duncan228
04-26-2010, 02:30 PM
Mavs can't take advantage of Duncan's disappearing act (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/13299477/mavs-cant-take-advantage-of-duncans-disappearing-act)
By Jan Hubbard
Special to CBSSports.com
In terms of greatness, the production was as artistic as Carrot Top reading Shakespeare. As a basketball player, Tim Duncan is the epitome of elegance -- The Big Fundamental, as Shaquille O'Neal so aptly named him.
But after two quarters Sunday night, Duncan was The Big Nada. Seven shots, seven misses. Two free-throw attempts, two misses.
No points.
He managed to make two free throws in the third period. He got his only basket of the game on a tip-in with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter. He ended the night with four points -- exactly 25 fewer than second-year guard George Hill.
But the Spurs still took control of the first-round series with a 92-89 victory over the Mavericks and now have a 3-1 lead. They did it despite the Big Three of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker combining for 31 points while Hill had 29 by himself.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, as he customarily does, summarized the night succinctly by saying: "George Hill was something else."
The Mavericks were not. On a night when Duncan was The Big Non-Factor, Dallas was unable to take advantage. Substantial credit goes to San Antonio, particularly Antonio McDyess, who battled Dirk Nowitzki one-on-one much of the night.
But the Mavericks failed to create opportunities for Nowitzki, who ended the night taking only 10 shots from the field. He had averaged 20.3 shots in the first three games and had averaged 31.7 points.
He was only 4 of 10 Sunday night with 17 points, and he seemed confused by the Spurs defense, which guarded him with one player on the perimeter, but rotated effectively and then double-teamed when he tried to drive to the basket.
When asked how the Spurs so effectively limited Nowitzki's shot total, McDyess laughed and said, "It wasn't defense. He just wasn't taking many. He looked like he was a little reluctant because we were shifting on him a lot. I don't think he knew when to take the shot. He had some open shots; he just didn't take them."
Game 5 will be played in Dallas on Tuesday and the Mavericks obviously have a daunting task. To advance to the next round, they will have to beat the four-time champion Spurs in three consecutive games. The Spurs did have three three-game losing streaks this season, but in NBA playoff history, only eight have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the series.
Then again, the Spurs lost Game 1 of this series and have won three straight.
"I've been with a team that's done it before," said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, who was coaching Detroit in 2003 when the Pistons game back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Orlando. "It starts with winning Game 5. That's got to be the starting point. We've got to play and win the game."
The Mavericks had such high expectations coming into the playoffs. They had the second-best record in the Western Conference and were clearly on a high because of the blockbuster trade they made in February when they sent the troubled and undependable Josh Howard to Washington in a package that brought Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to Dallas.
The goal was the same that it has been in every trade and draft the Mavericks have had during the Mark Cuban era -- and that's to surround Nowitzki with the best possible supporting cast.
Butler, however, has been spotty in the playoffs and played so poorly in Game 4 that he sat on the bench the entire second half and played only 15 minutes in the game.
The Spurs have worried about their supporting cast all season. Richard Jefferson never seemed to adapt to the San Antonio offense, the Spurs do not have a true center and use the undersized McDyess and Matt Bonner in the middle.
But Popovich was pleased with the way the Spurs ended the season and said his team was playing its best basketball of the season. That was not good news for anyone in the league. No team -- including the Lakers or the Eastern elite -- wanted to play the Spurs in the first round.
The Mavericks, however, were optimistic. They have had four playoff series with the Spurs with Nowitzki and Duncan as the franchise players. San Antonio won the first two series in 2001 and 2003, but the Mavericks won a seven-game series in 2006 and won a first-round series in five games last year.
Ginobili, however, did not play last year because of an injury and with both teams at full strength, the Spurs have proved to be stronger thus far.
It was odd that on such an important game in the series that Duncan and Nowitzki played minor roles. And in a year when Cuban, the Mavericks owner, took on between $30 million and $40 million in contracts to make the trade for Butler and Haywood, it has to exasperating for the Mavericks to watch the Spurs' supporting cast make such a difference.
Cuban generated headlines after Game 1 -- an impressive Mavericks victory, their only one -- when he said he respected, but hated the Spurs.
