Initial Reaction: Spurs vs. Mavs - Game 5

[timvp]

The Spurs went for the knockout punch on Tuesday in Game 5 but the Mavs thwarted the attempt. Instead, Dallas whipped the Spurs at the AAC to win their second game of the series. The Spurs still hold a 3-2 advantage but they face a tremendously important contest in Game 6.

Caron Butler was the story for the Mavs, finishing with 35 points and 11 rebounds on 12-for-24 shooting from the field. He was so good that Dirk Nowitzki wasn't forced to do much heavy-lifting (16 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes).

Thanks to a Tony Parker fueled run to end the first half, the Spurs were actually within seven points at halftime. Unfortunately, the Mavs scored the first ten points of the third quarter and the game was never again in doubt.

-Tim Duncan was better than he was in Game 4 ... but that isn't saying much. In 24 minutes, Duncan had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots and missed 6-of-9 field goals. Earlier in the series, he was using his agility to get by the slower centers for Dallas. In this game, he tried to rely on his post moves and he couldn't find a rhythm. Defensively, Duncan was a bit slow and wasn't pulling down contested boards. The Spurs need Duncan to bounce back with a big game on Thursday or this could become a memorable series for all the wrong reasons.

-I was very disappointed by what I saw out of Manu Ginobili. I could live with his foursome of untimely turnovers but I was stunned by his lack of energy on either end of the court. Ginobili was slow moving to the ball and just wasn't playing with enough juice. In the playoffs, that is unacceptable. Hopefully it was an off-game or he was looking ahead to Game 6. If it's a case that Ginobili is already tired, this postseason doesn't have much in store for the Spurs.

-Tony Parker was one of the few bright spots -- especially his play in the first half. He finished the game with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds on 6-for-15 shooting (he had one point on 0-for-6 shooting in the second half). The Spurs actually outscored the Mavs by three points in the 25 minutes he was on the court. When the Mavs tried to bully the Spurs, Parker fought back and didn't back down. That's the type of attitude the Spurs need going forward.

-George Hill did too little, too late. It would have been great for him to pick up the slack early when the Spurs were struggling but he came out of the gates tentatively. He finished with 12 points and two rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting, however it wasn't until the end of the third quarter that he really found his energy. Hill missed his only two three-pointer attempts -- in Game 6, the Spurs need him to be a marksman from deep.

-Richard Jefferson was silent. He had no points, no rebounds and no assists until he hit a jumper with under three minutes remaining in the first half. While he wasn't involved much offensively, he has to focus on at least making a difference on the boards. With the Spurs getting out-rebounded 52-41, there were plenty of rebounds for Jefferson to go out and collect. He ended the game with four points, one rebound and one assists in 24 minutes.

-Antonio McDyess wasn't crisp enough on this night. He made bad passes, let Nowitzki drive past him too often and just wasn't playing as smart as he did the first four games of this series. Since Nowitzki was held in check, I can't be too down on McDyess. Let's hope he's ready for war on Thursday.

-Matt Bonner surprised me when he drained a pair of three-pointers in his first two and a half minutes of action. But he soon cooled off and didn't give the Spurs the consistent outside shooting threat they have been searching for in this series. He finished with six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Bonner's rebounding was actually good to see because he's had trouble pulling down boards against the Mavs long frontcourt.

-It's amazing how bad Roger Mason, Jr. looks compared to his peak with the Spurs last season. He has no confidence offensively, runs away from the ball and his defense is spectacularly bad. He can't move with any type of quickness, which is exposed against Dallas' quick guards. Watching him play 28 minutes tonight was torture.

-Ian Mahinmi got 18 minutes of run and didn't look too out of place. He had nine points and two boards while hitting half of his six attempts. He utilized his athleticism on defense to challenge jumpers and protect the rim. Offensively, Mahinmi's good hands are a weapon in the pick-and-roll because he can catch awkward bounce passes. That said, he didn't show enough to crack the rotation the rest of this series in non-blowout type game.

-Keith Bogans was 0-for-5 with two turnovers in 12 minutes. That's about what we've come to expect out of Bogans. He doesn't fit for the Spurs at all in this series. If he doesn't see the floor in Game 6, that's a good thing.

-I had been pondering whether Pop should use Garrett Temple to take any potential minutes away from Mason or Bogans ... and then Temple had 11 minutes of playing time in which he couldn't seem to keep himself from tripping over his own feet. He was well aware of the bright lights of postseason play. I now understand why Temple is the team's 12th man.

-With his starting lineup playing so poorly, I can't put too much blame on Pop. He didn't have anyone to carry the squad to keep it close. If Pop made a notable mistake, it was not starting Parker in the second half in an attempt to continue the momentum from the end of the second quarter. Overall, Pop did right by pulling the starters by the fourth quarter. The Spurs weren't going to make a run and with signs of fatigue already creeping up, getting as much rest as possible is extremely vital.

[DesignatedT]

and that's about it....

Can't take to much from this game. We all knew Dallas wasn't just going to roll over and die. Should be an exciting series starting on Thursday (and hopefully where it ends)

[Cant_Be_Faded]

If Pop made a notable mistake, it was not starting Parker in the second half in an attempt to continue the momentum from the end of the second quarter.

Dude you mean to tell me the Blair-Bonner-Mason-Hill-Parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete Pop bull shit?

It was a 5-9 point game and quickly jumped to the 11-16 range when we did that.

Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.

MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.


Seeing as how Parker did not bitch like no other to him, I can only assume that was by design.

Seriously.
That lineup destroyed us.
Marion was hitting flip shots at will.


Bonner-Blair has fucked us every time this series.

And using 3 guards to play small against Dallas is simply stupid when your 3 guards are still allowing JJ fucking Barea to get into the paint to score layups.,

[Spurminator]

Most of Bonner's rebounds seemed to come right to him with no pressure from anyone else. I'm not too excited about that number. And I'd basically chalk his made 3's up to blind luck at this point. The airballed wide open three tells the whole story of Bonner's Playoff Guts.

[Parker2112]

Whattayaknow....

Parker is the only guy that gets props from timvp tonight...:lol

Same old song and dance...

[Parker2112]

dude you mean to tell me the blair-bonner-mason-hill-parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete pop bull shit?

It was a 5-9 point game and quickly jumped to the 11-16 range when we did that.

Mason was handling the ball when parker was on the court.

Mason was handling the ball when parker was on the court.


Seeing as how parker did not bitch like no other to him, i can only assume that was by design.

Seriously.
That lineup destroyed us.
Marion was hitting flip shots at will.


Bonner-blair has fucked us every time this series.

And using 3 guards to play small against dallas is simply stupid when your 3 guards are still allowing jj fucking barea to get into the paint to score layups.,

+1000000000000000

[kaji157]

I don´t think so, they dodn´t even throw that KO punch.
Quite otherwise, they knew this was a fixed OMB Heavyweight fight and behave like it, went hard at the begining to check how the refs were calling it, and the refs were clear, even, but when Dallas needs help...
Then they played their starters a little bit more and regruped... That was what we needed to do, emphasize that Dallas homecourt was respected and rest for the really important game at SA. Where we all know there will be no home court advantage to anyone.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I was about to punch a hole in my living room air purifier when Mason was bringing the ball up the court, fumbling a pass to blair, and Parker was not even fazed by not having the ball touch his hands.

