Jimcs50
05-15-2006, 09:34 AM
It's no time for Mavs to be smug
This is how the NBA playoffs work.
One day, you win an emotional game, and you're planning the parade route.
Next game, you get your heart ripped out, and everybody starts talking about what changes should be made before training camp opens.
Then you look up, and it's Mavericks 2, Spurs 1.
"It's like that every year," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Honestly. Every year, every round. Even the Finals last year. We won the first two, and it was like Detroit couldn't play. The Spurs were a dynasty.
"Then after the next two games, we were the most worthless people that ever lived, the players should be traded and the coach should be fired."
Even Sunday, when the Spurs were wiping away the disappointment of their Game 3 loss Saturday night, Popovich joked about the feeling. When a couple of reporters were chatting with general manager R.C. Buford, Popovich wondered what was going on.
It was a faux news conference, he was told.
"What, have I been fired already, or do I have to lose one more game?" he quipped.
That's how precarious a closely contested NBA playoff series is. And it will happen again after Game 4 tonight, when the Mavericks have a chance to push the defending champions to the brink of extinction. Or, they could find themselves stuck in a 2-2 tie going to San Antonio for Game 5.
"I guess that's why it's a seven-game series," said Michael Finley, who was on the Mavericks' side for all those years, but now finds himself down 2-1 as a Spurs reserve. "[In] college, if you have a great game that night, you can go on and be a national champion. But in the NBA, it's a series. And usually, the better team wins in that series.
"Even though you may think things are going your way for a game, it can easily change the next game. It's the team that remains mentally consistent that overrides that."
What has overridden everything so far is that the Mavericks have won twice in a row and can reach a commanding position with a win tonight.
"Three-to-one – there's not a lot of teams that have been able to come back from 3-1," Jerry Stackhouse said. "But short term, we just want to take care of home. We want to take care of these two home games, and we'll go from there."
The Mavericks have no reason not to go at tonight's meeting like the series depends on it. They rightfully are bubbling with confidence, which is really what the feeling boils down to for coaches and players after they win important playoff games.
"As long as it's not false confidence," coach Avery Johnson said. "As long as it's not fool's gold. It gives us a little confidence, because we've had some success in San Antonio. That last game that we won in San Antonio in the regular season was big."
And for a coach who spends most of his waking hours measuring his team's body language and frame of mind, Johnson likes what he sees.
"For me, it's all about me dealing with them from the mental aspect," he said. "The more they can be ready and have some confidence – not overconfidence, because we're not that good – it helps."
The Spurs aren't panicking by any stretch. They can fall back on many possessions that, had they gone a different way, would have led to a victory for San Antonio.
Nevertheless, they are on the opposite side of the Mavericks' ultra-high euphoria.
"We just had some bad breaks," Robert Horry said. "I don't panic. Basketball is basketball. You go out and play as hard as you can, and if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose.
"Think about it – if Tony [Parker] doesn't get tripped [on that late pick-and-roll], he gets an easy layup and we're up five or four, and they're in a bad situation. We just need some breaks here and there."
Consider that a subtle shot at the state of officiating in the series.
As always, one team is going to think it's worse than the other team.
This is how the NBA playoffs work.
One day, you win an emotional game, and you're planning the parade route.
Next game, you get your heart ripped out, and everybody starts talking about what changes should be made before training camp opens.
Then you look up, and it's Mavericks 2, Spurs 1.
"It's like that every year," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Honestly. Every year, every round. Even the Finals last year. We won the first two, and it was like Detroit couldn't play. The Spurs were a dynasty.
"Then after the next two games, we were the most worthless people that ever lived, the players should be traded and the coach should be fired."
Even Sunday, when the Spurs were wiping away the disappointment of their Game 3 loss Saturday night, Popovich joked about the feeling. When a couple of reporters were chatting with general manager R.C. Buford, Popovich wondered what was going on.
It was a faux news conference, he was told.
"What, have I been fired already, or do I have to lose one more game?" he quipped.
That's how precarious a closely contested NBA playoff series is. And it will happen again after Game 4 tonight, when the Mavericks have a chance to push the defending champions to the brink of extinction. Or, they could find themselves stuck in a 2-2 tie going to San Antonio for Game 5.
"I guess that's why it's a seven-game series," said Michael Finley, who was on the Mavericks' side for all those years, but now finds himself down 2-1 as a Spurs reserve. "[In] college, if you have a great game that night, you can go on and be a national champion. But in the NBA, it's a series. And usually, the better team wins in that series.
"Even though you may think things are going your way for a game, it can easily change the next game. It's the team that remains mentally consistent that overrides that."
What has overridden everything so far is that the Mavericks have won twice in a row and can reach a commanding position with a win tonight.
"Three-to-one – there's not a lot of teams that have been able to come back from 3-1," Jerry Stackhouse said. "But short term, we just want to take care of home. We want to take care of these two home games, and we'll go from there."
The Mavericks have no reason not to go at tonight's meeting like the series depends on it. They rightfully are bubbling with confidence, which is really what the feeling boils down to for coaches and players after they win important playoff games.
"As long as it's not false confidence," coach Avery Johnson said. "As long as it's not fool's gold. It gives us a little confidence, because we've had some success in San Antonio. That last game that we won in San Antonio in the regular season was big."
And for a coach who spends most of his waking hours measuring his team's body language and frame of mind, Johnson likes what he sees.
"For me, it's all about me dealing with them from the mental aspect," he said. "The more they can be ready and have some confidence – not overconfidence, because we're not that good – it helps."
The Spurs aren't panicking by any stretch. They can fall back on many possessions that, had they gone a different way, would have led to a victory for San Antonio.
Nevertheless, they are on the opposite side of the Mavericks' ultra-high euphoria.
"We just had some bad breaks," Robert Horry said. "I don't panic. Basketball is basketball. You go out and play as hard as you can, and if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose.
"Think about it – if Tony [Parker] doesn't get tripped [on that late pick-and-roll], he gets an easy layup and we're up five or four, and they're in a bad situation. We just need some breaks here and there."
Consider that a subtle shot at the state of officiating in the series.
As always, one team is going to think it's worse than the other team.