Texas tussle: Mavs vs. Spurs

[Jimcs50]

08:27 AM CDT on Saturday, May 6, 2006
By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News


SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Mavericks get a fringe benefit to their anticipated matchup with San Antonio in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The Spurs will be weary when the series opens.

San Antonio, led by explosive point guard Tony Parker, finished off a first-round series against Sacramento on Friday night with a 105-83 victory at Arco Arena. The teams with the best records in the Western Conference during the regular season will open their series Sunday at San Antonio.

"It's going to be like the conference finals," Spurs guard Manu Ginobli said.

The Spurs will have precious little preparation time.

The opener with the Mavericks will be San Antonio's second playoff game in less than 48 hours. For relaxation, the Spurs were scheduled to take a flight home of about 1,500 miles this morning.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called the league-mandated playoff schedule "awful" and did not stop there.

"We're going to play them in about 20 minutes," Popovich said. "We're going to try and do a litle scouting. We just hope the game doesn't start at 8 a.m."

The Mavericks have been off since Monday, leading Popovich to suggest that coach Avery Johnson "is probably in Jamaica." Popovich said any extreme is harmful at this time of the season.

"Dallas has probably been off longer than Avery wants them to be," Popovich said. "We will be more tired than we want to be."

The Spurs trailed, 31-26, midway through the second quarter when Parker returned from a break to take control of the game.

In the next 19 minutes, San Antonio pulled away with a 52-31 burst that ended on Parker's 3-point shot at the buzzer in the third.

Parker had 19 points and three assists in that dynamic stretch. The numbers do not fully show how Parker calmed the Spurs and brought ball movement back into the offense.

"Tony was really special," Popovich said. "We had to have people play the way Tony did to get the job done."

Parker made 11 of 20 shots and had a team-high 31 points. His daring drives confounded the Kings' defense and got him to the free throw line nine times.

Not bad for someone whose status was in doubt because of a bruised right quadricep. Parker walked gingerly after the game, but a teammate kiddingly suggested he was being overly dramatic.

"He was attempting to overtake Eva as the best actor in the family," Tim Duncan said with a sly grin.

Duncan referred to Parker's girlfriend, actress Eva Longoria. She will be part of the three-ring circus that opens Sunday, if the Spurs can open their eyes.

[Jimcs50]

Mavs' Griffin always sweats the details
Swingman ready for whatever Avery throws his way in the playoffs



01:08 AM CDT on Saturday, May 6, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News


The Memphis Grizzlies thought they had a plan.

Adrian Griffin shot holes all through it.

And yet, he expects to see the same plan – or some variation – in the second round of the playoffs.

Griffin is used to it by now. He knows opponents will put their weakest defender – or their most-prized offensive player – on him. Who can blame them? If you have to worry about Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse, whom are you going to leave?

Against Memphis, it was Pau Gasol who defended Griffin. The Mavericks responded by putting the ball in Griffin's hands.

"Teams have tried to hide a player by guarding him," Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris said. "So then we just play point-Grif, like when Gasol was on him. That lets us run any play we want to run."

The result was an efficient Mavericks offense that shredded the Grizzlies in four straight games.

Griffin knows what's next. Probably a diet of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili or Michael Finley, the players who the Spurs try to protect on defense.

"They might do that," Griffin said. "And if they do, I just have to be aggressive and active and look for the opportunities. Avery talked to me before the Memphis series that they might do that with Gasol. So he had some plays ready just in case they did. And it worked out."

The playoffs are Griffin's time of year. Not because he's a superstar who raises his game to otherworldly levels. But because he is the hard worker who will do whatever job is asked of him.

He's like scrubbing bubbles, working in places nobody else wants to work.

Against Memphis, the 6-5 swingman averaged 5.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 55.6 percent from the field, putting in 25 minutes per game.

He embodies what coach Avery Johnson, his staff and the playoffs are about – attention to detail.

"Little things become bigger things in the playoffs, and he was a quiet, big factor in the Memphis series," Harris said. "And regardless of who we play in the next series, we think he can be a good part of what we need to do."

"The main thing," Harris said, "is that Grif finds a way to contribute, whether it's defensively or getting a loose ball or rebounding."

He's not the only person on the team who does that. Centers DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier are of that ilk.

They are here to serve. And if they don't score a point, they are still like little air bubbles in the aquarium that the rest of the fish can survive off.

"We can really make a difference in a series just by being active," Griffin said. "Everybody's got their role. If we all do our part, we'll be fine."

Johnson said that Griffin's presence is part of why the Mavericks should be a confident crew headed into the second round.

"This is a great time of year for guys like Grif, Damp and Gana," Johnson said. "They've got rested legs, and they are able to concentrate on one guy and one team."

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[boutons_]

"like little air bubbles in the aquarium that the rest of the fish can survive off"

been writing long, Eddie? :lol

a language "artiste" who skipped science courses?

a silly analogy and technically wrong. :lol

[Jimcs50]

"like little air bubbles in the aquarium that the rest of the fish can survive off"

been writing long, Gerry? :lol

a language "artiste" who skipped science courses?

a silly analogy and technically wrong. :lol


That was in Eddie Sefko's article.

[Extra Stout]

Yes, the Spurs want to protect their horrible defenders like Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, by sticking them on Adrian Griffin.

And this guy writes for the DMN. Luckily for AJ, Sefko isn't in charge of scouting.

Holy shit, Spurs fans. Get ready for a solid week of Merrell Hoge-like hoops analysis from the giant knowledge vacuum up north..

[Shank]

I'll give you that Eddie could have found a better analogy. Maybe it was the 1am post time...who knows?

But show me the Pulitzer price-winning content from anything in San Antonio.

[texas84]

Yes, the Spurs want to protect their horrible defenders like Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, by sticking them on Adrian Griffin.

Duncan is a great defender. Manu... no one's scared of his D.
I point is is that the Spurs don't want their important guys getting into foul trouble against the Mavs guns. Read between the lines.

[Extra Stout]

I point is is that the Spurs don't want their important guys getting into foul trouble against the Mavs guns. Read between the lines.
Yes, you are right, but reading it that way deprives me of an opportunity to impugn the intelligence of Dallasites.