Then on the other end, for four straight possessions, our defensive game plan was to have Blair foul.

gmafb

[George Gervin's Afro]

pathetic effort

[Dirk Nowitzki]

My advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7. :toast

[Parker2112]

I was about to punch a hole in my living room air purifier when Mason was bringing the ball up the court, fumbling a pass to blair, and Parker was not even fazed by not having the ball touch his hands.

Then on the other end, for four straight possessions, our defensive game plan was to have Blair foul.

gmafb

but we get that revenue for game 6 though. Use it to help bring over splitter. im just sayin.

[ElNono]

I expect guys like Hill to play better at home. They're not used to playing big on the road like the seasoned veterans (well, except for this particular game).
As I said in another thread, it's difficult to keep such a high intensity after winning 3 in a row, and so a letdown game was somewhat expected.
That said, the Spurs need to come out aggressive from the gates on Game 6 and understand what's at stake on that game. They also need to review some tape, because while some of the turnovers were merely sloppy play, some others were actual adjustments on the rotation for the pick and roll, especially to stop Dice's jumper.

I really think we can close this out Thursday.

[Parker2112]

My advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7. :toast

your about 47 hours away from hating life :lol

[Fpoonsie]

Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.

MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.


Yeah. At one point, Mason was bringing the ball up, then dribbling at the top of the key, while Parker AND Hill were standing near each sideline.

That's about the point I lost my shit.

[crc21209]

Dude you mean to tell me the Blair-Bonner-Mason-Hill-Parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete Pop bull shit?

It was a 5-9 point game and quickly jumped to the 11-16 range when we did that.

Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.

MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.


Seeing as how Parker did not bitch like no other to him, I can only assume that was by design.

Seriously.
That lineup destroyed us.
Marion was hitting flip shots at will.


Bonner-Blair has fucked us every time this series.

And using 3 guards to play small against Dallas is simply stupid when your 3 guards are still allowing JJ fucking Barea to get into the paint to score layups.,

+1. After seeing Pop put Mason's ass on the bench (where he belongs) for most of this series, why the fuck did he play him in a potential closeout game? Why? Why? WHY?!?!?! That line-up of Parker-Mason-Hill-Blair-Bonner in the 2nd qtr is where the game was lost for the most part IMO. Blair and Bonner should never be on the court at the same time for long periods of time, and Mason shouldnt be on the court AT ALL.

[Parker2112]

+1. After seeing Pop put Mason's ass on the bench (where he belongs) for most of this series, why the fuck did he play him in a potential closeout game? Why? Why? WHY?!?!?! That line-up of Parker-Mason-Hill-Blair-Bonner in the 2nd qtr is where the game was lost for the most part IMO. Blair and Bonner should never be on the court at the same time for long periods of time, and Mason shouldnt be on the court AT ALL.

revenue.

[ElNono]

My advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7. :toast

47 hours from rolling out the pink elephants...

[DesignatedT]

this loss just put us back on our heels and dallas wont have a chance. less jumpshots and more penetration... especially from MANU... no idea what he was thinking tonight.

[ducks]

manu plays well on three days rest

hopefully the crowd at sa can help manu play with more fire on short rest

[Fpoonsie]

this loss just put us back on our heels and dallas wont have a chance. less jumpshots and more penetration... especially from MANU... no idea what he was thinking tonight.

Seriously. Is he okay?

Sunday's game, he looked...off. Tonight's game, he looked exponentially worse.

[Parker2112]

this loss just put us back on our heels and dallas wont have a chance. less jumpshots and more penetration... especially from MANU... no idea what he was thinking tonight.

he was thinking "why the hell is pop playing tony, blair, mason, bonner and hill at the same time?" :lol

[Parker2112]

manu plays well on three days rest

hopefully the crowd at sa can help manu play with more fire on short rest

he didnt break a sweat tonight...hell be going on 5 days rest :lol

[Spurminator]

Maybe he should reconsider going with a mask instead of the oversized Breathe-Rite.

[DesignatedT]

Seriously. Is he okay?

Sunday's game, he looked...off. Tonight's game, he looked exponentially worse.

definitely could be some sort of nose problem playing a factor. I mean the thing is broken. Also he has said he can only breath out of 1 nostril right now which could make it a little difficult for him to catch his breath. shit i don't know. I expect him to come out hard and aggressive on thursday though.

[Kori Ellis]

Dude you mean to tell me the Blair-Bonner-Mason-Hill-Parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete Pop bull shit?

It was 27-21 to start the second quarter. And 31-23 when Duncan came back in. So that lineup was only a -2. I know it looked horrible. But the lead didn't change that much.

[rayray2k8]

spurs were doomed when Mason and Bonner were together on the floor.

[Parker2112]

he will clinch it, and ownership will have enough $ to pay 1/5 of splitter's 1st year's salary

[Blackjack]

I can't put this on anyone other than the players. Sure, Pop starting Tony in the second would've been wise, IMO, but there was nothing the coach was going to do that would compensate for the approach of his players.

Manu just looked flat. He wasn't getting by the defenders well, his ball-handling wasn't great (and it's been a little suspect of late) and he reverted back to Game 1 form with the ill-advised passing -- the traps and pick-and-roll coverage gave him problems once again, and he continues to be undeterred with the across-the-body pass. Defensively the drop off between 3 and 4 to 5 was pretty significant. Manu was on fire defensively in SA -- playing passing lanes, disrupting offense and just being an overall pest -- but tonight he was much more reactive and aimless (something that seemed to be the theme for the team as a whole).

Jefferson and 'Dyess were extremely sloppy with their passing in the first and were doing their best to give the Mavs some early confidence. The Mavs were just feasting off the Spurs' turnovers and gaining confidence with each transition opportunity; turnovers with three-fifths of your team below the ball is a recipe for disaster with this team (or any other, for that matter).

Really, I could go on-and-on breaking down each individual and what they did or didn't do ... but I really don't see the point. This game was solely on the players and they, for whatever reason, didn't bring the right mindset to close out a team, much less the hated rival, in their own gym. It's really that simple.

It's a shame, too. The Mavs were ready to go home. The crowd was subdued and there was a sense of anxiety and inevitability you could feel through the TV; if the Spurs show up with the right mentality and focus from the jump, there's a good chance this series is over. Hell, even if they get their crap together at the half down 7, there's a great chance that Mavs team folds under the pressure down the stretch.

The Spurs blew a golden opportunity. They better hope it doesn't bite them in the ass.

[timvp]

Dude you mean to tell me the Blair-Bonner-Mason-Hill-Parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete Pop bull shit?

It was a 5-9 point game and quickly jumped to the 11-16 range when we did that.

Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.

MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.


Seeing as how Parker did not bitch like no other to him, I can only assume that was by design.

Seriously.
That lineup destroyed us.
Marion was hitting flip shots at will.


Bonner-Blair has fucked us every time this series.

And using 3 guards to play small against Dallas is simply stupid when your 3 guards are still allowing JJ fucking Barea to get into the paint to score layups.,

Can't argue with most of that but Pop loves to be extra careful with first half foul trouble with the Big 3. With Manu having two fouls, Pop tried to buy Manu as much time as possible ... thus RMJ being in the game.

