Dallas can't beat the Suns

[tlongII]

I think this is obvious by now. The Mavs just can't get it done against Phoenix. Their only hope is for the Spurs to take them out in the Conference Semis. Too bad that won't happen.

[JMarkJohns]

They didn't have Dampier. Trust me, that mattered this game. I'm excited at some aspects of the last two games, but the Suns got killed by offensive rebounding with Dampier playing and without today. As long as they can somewhat limit the Suns offensively and crash the offensive boards, they'll be in every game they play vs. Phoenix.

[pking]

Because of this game and the fact that they beat us in Double Overtime a few weeks ago that means we're incapable of beating them, eh?

Your logic is incredible.

[lefty]

:wtf :wtf :wtf

Blazers fans don't know anything about basketball :donkey

[Findog]

Because of this game and the fact that they beat us in Double Overtime a few weeks ago that means we're incapable of beating them, eh?

Your logic is incredible.

Troll alert!

I'll bite...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261109021

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261228006

Any series between these two teams is going 6,7 games. Beyond that is speculation. Phoenix shot 65% from the floor. Nobody is going to beat them when they do that.

[mavsfan1000]

The key reasons why Dallas looked bad today. No Dampier, Howard playing with a sprained ankle, Dirk playing with a sprained ankle, and Harris being a no show. Hopefully all 4 things are fixed when the mavs go into the playoffs.

[lefty]

The key reasons why Dallas looked bad today. No Dampier, Howard playing with a sprained ankle, Dirk playing with a sprained ankle, and Harris being a no show. Hopefully all 4 things are fixed when the mavs go into the playoffs.

I agree

[AZLouis]

I think this is obvious by now. The Mavs just can't get it done against Phoenix. Their only hope is for the Spurs to take them out in the Conference Semis. Too bad that won't happen.

Dallas beat'em twice this season.

And I believe the series is 12-11 (Suns) since Nash went back to Phoenix.

So yes Dallas can beat'em.

[ponky]

They didn't have Dampier. Trust me, that mattered this game. I'm excited at some aspects of the last two games, but the Suns got killed by offensive rebounding with Dampier playing and without today. As long as they can somewhat limit the Suns offensively and crash the offensive boards, they'll be in every game they play vs. Phoenix.

congrats on the win SUNS fan, lol! you guys played well today. i just woke up from napping and i couldn't wait to watch the spurs/pacers second half that i tivoed, wtf is with that score?!?!?! thank you pacers, i'm actually in a good mood right now!

[mFFL03]

wow, the series for the season is 2-2 and suddenly its a no-brainer that one is superior over the other

[tlongII]

The Suns have won the last 2 games. The games that really mattered! Dallas has no chance against Phoenix.

[SAtown]

congrats on the win SUNS fan, lol! you guys played well today. i just woke up from napping and i couldn't wait to watch the spurs/pacers second half that i tivoed, wtf is with that score?!?!?! thank you pacers, i'm actually in a good mood right now!

Silly. Don't make me go 'Ponky' on you and defend the Spurs against anyone and everyone that says anything bad about them.

[ponky]

Silly. Don't make me go 'Ponky' on you and defend the Spurs against anyone and everyone that says anything bad about them.

i know how to defend my team well, go at it and i'll drop some pwnage on you. anyway, i'm not sitting in the spurs forum laughing at the spurs fans for their team's loss, i made one comment in a different thread. imo, i think lots of people overreact about losses this late in the season. granted, i haven't watched the second half of that game but i'm going to in a bit to see what went wrong. i'm just happy we finally clinched the division (yes, i celebrate the smaller things) and that the spurs lost...i never said anything negative about the spurs' ball right now, they're for the most part playing great ball and have really picked it up since the all-star break. as long as the spurs stick to their great D and come to play, i expect they'll win on thursday.

