The Mavericks must throw everything at him in Game 3. Traps. Zones. Blitz him from different spots the moment he puts the ball on the floor.
"We know how great he is," Carlisle said. "We're going to have to be a lot better with our team defense. I don't know if anybody ever stops a guy like Parker. He's so good and so fast. But we're going to have to do better on him."
The coaching staff rarely consults me on these matters. OK, never is a better word to use than rarely. But here's my suggestion.
Open the game in a zone and start Jason Terry.
The zone impedes Parker's great straight-line speed. The pick-and-roll between Parker and Tim Duncan is also a little easier to defend out of the zone. Terry's value is on offense.
The Mavericks must attack Parker on defense. They can't allow him to catch his breath against Jason Kidd or Antoine Wright.
Parker would open on Kidd, not Terry. But the Mavericks can force Parker to switch off the pick-and-roll and bounce him off a few Dampier screens, something they have a better chance of doing with Terry than Wright. The Mavericks can post Kidd on Parker more than they did in the first two games of this series.
What Kidd did against Steve Nash late in the regular season comes to mind.
"We've got to make him work on both ends and try to wear him down," Kidd said. "He's young, but if he just has to work on the offensive end, he's going to be a nightmare for us.
"We've got to get him involved in whatever it is and not let him sit in the corner and rest."
So, what is the acceptable level for Parker? Carlisle said the Mavericks want to keep him under his 31-point average. Push him into the mid-20s, and this offensively-challenged Spurs team will find it difficult to win.
To accomplish this, the Mavericks must take away two to three layups, do a better job on the pick-and-roll and make Parker work on defense.
"We'll try to mix some stuff up," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "That's the main thing with a great scorer. You can't give them just one look.
"Great players adjust, so we'll keep mixing it up and see what happens."