Anyone else scared of Dallas in the first round?

[KawhiLeonard]

It looks like the spurs are a lock for the #2 seed and dallas has already clinched the #7 seed. Dallas took the spurs to seven last year and they upgraded their roster this year. Tbh Dallas and the Warriors are the only teams that scare me in the west.

[Old School 44]

Not scared, but there are definitely better matchups. IMO, Carlisle is one of the top 2 or 3 coaches in the league. The best thing about playing Dallas is the Spurs do have that history of last year's 7 game series, so you can bet, they will be more focused going in.

[jdiggy0424]

Short answer: no

Long answer: The Spurs have been playing champiopnship level basketball and are peaking at the right time, despite Tiago Splitter's calf injury. Tiago at full health is enough to disrupt Dirk. Rondo is a huge liability to Dallas' offense because in order to be effective, he needs to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time. Carlisle's offense scheme is revolved around playing through Ellis with a high pick and roll with Chandler/Dirk, or a Dirk post up. It's eerily similar to the Spurs' (another reason why I hate Dallas), however the role players Dallas have do not fit the puzzle that Carlisle has tried to implement.

Their offense can be good at times but you can stop Dallas if you force Ellis to be a ball stopper and make him hero-ball. Which honestly isnt hard to do. And don't get me started on how lackluster their defense has been all year.

Spurs in 5.

[Seventyniner]

Short answer: no

Long answer: noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fixed

[100%duncan]

:lol

[100%duncan]

Spurs sweep, tbh.

[jdiggy0424]

Fixed

Lol that sums it up hahaha

[SPM]

Parsons and Rondo gonna be the X-factors tbh. Dirk will be held in check and Kiwi will lock Monta's chucking ass down. What does Parsons, Rondo, and Tyson bring to the table

[jdiggy0424]

Parsons and Rondo gonna be the X-factors tbh. Dirk will be held in check and Kiwi will lock Monta's chucking ass down. What does Parsons, Rondo, and Tyson bring to the table

My thing with Dallas is that down the stretch, I simply cannot depend on Rondo or Chandler to hit free throws when it matters most (despite Chandler's career year at the line). And just like the 1st game the Spurs had against Dallas in the season opener, when it comes to hitting the big shot or making the right play, Chandler just shrivels up.

I think this series is going to be easier than people expect. Spurs lose Game 3 in Dallas in a nail-biter, then curbstomp them (Seth Rollins style) once Pop rips them a new asshole.

[Malik Hairston]

1. The reason last year's series went to 7 was because the Spurs were caught off-guard, and Pop wasn't prepared for Carlisle's game plan..that won't happen again this year

2. The matchups weren't an issue, the Spurs owned them all year prior to the series

3. The Mavs didn't upgrade their roster

[TimDunkem]

No. :lmao

[DMC]

The Mavs did upgrade their roster. Adding TC, Rondo and Amar'e. those are upgrades. Amare over Blair, that has to be an upgrade

But we'll see. A series has a a way of changing the outlook of a fanbase after the 1st game.

[Darius Bieber]

Yes. First round sweep by Dallas tbh.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

It looks like the spurs are a lock for the #2 seed and dallas has already clinched the #7 seed. Dallas took the spurs to seven last year and they upgraded their roster this year. Tbh Dallas and the Warriors are the only teams that scare me in the west.

Upgraded? Are you blind dude?

[Malik Hairston]

The Mavs did upgrade their roster. Adding TC, Rondo and Amar'e. those are upgrades. Amare over Blair, that has to be an upgrade

But we'll see. A series has a a way of changing the outlook of a fanbase after the 1st game.

They upgraded their roster until they added Rondo, which negated everything prior to that..

[spurraider21]

They no longer have vince carter tbh

[Spurs 4 The Win]

They upgraded their roster until they added Rondo, which negated everything prior to that..

Rondo made that team straight up trash

[Spurs 4 The Win]

They no longer have vince carter tbh
this x100

[SpurAddict561]

Did they get Carter back and I missed it?

[SpurAddict561]

Last year they were on a great motivated run to even make the playoffs headed into the playoffs. This year they are stumbling into it drunk with their pants down.

We only played them twice full strength, blew them out of the water in one and started off blowing them out of the water in the other but uncharacteristically letting our foot off the gas and letting them steal one.

