cheguevara
04-22-2010, 01:18 PM
“A series doesn’t truly start until you lose a game at home,” Caron Butler said. “Obviously that happened, so let the series begin.”
:downspin:
Mavericks head to San Antonio a confident road team
12:46 PM CDT on Thursday, April 22, 2010
Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News | [email protected]
Todd Archer
Archive | E-mail
What, you thought this was going to be easy?
This isn’t easy. This is the Spurs. This is the NBA. This is the Western Conference playoffs. Phoenix lost at home. Denver lost at home. And the Mavericks lost to San Antonio.
These things happen.
Game 2 of this intra-state rivalry was something of a continuation of Game 1, just without Dirk Nowitzki making 12 of 14 shots that allowed the Mavericks to win. On Wednesday, he made 9 of 24 from the field, never getting into a rhythm because of two early fouls. In the first game, the Spurs shot 50 percent from the field. In Game 2 they shot 48.2 percent but made 8-of-15 3-pointers. They won the rebounding battle, 51-42. They won the second-chance point stat, 23-9.
Little things matter, especially in the playoffs. The Spurs did them. The Mavericks didn’t. This wasn’t some magical adjustment made by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich that vexed the Mavericks. They just lost.
“A series doesn’t truly start until you lose a game at home,” Caron Butler said. “Obviously that happened, so let the series begin.”
The mood in the Mavericks’ locker room afterward ranged from anger (Jason Terry) to calm (Jason Kidd), but now the Mavericks are going to a good spot: the road.
They had the NBA’s best road record at 27-14. Cleveland and Boston were second-best at 26-15. Good teams travel well. They won 10 of their last 12 games away from American Airlines Center, including victories in tough spots at Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte on a back-to-back after a home game.
“If you can’t win on the road, you’re not going to win the championship,” Terry said. “We’re very confident on the road, and we’ll see what happens when we get down there.”
Heck, last year the Mavericks won two games in the postseason at San Antonio’s AT&T Center. Granted Manu Ginobili did not play in the series, but they are not walking into a place where they haven’t had success. There are no demons there.
A veteran team understands the ebbs and flows of a playoff series. After the Game 1 win, there was talk about the Spurs inability to check Nowitzki. They didn’t double him in the post, and he had a field day with Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Matt Bonner or Keith Bogans.
After Game 2, the talk is about the never-ending pick-and-roll offense and how the Mavericks can’t slow down the Spurs two-man game with either Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker coming off Tim Duncan screens.
Neither team bought into the talk after their wins. They both talked about this being a long series.
This is where you like to have a veteran team. Jason Kidd is in his 15th year. Erick Dampier is in his 13th. Nowitzki is in his 11th. Shawn Marion and Terry are in their 10th. Caron Butler is in his seventh. Of course, San Antonio is just as experienced.
As Kidd spoke as Wednesday night turned to Thursday morning, he sounded like a late-night DJ with a soothing voice. You could almost hear the ocean waves pleasantly coming ashore in the background.
“Just like we have all season, we have to find a way to win Game 3,” Kidd said. “We’ve got to be prepared and execute our game plan. And we’ve been in this situation before, having to find a way to win on the road and every time we’ve had this situation we’ve answered the call.”
They have to answer it at least one more time.
:downspin:
Mavericks head to San Antonio a confident road team
12:46 PM CDT on Thursday, April 22, 2010
Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News | [email protected]
Todd Archer
Archive | E-mail
What, you thought this was going to be easy?
This isn’t easy. This is the Spurs. This is the NBA. This is the Western Conference playoffs. Phoenix lost at home. Denver lost at home. And the Mavericks lost to San Antonio.
These things happen.
Game 2 of this intra-state rivalry was something of a continuation of Game 1, just without Dirk Nowitzki making 12 of 14 shots that allowed the Mavericks to win. On Wednesday, he made 9 of 24 from the field, never getting into a rhythm because of two early fouls. In the first game, the Spurs shot 50 percent from the field. In Game 2 they shot 48.2 percent but made 8-of-15 3-pointers. They won the rebounding battle, 51-42. They won the second-chance point stat, 23-9.
Little things matter, especially in the playoffs. The Spurs did them. The Mavericks didn’t. This wasn’t some magical adjustment made by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich that vexed the Mavericks. They just lost.
“A series doesn’t truly start until you lose a game at home,” Caron Butler said. “Obviously that happened, so let the series begin.”
The mood in the Mavericks’ locker room afterward ranged from anger (Jason Terry) to calm (Jason Kidd), but now the Mavericks are going to a good spot: the road.
They had the NBA’s best road record at 27-14. Cleveland and Boston were second-best at 26-15. Good teams travel well. They won 10 of their last 12 games away from American Airlines Center, including victories in tough spots at Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte on a back-to-back after a home game.
“If you can’t win on the road, you’re not going to win the championship,” Terry said. “We’re very confident on the road, and we’ll see what happens when we get down there.”
Heck, last year the Mavericks won two games in the postseason at San Antonio’s AT&T Center. Granted Manu Ginobili did not play in the series, but they are not walking into a place where they haven’t had success. There are no demons there.
A veteran team understands the ebbs and flows of a playoff series. After the Game 1 win, there was talk about the Spurs inability to check Nowitzki. They didn’t double him in the post, and he had a field day with Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Matt Bonner or Keith Bogans.
After Game 2, the talk is about the never-ending pick-and-roll offense and how the Mavericks can’t slow down the Spurs two-man game with either Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker coming off Tim Duncan screens.
Neither team bought into the talk after their wins. They both talked about this being a long series.
This is where you like to have a veteran team. Jason Kidd is in his 15th year. Erick Dampier is in his 13th. Nowitzki is in his 11th. Shawn Marion and Terry are in their 10th. Caron Butler is in his seventh. Of course, San Antonio is just as experienced.
As Kidd spoke as Wednesday night turned to Thursday morning, he sounded like a late-night DJ with a soothing voice. You could almost hear the ocean waves pleasantly coming ashore in the background.
“Just like we have all season, we have to find a way to win Game 3,” Kidd said. “We’ve got to be prepared and execute our game plan. And we’ve been in this situation before, having to find a way to win on the road and every time we’ve had this situation we’ve answered the call.”
They have to answer it at least one more time.