At this point, I don't know who is worse: RMJ or Bogans. I want to say Bogans but RMJ makes that difficult.

[royal2006]

Most of Bonner's rebounds seemed to come right to him with no pressure from anyone else. I'm not too excited about that number. And I'd basically chalk his made 3's up to blind luck at this point. The airballed wide open three tells the whole story of Bonner's Playoff Guts.

cannot agree more, spurs would take those uncontested rebounds there without borner after a miss J by mavs , everyone else would take that.

we need to take the rebounds for which the mavs missed in close range layup with proper box out , it is not the case in this game

Mason + borner do more harm than good on court, mavs make a run when either one is there

another thing is i think rj should be more invovled offensively, i don't know if its rj himself or pop. he is not our best options, but we should try everything when other plan fails

[Parker2112]

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Politics/images-2/benjamin-franklin.jpg

[timvp]

Most of Bonner's rebounds seemed to come right to him with no pressure from anyone else. I'm not too excited about that number. And I'd basically chalk his made 3's up to blind luck at this point. The airballed wide open three tells the whole story of Bonner's Playoff Guts.

Yeah, Bonner got a lot more gunshy when he airballed that wide open look by about five feet :lol


:shootme

[Cant_Be_Faded]

It was 27-21 to start the second quarter. And 31-23 when Duncan came back in. So that lineup was only a -2. I know it looked horrible. But the lead didn't change that much.


When the Blair-Bonner combo was together on the court together with RMJ late in the 1st the score was
14-18

It could have ended up being closer had we not been content with Mason bringing the ball up the court.

THAT is what really really pissed me off. WTF was the team thinking

[ducks]

Would have been nice tp started second half since he started the run late and it was the only thing working in first half

[Kori Ellis]

When the Blair-Bonner combo was together on the court together with RMJ late in the 1st the score was
14-18

It could have ended up being closer had we not been content with Mason bringing the ball up the court.

THAT is what really really pissed me off. WTF was the team thinking

Right. I'm saying it wasn't that drastic of a change. The Spurs went from down 4 (late in the first) to down 8 (when Duncan came back a few minutes into the second) with that lineup in. The lineup sucks - I agree - I was bitching to timvp at the time that Tony was on the court too long without Manu or Tim. But that's not the lineup that allowed the lead to get pushed to 16 in the mid second quarter. The lineup that let the lead balloon included Jefferson/Manu/Duncan, I believe.

[polandprzem]

Can't argue with most of that but Pop loves to be extra careful with first half foul trouble with the Big 3. With Manu having two fouls, Pop tried to buy Manu as much time as possible ... thus RMJ being in the game.

At this point, I don't know who is worse: RMJ or Bogans. I want to say Bogans but RMJ makes that difficult.

This are the guys that were having big minutes during season [bogans rmj], and now they are killing the spurs. It's not like they are non-factor.
They are but for the dallas
Roger has been playing that bad in like 3 or 4 months now.

It's getting depressing even though our backline would look to spread minutes between TP, MG, GH, RJ if there is no Bonner, one of this guys must to step up.

If the spurs are somehow tired with the 7-man rotation they are screwed right now.
dirk gonna be the force next game and Terry still is active , matrix is there to prove something and Butler had one game full of rest and now is red hot.

[Parker2112]

http://witnesswatch.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/dollarbill.jpg

[vander]

from this point forward, I really cannot fathom giving any more minutes to Mason and Bogans, this is the playoffs. GHill and Jefferson can both go for 40 minutes, and then TP and Manu need only play 32, assuming no small ball.

[Kori Ellis]

And the whole team played like they didn't care, except for Tony's little spurt at the end of the half, so they deserved to lose. No urgency whatsoever.

But who didn't expect this? The Spurs always get beat down in at least one playoff game.

[Spursfanfromafar]

It was 27-21 to start the second quarter. And 31-23 when Duncan came back in. So that lineup was only a -2. I know it looked horrible. But the lead didn't change that much.

and Mason got in because Manu had two fouls. Tells us why Manu not being in foul trouble is important. The backup SGs are terrible. Mason is absolutely the worst player in the post season across teams.

If only he was traded (as per his request) along with Finley and Bonner during the trade deadline. They might have possibly landed Marcus Camby. If and buts...

I still think the Spurs will win Game 6 though. Manu has to be back to being close to Manu and that should be enough.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Right. I'm saying it wasn't that drastic of a change. The Spurs went from down 4 (late in the first) to down 8 (when Duncan came back a few minutes into the second) with that lineup in. The lineup sucks - I agree - I was bitching to timvp at the time that Tony was on the court too long without Manu or Tim. But that's not the lineup that allowed the lead to get pushed to 16 in the mid second quarter. The lineup that let the lead balloon included Jefferson/Manu/Duncan, I believe.

And throughout both types of lineups we completely abandoned the pressure Kidd 100% of the time strategy. And we abandoned it with fucking Barea too.

It's like we made a premeditated decision to abandon it. Every single missed shot, every long rebound, every missed free throw, was turned into the type of bull shit pseudo-transition shot we saw in game 1.

There was no reason to abandon the pressure Kidd strategy in the first half. We did a little of it in the 2nd, but who fucking cares we had already lost by that point.

If we do the things we do in the first half I think we could have won this game.

By the time Pop put in a normal lineup in the mid 2nd, they looked totally out of sync, no rhythm whatsoever. Credit the Mavs here too, they were rotating like we did in games 2-4.

[polandprzem]

I'm pissed

I had good quality stream :pctoss

[Parker2112]

And throughout both types of lineups we completely abandoned the pressure Kidd 100% of the time strategy. And we abandoned it with fucking Barea too.

It's like we made a premeditated decision to abandon it. Every single missed shot, every long rebound, every missed free throw, was turned into the type of bull shit pseudo-transition shot we saw in game 1.

There was no reason to abandon the pressure Kidd strategy in the first half. We did a little of it in the 2nd, but who fucking cares we had already lost by that point.

If we do the things we do in the first half I think we could have won this game.

By the time Pop put in a normal lineup in the mid 2nd, they looked totally out of sync, no rhythm whatsoever. Credit the Mavs here too, they were rotating like we did in games 2-4.

your seeing the trees, just not the forest.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Here's a good question: Does Duncan on 24 minutes and Ginobili on 18 minutes qualify as adequate rest?

Because if Pop was going to abandon what got us this series lead, why not fucking rest them for real for the entire game? It's a loser's strategy to do this shit.

[jestersmash]

I'd like to see Ginobili take his chances with erratic drives to the basket and hope for foul calls as opposed to taking jumpers.

And, if that doesn't work, let's just give his shots to Hill and Parker and let him serve as a decoy out there.

Sure, he's playing awful, but not to the extent where Dallas defense can give him wide open looks. He'd still be reasonably useful in spacing the floor on offense, and if he brought energy to the defensive end, things might be alright.

That's just for this series, though. If he doesn't regain a 15-5-5 50% level for the next series, we're not going anywhere.

[4>0rings]

Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.

MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.


I saw that, then quickly scanned the rest of the team to see if TP or Hill or Manu was in the game. Then I saw TP. Then I started to cry.

