5 Concerns For Game 5

[roycrikside]

1. Tim's performance shouldn't have been surprising. You could tell the way he played in the 4th quarter of Game 3. The guy is exhausted. You can't just play somebody 32 minutes all year and then think he'll be fine to play 44 minutes a night in the playoffs. It doesn't matter that there's no back-to-backs in the playoffs. 1 day rest is not enough. I hate to say it, but Pop's going to have to play either Blair or Bonner more minutes. If Duncan plays 38 mins and McDyess plays 30, that's 28 for Bonner and Blair have to play. Today they played 20. I don't think we'll suffer too badly on defense as long as we don't take Dice and Tim out at the same time. One or the other should always be out there, like Blair playing with Dice and Bonner playing with Tim.

2. I know it's hard to teach veterans new tricks after nine years, but I simply can't understand why Tony continues to leave people wide open for threes. Today he was trying to double Haywood, a guy who doesn't even touch the ball, and leaving Terry wide open in the corner. He leaves people every game and keeps getting sucked into the post and I have no idea why. He's not going to block anyone's shot, he's not going to rebound, he's not going to steal the ball. Pop should fine him like five thousand dollars every time he sets foot inside the paint when his man doesn't have the ball and isn't cutting. It was pretty telling he got benched at the end of the game and RJ came back in. One of the main reasons we lost Game 1 was Tony letting Kidd get open threes.

3. I'm worried about that bandage contraption on Manu's face. I don't know if it affected his depth perception or messed with his mind, but he was off today. Hopefully he'll practice with it on tomorrow and get used to it.

4. I don't understand why we're doubling so much on defense. What happened to letting Dirk get his? Didn't that strategy work 2 out of 3 games? Again, the one time it didn't work, in Game 1, it was other things (turnovers, fouls, leaving open shooters) that killed us. I think the defense we used today is very dangerous. We get more turnovers with it and force more mistakes, but when Dallas figures it out, like they did in the 4th quarter, they get a ton of easy baskets and open shots because we're all scrambling and rotating like chickens with our heads cut off. I like our chances a lot more with Dirk shooting the ball against Dice or Bonner and the other four guys are watching him. There were several times when Dirk figured out our rotations and passed two guys ahead instead of where we figured he'd pass and people were just wide open. Without doubles that won't happen. Just play straight up and if they P&R with Dirk live with the switch. Smaller guys bother him more anyway.

5. Again, I know I'm going to get killed for this, but sacrificing Game 5 and resting Tim and Manu wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I'd rather have those guys fresh for Game 6 than tired in a game where the odds will be stacked against us. The Mavs will get all the calls in Game 5, the home team down 3-1 always does. I think one of the main reasons we won this game is because Carlisle inexplicably played Butler rather than Marion down the stretch when Marion was clearly having the better game. Yeah, Butler is slightly the better shooter in the half court game, but he forces more bad shots, is much worse defensively, and doesn't rebound either. Butler is just one of these overrated dopes like Jamison or RJ for us where they get 20 on one end and give up 20 on the other and people get conned into thinking they're stars. Marion is more accustomed to playing as a third or fourth banana and he can accept that role. Butler can't. He takes a ton of shots when he's in the game and a lot of them are ugly. I'm guessing Carlisle won't make that mistake again and since he's going to figure it out, I want a 100% fresh Spurs team to get that difficult fourth win.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

I took the time to read your entire post and I think you are going to get killed here by the experts. I'll let them chime in as I'm not one.

But it can also happen that no one will bother answering after this.

[DesignatedT]

winning game 5 would give duncan some nice rest before the 2nd series. plus the farther you advance the more days rest you're going to get between games. It's not going to continue to be 1 game rest between all the games all playoff long.

Hill and RJ keep playing like they did tonight and Duncan wont have to continue to keep taking a huge offensive load every game.

[m33p0]

counterpoints:
1. birthday.
2. kidd is just a big threat, maybe even bigger than terry on shooting stand still 3s. but, i agree, he should stick to terry.
3. only manu can tell
4. it worked tonight, didn't it?
5.
http://www.webs05.com/wordpress/wp-content/EMUpload/2009/08/notagain.jpg

[slayermin]

A good first half push could end this series. If anything, the Spurs need to jump on the Mavs from the opening tip and see where it goes. All those tough turnaround jumpers get tougher when your facing elimination.