[Fillmoe]

dallas cant beat GS either

[SAtown]

i know how to defend my team well, go at it and i'll drop some pwnage on you. anyway, i'm not sitting in the spurs forum laughing at the spurs fans for their team's loss, i made one comment in a different thread. imo, i think lots of people overreact about losses this late in the season. granted, i haven't watched the second half of that game but i'm going to in a bit to see what went wrong. i'm just happy we finally clinched the division (yes, i celebrate the smaller things) and that the spurs lost...i never said anything negative about the spurs' ball right now, they're for the most part playing great ball and have really picked it up since the all-star break. as long as the spurs stick to their great D and come to play, i expect they'll win on thursday.

:smokin Just kiddin with you Ponky. I'm probably a bigger homer than most on this board. And yes, I agree that people get bent outa shape over late season losses. I just wanted to poke a little fun at the other TX team that lost a bad game today.

[mavs>spurs2]

Seriously people it's all about matchups and I feel fairly confident that S.A. matches up great against Phoenix and will eliminate them before we have to worry about it ourselves. But if for some reason it is Dallas vs Phoenix in the WCF you can expect it to be a dogfight.

[ponky]

:smokin Just kiddin with you Ponky. I'm probably a bigger homer than most on this board. And yes, I agree that people get bent outa shape over late season losses. I just wanted to poke a little fun at the other TX team that lost a bad game today.

lol, it's all good, i love the smack...errr, except from stupid people like spursdynasty who just starts blabbing incoherent nonsense

[SAtown]

Seriously people it's all about matchups and I feel fairly confident that S.A. matches up great against Phoenix and will eliminate them before we have to worry about it ourselves. But if for some reason it is Dallas vs Phoenix in the WCF you can expect it to be a dogfight.

NO, it would be a _ogfight.










Sorry, had to :D

[ponky]

NO, it would be a _ogfight.

Sorry, had to :D

nice! :lol

[mFFL03]

The Suns have won the last 2 games. The games that really mattered! Dallas has no chance against Phoenix.


how did they really matter? what was on the line? the rings? the mvp? the what, 6 game lead for 1st place?

have you ever seen the movie "idiocracy"?

is it even worth acknowledging you?

[mavsfan1000]

I believe Dallas doesn't like to slow the game down against teams. Though I still think they can beat Phoenix I would prefer playing the spurs as Dallas can play at a comfortable pace. Also Dallas really doesn't have anyone on thier team to slow down Amare while Marion does a respectful job on Dirk. Terry is also a liability on defense against Nash. The things that hurt Phoenix the most are low post players and this is the one area on offense that Dallas lacks.

[nsrammstein]

Kevin Willis will shut down amare....

[SAtown]

:lmao
Kevin Willis will shut down amare....

[pussyface.]

have you ever seen the movie "idiocracy"?

the pussyface (that's me) saw idiocracy. it had scattered moments of subversive comic genius, but the plot was nebulous and nonsensical. the acting and writing also left a considerable amount to be desired. luke wilson was typically miscast, he hasn't been good in a film since The Royal Tenenbaums (which was an incredibly flawed film in it's own right; mainly it proved that Wes Anderson is "indie" indie and not hardcorepostcore indie like me).

All in all, worth a rental but not much more. It certainly isn't anywhere on the level of Waking Life or Killing Of A Chinese Bookie. Find better movies to casually drop in ST conversations, or i'll have to pwn you again n00b.

[bdictjames]

Willis for ROY

[mabber]

dallas cant beat GS either

Fortunately, the Mavs play the lame-ass Kings tomorrow night so they will not lose 2 in a row.

[to21]

thank you pacers, i'm actually in a good mood right now!

thank you suns, i'm actually in a good mood right now!

knowing you'll own the mavs in the playoffs!

[Shank]

thank you suns, i'm actually in a good mood right now!

knowing you'll own the mavs in the playoffs!

You do realize the Suns would have to beat the Spurs for them to match up with the Mavs in the playoffs, right? And seeing how your favorite team is the Spurs, I'm not sure you'd want that.

[TonyParkerSux]

thank you suns, i'm actually in a good mood right now!

knowing you'll own the mavs in the playoffs!


don't care either way, but if the Suns own the Mavs in the playoffs, then that means that they have also already beaten the Spurs.

If the standings hold as they are now, the Mavs will play the winner of the Suns/Spurs series....