[Avitus1]

We'll get them at home.

[roycrikside]

Blah blah blah I don't know what I'm watching, I'm too busy staring at Tony's dreamy eyes.

Seriously you wasted more time on this "analysis" and certainly more effort and energy than the Spurs did playing the game. What about this was surprising to you or to any of us IN ANY WAY? Didn't you predict a Game 5 Mavs blowout before the series started?

Let me make it VERY simple so even you can understand what happened out there. Tim and Manu saw early on that RJ and Dice had no fire or desire to compete whatsoever with their dumb turnovers and lackluster defense/rebounding. Probably the two of them, (plus Pop) came into the game skeptical anyway since they knew the Mavs would come out with all guns smoking, but once they saw that they weren't going to get any help from the other starters, they quickly mentally checked out as well.

As for Tony trying hard, Tony scoring late in the second quarter blah blah blah, big deal. Guess what Bud, TP, for all his lukewarm endorsements of Pop and the move, DOES NOT WANT TO BE ON THE BENCH. He's made that pretty clear, I think. He was playing like he has something to prove. He was also pretty freaking awful in the 1st quarter, but I guess you forgot about that, lost in the afterglow of his good spurt before the half.

He's still not sticking close to three point shooters and J.J. Barea was kicking his butt, but woohoo, 19 points for Tony. :rolleyes

I don't know why you bothered to write about a game where Pop played Mason 28 minutes. That should tell you (or anyone) all you needed to know about how seriously he took the game. I said all along that Tim and Manu should be rested in Game 5 and here they practically were. This was a glorified scrimmage for them (albeit a poor one).

They're both going to come out a lot better in Game 6. The last two guys I'm worried about on Thursday are Tim and Manu. Relax, we got this.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Here's a good question: Does Duncan on 24 minutes and Ginobili on 18 minutes qualify as adequate rest?


anyone?

[jestersmash]

anyone?

It's better to keep them in for sufficient time so that Pop/players can review the tape and see how they are getting burned by Dallas on both ends.

If you play them any less, you have no film to go by to fix your mistakes. It's good to get the mistakes on spacing out for this game, even if it is a blowout.

This game was hardly lost on simply "missing shots." There were egregious spacing issues on the floor that will be dealt with.

I actually thought this was also the case in game 4, despite the fact that we still won that game.

[Zammers]

I don´t think so, they dodn´t even throw that KO punch.
Quite otherwise, they knew this was a fixed OMB Heavyweight fight and behave like it, went hard at the begining to check how the refs were calling it, and the refs were clear, even, but when Dallas needs help...
Then they played their starters a little bit more and regruped... That was what we needed to do, emphasize that Dallas homecourt was respected and rest for the really important game at SA. Where we all know there will be no home court advantage to anyone.

^ What he said.

Seriously guys we've seen this game a 1,000 times. We knew the Mavs were going to give full effort, the Mavs would get the home cookin, and we just won 3 straight giving our max intensity. I even told my Mavs friend that they could win by double digits. Why? Because Pop recognizes what team he has that night and shuts it down if he knows its a lost cause. Outcome...lots of bench minutes, strange line-ups, and rest for the players that need it.

Pop likes to play mind games. He was putting guys in that should never have been on the court because he wants the Mavs to feel like we are making drastic changes......when we actually aren't. Pop knows when his team HAS IT and tonight he knew early that they DIDN'T HAVE IT. Just watch his demeanor on the sideline. When Pop wants to win he is ferocious....tonight he was very relaxed.

Game 6 we will come out of the gates hell bent on putting the Mavs away. The energy will be there since nothing was expended tonight.

[roycrikside]

anyone?

Quoting yourself is tacky, but to answer your question, if I were coaching them Tim and Manu wouldn't have even been in the arena for Game 5. I don't think they broke much of a sweat out there and I expect both of them to have a lot of juice in their legs for Game 6. They're smart guys and they know that for all intensive purposes this is their Game 7. They're going to leave it all out there on Thursday.

[timvp]

Seriously you wasted more time on this "analysis" and certainly more effort and energy than the Spurs did playing the game. What about this was surprising to you or to any of us IN ANY WAY? Didn't you predict a Game 5 Mavs blowout before the series started?

Let me make it VERY simple so even you can understand what happened out there. Tim and Manu saw early on that RJ and Dice had no fire or desire to compete whatsoever with their dumb turnovers and lackluster defense/rebounding. Probably the two of them, (plus Pop) came into the game skeptical anyway since they knew the Mavs would come out with all guns smoking, but once they saw that they weren't going to get any help from the other starters, they quickly mentally checked out as well.

As for Tony trying hard, Tony scoring late in the second quarter blah blah blah, big deal. Guess what Bud, TP, for all his lukewarm endorsements of Pop and the move, DOES NOT WANT TO BE ON THE BENCH. He's made that pretty clear, I think. He was playing like he has something to prove. He was also pretty freaking awful in the 1st quarter, but I guess you forgot about that, lost in the afterglow of his good spurt before the half.

He's still not sticking close to three point shooters and J.J. Barea was kicking his butt, but woohoo, 19 points for Tony. :rolleyes

I don't know why you bothered to write about a game where Pop played Mason 28 minutes. That should tell you (or anyone) all you needed to know about how seriously he took the game. I said all along that Tim and Manu should be rested in Game 5 and here they practically were. This was a glorified scrimmage for them (albeit a poor one).

They're both going to come out a lot better in Game 6. The last two guys I'm worried about on Thursday are Tim and Manu. Relax, we got this.

:lol

That was a pretty good rant until the last line. That was soft.

So, yeah Manu plays bad on purpose. TP scores points because he's a bad teammate. Pop should have given up before the game started. Fantastic takes :tu

Good to see that Manu plays one of his worst playoff games of his life and his main supporters are here to have his back and deflect blame. The CoM is damn loyal.

Seriously, I'm somewhat concerned with Manu because it seems like his energy level is on the decline in this series. Hopefully I'm wrong and he has a classic Manu performance to put this series to bed in Game 6. A game like he had in 2007 in Game 6 against the Suns would be quite nice :smokin

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I miss the days when every fucking game we did not have to worry about fatigue and energy levels.

[jestersmash]

Well the good news is Ginobili isn't being bashful about the way he played tonight. First line of his postgame interview "Well, I really played like crap today" and didn't make any lame excuses.

First step to the road of success is acknowledging failure.

[4>0rings]

Timvp put as much effort into that as Spurs tonight.

[Blackjack]

Their inability to hit the 3 consistently is definitely something to be concerned about moving forward. Their spacing tonight was atrocious and the congestion they're having to play in would be significantly lessened with a credible 3-point attack. Problem is, they really don't have the 3-point shooting in their rotation players. (Legitimate rotation players, that is.)

Without that spacing the Spurs are even more susceptible to Mavs' transition game through deflections and turnovers, which has been the key to Dallas' success. And if the Spurs aren't hitting the three, their margin for error is much smaller without the usual separation the 3-point shot affords a team -- which means they've got to be even more efficient offensively and effective defensively. Manu and George knocking down a few each would go a long way in helping the cause.