[NewJerSpur]

I liked point number 1 in terms of making sure there is an anchoring big on the court at all times, but I'm not sure we can afford to rest Timmy (who's been pretty good in closeout games) and take the chance of giving Dallas any kind of life. Even if he's not on his game offensively and his defense is suspect for a night, we need his presence (late in the game especially) on the boards. He's just going to have to get more rest in the game which goes back to point 1. I made a comment in the Game Blog that he might have to be subbed out earlier to start the game to keep him fresh down the stretch.

[jestersmash]

I took the time to read your entire post and I think you are going to get killed here by the experts. I'll let them chime in as I'm not one.

But it can also happen that no one will bother answering after this.

Hogwash, there are no "experts" or "authorities" on matters like this on an internet message board. You should feel free to chime in.

[Darkwaters]

4. I don't understand why we're doubling so much on defense. What happened to letting Dirk get his? Didn't that strategy work 2 out of 3 games? Again, the one time it didn't work, in Game 1, it was other things (turnovers, fouls, leaving open shooters) that killed us. I think the defense we used today is very dangerous. We get more turnovers with it and force more mistakes, but when Dallas figures it out, like they did in the 4th quarter, they get a ton of easy baskets and open shots because we're all scrambling and rotating like chickens with our heads cut off. I like our chances a lot more with Dirk shooting the ball against Dice or Bonner and the other four guys are watching him. There were several times when Dirk figured out our rotations and passed two guys ahead instead of where we figured he'd pass and people were just wide open. Without doubles that won't happen. Just play straight up and if they P&R with Dirk live with the switch. Smaller guys bother him more anyway.


You've got to keep changing your TTP's. Otherwise they'll know whats coming. Never go down the same valley the same way twice. Keep 'em guessing.

[admiralsnackbar]

If Tim really was done, he wouldn't have had such a good night on the glass.

Sometimes the shot's don't go down, but his knees are fine.

[NewJerSpur]

Hogwash, there are no "experts" or "authorities" on matters like this on an internet message board. You should feel free to chime in.

:tu

[baseline bum]

4. I don't understand why we're doubling so much on defense. What happened to letting Dirk get his? Didn't that strategy work 2 out of 3 games? Again, the one time it didn't work, in Game 1, it was other things (turnovers, fouls, leaving open shooters) that killed us. I think the defense we used today is very dangerous. We get more turnovers with it and force more mistakes, but when Dallas figures it out, like they did in the 4th quarter, they get a ton of easy baskets and open shots because we're all scrambling and rotating like chickens with our heads cut off. I like our chances a lot more with Dirk shooting the ball against Dice or Bonner and the other four guys are watching him. There were several times when Dirk figured out our rotations and passed two guys ahead instead of where we figured he'd pass and people were just wide open. Without doubles that won't happen. Just play straight up and if they P&R with Dirk live with the switch. Smaller guys bother him more anyway.


Dirk's got one spot on the right baseline where it's suicide to play him in single coverage. He must be 90% from that spot if you don't send quick double team help. Look at how he completely destroyed the Spurs when they elected to throw single coverage at him in game 1. Turnovers ain't the reason he shot 12-14. Plus, if you run at Kidd and force him to take a step or two in, he's much less of a problem. His midrange shot isn't much of a concern compared to the 3-point shot.



5. Again, I know I'm going to get killed for this, but sacrificing Game 5 and resting Tim and Manu wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I'd rather have those guys fresh for Game 6 than tired in a game where the odds will be stacked against us. The Mavs will get all the calls in Game 5, the home team down 3-1 always does. I think one of the main reasons we won this game is because Carlisle inexplicably played Butler rather than Marion down the stretch when Marion was clearly having the better game. Yeah, Butler is slightly the better shooter in the half court game, but he forces more bad shots, is much worse defensively, and doesn't rebound either. Butler is just one of these overrated dopes like Jamison or RJ for us where they get 20 on one end and give up 20 on the other and people get conned into thinking they're stars. Marion is more accustomed to playing as a third or fourth banana and he can accept that role. Butler can't. He takes a ton of shots when he's in the game and a lot of them are ugly. I'm guessing Carlisle won't make that mistake again and since he's going to figure it out, I want a 100% fresh Spurs team to get that difficult fourth win.

You grossly underestimate the Mavericks, and 3-1 with only one more home game isn't as big of a cushion as it sounds. You can't screw around with a team that has a Hall of Famer like Nowitzki who is capable of throwing up a 40 or 50 point game any given night. If this was Utah or Atlanta or something, then I'd say the series is over with a 3-1 lead, but no way I'm going to claim that with a team that (a) has a legit franchise player and (b) still matches up pretty damn well with our guys. It's not like the Spurs have been mopping the floor with Dallas or anything; any of the Spurs 3 wins could have easily gone the other way with just a couple of plays changed. The margin for error each game is still small, and the Spurs can't afford to play like they don't need game 5. An NBA series can change direction pretty quickly.

