Kori Ellis
01-06-2007, 03:29 AM
Mike Finger: What could come next in rivalry?
Web Posted: 01/06/2007 12:28 AM CST
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA010607.01C.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.3622d69.html
San Antonio Express-News
Josh Howard says the Spurs and Mavericks have a "good blood" relationship, and he might have a point. If a breathless string of wild finishes, a punch to the groin, a shoe to the back and a volley of insults about beloved landmarks can't spark any hate, it says something about how much the two teams genuinely respect each other.
Familiarity, it seems, doesn't always breed contempt. Sometimes, it fosters the NBA's most compelling rivalry, one that on Friday night at the AT&T Center proved it wasn't running out of steam — or surprises — yet.
How well do the Spurs and Mavs know each other? Before his team's 90-85 loss, Gregg Popovich joked that the only way he could fool Avery Johnson would be to have Tony Parker pull a Boise State-style Statue of Liberty play.
And when Friday's game came down to crunch time? It looked a lot like it did last spring. Including the Western Conference semifinals, these teams have played 10 times in eight months, and almost every meeting has been decided in the closing seconds.
That's why Johnson said he never takes his knowledge of the Spurs for granted.
"You're always concerned, you're always on the edge of your seat," Johnson said. "You always think somebody has something up their sleeve."
And as usual, Johnson's not-so-hidden ace was Dirk Nowitzki, who once again lived up to Popovich's description of him as "a big-time, big-play player." In a dozen games against the Mavs in the past year, the Spurs have tried about a dozen ways to stop him, and none have worked.
On Friday, Popovich tried to guard Nowitzki with Robert Horry. Then Fabricio Oberto. Then Tim Duncan. The Spurs fronted him and played behind him, double-teamed him and sent single coverage. And when it was over, Nowitzki still had his 36 points, including two huge shots in the closing moments.
In the grand scheme of things, Friday's game won't mean a whole lot, and Johnson acknowledged that afterwards, saying "nobody will remember this game at the end of the season."
"We don't want to get too overly excited," Johnson said. "We've won a few regular-season games before."
And while that is true, there's something different about Spurs-Mavs games, even the ones in January. It always seems like someone is setting something up for later, like the mind games Johnson played with Duncan in the second half.
When Duncan got the ball in the post, Johnson screamed at his team to double, even though he'd instructed his players not to. The yells were just a decoy, and Duncan is sure to remember that if these teams meet again in May.
And in the big picture, that's what makes this rivalry so fascinating. Last year's crotch- and back-related scrums were a nice touch, as are Mark Cuban's continued disparagements of the River Walk. But there's no real malice there, which is one reason why the "I went to the San Antonio River Walk and all I got was a rash" T-shirt Cuban wore Friday will be given to charity.
Still, the fervor of the Spurs-Mavs series can be striking even for NBA veterans.
"I didn't know San Antonio fans were this nasty," Mavs guard Devean George said after Friday's game. "Usually when I came (with the Lakers) they were nice. Maybe because they came to see Kobe."
That comment in itself proves the point Cuban keeps trying to make about how the NBA needs more Yankees-Red Sox-style rivalries, instead of matchups that revolve around singular players.
The most hyped NBA games this decade have been showdowns between the Lakers and Heat, but those have been more about Kobe and Shaq than Los Angeles and Miami.
In the Spurs and Mavs, the league has not only its best two teams, but also its most intriguing chess match. If they're not making roster moves to counter each other, they're calling out dummy signals. By May, that Statue of Liberty play Popovich joked about might actually happen.
"We've been playing each other for a while," Howard said. "You kind of know what's going on and what to expect."
And that's a good thing, even if it's nothing more than good blood.
Web Posted: 01/06/2007 12:28 AM CST
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA010607.01C.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.3622d69.html
San Antonio Express-News
Josh Howard says the Spurs and Mavericks have a "good blood" relationship, and he might have a point. If a breathless string of wild finishes, a punch to the groin, a shoe to the back and a volley of insults about beloved landmarks can't spark any hate, it says something about how much the two teams genuinely respect each other.
Familiarity, it seems, doesn't always breed contempt. Sometimes, it fosters the NBA's most compelling rivalry, one that on Friday night at the AT&T Center proved it wasn't running out of steam — or surprises — yet.
How well do the Spurs and Mavs know each other? Before his team's 90-85 loss, Gregg Popovich joked that the only way he could fool Avery Johnson would be to have Tony Parker pull a Boise State-style Statue of Liberty play.
And when Friday's game came down to crunch time? It looked a lot like it did last spring. Including the Western Conference semifinals, these teams have played 10 times in eight months, and almost every meeting has been decided in the closing seconds.
That's why Johnson said he never takes his knowledge of the Spurs for granted.
"You're always concerned, you're always on the edge of your seat," Johnson said. "You always think somebody has something up their sleeve."
And as usual, Johnson's not-so-hidden ace was Dirk Nowitzki, who once again lived up to Popovich's description of him as "a big-time, big-play player." In a dozen games against the Mavs in the past year, the Spurs have tried about a dozen ways to stop him, and none have worked.
On Friday, Popovich tried to guard Nowitzki with Robert Horry. Then Fabricio Oberto. Then Tim Duncan. The Spurs fronted him and played behind him, double-teamed him and sent single coverage. And when it was over, Nowitzki still had his 36 points, including two huge shots in the closing moments.
In the grand scheme of things, Friday's game won't mean a whole lot, and Johnson acknowledged that afterwards, saying "nobody will remember this game at the end of the season."
"We don't want to get too overly excited," Johnson said. "We've won a few regular-season games before."
And while that is true, there's something different about Spurs-Mavs games, even the ones in January. It always seems like someone is setting something up for later, like the mind games Johnson played with Duncan in the second half.
When Duncan got the ball in the post, Johnson screamed at his team to double, even though he'd instructed his players not to. The yells were just a decoy, and Duncan is sure to remember that if these teams meet again in May.
And in the big picture, that's what makes this rivalry so fascinating. Last year's crotch- and back-related scrums were a nice touch, as are Mark Cuban's continued disparagements of the River Walk. But there's no real malice there, which is one reason why the "I went to the San Antonio River Walk and all I got was a rash" T-shirt Cuban wore Friday will be given to charity.
Still, the fervor of the Spurs-Mavs series can be striking even for NBA veterans.
"I didn't know San Antonio fans were this nasty," Mavs guard Devean George said after Friday's game. "Usually when I came (with the Lakers) they were nice. Maybe because they came to see Kobe."
That comment in itself proves the point Cuban keeps trying to make about how the NBA needs more Yankees-Red Sox-style rivalries, instead of matchups that revolve around singular players.
The most hyped NBA games this decade have been showdowns between the Lakers and Heat, but those have been more about Kobe and Shaq than Los Angeles and Miami.
In the Spurs and Mavs, the league has not only its best two teams, but also its most intriguing chess match. If they're not making roster moves to counter each other, they're calling out dummy signals. By May, that Statue of Liberty play Popovich joked about might actually happen.
"We've been playing each other for a while," Howard said. "You kind of know what's going on and what to expect."
And that's a good thing, even if it's nothing more than good blood.