But maybe the most important thing moving forward is health. Tim and Manu have both fallen off over the last two games and one has to wonder if it's fatigue-related. Tim's problems are well known and the extended minutes combined with the fact that we saw some of his best play in a while after having significant rest, only to see him have these last two outings with only a day off in between ... it doesn't take much to make the next logical step. And with Manu he's just looked a little flat on his shot and a little slower on the ball -- even a little loose and clumsy at times. Manu's apparently been having trouble sleeping with the broken nose and it's bound to effect his breathing and play to some degree, but something just isn't right. I've said it before, but if Tim and Manu's problem is fatigue ... the Spurs are S. O. L. -- it'll only get worse from here.

[HarlemHeat37]

Too many people here have been acting like the Spurs are dominating the Mavs..these games have been relatively close for the most part, they haven't been dominant..these teams are pretty much even..the Mavs weren't going to lose this game..as others have said, this was a classic Spurs blowout in a series where nobody cared..

The loss doesn't concern me at all, but there are some adjustments that do concern me..

-The adjustment on McDyess has me scared..the same way the Spurs adjusted to Kidd and took him out of the game, Dallas did the same thing to Dice..as we've seen all year, McDyess has no offensive game outside of his automatic J..when you make him put the ball on the floor or make him pass, he struggles..Dallas ran him off the jump shots in this game, and he panicked..this led to multiple turnovers and broken plays for the Spurs offense..

The key will now be for McDyess to adjust or for Pop to adjust and get him some plays to get in a rhythm..

-Obviously Ginobili and Duncan concern me at this point..Ginobili more than Timmy..Duncan is taking A LOT of bad shots and has lost his aggressiveness, so I'm sure he'll come out aggressive and angry after 2 sub-par performances and in a must win..Duncan always does his best work in close out games..

Manu concerns me more, because we don't usually see him lacking energy like this..he's not as active, he's turning it over too much, his outside shot is broken..it has me concerned..maybe it's fatigue, or maybe the nose is affecting him..

The fact that the rest is shorter now and could be affecting them does concern me a little as well..



Other than that, I'm not concerned..I've been harping on the 3-point shooting, but that won't change, we don't have the weapons..the Spurs will come out with better energy and compete next game though..hopefully they stick to what got them here, which was pressure defense, denying Dirk and rotating on Kidd..

Also, obviously avoid playing Mason as much as possible..he really could be the worst player in the NBA at this point..

[Blackjack]

It also looked like the Mavs have decided to use Kidd more in the post. A few years ago that might've worried me but call me skeptical -- even if he did have some success tonight. Obviously the Mavs are aware of the Spurs' gameplan with Kidd (chase him off the 3), so I'll be interested in seeing if they look to do that in Game 6 -- if it picks up some fouls on Tony and George it might actually be worth it.

[kobyz]

i'm not optimist that we will win this series, now that Butler got going i don't think we have enough to beat the mavs, i think we going home after the series.

[GSH]

A couple of things nobody mentioned about that disaster of a first half:

The Spurs were unbelievably sloppy setting picks. A lot of the time they just moved out in the direction of the play and stood there. There was no attempt to get out in front of the play, and get some solid contact on the defender. As a result, we had a hell of a time getting any separation. That won't get it done.

The Spurs were also very sloppy with their passing. People have been talking about that 3P shot that Bonner airmailed. But if you look back at it, the pass to him was way off the mark. He had to lean out to get the ball, then pull back and get his balance before he could line up the shot. By that time he had someone right on top of him. And that didn't happen just once or twice. The errant passes kept guys from being able to make the corner going to the basket, forced players to give up shots that would have been open, hosed passing lanes, etc. It's easy to make another player look bad, when you force him to reach for a pass like that.

I may re-watch the game, if I can stand it, to try and figure out how the Mavs managed to be in our passing lanes so much. They obviously had a game plan for it - they got 14 steals in the game, and they weren't all in garbage time. 14 freaking steals. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a team get that many.

Someone mentioned Tim moving sideways as he attempted a shot. i saw him do it more than once. If I didn't know better, I would say it looked like their shot blockers got into Duncan's head. It's beginnnig to look like Dirk got into Manu's nose.

They put a bunch of hard "playoff fouls" on Parker when he went to the rim. But they did something else that made a big difference in the flow of the Spurs defense. I re-watched a couple of quarters, and slowed it down when the Mavs were on offense. During the time that I watched, I only saw one of the Mavs set a pick without moving. They were sliding out and drilling the defenders trailing the ball, and carrying them way off the play. But they were also clearing out a lot on the weak side. I saw a number of times where the Spurs were "a step slow" because they had been cleared out of the play. At times they almost looked like football halfbacks making lead blocks. They would clear a Spur out on the weak side, then roll a shooter into the space for a wide open look. On one play, I watched Dampier block Ginobili solidly back into Jefferson, and Terry dropped in for a wide-open 15-footer. It wasn't anything you could call a pick, but it tied up two Spurs defenders.

I'm not bitching about the Mavs, or about the refs. The Mavs were aggressive, and it was obviously a good game plan for them. I'm just saying that the Spurs are going to have to find a way to counter that. It may involve some flopping, and/or a call to the league office. If they can suck out a few calls early, it may force the Mavs to adjust.

[polandprzem]

i'm not optimist that we will win this serios, now that Butler got going i don't think we have enough to beat the mavs, i think we going home after the serios.

Are you serios ?

[El Jefe]

Mavs made two smart adjustments

A) Haywood starting in place of Dampier. Either his teammates don't trust him, or he just isn't aggressive, but with Damp out there the Mavs play 4 on 5 on the offensive end.

B) Aggressively attack the basket. The Spurs were running guys off the 3 point line in game 4 without much worry of anyone putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket. We were able to get away with Duncan and McDyess closing out on shooters, simply because the shooters didn't seem to realize taking the big man off the dribble was an option (for Kidd it might not be anymore)

Haywood seems to be less invisible offensively, and Butler and Marion seemed to be a little more aggressive in going to the hole. I hope the Spurs can bait Dallas into contested 3's/long 2's again come game 6.

[polandprzem]

A couple of things nobody mentioned about that disaster of a first half:

The Spurs were unbelievably sloppy setting picks. A lot of the time they just moved out in the direction of the play and stood there. There was no attempt to get out in front of the play, and get some solid contact on the defender. As a result, we had a hell of a time getting any separation. That won't get it done.

The Spurs were also very sloppy with their passing. People have been talking about that 3P shot that Bonner airmailed. But if you look back at it, the pass to him was way off the mark. He had to lean out to get the ball, then pull back and get his balance before he could line up the shot. By that time he had someone right on top of him. And that didn't happen just once or twice. The errant passes kept guys from being able to make the corner going to the basket, forced players to give up shots that would have been open, hosed passing lanes, etc. It's easy to make another player look bad, when you force him to reach for a pass like that.

I may re-watch the game, if I can stand it, to try and figure out how the Mavs managed to be in our passing lanes so much. They obviously had a game plan for it - they got 14 steals in the game, and they weren't all in garbage time. 14 freaking steals. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a team get that many.

Someone mentioned Tim moving sideways as he attempted a shot. i saw him do it more than once. If I didn't know better, I would say it looked like their shot blockers got into Duncan's head. It's beginnnig to look like Dirk got into Manu's nose.