It does seem apparent, however, that the Spurs weren't really bothered by that revelation. They are, in fact, doing everything possible to give Cuban a reason to hate them even more.
By Jan Hubbard
Special to CBSSports.com
In terms of greatness, the production was as artistic as Carrot Top reading Shakespeare. As a basketball player, Tim Duncan is the epitome of elegance -- The Big Fundamental, as Shaquille O'Neal so aptly named him.
But after two quarters Sunday night, Duncan was The Big Nada. Seven shots, seven misses. Two free-throw attempts, two misses.
No points.
He managed to make two free throws in the third period. He got his only basket of the game on a tip-in with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter. He ended the night with four points -- exactly 25 fewer than second-year guard George Hill.
But the Spurs still took control of the first-round series with a 92-89 victory over the Mavericks and now have a 3-1 lead. They did it despite the Big Three of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker combining for 31 points while Hill had 29 by himself.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, as he customarily does, summarized the night succinctly by saying: "George Hill was something else."
The Mavericks were not. On a night when Duncan was The Big Non-Factor, Dallas was unable to take advantage. Substantial credit goes to San Antonio, particularly Antonio McDyess, who battled Dirk Nowitzki one-on-one much of the night.
But the Mavericks failed to create opportunities for Nowitzki, who ended the night taking only 10 shots from the field. He had averaged 20.3 shots in the first three games and had averaged 31.7 points.
He was only 4 of 10 Sunday night with 17 points, and he seemed confused by the Spurs defense, which guarded him with one player on the perimeter, but rotated effectively and then double-teamed when he tried to drive to the basket.
When asked how the Spurs so effectively limited Nowitzki's shot total, McDyess laughed and said, "It wasn't defense. He just wasn't taking many. He looked like he was a little reluctant because we were shifting on him a lot. I don't think he knew when to take the shot. He had some open shots; he just didn't take them."
Game 5 will be played in Dallas on Tuesday and the Mavericks obviously have a daunting task. To advance to the next round, they will have to beat the four-time champion Spurs in three consecutive games. The Spurs did have three three-game losing streaks this season, but in NBA playoff history, only eight have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the series.
Then again, the Spurs lost Game 1 of this series and have won three straight.
"I've been with a team that's done it before," said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, who was coaching Detroit in 2003 when the Pistons game back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Orlando. "It starts with winning Game 5. That's got to be the starting point. We've got to play and win the game."
The Mavericks had such high expectations coming into the playoffs. They had the second-best record in the Western Conference and were clearly on a high because of the blockbuster trade they made in February when they sent the troubled and undependable Josh Howard to Washington in a package that brought Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to Dallas.
The goal was the same that it has been in every trade and draft the Mavericks have had during the Mark Cuban era -- and that's to surround Nowitzki with the best possible supporting cast.
Butler, however, has been spotty in the playoffs and played so poorly in Game 4 that he sat on the bench the entire second half and played only 15 minutes in the game.
The Spurs have worried about their supporting cast all season. Richard Jefferson never seemed to adapt to the San Antonio offense, the Spurs do not have a true center and use the undersized McDyess and Matt Bonner in the middle.
But Popovich was pleased with the way the Spurs ended the season and said his team was playing its best basketball of the season. That was not good news for anyone in the league. No team -- including the Lakers or the Eastern elite -- wanted to play the Spurs in the first round.
The Mavericks, however, were optimistic. They have had four playoff series with the Spurs with Nowitzki and Duncan as the franchise players. San Antonio won the first two series in 2001 and 2003, but the Mavericks won a seven-game series in 2006 and won a first-round series in five games last year.
Ginobili, however, did not play last year because of an injury and with both teams at full strength, the Spurs have proved to be stronger thus far.
It was odd that on such an important game in the series that Duncan and Nowitzki played minor roles. And in a year when Cuban, the Mavericks owner, took on between $30 million and $40 million in contracts to make the trade for Butler and Haywood, it has to exasperating for the Mavericks to watch the Spurs' supporting cast make such a difference.
Cuban generated headlines after Game 1 -- an impressive Mavericks victory, their only one -- when he said he respected, but hated the Spurs.
It does seem apparent, however, that the Spurs weren't really bothered by that revelation. They are, in fact, doing everything possible to give Cuban a reason to hate them even more.