[to21]

You do realize the Suns would have to beat the Spurs for them to match up with the Mavs in the playoffs, right? And seeing how your favorite team is the Spurs, I'm not sure you'd want that.

I know that......All I'm saying is they might not win the WCF not to mention the whole thing.

[mffl89]

What's the point of all these statements like Dallas can't beat the Suns and the Suns can't get past the Spurs. How would the fans have control of something like that? Just let the games be played and when your team does win the series then brag about it. BUT until then stop making stupid posts.

[Findog]

What's the point of all these statements like Dallas can't beat the Suns and the Suns can't get past the Spurs. How would the fans have control of something like that? Just let the games be played and when your team does win the series then brag about it. BUT until then stop making stupid posts.

I think the parent post was meant to troll and elicit a response. If the Holy Trinity of San Antonio/Phoenix/Dallas is to meet one another in the playoffs, all of those series would go 6 or 7 games barring injury. Nobody knows whats going to happen in the playoffs. When these teams play each other, it's a tossup. Phoenix clearly outplayed the Mavs yesterday. But their whole system is predicated on shooting well from the floor in order to win. If they shoot 60+%, they will beat anybody. If they don't shoot that well, then they're going to have trouble winning against all but the dregs of the league because they're mediocre at best on defense. Can they shoot 65% four out of seven times against San Antonio or Dallas? Possibly, but I doubt it.

Dirk had 11 points and the Mavs were run out of the building in the second half of Game Four last year against Phoenix. These kind of stinkers happen. Denver took the Suns to the woodshed a couple weeks ago and Phoenix returned the favor on Friday night. We'll see what happens in the playoffs.

[JMarkJohns]

I think the parent post was meant to troll and elicit a response. If the Holy Trinity of San Antonio/Phoenix/Dallas is to meet one another in the playoffs, all of those series would go 6 or 7 games barring injury. Nobody knows whats going to happen in the playoffs. When these teams play each other, it's a tossup. Phoenix clearly outplayed the Mavs yesterday. But their whole system is predicated on shooting well from the floor in order to win. If they shoot 60+%, they will beat anybody. If they don't shoot that well, then they're going to have trouble winning against all but the dregs of the league because they're mediocre at best on defense. Can they shoot 65% four out of seven times against San Antonio or Dallas? Possibly, but I doubt it.

Dirk had 11 points and the Mavs were run out of the building in the second half of Game Four last year against Phoenix. These kind of stinkers happen. Denver took the Suns to the woodshed a couple weeks ago and Phoenix returned the favor on Friday night. We'll see what happens in the playoffs.

This is a very good post. I'm glad to see a Mavs fan not acting so smug in his own opinion that the Mavs will easily dispatch any comer no matter what. Good take on the situation and you're exactly right. To muddy up the water even more, you can throw in that #8 seed just whooped the ever-lovin shit out of #1 Dallas, smoked the #2 Suns for 3+ quarters in a win, but got killed by #3 San Antonio.

Just shows to go ya...

Right now Dallas is on cruise control, they are a little banged up and haven't much motivation to play hard as they have everything all but wrapped up. Phoenix has been playing the up/down game with their recent opponants and San Antonio has probably been playing the best, most consistant ball of all three teams. What does this all matter come playoff time? Who the hell knows? Outside of determining homecourt, maybe nothing.

I've mentioned this several times, but the Suns defeating the Mavs in the last two meetings doesn't mean anything. They did it last season as well, then lost in the playoffs: lost the first two, won the next three (counting the first playoff game), then lost four of five.

Completely random, so no guage can be taken from the play as of now. The Conference Finals are more than a month away, still. Lots can happen in a month and a half.

[Dirk41MVP]

the queens and the blazers can't even make the playoffs, so who you talking shit to ? lol

[Amuseddaysleeper]

JMarkJohns, I always appreciate your takes :tu

[BigBinBigD]

This is a very good post. I'm glad to see a Mavs fan not acting so smug in his own opinion that the Mavs will easily dispatch any comer no matter what. Good take on the situation and you're exactly right. To muddy up the water even more, you can throw in that #8 seed just whooped the ever-lovin shit out of #1 Dallas, smoked the #2 Suns for 3+ quarters in a win, but got killed by #3 San Antonio.