They put a bunch of hard "playoff fouls" on Parker when he went to the rim. But they did something else that made a big difference in the flow of the Spurs defense. I re-watched a couple of quarters, and slowed it down when the Mavs were on offense. During the time that I watched, I only saw one of the Mavs set a pick without moving. They were sliding out and drilling the defenders trailing the ball, and carrying them way off the play. But they were also clearing out a lot on the weak side. I saw a number of times where the Spurs were "a step slow" because they had been cleared out of the play. At times they almost looked like football halfbacks making lead blocks. They would clear a Spur out on the weak side, then roll a shooter into the space for a wide open look. On one play, I watched Dampier block Ginobili solidly back into Jefferson, and Terry dropped in for a wide-open 15-footer. It wasn't anything you could call a pick, but it tied up two Spurs defenders.

I'm not bitching about the Mavs, or about the refs. The Mavs were aggressive, and it was obviously a good game plan for them. I'm just saying that the Spurs are going to have to find a way to counter that. It may involve some flopping, and/or a call to the league office. If they can suck out a few calls early, it may force the Mavs to adjust.

Veteran observation :tu

:)


yea with that p&r it was unbelievable that spurs could not pass the ball, the lanes were closed and if the first pass went through, that was it. Horrific ball movement. Haywood is more mobile center. No Dampier and dalls p&r defense looks better.

[slayermin]

I expect a fucking beat down on Thursday. I will be pissed off for a week if they don't win by 20.

If our guys didn't get get royally pissed sitting and watching the second team get worked in the 2nd half, we don't deserve to win the championship.

[Ice009]

Would have been nice tp started second half since he started the run late and it was the only thing working in first half

I said in the game thread we should start TP. No one was interested though.

Steve Smith said that maybe it's time to start Tony again or at least get him out there early next game. I think I would agree.

TP has been the most consistent Spurs player in this series. Manu and Tim have played 3 very good games and two piss poor games whereas TP has been consistent for 5 games.

TP has shown last season in the playoffs and this season that he is here to play and will not back down. I really do appreciate what TP brings to the team.

[newacc]

How did Roger Mason Jr make the NBA? Is there some Pizza Hut contest loophole I don't know about because I want to play on the Spurs too.

[Ice009]

How did Roger Mason Jr make the NBA? Is there some Pizza Hut contest loophole I don't know about because I want to play on the Spurs too.

Mason Jr. is worse than I even thought. I said last season around January or February he's going Hedo on us and I was wrong. He's worse than Hedo ever was. Looks like everyone has now come to that conclusion.

I also said it was nothing to do with the switch to PG, whereas a lot of people made that excuse for him. I will say though that his hand might be affecting his shooting, but the rest of his game is non existent anyway so there is no need to play him.

Malik Hairston was starting to get some steam going at the end of the season too, but Pop still plays Mason Jr anyway.

[Bruno]

I don't like at all Spurs throwing away a playoff game like that. Both teams are so close that it isn't smart not to use every little opportunity to win the series.

Spurs are still in the driver seat but I hope this cockiness won't bite them in the back.

[Ice009]

I don't like at all Spurs throwing away a playoff game like that. Both teams are so close that it isn't smart not to use every little opportunity to win the series.

Spurs are still in the driver seat but I hope this cockiness won't bite them in the back.

Do you think TP should maybe start Bruno?

I agree, not happy at all with the game. Absolutely dog of a performance from the Spurs. Pop already used the dog comment, but this performance was a lot worse than that one.

[Bruno]

Do you think TP should maybe start Bruno?


I will continue to let him on the bench. Don't overreact after one loss. However, if the start of the game is bad for Spurs, pop should call quickly a timeout and put Parker in. Spurs were at -10 when Parker entered in the first quarter yesterday, it was too late.

[MaNu4Tres]

Their inability to hit the 3 consistently is definitely something to be concerned about moving forward. Their spacing tonight was atrocious and the congestion they're having to play in would be significantly lessened with a credible 3-point attack. Problem is, they really don't have the 3-point shooting in their rotation players. (Legitimate rotation players, that is.)

Without that spacing the Spurs are even more susceptible to Mavs' transition game through deflections and turnovers, which has been the key to Dallas' success. And if the Spurs aren't hitting the three, their margin for error is much smaller without the usual separation the 3-point shot affords a team -- which means they've got to be even more efficient offensively and effective defensively. Manu and George knocking down a few each would go a long way in helping the cause.

But maybe the most important thing moving forward is health. Tim and Manu have both fallen off over the last two games and one has to wonder if it's fatigue-related. Tim's problems are well known and the extended minutes combined with the fact that we saw some of his best play in a while after having significant rest, only to see him have these last two outings with only a day off in between ... it doesn't take much to make the next logical step. And with Manu he's just looked a little flat on his shot and a little slower on the ball -- even a little loose and clumsy at times. Manu's apparently been having trouble sleeping with the broken nose and it's bound to effect his breathing and play to some degree, but something just isn't right. I've said it before, but if Tim and Manu's problem is fatigue ... the Spurs are S. O. L. -- it'll only get worse from here.

All I have to do is nod again here....

Couldn't have said it better myself...

This plus 10000000

[Ice009]

I will continue to let him on the bench. Don't overreact after one loss. However, if the start of the game is bad for Spurs, pop should call quickly a timeout and put Parker in. Spurs were at -10 when Parker entered in the first quarter yesterday, it was too late.

I can go with that. He has to have TP in quickly if the offense is shit to start with. If we're doing stupid stuff and not attacking then TP should be put it a lot quicker.

Also, Pop needs to call more time outs quicker to steady the ship.

[John Terry]

Dude you mean to tell me the Blair-Bonner-Mason-Hill-Parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete Pop bull shit?

It was a 5-9 point game and quickly jumped to the 11-16 range when we did that.

Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.

MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.


Seeing as how Parker did not bitch like no other to him, I can only assume that was by design.

Seriously.
That lineup destroyed us.
Marion was hitting flip shots at will.


Bonner-Blair has fucked us every time this series.

And using 3 guards to play small against Dallas is simply stupid when your 3 guards are still allowing JJ fucking Barea to get into the paint to score layups.,
don't u think celebrating it at home seems to be better than doing it away in Dallas? Obviously we didn't pull out our full power last night and the 103-81 definitely wasn't the true reflection. Easy win predicted for game 6.

[TDMVPDPOY]

we must seal the deal or else we are out in 7 at there place

[John Terry]

I miss the days when every fucking game we did not have to worry about fatigue and energy levels.
but it's good to see the coach worries about them when his players are aged, which contrasts how excessively much the Mavs old legs have been overused. I think the loss last night was just a supposed one in Pop's plan. Tim only played sub-30 and the same with Manu, Tony, etc., which clearly shows Pop's intention of reserving energy. Game 6 will be the real die-survive match and also a close game like game 3 and 4, but I believe the Spurs will win it and qualify.

[bonnington]

We can also choke.

[ploto]

On one play, I watched Dampier block Ginobili solidly back into Jefferson, and Terry dropped in for a wide-open 15-footer. It wasn't anything you could call a pick, but it tied up two Spurs defenders.

You must have some amazing eyes!!

