duncan228
04-25-2009, 01:27 AM
Dallas Mavericks' offense dictating the tempo (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/dmoore/stories/042509dnspomoore.33f57db.html)
David Moore
Dallas Morning News
Hard-core Mavericks fans may have envisioned their team charging ahead of San Antonio. I say may.
But how many of you thought the Mavericks would carry a 2-1 lead into today's Game 4 without Dirk Nowitzki scoring more than 20 points in any game? Who believed that Brandon Bass and J.J. Barea would be more effective offensive weapons than newly crowned sixth man Jason Terry?
No one – and I mean no one – would have suggested the superlative defensive effort of this series would belong to the Mavericks, not the Spurs.
The Mavericks' ability to adjust and adapt has served them well in the first eight days of this first-round series. It also makes you wonder how good the Mavericks can be once Nowitzki and Terry have their breakout games.
I know. The focus is on defense after the Mavericks' performance in Game 3.
But let's assume the Spurs score more than 67 points today and for the remainder of the series. The Mavericks' best chance to win is to turn up the offensive heat.
That is what concerns San Antonio, not the defensive assault they surrendered to Thursday night.
"If we don't play defense, we can't beat Dallas because they have a lot more weapons than us," point guard Tony Parker said. "They have a lot more guys who can shoot the ball.
"We need to stop them."
Nowitzki, Terry and Josh Howard were the only Mavericks to average in double figures during the regular season. In this series, the Spurs have held those three 16.8 points below their combined average. Jason Kidd is averaging nearly 3.5 assists below his season average.
The Mavericks have compensated by placing five players in double figures. The team is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, an improvement over its regular-season percentage.
"We knew they we're going to try to stop Dirk and Jet [Terry], so we knew everyone else was going to have to step up," Barea said.
Defense does play a role. Again, we refer to Game 3.
"We were able to get stops, so we were able to get into transition and into some flow-type situations where their defense wasn't set," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "That has a lot to do with it."
San Antonio is a good defensive team when it has a chance to settle into the half court. When the Spurs can bump and grind and hand-fight, the Mavericks are in trouble.
Trouble in Game 2 came when the Mavericks spent a large part of the evening walking the ball up the court after the Spurs had made a basket. They walked right into the teeth of that defense.
The first and third games of the series were different. The Mavericks were able to get out in transition and force the Spurs to scramble on defense. They set the tempo they need to win the series.
"I feel like our offense really came from our defense," Nowitzki said of Game 3. "We didn't have to call a lot of plays out there. We weren't stagnant. They couldn't sit on our plays because we were playing on the break.
"That comes from getting stops.
"Once we play a little more on the move, we're good. We're attacking. They couldn't really get into their schemes."
San Antonio is determined to contain Nowitzki and Terry in this series. But great scorers can be slowed for only so long.
"We think about that, too," Barea said. "You know J.T. is going to explode one of these games."
You assume Nowitzki will, too.
What happens to San Antonio then?
David Moore
Dallas Morning News
Hard-core Mavericks fans may have envisioned their team charging ahead of San Antonio. I say may.
But how many of you thought the Mavericks would carry a 2-1 lead into today's Game 4 without Dirk Nowitzki scoring more than 20 points in any game? Who believed that Brandon Bass and J.J. Barea would be more effective offensive weapons than newly crowned sixth man Jason Terry?
No one – and I mean no one – would have suggested the superlative defensive effort of this series would belong to the Mavericks, not the Spurs.
The Mavericks' ability to adjust and adapt has served them well in the first eight days of this first-round series. It also makes you wonder how good the Mavericks can be once Nowitzki and Terry have their breakout games.
I know. The focus is on defense after the Mavericks' performance in Game 3.
But let's assume the Spurs score more than 67 points today and for the remainder of the series. The Mavericks' best chance to win is to turn up the offensive heat.
That is what concerns San Antonio, not the defensive assault they surrendered to Thursday night.
"If we don't play defense, we can't beat Dallas because they have a lot more weapons than us," point guard Tony Parker said. "They have a lot more guys who can shoot the ball.
"We need to stop them."
Nowitzki, Terry and Josh Howard were the only Mavericks to average in double figures during the regular season. In this series, the Spurs have held those three 16.8 points below their combined average. Jason Kidd is averaging nearly 3.5 assists below his season average.
The Mavericks have compensated by placing five players in double figures. The team is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, an improvement over its regular-season percentage.
"We knew they we're going to try to stop Dirk and Jet [Terry], so we knew everyone else was going to have to step up," Barea said.
Defense does play a role. Again, we refer to Game 3.
"We were able to get stops, so we were able to get into transition and into some flow-type situations where their defense wasn't set," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "That has a lot to do with it."
San Antonio is a good defensive team when it has a chance to settle into the half court. When the Spurs can bump and grind and hand-fight, the Mavericks are in trouble.
Trouble in Game 2 came when the Mavericks spent a large part of the evening walking the ball up the court after the Spurs had made a basket. They walked right into the teeth of that defense.
The first and third games of the series were different. The Mavericks were able to get out in transition and force the Spurs to scramble on defense. They set the tempo they need to win the series.
"I feel like our offense really came from our defense," Nowitzki said of Game 3. "We didn't have to call a lot of plays out there. We weren't stagnant. They couldn't sit on our plays because we were playing on the break.
"That comes from getting stops.
"Once we play a little more on the move, we're good. We're attacking. They couldn't really get into their schemes."
San Antonio is determined to contain Nowitzki and Terry in this series. But great scorers can be slowed for only so long.
"We think about that, too," Barea said. "You know J.T. is going to explode one of these games."
You assume Nowitzki will, too.
What happens to San Antonio then?