Just shows to go ya...

Right now Dallas is on cruise control, they are a little banged up and haven't much motivation to play hard as they have everything all but wrapped up. Phoenix has been playing the up/down game with their recent opponants and San Antonio has probably been playing the best, most consistant ball of all three teams. What does this all matter come playoff time? Who the hell knows? Outside of determining homecourt, maybe nothing.

I've mentioned this several times, but the Suns defeating the Mavs in the last two meetings doesn't mean anything. They did it last season as well, then lost in the playoffs: lost the first two, won the next three (counting the first playoff game), then lost four of five.

Completely random, so no guage can be taken from the play as of now. The Conference Finals are more than a month away, still. Lots can happen in a month and a half.

Man, what a great and completely non-homer post. Couldn't agree with it more. Now, if I could just get some more Mavs and Spurs fans to feel this way.....nah, no hope for that. Never mind.

[Findog]

I'm glad to see a Mavs fan not acting so smug in his own opinion that the Mavs will easily dispatch any comer no matter what.

By definition, eliminating San Antonio or Phoenix will not be easy. I remember one year back in the Big Three era we took three of four from Sacramento in the regular season and they took us out in five games in the playoffs. The next year they took three of four from us in the regular season and we knocked them out in the playoffs. Detroit ran roughshod over the league in the regular season last year and thoroughly dominated Miami in their regular season matchups. So regular season games don't always reveal what we think they do. Considering Dallas has locked up the #1 seed and didn't need the win nearly as much as Phoenix did, and we were missing a couple of our guys, and it was a competitive seven point game when Dirk got hurt, I don't think yesterday means all that much in the grand scheme of things. If Avery's come up with a new wrinkle to avoid us getting repeatedly killed on the Nash-Amare pick and roll, I'm glad he choose not to unveil it yesterday.

Before the last two Phoenix wins, we had won four straight in the series dating back to last season in the playoffs. I'm sure there were Suns fans panicking and wondering if they were ever going to beat us again, just as there are almost certainly some Mavs fans crying about the sky falling this morning.

If anything, I hate that we have such a gaudy record and I'm glad we're going to clinch the #1 seed well before we come close to 70 wins. I wish it were possible to win the West with 55-60 wins. Regular season records are fools gold. All we're guaranteed is home court advantage in any series we play. It only takes 48 minutes to give away what it took 82 games to earn.

[JMarkJohns]

That's a fair assessment, but to be completely honest, I'm not really sure their is a new wrinkle to slow down a healthy Nash/Amare pic-n-roll.

Maybe a zone and hope their threes aren't failling, but that's about it.

I think the best option is to make them one-dimensional the way San Antonio did in 04-05. Make one person try and beat you. Completely nuetralizes what they try to do. If the Suns have five players with 15 points or more, they aren't losing. That's the truth. If you can limit the damage to one or two players, you've succeeded on defense. If you can do that and crash your own offensive boards, then you'll likely win. Dallas has proven they can do that pretty well. They tend to play straight up man-to-man with zone thrown in here and there. They rebound well, limiting their opponants second-chance points and inflating their own.

I'm telling you. I don't really know if either team really has an advantage in the series. The Suns can't stop their offense, because their are so many good isolation players and mismatches for Dallas to choose from. The Suns can't really crash the boards because Dallas is bigger and a better rebounding team. Dallas, meanwhile, can't really stop the pic-n-roll and can't really zone Phoenix for an extended period. They haven't proven they can successfully take the ball out of Nash's hands consistantly, nor stop Amare or Diaw when they manage to.

It will be a series of completely random successes and failures for both teams. A six game series is the minimum. The longer it goes, the more it favors Dallas. They have the better "adjustment" coach and the better depth. Suns need to win in five or six or they don't advance.

[monosylab1k]

I can live with Nash and Amare killing us. I can't live with Barbosa and Bell doing it though. Besides Dirk, Devin Harris has got to start getting his shit together. And I think that the more PT george gets, the closer he'll get to being his old self come playoff time, and that will be a huge help.