Not scared

[Brazil]

Spurs should not be afraid of the Mavs but you have to respect a team coached by RC and having a guy even if old like Dirk tbh

[benstanfield]

The only better alternative would be playing the 8 seed or Memphis. Mavs have some good lineups and RC would steal at least a game most likely, but their core 5 is playing 4-on-5 offensively with Rondo and 4-on-5 defensively with Dirk. Watching Dirk run the floor is getting painful tbh, I always like him.

[playbonner15]

They no longer have vince carter tbh
That man's scary tbh

[hyhy]

Slightly, mad respect for RC, thinks he probably will manage to adjust as Rondo is a great player, the problem now is not unfixable. If rondo buys into the system and plays to it, similar to what tony has done in the remaining games, Mavs will be great. Also, Parsons will light up against us for some reason, scoring contested threes, same as monta.. If splitter doesnt come back in time for Dirk, thats another danger too..Diaw cant guard Dirk at all honestly.

[Malik Hairston]

The only better alternative would be playing the 8 seed or Memphis. Mavs have some good lineups and RC would steal at least a game most likely, but their core 5 is playing 4-on-5 offensively with Rondo and 4-on-5 defensively with Dirk. Watching Dirk run the floor is getting painful tbh, I always like him.

Spurs really exploited Dirk on D in games 5 to 7 last year, too..it took them a while to realize that he can't move, I guess:lol..

[SpursFan86]

Spurs really exploited Dirk on D in games 5 to 7 last year, too..it took them a while to realize that he can't move, I guess:lol..

Yup...and he's even worse this year.

Honestly the only lineup I'd be worried about is something like Harris/Ellis/Parsons/Aminu/Chandler. If Rondo and Dirk are getting heavy minutes, that helps us IMO. Rondo kills their offense, and Dirk is a massive hole on defense at this point.

Outside of a hobbled Memphis team or OKC, there's probably not another team I'd rather face than Dallas. I think last year's series was a bit of a fluke.

[Leetonidas]

If anything, aside from Tyson, the Mavs have downgraded their roster overall :lol

Playing a team with Rondo means you only have to guard 4 of the players on the floor tbh

[Jdspur20]

It looks like the spurs are a lock for the #2 seed and dallas has already clinched the #7 seed. Dallas took the spurs to seven last year and they upgraded their roster this year. Tbh Dallas and the Warriors are the only teams that scare me in the west.

Spurs are not a lock yet for 2 seed

[KawhiLeonard]

Upgraded? Are you blind dude?
Parson > marion. Chandler > Dalembert. Amare+ Aminu+Jefferson+Barea can still play off the bench despite what ST thinks. I'll admit tho Rondo is trash and losing Wright and Crowder did hurt them. Carter was extremely overrated in that series last year he just hit 1 clutch shot

[peacemaker885]

Dallas is the best sparring partner for the Spurs.

[Malik Hairston]

Parson > marion. Chandler > Dalembert. Amare+ Aminu+Jefferson+Barea can still play off the bench despite what ST thinks. I'll admit tho Rondo is trash and losing Wright and Crowder did hurt them. Carter was extremely overrated in that series last year he just hit 1 clutch shot

Carter was their 3rd leading scorer and shot 48% from 3 in the series:lol..

[hyhy]

Memphis<Dallas<Rockets<Clippers in terms of difficulty for our 1st and 2nd rounds tbh..
Warriors are so going to coast to the WCF with OKC/Pels/Portland and most likely Memphis..

[hater]

I remember last year many idiots here called for spurs sweep :lol

then they were cliff jumping when series was 2-2 :lol

Mavs are tough, Monta is a spurs killer. If no Splitter or hobbled splitter we in deep trouble. sure we won't lose (unless injury) but it will be a tough series.

[KawhiLeonard]

Carter was their 3rd leading scorer and shot 48% from 3 in the series:lol..

Him and dirk played some of the worst defense I've seen in playoff basketball.

[Big Empty]

im concerned. Mavs match up with the Spurs very well and they are better than they were last year. To me, this is our ticket to the finals. Noone else will come close to taking us out. This is the real western conference finals. Im super pissed we arnt going to get our first round bye against memphis

[SPM]

Little amazed that people are saying Dallas DIDN'T upgrade their roster :lol

Amare over Blair
Tyson over Dalmebert
Parsons over Marion
Rondo over Calderon

does this mean Dallas beats SA?? Hell no but it's ridiculous to say last years team had anywhere near the talent that this team has.