As for Marion playing supporting roles, have you not paid attention the last 7 years? He constantly bitched about Stoudemire and Nash taking his glory, then he cried to the media about Carlisle last game. Marion's out for Marion, to hell with the team.

[duncan228]

Duncan said he feels fine, he just 'couldn't hit the side of a barn' tonight. I believe him. He'll rise in game 5.

[gospursgojas]

#2. I doubt tony is doubling by his own choosing. If pop says we're gonna double dirk from the weak side and tony is the weak side defender than tony is doubling. Do you actually think the guys are just out there doing whatever???

#5. *sigh*

[Spurologist]

I think too much is made of her officiating but it's imperative that you incorporate Joey Crawford into your analysis anyway. :lol

Point1: it's playoff basketball.....TD will be fine...I think he rushed some shots and it was all downhill when he missed his first 2 fts. Good news is he can't play any worse...I really can't see Bonner taking any of TD's minutes. Bonner needs to be kept on a heavy leash....his only effectiveness for us has been his sporadic 3 point shooting...in that regard, he's either a pitbull or a chihuahua. He's had the most open looks out of any player this series and is only shooting at a 29% clip. His rebounding is suspect and his defense has been often suspect allowing penetration in the paint...Having said that, one can only hope he knocks down some open 3s to keep the mavs honest. TD will get his normal minutes unless it's a blowout.

Point2 Agreed.....tp deserved to be yanked after allowing Terry to hit open jumpers. He'll bounce back.. He definitely gonna have to play better if the spurs are gonna claim game 5 on the road. He often hesitated and settled too much for outside shots especially when Dallas went into a zone. He has to cut down his TO and more penetration and kick would be welcomed ala corner passes to Hill in the corner to manu. Tp did hit a big outside shot to stem the tide...plus how he managed to get that pass to manu in the corner after he was almost corralled is beyond me. I like the Hill/tp back court especially when gollum and JT are in the game.

Point3: He's manu ginobili!

Point4: I think Dirk was played straight up for the most part.. There were some selective double team and soft double teams that worked....Bogans had a nice steal off a double team.. You have to mix it up against Dirk and give him different looks. As long as he's uncomfortable, you can't ask for more. "Smaller guys bother him more." Don't know if I agree. He might rush a bit but he seems to kill us with smaller guys. If I remember correctly, he shot right over Hill like he wasn't even there. We have to make sure Dirk knows we're there.

Point5: only way anyone rests is if the mavs blow us out in game5

[DJB]

I really feel like everyone is overreacting regarding Tim's performance. He just didn't have his touch tonight. Other than that, he looked fine.

[DesignatedT]

Tim is fine. He wasn't even looking for his shot in the 2nd half. He knew he wasn't feeling it and that George and Dice were playing well so he let those guys take the shots. Unselfish/Smart play.

[Sisk]

Hogwash, there are no "experts" or "authorities" on matters like this on an internet message board. You should feel free to chime in.

This is why you're one of my favorite posters on the board recently. Seriously.
:toast

[TD 21]

The Spurs need to wrap this thing up by game six at the latest. Duncan and McDyess need the rest. The lack of a reliable, long third big man is going to be this teams undoing at some point.

Just as I had predicted, the law of averages came into effect tonight. The big three, particularly Duncan and Ginobili, had miserable games offensively. Fortunately, the Spurs still won because unlike past Spurs teams, this one has a cadre of "role players" who can step up and give this team an opportunity to win. To lose a game when the Spurs three best players play this poorly has to be demoralizing for the Mavs.

The Spurs should go for the kill in game five, but quickly concede defeat if the game is getting away from them. Worst case scenario: Duncan, McDyess, Ginobili and to a lesser extent, Parker, Hill and Jefferson, play extended minutes and the Spurs lose. One or the other is fine in this scenario, but not both. If may be unavoidable I realize (obviously you can't just not play them if it's winnable throughout), but it's not ideal.

[polandprzem]

i don't belive most here considering resting players.
It's playoffs time.

[jjktkk]

Bottom line is you worry too much. The Spurs are a veteran team. They know how to close out a series. If not game 5, then game 6. Dallas is a team in turmoil. Every mav player will start to point fingers. The Mav fans will start calling for the coach to get axed. And Mark Cuban will have another temper tantrum and blow up his team. Same ole Mavs.