[JMarkJohns]

Not having Harris in the game is a HUGE advantage for the Mavs. It means Nash has to guard the likes of either Terry or Stackhouse. If the Suns are small during said time, it means Nash is on Terry, Barbosa on Stackhouse and Bell on Howard.

Harris is the Suns best friend in this series. Him on the floor means fewer points on the Mavs score. I'm serious. You can disagree, but I'll tell you who disagrees with you; Avery Johnson. Harris got yanked so fast to start the second half, I'll bet he's got whiplash. Harris can't effectively be himself vs. Phoenix thanks to all the athletes. Stackhouse is a Suns killer. He'll hit jumpers over Bell, post up Barbosa or take Nash off the dribble all day long and end up with 20+ points on 50+ shooting.

Harris is bench fodder in this series and I think Avery knows it. I wouldn't be surprised to see him bench Harris and start Stackhouse if'n they meet in the playoffs. Just too many scorers for Phoenix to guard.

[Findog]

That's a fair assessment, but to be completely honest, I'm not really sure their is a new wrinkle to slow down a healthy Nash/Amare pic-n-roll.

Yeah, they've played 23 times since Nash went to Phoenix. I don't know if there are any surprises left when it comes to what the other team does.


I think the best option is to make them one-dimensional the way San Antonio did in 04-05. Make one person try and beat you. Completely nuetralizes what they try to do. If the Suns have five players with 15 points or more, they aren't losing. That's the truth. If you can limit the damage to one or two players, you've succeeded on defense

I agree. The most common tactic is to stay with the bigs and give Nash open looks all day long. Guys like Marion and Amare need lots of touches in order to feel involved in the gameplan and stay active on defense. The other question I have is how closely the games will be called and how much physicality the refs will let the teams get away with. The Suns are going to have a chunk taken out of them if they manage to get past the Spurs. Most players will tell you that running up and down the court and scoring endlessly off a layup line doesn't fatigue you out, it's grinding, physical, halfcourt games that induce fatigue. Obviously if you're Dallas you want to use every bit of the shotclock when you have the ball, win the rebounding battle and get back in transition to avoid runouts. Forcing Phoenix to run their offense in a halfcourt set and actually WORK for quality shots is how you beat them. But really, these are two great teams. There are certain things Dallas is not going to be able to stop Phoenix from doing, and vice versa.


They have the better "adjustment" coach and the better depth. Suns need to win in five or six or they don't advance.

That's true, D'Antoni rolls with his seven guys and doesn't really have a Plan B if things aren't working. Of course, it usually works, so not much of a problem. I think the key for any team trying to get to the Finals is limiting how many games you play earlier in the playoffs. Dallas only has to play either Phoenix or San Antonio. The latter two teams are going to have to go through the other two heavyweights. I think that's part of why Dallas had so much trouble against Miami in the Finals. They didn't look nearly as sharp as they did against San Antonio two rounds earlier, whereas Miami really only had one genuinely tough series in the East, and that was their opener against the Bulls. I see a similar disadvantage at work for the Phoenix/San Antonio winner in the semis. It's a matter of having something left in the tank at the end.

[monosylab1k]

Harris is bench fodder in this series and I think Avery knows it.

i can't really say much to go against this. Harris' best attributes (speed and drawing fouls) get very easily neutralized by the Suns style. I think he can have a bigger impact if he plays a little smarter and can knock down a few jumpers, but i think Nash outsmarts him completely on the court.

[mavsfan1000]

Not having Harris in the game is a HUGE advantage for the Mavs. It means Nash has to guard the likes of either Terry or Stackhouse. If the Suns are small during said time, it means Nash is on Terry, Barbosa on Stackhouse and Bell on Howard.

Harris is the Suns best friend in this series. Him on the floor means fewer points on the Mavs score. I'm serious. You can disagree, but I'll tell you who disagrees with you; Avery Johnson. Harris got yanked so fast to start the second half, I'll bet he's got whiplash. Harris can't effectively be himself vs. Phoenix thanks to all the athletes. Stackhouse is a Suns killer. He'll hit jumpers over Bell, post up Barbosa or take Nash off the dribble all day long and end up with 20+ points on 50+ shooting.