[Arcadian]

Well I would much rather face the Mavs than the Rockets.

[Malik Hairston]

Little amazed that people are saying Dallas DIDN'T upgrade their roster :lol

Amare over Blair
Tyson over Dalmebert
Parsons over Marion
Rondo over Calderon

does this mean Dallas beats SA?? Hell no but it's ridiculous to say last years team had anywhere near the talent that this team has.

It's a matter of how well they played in last year's series, where several Mavs played well above their heads..

I highly doubt Parsons plays better than Carter did, and there's literally no chance that Rondo can shoot even half as well as Calderon and Harris did in that series(not to mention he's one of the biggest. cancers in the NBA)..

Can't ignore their serious chemistry issues, too, as Ellis seems ready to leave..

[Horse]

Spurs really didn't wakeup till game 7 which wasn't even a game don't think that happens this yr. Especially cause they just beat us recently.

[Spur|n|Austin]

http://i.imgur.com/pcRFdKw.png

Don't mind the incorrect date....

[Blake]

Rofl no

[timtonymanu]

No.

Rick Carlisle is a genius coach and will get his guys to play hard but they aren't a very talented team.

[SPM]

It's a matter of how well they played in last year's series, where several Mavs played well above their heads..

I highly doubt Parsons plays better than Carter did, and there's literally no chance that Rondo can shoot even half as well as Calderon and Harris did in that series(not to mention he's one of the biggest. cancers in the NBA)..

Can't ignore their serious chemistry issues, too, as Ellis seems ready to leave..

No question that chemistry is fucking horrible. A big piece of that is Ellis..... who I suspect will be no factor against SA this time around.

[Embedded]

Bring them on!

[RD2191]

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Shaq-points-laughs-and-leaves-press-conference.gif

[RD2191]

Seriously though if Pop fucks around and leaves Kawhi on Ellis things could get ugly. Need Green on him at all times.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

im concerned. Mavs match up with the Spurs very well and they are better than they were last year. To me, this is our ticket to the finals. Noone else will come close to taking us out. This is the real western conference finals. Im super pissed we arnt going to get our first round bye against memphis

Do you even watch basketball, this take is fucking horrible

[SPM]

Do you even watch basketball, this take is fucking horrible

I believe he's trolling. That's how bad that take was :lol

[buttsR4rebounding]

No. The only team that scares me is the Clippers. Two very athletic bigs and one of the best point guards in the game.

[tmtcsc]

Huh? The Mavs butchered their roster. Rondo is awful, Vince Carter is gone, and their chemistry is a mess. i expect the Spurs to play with the appropriate amount of respect this time around and be fine.

[hater]

No. The only team that scares me is the Clippers. Two very athletic bigs and one of the best point guards in the game.

With a hurt Tiago any of these 3 teams can give us big trouble:
Mavs, Grizz, Clips

[Obstructed_View]

Unless they've re-signed Juwan Howard, no.

[Ditty]

Vince Carter, Jose Calderon, Dejuan Blair, and at time Samuel Dalembert kicked our ass last year and they're not there anymore. Parson is a much better player than Carter at this point of their career, but Carter is much better shooter imo. Calderon made every mid range jumper he shot in the playoffs, I'm not worried about that with Rondo but he is a much better defender than Calderon. Blair kicked our ass in game 4 and 6. Marion and Dalembert two very good defenders against us. Stoudemire doesn't scare me anymore. Chandler has been a non factor against us in the past because of Tim. Dirk is inconsistent at this point of his career, and could be a non factor if Tiago isn't rusty the first few games. Aminu can be a wild card, but has no post season experience. If we keep Monta in check with Danny Green the series shouldn't go more than 5. Carlisle is a good coach, but he gets too much credit than he deserves imo.

[apalisoc_9]

Parker, Joseph, Kawhi, Manu...Anyone who drives to the basket basically and asks for PnR should exploit Dirk's D..nigga can't move.

[ElNono]

If you're scared, buy a dog, tbh... I think the Spurs can take them, and with HCA even more so. Has Dallas won in SA any time recently?

[Keepin' it real]

Yes, I have a healthy "fear"/respect for the Mavs given the history of the rivalry and the fact that Monte Ellis goes into Michael Jordan mode seemingly every time he plays the Spurs.

But considering the alternatives, playing the Mavs is a better draw than LAC or HOU.

I'm still holding out hope for the #3 seed and another shot at Memphis. More payback for 2011 and an easier matchup than DAL.