I am surprised to see only a couple of posters mentioning the adjustments that Dallas made. Was it all just the Spurs being self-satisfied or tired, or was there more to it?

[Ghazi]

Considering Dampier didn't play, I'd say there is something wrong with his eyes.

[John Terry]

Considering Dampier didn't play, I'd say there is something wrong with his eyes.
thankfully Carlisle didn't have anything wrong with eyes last night and he made the right decision in starting Haywood at C.

[Brazil]

For me this game is on the spurs not on mavs adjustements. Of course starting Haywood is a damn good idea but even with the urgency, the big lead in the midle of the 2nd quarter and some fucking bad lineups, spurs were back to 7 at the end of the first half.

There was room for a mav colapse, mavs were nervous to finish the quarter, Najera stupid fouls as usual some really really bad TOs of Dirk and Kidd. This game was gone after 3 bad possessions to start the 3rd: 2 Manu TOs and 1 bad Tim JS, mavs have been wised to score on it then Pop and the players begun to throw the towel.

Poor spurs effort and props to the mavs.

[Mavs101]

For me this game is on the spurs not on mavs adjustements. Of course starting Haywood is a damn good idea but even with the urgency, the big lead in the midle of the 2nd quarter and some fucking bad lineups, spurs were back to 7 at the end of the first half.

There was room for a mav colapse, mavs were nervous to finish the quarter, Najera stupid fouls as usual some really really bad TOs of Dirk and Kidd. This game was gone after 3 bad possessions to start the 3rd: 2 Manu TOs and 1 bad Tim JS, mavs have been wised to score on it then Pop and the players begun to throw the towel.

Poor spurs effort and props to the mavs.

The lineup for the Mavs was no better. When the Spurs made their run it was Najera, Dirk, JET, Barea, and Kidd.... Dirk was playing the 5! Come on... if that isn't soft as hell basketball I don't know wtf you were watching. JET and Barea are a defensive liability for the Mavs... Dirk let's people walk by in the lane. I'd chalk this up to the Mavs just outplaying the Spurs starting 5. It is one game. Don't discredit a good team. Worry about game 6 as this one is in the books and you may be getting some rest after 48 more minutes of bball before the Suns.

[dc_spursfan]

The Mavs showed they wasn't going to quit and the Spurs decided to just cave. Horrible effort on defense especially on rotations. I expected the Spurs to lose just in that way. The good thing was without a lot of effort they still cut a double digit lead in half with ease before halftime. Roger Mason is useless. Hopefully, having the big three sit and watch the Mavs celebrate like they won the Super Bowl will light a fire under them for game 6.


The Series must end Thursday night.

[Spurminator]

I had hoped Carlisle would be stubborn and continue to overutilize Barea and Dampier... maybe Mark Cuban made the call dictating that Haywood start.

On resting the starters... I hate doing this in the Playoffs.

Given the Mavs' and their fans' tendency to panic when the chips are down, I don't see any reason why 2 or 3 more minutes for the big three in the final quarter would have been a bad idea. We've seen both Duncan and Ginobili have great fourth quarters after sucking for the first three.

If you can cut that 20 point lead to 10, you create doubt and with the Mavs it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that they will choke it away. If you don't cut into the lead, no big deal, throw in the white towel with 8 or 9 minutes left. So Duncan plays 27 minutes instead of 23.

These are the goddamn Playoffs.

[Crookshanks]

And the whole team played like they didn't care, except for Tony's little spurt at the end of the half, so they deserved to lose. No urgency whatsoever.

But who didn't expect this? The Spurs always get beat down in at least one playoff game.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I hoped the Spurs would win last night, but I really wasn't too surprised or disappointed when they didn't. I was, however, quite disappointed with their total lack or urgency or effort.

They said all the right things before the game, but then they just gave this away from the very 1st quarter. That's why I turned the volume down after the 1st quarter, and pretty much stopped watching the game altogether in the 3rd quarter. On to Thursday...

:flag:

[Shank]

How did Roger Mason Jr make the NBA? Is there some Pizza Hut contest loophole I don't know about because I want to play on the Spurs too.

Matt Bonner took home the consolation prize.

[Spurminator]

I had hoped Carlisle would be stubborn and continue to overutilize Barea and Dampier while underutilizing Marion and Butler. I wonder if Mark Cuban had anything to do with the rotation changes. They reflected pretty much everything Dallas media and fans have been screaming for the past week.

On resting the starters... I hate doing this in the Playoffs.

Given the Mavs' and their fans' tendency to panic when the chips are down, I don't see any reason why 2 or 3 more minutes for the big three in the final quarter would have been a bad idea. We've seen both Duncan and Ginobili have great fourth quarters after sucking for the first three.

If you can cut that 20 point lead to 10, you create doubt and with the Mavs it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that they will choke it away. If you don't cut into the lead, no big deal, throw in the white towel with 8 or 9 minutes left. So Duncan plays 27 minutes instead of 23.

These are the goddamn Playoffs.

[Budkin]

My advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7. :toast

Get your fishing poles ready... you just played your last home game.

[Spurminator]

(Sorry for the double post. I can't edit or delete for some reason.)

[elec99]

I thought it was bad from a coaching standpoint from the beginning. When we dont double dirk, we win as long as we can take care of our turnovers and not foul. So as soon as we started doubling dirk on the first possession of the game, something that we MAYBE only do in the 4th, I knew there was something wrong.

Dont see what the point of it is unless pop felt that this wasnt a game we could win so might as well change it up??

[Brazil]

The lineup for the Mavs was no better. When the Spurs made their run it was Najera, Dirk, JET, Barea, and Kidd.... Dirk was playing the 5! Come on... if that isn't soft as hell basketball I don't know wtf you were watching. JET and Barea are a defensive liability for the Mavs... Dirk let's people walk by in the lane. I'd chalk this up to the Mavs just outplaying the Spurs starting 5. It is one game. Don't discredit a good team. Worry about game 6 as this one is in the books and you may be getting some rest after 48 more minutes of bball before the Suns.

I'm not discrediting the mavs performance, they are a fucking good team (I was expecting a loss for the spurs in this game 5), I'm just saying the loss is more on the poor spurs effort than mavs outplaying us. Once again there was room for a spurs w IMHO, the risk for us now is this game being a confidence builder for a revigorated mavs squad.

[rjv]

i though the spurs looked a little beat from the every other day schedule of the last 5 days and the mavericks looked desperate. the combination created a predictable outcome. i fully expect the spurst to play their best game of the series on thursday and for the mavs to come back down to earth.

[kaji157]

Guys, some here needs to stop finding explanations. Plain and simple, none of the Spurs bet that this was the game to win. We are going for thursday.

[Shank]

Guys, some here needs to stop finding explanations. Plain and simple, none of the Spurs bet that this was the game to win. We are going for thursday.

So, instead of closing it out on Tuesday and getting 5+ days of rest before the next series, they decided to tank it so they can travel and play again in 48 hours?

[DPG21920]

Wow, if this was the spurs attempt at a knock out blow, then they are in serious trouble. There was nothing remotely close to resembling an attempt to close a team out.

[coyotes_geek]

So, instead of closing it out on Tuesday and getting 5+ days of rest before the next series, they decided to tank it so they can travel and play again in 48 hours?