Harris is bench fodder in this series and I think Avery knows it. I wouldn't be surprised to see him bench Harris and start Stackhouse if'n they meet in the playoffs. Just too many scorers for Phoenix to guard.
Yeah I'll be the first to totally disagree with you. Harris is the only player that can bother Nash. Unfortunately the refs took him out of the game with not giving him the benefits on 2 calls in the first quarter. After that Harris never got in the flow and struggled. Terry guarding Nash spells disaster for Dallas. My choice would be to start the game with Buckner guarding Nash and than have Harris guard Nash or Barbosa off the bench.

[JMarkJohns]

He's a good player to have on the bench, but I honestly think he'll see an average of just 10-15 minutes per game if they meet in the playoffs. Stackhouse, Buckner and George will see most wing time and Terry will play for 35 minutes or more, so I don't see too many minutes as he's not a threat against Phoenix offensively and he's more of a Nash Yo-yo on defense than anything.

He can certainly make an impact when in with smarter play, but I don't think such is going to earn him much more time, save for foul trouble.

[monosylab1k]

while this is stating the very obvious, if this series vs. the Suns happens, the Mavs are going to have to put up big time points no matter how good their defense is. They're going to have to be able to hit wide open jumpers. Harris still can't do that too consistently. If he can't guard Nash, he'll stay on the bench because that's the only thing he can do to contribute against the Suns.

[mavsfan1000]

He's a good player to have on the bench, but I honestly think he'll see an average of just 10-15 minutes per game if they meet in the playoffs. Stackhouse, Buckner and George will see most wing time and Terry will play for 35 minutes or more, so I don't see too many minutes as he's not a threat against Phoenix offensively and he's more of a Nash Yo-yo on defense than anything.

He can certainly make an impact when in with smarter play, but I don't think such is going to earn him much more time, save for foul trouble.
If you know Harris's game than you would know that he is very up and down. There is no consistency from him game after game. In his last game before he got injured he was bothering the pick and roll with Nash and Amare. Dallas just was just not prepared during this game for the pick and roll and Terry and Stackhouse out there at the same was a big reason why Phoenix scored 126 points.

[JMarkJohns]

Yeah I'll be the first to totally disagree with you. Harris is the only player that can bother Nash. Unfortunately the refs took him out of the game with not giving him the benefits on 2 calls in the first quarter. After that Harris never got in the flow and struggled. Terry guarding Nash spells disaster for Dallas. My choice would be to start the game with Buckner guarding Nash and than have Harris guard Nash or Barbosa off the bench.

You can disagree, but you'd be wrong :p

He's a fine player, but if you call what he does "guarding" then your opinion of defense has become much closer to that of a Suns fan than a Spurs fan :)

Harris, for all his athleticism and ability, needs the ball to be effective on offense and just isn't quick enough mentally to adequately harrass Nash on defense. Wouldn't you rather have the ball in Dirk's, Terry's, Howard's or Stack's hands than Harris'? I would. Wouldn't you rather have Nash work at defending Stackhouse or Terry on the defensive end than get abreak by "guarding" Harris on the perimeter while he's standing? I would. Wouldn't you rather have Buckner or Howard on Nash on defense? I would.

Trust me, he's a fine player with great upside, but he's not a factor in this series. All the wishing in the world won't make him such either. This series will be determined by rebounding and isolation mismatches on Dallas' end. Harris gives you neither.

Sorry, but that's the truth.

[Dirk41MVP]

You guys bring up a VERY good point in respect with guarding the suns. I remember 2 years ago, in our 1st round series vs. the Rockets, Avery made Yao and McGrady try to beat us by themselves. We stayed home with every other player and guarded the yao/tracy duo with single coverage as well as we could. They of course had pretty big nights more often than not, but we ended up winning that series since those 2 could not carry a team against an entire potent team like dallas.