[Russ]

It looks like the spurs are a lock for the #2 seed and dallas has already clinched the #7 seed.

I'm surprised everyone sees the Spurs as a lock to get the #2 seed. They don't control their own fate.

[will_spurs]

Any improvement Dallas may have achieved is completely destroyed by the mere presence of Rondo. They look stacked but are in fact completely dysfunctional...

Still any team coached by Carlisle has to be respected. Much as last year, Dallas is a perfect team for a good warm-up round, and the travel will be minimal, which is perfect.

[ironman2886]

Danny on Monta, for the love of God. Kawhi on him doesn't work. Pop has fucked with that strategy, and I hope he was just fucking around.

[cjw]

Kiwi will lock Monta's chucking ass down

Let's hope so. As good as our wing defenders are, he happens to be a tough cover for whatever reason.

[mrtxstar]

Why we talk'n bout Mavs?

[spurs10]

Not locked for 2 seed and not scared of Dallas. :hat

[cd021]

Dallas always plays the Spurs tough.

Rondo has hurt their offense but may improve their defense in the playoffs. Overall he's probably a downgrade over Calderon.

Chandler is a big upgrade over Dalembert, who played pretty well against us. Chandler has given Duncan problems, I'm not expecting Duncan to have a great series shooting the ball.

Their bench isn't very good. Barea, Harris, Jefferson, Aminu, & Stoudimire The Spurs should have an advantage there.

Rondo's lack of shooting makes it easier to have Parker guard him with out getting burned. Pop should go with Green and KL on Ellis and Parsons. Let Leonard slow down Parson and hope Green can keep Ellis from going off. Splitter and Diaw did a good job on Dirk last season, I'm expecting the same result. I would like the Spurs to go at Dirk more with Splitter and Diaw posting him up.

Overall this team probably isn't as good as last season. Blair and Wright had good series Jefferson is probably a downgrade over Crowder.

[ohmwrecker]

:lol no

[DarrinS]

no

[Horry Hipcheck]

No. But we'll talk about them when the Spurs lock up the 2 seed.

[Knoxxx]

Mavs
Clippers
Rockets
Grizz
Blazers

All about the same to me. Clips probably least desirable, assuming Paul is on fire and Tony plays on par with his increasing age and balky hamstring.

[Aztecfan03]

I'm surprised everyone sees the Spurs as a lock to get the #2 seed. They don't control their own fate.
A memphis loss tonight and they will.

[Lerojo]

Fuck because Richard Jefferson!

[senorglory]

Logged in to say this: f uuuuuuuuu cccc kkk nooooooooo.

[senorglory]

IMO, Carlisle is one of the top 2 or 3 coaches in the league.
Yeah, big fan of Carlisle.

[TampaDude]

Last year's playoff series would've been over in 5 if not for VC's utter bullshit traveling buzzer beater, and he's not even there anymore.

The only team that concerns me is the Warriors. They are really, really good and will have HCA.

[aal04]

Mavs were the second best team in the playoffs last year.

And they barely snuck into the playoffs.

Im not one bit scared of Regular season Mavs, but im scared of playoff mavs.

Teams i think have best chance of beating us

1. Cavs - so much firepower.
2. Clippers
3. Houston
4. Blazers
5. GSW

[eric365]

Last year mavs got to game 7 by staying home on the shooters and not doubling parker / duncan. Kawhi was not yet a big offensive factor

It killed the beautiful ball mouvment

If they do that this year with parker regressing, it will be to kawhi and duncan to prove they can score at will 1 on 1 like parker did in game 7 to have an easy series

[kobyz]

Mavs will want some revenge...

[aal04]

i take back that clippers quote.

They in trouble.

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh0S982OTY66R7DB0Y

[spursparker9]

Got to shut down Ellis this time.

[K...]

Mavs will want some revenge...

And they'll be denied.

[The Reckoning]

mavs are a retirement home now. at least the spurs have played with each other their entire careers. mavs is just the early 2000s all star team.

[Seventyniner]

Mavs will want some revenge...

So did the Suns in 2008.

[KawhiLeonard]

I would much rather face a banged up Grizzlies or Blazers those would be easy sweeps but facing Carlisle is always tricky this is going to be a 6 game series no doubt

[hater]

Mavs will want some revenge...

they have been wanting revenge year after year and keep getting beat.

problem is, they always play above themselves vs us and give us a scare or 2.