I'd say it was more of a case of the Spurs playing hard just long enough to see if the mavs were going to put up a fight and then mailing it in once they discovered that they were. Not a very intelligent decision on their part IMO, but I can't think of any other reason why they played with such disinterest.

[elec99]

I wouldnt start tp just yet, stick with what gave you the lead in the series. You can always sub him in early if you want. Dont celebrate too early cause you were up 3-1, and dont panic cause they did what we all knew they were going to do. The odds of a comeback from 1-3 is enormous.

Stick with what made you good and you'll win:

No fouls, dont send them to the line. Although wouldnt mind seeing haywood at the line.
Take care of the ball, so limit TOs.
And here's the sticker: I think we win if we dont double dirk, worked in games 2,3, and 4 although we did it in the 4th of game 4, kinda like what we do to kobe. Get the ball out of their main player's hands when the game is tight. So once I saw we were doubling dirk in game 5, first possession, I knew we weren't gonna win. If I see the same thing early in game 6, I'm gonna have a pit in my stomach. Dirk can have 50 for all I care, keeps the other 4 out of the game.

[ploto]

...for the mavs to come back down to earth.

The Mavs really did not play all that great last night.

[George Gervin's Afro]

It was a PATHETIC effort last night.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I fully expect to see a different Tim Duncan and Company in game 6.

[crc21209]

i fully expect to see a different tim duncan and company in game 6.

+100000000000000

[Horse]

The thing that worried my last night is the thing that makes me feel better about tommorow night. The unforced turnovers there were so many they just gave away. So if they stop fucking around they should be fine.

[TD 21]

The Spurs went for the knockout punch on Tuesday in Game 5 but the Mavs thwarted the attempt. Instead, Dallas whipped the Spurs at the AAC to win their second game of the series. The Spurs still hold a 3-2 advantage but they face a tremendously important contest in Game 6.

-Tim Duncan was better than he was in Game 4 ... but that isn't saying much. In 24 minutes, Duncan had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots and missed 6-of-9 field goals. Earlier in the series, he was using his agility to get by the slower centers for Dallas. In this game, he tried to rely on his post moves and he couldn't find a rhythm. Defensively, Duncan was a bit slow and wasn't pulling down contested boards. The Spurs need Duncan to bounce back with a big game on Thursday or this could become a memorable series for all the wrong reasons.

-I was very disappointed by what I saw out of Manu Ginobili. I could live with his foursome of untimely turnovers but I was stunned by his lack of energy on either end of the court. Ginobili was slow moving to the ball and just wasn't playing with enough juice. In the playoffs, that is unacceptable. Hopefully it was an off-game or he was looking ahead to Game 6. If it's a case that Ginobili is already tired, this postseason doesn't have much in store for the Spurs.

-Tony Parker was one of the few bright spots -- especially his play in the first half. He finished the game with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds on 6-for-15 shooting (he had one point on 0-for-6 shooting in the second half). The Spurs actually outscored the Mavs by three points in the 25 minutes he was on the court. When the Mavs tried to bully the Spurs, Parker fought back and didn't back down. That's the type of attitude the Spurs need going forward.

-With his starting lineup playing so poorly, I can't put too much blame on Pop. He didn't have anyone to carry the squad to keep it close. If Pop made a notable mistake, it was not starting Parker in the second half in an attempt to continue the momentum from the end of the second quarter. Overall, Pop did right by pulling the starters by the fourth quarter. The Spurs weren't going to make a run and with signs of fatigue already creeping up, getting as much rest as possible is extremely vital.

So game six is "tremendously important", but game five was "vital". Is this your way of admitting that you overstated the importance of game five?

Duncan was fine. He started out fairly well, then inexplicably didn't receive the ball again until the game was out of reach. It was too important for Ginobili to throw telegraphed passes on the pick-and-roll and for Parker to pound the ball into the floor boards while looking for his. Duncan needs to start demanding the ball with more frequency. This is still his team; not Ginobili's, not Parker's. I understand that this isn't the old days, but at the same time he can't just be another player on offense.

Ginobili was awful and the main culprit for this loss. Ridiculous passes (similar to in game one) and just horrible all around play. For a guy who's always talking about intensity, I thought he, more than anyone, was clearly looking ahead to game six. Maybe this is a sign that the Spurs follow his lead, because when he did that, everyone else followed suit. Predictably, both he and Duncan will have a big game six, yet he'll be the one being lauded afterward.

Parker wasn't much better. Don't be fooled by the points, the reality is he over dribbled, didn't get anyone else involved and the Spurs offense, which was already stagnant, became ever more so when he was in. One time, when he had nowhere to go he threw a simple two foot pass to Mason, who was so shocked by this that he wasn't even paying attention and fumbled it before securing it...or maybe this was just another example of how Mason went from a quality NBA role player to a player that looks like he shouldn't be playing professional basketball period all in the span of a year.

Maybe you can't put too much blame on Pop, but I can. You can't basically admit that your team was looking ahead to game six and pretend to be mad at them for this when you coached as if you were as well. Mason inexplicably making a first quarter appearance, Duncan coming out far earlier than usual, Ginobili sitting for eight consecutive minutes with the game in the balance. I know Ginobili had two fouls relatively early, but if Pop was truly concerned with winning this game, he wouldn't have played a regular season rotation.

It's obvious what has to happen in game six: The Spurs need to go down to essentially a six man rotation, with the two backup bigs playing spot minutes and no backup wing player in the rotation. Unless the Spurs open up a sizable margin or turn the game into a rout, Bogans and Mason shouldn't see a second of court time.

[GSH]

You must have some amazing eyes!!

I am surprised to see only a couple of posters mentioning the adjustments that Dallas made. Was it all just the Spurs being self-satisfied or tired, or was there more to it?

LOL... you knew I was talking about Haywood. It was late, and it's reflex to think about Damp when I'm thinking about the Mavs big man around the basket. I'll try not to let it happen again. (Doesn't change the point - I'll get you a minute and second mark of the game, if you want to see for yourself.) The Mavs were more physical everywhere, even off the ball - and it was effective.

I wondered if the Spurs expected the refs to call things close, after the T's and ejection in Game 4. I watched some of it again, and they just looked tenative.

Give the Mavs credit. The Spurs did a lot of damage in the paint in their wins, and the Mavs played physical and took a lot of that away. In a jump shooting or free throw contest, the Mavs are going to win most of the time. It was also one of those nights when the Mavs got a lot of rolls, and the Spurs didn't seem like they got any. That makes a big difference on the final point difference. The Mavs took that game, but if a few more shots hadn't rattled out, it would have looked a lot more respectabe. The final score doesn't worry me so much as the Spurs need to respond to the physical play.

[polandprzem]

Maybe you can't put too much blame on Pop, but I can. You can't basically admit that your team was looking ahead to game six and pretend to be mad at them for this when you coached as if you were as well. Mason inexplicably making a first quarter appearance, Duncan coming out far earlier than usual, Ginobili sitting for eight consecutive minutes with the game in the balance. I know Ginobili had two fouls relatively early, but if Pop was truly concerned with winning this game, he wouldn't have played a regular season rotation.

When you starters struggle you turn to the bench players

As simple as possible