ducks
05-08-2006, 03:12 PM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5584744
Now we know the difference between a team that has the talent to win and a team that knows how to win.
Presumably, the Dallas Mavericks now have a better idea why the San Antonio Spurs have won two of the last three NBA titles.
Good decision-making gave the Spurs an 87-85 victory in the opening game of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Down by two and the clock running down, Mavs guard Jerry Stackhouse passed up an open 15-footer to tie and dribbled back beyond the three-point line deep in the corner and barely hit the rim on a play designed for Dirk Nowitzki as time ran out.
All that was left for young Mavs coach Avery Johnson to do was wonder why the Spurs bounced back strong from having clinched their first-round series Friday night at Sacramento with a noon game on Sunday. The Mavs had not played since they finished off their sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
But that was no excuse for the panic down the stretch. Not only did they have 13.9 seconds to set up a play, Johnson gave them the option to call another timeout if the play was foiled as it was. Instead, Stackhouse, who finished with 24 points, forced a bad shot.
Dallas led by as many as eight points in the third quarter, but that evaporated in a Texas minute. There were a dozen lead changes and 10 ties in the game, starring Nowitzki and the Spurs Tim Duncan, who led all scorers with 31 points. Nowitzki, who finished third in the MVP voting for the second consecutive season, had 20 points and 14 rebounds … but never got into his normal offensive rhythm.
The Mavs looked like they were going to get out and run effectively early, with Stackhouse and Josh Howard, who had 17 points and nine rebounds. But the Spurs, who had only Duncan, Tony Parker (19) and Manu Ginobili (15) in double-figures, kept the tempo more to their liking. Both coaches played 10 players by halftime, but the Mavs never were able to shake a Spurs team that had finished its last game just 36 hours earlier.
And once Duncan got it going, it was obvious why the Spurs are the only team in the NBA to advance into the second round 10 of the past 11 years — and the only time they didn't was 2000 when Duncan was out with a knee injury.
But the Mavs hung tough, as they will continue to do as the series progresses. Indeed, they have the talent to stay with the Spurs. They also have the defensive mindset to play the right kind of game now that Johnson is their coach.
What we don't know is if they have the right kind of decision-making ability on the floor to stay with a team as smart and consistent as the Spurs down the stretch of a close game.
This was just the first test, and they didn't look very sharp when it mattered most. Making the right decisions in the postseason has never been a strength for Stackhouse. But it's only one game. In a game that was there to be won against the tired Spurs, they blew it and they know it.
We'll learn even more about them in their response Tuesday night.
The stud
Spurs forward Tim Duncan dominated the Mavericks from the outset Sunday, pouring in 31 points, with 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. For all the tumult about his plantar fasciitis all season, did anyone consider he was just pacing himself for the playoffs out of experience? Evidently the Mavs did, electing not to double-team him.
The dud
Cavs guard Larry Hughes continues to struggle horribly with his shot, making just 4-of-13 in Cleveland's loss to Detroit. He is shooting just barely over 30 percent from the floor in the seven games he has played in the postseason.
The quote
"We were trying to get the ball to Dirk," Johnson said. "But if Dirk gets the ball when he is 20 feet away from the basket, we are supposed to have another option. And we just did a poor job of getting the ball to the other option. We were going for the two, and if we had nothing we knew we had a timeout."
Now we know the difference between a team that has the talent to win and a team that knows how to win.
Presumably, the Dallas Mavericks now have a better idea why the San Antonio Spurs have won two of the last three NBA titles.
Good decision-making gave the Spurs an 87-85 victory in the opening game of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Down by two and the clock running down, Mavs guard Jerry Stackhouse passed up an open 15-footer to tie and dribbled back beyond the three-point line deep in the corner and barely hit the rim on a play designed for Dirk Nowitzki as time ran out.
All that was left for young Mavs coach Avery Johnson to do was wonder why the Spurs bounced back strong from having clinched their first-round series Friday night at Sacramento with a noon game on Sunday. The Mavs had not played since they finished off their sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
But that was no excuse for the panic down the stretch. Not only did they have 13.9 seconds to set up a play, Johnson gave them the option to call another timeout if the play was foiled as it was. Instead, Stackhouse, who finished with 24 points, forced a bad shot.
Dallas led by as many as eight points in the third quarter, but that evaporated in a Texas minute. There were a dozen lead changes and 10 ties in the game, starring Nowitzki and the Spurs Tim Duncan, who led all scorers with 31 points. Nowitzki, who finished third in the MVP voting for the second consecutive season, had 20 points and 14 rebounds … but never got into his normal offensive rhythm.
The Mavs looked like they were going to get out and run effectively early, with Stackhouse and Josh Howard, who had 17 points and nine rebounds. But the Spurs, who had only Duncan, Tony Parker (19) and Manu Ginobili (15) in double-figures, kept the tempo more to their liking. Both coaches played 10 players by halftime, but the Mavs never were able to shake a Spurs team that had finished its last game just 36 hours earlier.
And once Duncan got it going, it was obvious why the Spurs are the only team in the NBA to advance into the second round 10 of the past 11 years — and the only time they didn't was 2000 when Duncan was out with a knee injury.
But the Mavs hung tough, as they will continue to do as the series progresses. Indeed, they have the talent to stay with the Spurs. They also have the defensive mindset to play the right kind of game now that Johnson is their coach.
What we don't know is if they have the right kind of decision-making ability on the floor to stay with a team as smart and consistent as the Spurs down the stretch of a close game.
This was just the first test, and they didn't look very sharp when it mattered most. Making the right decisions in the postseason has never been a strength for Stackhouse. But it's only one game. In a game that was there to be won against the tired Spurs, they blew it and they know it.
We'll learn even more about them in their response Tuesday night.
The stud
Spurs forward Tim Duncan dominated the Mavericks from the outset Sunday, pouring in 31 points, with 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. For all the tumult about his plantar fasciitis all season, did anyone consider he was just pacing himself for the playoffs out of experience? Evidently the Mavs did, electing not to double-team him.
The dud
Cavs guard Larry Hughes continues to struggle horribly with his shot, making just 4-of-13 in Cleveland's loss to Detroit. He is shooting just barely over 30 percent from the floor in the seven games he has played in the postseason.
The quote
"We were trying to get the ball to Dirk," Johnson said. "But if Dirk gets the ball when he is 20 feet away from the basket, we are supposed to have another option. And we just did a poor job of getting the ball to the other option. We were going for the two, and if we had nothing we knew we had a timeout."