[TDMVPDPOY]

they be gettin the calls since it be on their home court, we must adjust to the refs if they are gettin calls and continue to pound the lane and get any extra points and fouls on their bigs.....

[BanditHiro]

#5 we win we at least get a few days off before the match up against the suns or blazers since they are guaranteed a game 6

[NFGIII]

I don't proclaim to be an expert but here goes.





2. I know it's hard to teach veterans new tricks after nine years, but I simply can't understand why Tony continues to leave people wide open for threes. Today he was trying to double Haywood, a guy who doesn't even touch the ball, and leaving Terry wide open in the corner. He leaves people every game and keeps getting sucked into the post and I have no idea why. He's not going to block anyone's shot, he's not going to rebound, he's not going to steal the ball. Pop should fine him like five thousand dollars every time he sets foot inside the paint when his man doesn't have the ball and isn't cutting. It was pretty telling he got benched at the end of the game and RJ came back in. One of the main reasons we lost Game 1 was Tony letting Kidd get open threes.

I've been harping on this one all series long. I really hate the cheating he does since he usually gets burned. Stick with your man and don't let the Mavs get open 3s. Jet singlehandedly brought them back in the 4th Q. Leaving him late to double and having JT hit that 3 was inexcusable. And I'm willing to bet that Pop will say something to that effect.



4. I don't understand why we're doubling so much on defense. What happened to letting Dirk get his? Didn't that strategy work 2 out of 3 games? Again, the one time it didn't work, in Game 1, it was other things (turnovers, fouls, leaving open shooters) that killed us. I think the defense we used today is very dangerous. We get more turnovers with it and force more mistakes, but when Dallas figures it out, like they did in the 4th quarter, they get a ton of easy baskets and open shots because we're all scrambling and rotating like chickens with our heads cut off. I like our chances a lot more with Dirk shooting the ball against Dice or Bonner and the other four guys are watching him. There were several times when Dirk figured out our rotations and passed two guys ahead instead of where we figured he'd pass and people were just wide open. Without doubles that won't happen. Just play straight up and if they P&R with Dirk live with the switch. Smaller guys bother him more anyway.

I thought that Pop did a good job of mixing it up in game 4. There were a lot more doubles this game than in the last and I thought that kept Dirk off balance. And Dice stated that Dirk had some open looks but wasn't that aggressive. I think that had to do with those doubles that late in the game he just wasn't in attack mode the way he should have been. The deffensive scheme took him out of his comfort zone and made he more passive down the stretch. He had an easy jumper late and just missed it. It was one of the easiest shots that he had all night and bricked it.




5. Again, I know I'm going to get killed for this, but sacrificing Game 5 and resting Tim and Manu wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I'd rather have those guys fresh for Game 6 than tired in a game where the odds will be stacked against us. The Mavs will get all the calls in Game 5, the home team down 3-1 always does. I think one of the main reasons we won this game is because Carlisle inexplicably played Butler rather than Marion down the stretch when Marion was clearly having the better game. Yeah, Butler is slightly the better shooter in the half court game, but he forces more bad shots, is much worse defensively, and doesn't rebound either. Butler is just one of these overrated dopes like Jamison or RJ for us where they get 20 on one end and give up 20 on the other and people get conned into thinking they're stars. Marion is more accustomed to playing as a third or fourth banana and he can accept that role. Butler can't. He takes a ton of shots when he's in the game and a lot of them are ugly. I'm guessing Carlisle won't make that mistake again and since he's going to figure it out, I want a 100% fresh Spurs team to get that difficult fourth win.

Nothing personal but for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would want to rest their key players in the POs. The Mavs are on the brink of elimination and in disarray. They are ripe for the taking and shouldn't be given any chance to get any type of repreive. Finish it now and then you will be able to get the rest that is needed. Last thing the Spurs want is for the Mavs to get their second wind and gain any shred of confidence. Crush them now. No mercy beacuse they most certainly wont show any to the Spurs.


Duncan said he feels fine, he just 'couldn't hit the side of a barn' tonight. I believe him. He'll rise in game 5.

Hope so and since he said that I'm fine with it. And you know what that means? As a TD afficiondo you know that he will be out for blood come Tuesday. Poor Mavs. Should have taken care of this missed opportunity amd now will pay the price.

[Man In Black]

1-I think he was tired. But I also think, that since his rhythym wasn't there that Pop gave Blair more run. It's not like Blair played bad and DeJuan went to work and softened up the middle with his physicality.