[Spurs9]

Too bad they don't have Blair to help us again tbh

[hater]

Too bad they don't have Blair to help us again tbh

but they have Dick

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

I am not and reason is because of Rondo. What killed the Spurs last year was Calderon and him shooting like 60% for that series. Rondo is not the same player since his ACL injury. And VC is no longer there to bully Beli off the bench.

Chandler not Parson poses a threat in the middle on the defensive end but the Spurs will be able to circumvent this with their ball movement. I don't see this going 7 games this year unless someone like Barea has a flashback playoff series like he did when the Mavs won the title.

[Drew2354]

Here comes Hack a Rondo!

[BanditHiro]

na. the Spurs won't be caught by surprise like last year.

[urunobili]

Without Splitter things can go wrong fast tbh...

[testies]

People saying Dallas improved their roster, I agree; But remember, they were killing us with just chuckiing a bunch of miracle 3 point shots by Calderon and Carter.

Remember that Rondo and Parsons are not close to that level of shooting. Parsons can shoot sometimes but not off the dribblel ike Carter, plus he will be in foul trouble guarding Kawhi

[TDomination]

As long as we play how we've been playing recently, we take them in 5 games.

[Jodelo]

Just hoping that the Mavs get 1 win. :wakeup

[Sean Cagney]

Dallas always plays the Spurs tough.

Rondo has hurt their offense but may improve their defense in the playoffs. Overall he's probably a downgrade over Calderon.

Chandler is a big upgrade over Dalembert, who played pretty well against us. Chandler has given Duncan problems, I'm not expecting Duncan to have a great series shooting the ball.

Their bench isn't very good. Barea, Harris, Jefferson, Aminu, & Stoudimire The Spurs should have an advantage there.

Rondo's lack of shooting makes it easier to have Parker guard him with out getting burned. Pop should go with Green and KL on Ellis and Parsons. Let Leonard slow down Parson and hope Green can keep Ellis from going off. Splitter and Diaw did a good job on Dirk last season, I'm expecting the same result. I would like the Spurs to go at Dirk more with Splitter and Diaw posting him up.

Overall this team probably isn't as good as last season. Blair and Wright had good series Jefferson is probably a downgrade over Crowder.Don't forget Carter last year as well, he was a very good player in a few games that series and had that game winner to boot. I am still shocked they let him go.

Calderon as you said was pretty solid as well last year in the series, hit some shots at a high clip and overall worried me. Blair was their X factor, him being gone and the fire he gave them will be missed this time around being he wanted to get his X team.

[Russ]

It looks like the spurs are a lock for the #2 seed and dallas has already clinched the #7 seed.


Not scared, but there are definitely better matchups. IMO, Carlisle is one of the top 2 or 3 coaches in the league. The best thing about playing Dallas is the Spurs do have that history of last year's 7 game series, so you can bet, they will be more focused going in.



Short answer: no

Long answer: The Spurs have been playing champiopnship level basketball and are peaking at the right time, despite Tiago Splitter's calf injury. Tiago at full health is enough to disrupt Dirk. Rondo is a huge liability to Dallas' offense because in order to be effective, he needs to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time. Carlisle's offense scheme is revolved around playing through Ellis with a high pick and roll with Chandler/Dirk, or a Dirk post up. It's eerily similar to the Spurs' (another reason why I hate Dallas), however the role players Dallas have do not fit the puzzle that Carlisle has tried to implement.

Their offense can be good at times but you can stop Dallas if you force Ellis to be a ball stopper and make him hero-ball. Which honestly isnt hard to do. And don't get me started on how lackluster their defense has been all year.

Spurs in 5.



Spurs sweep, tbh.



Parsons and Rondo gonna be the X-factors tbh. Dirk will be held in check and Kiwi will lock Monta's chucking ass down. What does Parsons, Rondo, and Tyson bring to the table



My thing with Dallas is that down the stretch, I simply cannot depend on Rondo or Chandler to hit free throws when it matters most (despite Chandler's career year at the line). And just like the 1st game the Spurs had against Dallas in the season opener, when it comes to hitting the big shot or making the right play, Chandler just shrivels up.

I think this series is going to be easier than people expect. Spurs lose Game 3 in Dallas in a nail-biter, then curbstomp them (Seth Rollins style) once Pop rips them a new asshole.


This has to be one of the most bizzare threads ever . . .