2-Tony needs to be selective and pay attention to the situation. Up by 5, don't leave any 3 point shooters open. Haywood, statistically, is the next most effective player on the Mavs. So, yeah, he does touch the ball and when he does, it means something more positive than negative.

3-I thought about that. It might be time for the docs to color the tape. I suggest flesh colored, so that way his eyes are more normalized to the color. It's a jedi mind trick.

4-Everyone always says that the playoffs are about adjustments. You can't play that way the whole time. You need to show a mixed bag. While that's the tried and true, with Tim tired and Dice playing major minutes, showing double limited Nowitzki's penchant to get hot. Think about it this way, let him get hot, your best bigs are tired, you have Bonner playing not very well, your next big is only 6'7", and well...if you can force doubles, and the other Mavs shoot badly, then it's a calculated risk that pays off. While smalls do bother him, for as well as he's been playing, the doubles on Sunday helped to give Dirk his lowest statistical output of the series.

5-Why sacrifice Game 5 at all? Pop has a swiss army knive of a team. He just can't sit them and waste a game knowing that if you win it, your team gets that rest you talk of. You give too much credit to Rick Carlisle. There is a graphic that runs right underneath each Coach at the beginning of the game. It's their playoff wins and losses. Let's just establish, right off the bat, that Pop's win-loss record is astronomically better than Rick Carlisle's.
Pop is 105-64. Carlisle is 36-40. So has Rick earned this much respect?
I'm betting that he'll make a different mistake that Pop can exploit with his swiss army knife. Butler is a better fit in a slow down game, whereas Marion is better in an uptempo game. What tempo has been established in the last 3 games? Slow down, half-court. Marion isn't a good fit for that kind of game. His athleticism isn't much of a positive when the Spurs are playing world-beater type defense they were playing in the 3rd and early 4th.
I say Spurs in 5.

[JsnSA]

I think the bad games from Tim, Tony and Manu are what should have the Mavs worried about the next game. I mean how often do those guys follow up a bad game with another one? Its extremely rare and more often than not they will go off in the next game.

I think the Mavs are in some serious trouble and I expect each of the big 3 to play much better on Tuesday.

[BillMc]

1-I think he was tired. But I also think, that since his rhythym wasn't there that Pop gave Blair more run. It's not like Blair played bad and DeJuan went to work and softened up the middle with his physicality.

2-Tony needs to be selective and pay attention to the situation. Up by 5, don't leave any 3 point shooters open. Haywood, statistically, is the next most effective player on the Mavs. So, yeah, he does touch the ball and when he does, it means something more positive than negative.

3-I thought about that. It might be time for the docs to color the tape. I suggest flesh colored, so that way his eyes are more normalized to the color. It's a jedi mind trick.

4-Everyone always says that the playoffs are about adjustments. You can't play that way the whole time. You need to show a mixed bag. While that's the tried and true, with Tim tired and Dice playing major minutes, showing double limited Nowitzki's penchant to get hot. Think about it this way, let him get hot, your best bigs are tired, you have Bonner playing not very well, your next big is only 6'7", and well...if you can force doubles, and the other Mavs shoot badly, then it's a calculated risk that pays off. While smalls do bother him, for as well as he's been playing, the doubles on Sunday helped to give Dirk his lowest statistical output of the series.

5-Why sacrifice Game 5 at all? Pop has a swiss army knive of a team. He just can't sit them and waste a game knowing that if you win it, your team gets that rest you talk of. You give too much credit to Rick Carlisle. There is a graphic that runs right underneath each Coach at the beginning of the game. It's their playoff wins and losses. Let's just establish, right off the bat, that Pop's win-loss record is astronomically better than Rick Carlisle's.
Pop is 105-64. Carlisle is 36-40. So has Rick earned this much respect?
I'm betting that he'll make a different mistake that Pop can exploit with his swiss army knife. Butler is a better fit in a slow down game, whereas Marion is better in an uptempo game. What tempo has been established in the last 3 games? Slow down, half-court. Marion isn't a good fit for that kind of game. His athleticism isn't much of a positive when the Spurs are playing world-beater type defense they were playing in the 3rd and early 4th.
I say Spurs in 5.

This

[Waps1980]

Giving them game 5 also allows them to bust out early get a big lead and rest themselves.
That is a stupid idea rest no one hit em hard bust this thing up, the pressure of getting beaten in game 5 will be their undoing. We need to get a early lead and coast this ship on in.

TD missed what 5 easy shots by his standards, next game he'll hit em have faith he can play a bit you know.