I think Avery has to think about doing something like this if we meet the solars in the playoffs. We have to make nash a pure scorer and not a scorer AND a distributor. Almost everybody in that team depends on him to get baskets CONSISTENTLY, if we allow him to be the only one to score and stay home with the rest of the guys (not helping out with nash), I think we'd have the most success.

He's going to get his points anyways, because he's a great shooter, but him getting 25+ points and 11/12+ assists will kill the mavericks every night. Let them run pick 'n roll with amare and nash all night long if they want. They go off for 30 and 40 each (like they did in march 13/14th) and we'll still have a VERY good chance to win. If they get everybody else involved and they have 4 or 5 guys scoring 20+ a night, we'll lose every time.


Diaw, Bell and marion (depending on who's guarding him) can't beat their man off the dibble. Nash might have trouble with devin's speed but devin will most likely be in foul trouble due to nash's "respect" factor in the eyes of the refs and the fact that harris is still a bonehead.... Barbosa and Stoudemire worry me more than anybody because they are pretty damn fast for their positions and can beat any of our guys off the dribble.

Letting nash get his big scoring nights, but not big scoring AND assist nights will give us a pretty good chance to win. Throw in some zone defenses and some full-court pressure to mix it up and we'll be able to slow them down just enough to win... Avery's a very good strategist and is good at making adjustments (what the playoffs are about), and plus he's a film nut, so I'm sure he'll come up with an effective scheme/game plan to slow them solars down...

[Dirk41MVP]

JMarkJohns is kinda right. Devin has great speed and defensive abilities, but the refs are not going to give him charges on nash on a consistent basis. it just won't happen.

Will he be a non-factor though ? not quite either, he'll be nothing more than role player though (aka buckner) in that series.

I disagree that the series "will be determined by rebounding and isolation mismatches on Dallas' end." only. Our defense will be a huge part too. Though we won't hold you to 90 points on 30% shooting, we also can't allow so many players to get off for that many points.

I'm eager to see what defensive schemes/game plans avery has up his sleeve, because letting nash go for 25 and 12 or 13 assists and letting everybody else go off and get involved won't get it done...

[JMarkJohns]

If playing center or power forward, Diaw can certainly take his man off the dribble, but you're correct on Marion (to a very large degree) and Bell (to an even larger one).

The reason I maintain Harris is a nonfactor is Stackhouse improves your rebounding, both offensively (a HUGE key vs. the Suns) and defensively. He's also a HUGE defensive mismatch for any Suns perimeter player, especially when playing alongside Terry and Howard, hence why I suspect he starts. Harris will no doubt play and make an impact, it just won't be a big impact. It will likely rival the impact that James Jones will have: play a solid dozen minutes or so, make a few buckets, play some solid D, be six fouls.

That's it. He just doesn't have what it is that Phoenix can't match. Stackhouse does and has used such well all season.

[mavs>spurs2]

The mavs are gonna have to come up with a better way of dealing with that Nash/Stoudemire pick and role if we want to beat them in a 7 game series. I don't see us winning if Amare continues to average 40ppg against us. Not saying we have to shut him down or anything, but we definately can't let him do whatever he wants.

[mavsfan1000]

I think Harris can still be a big factor. I just don't like him starting as he can get in early foul trouble. If you put him in at the 4 minute mark of the 1st quarter than I think he will not have to worry as much about fouling as he will have 3 fouls to give instead of 2 and Nash will be spent a little after the first 8 minutes of Buckner guarding him. I think when Howard gets his lateral movement back than he can also be thrown at Nash. I would play Harris 20-25 minutes per game against Phoenix as a spark off the bench. Also Stackhouse is not a better rebounder than Harris. They are about the same.

[JMarkJohns]

...he'll be nothing more than role player though (aka buckner) in that series.

It's hard to say that a 12-15 minute player is more than a role player. In other games, sure. In this series, I'm sorry, but he's just not going to get a lot of minutes.


I disagree that the series "will be determined by rebounding and isolation mismatches on Dallas' end." only. Our defense will be a huge part too. Though we won't hold you to 90 points on 30% shooting, we also can't allow so many players to get off for that many points.

Don't kid yourself with the defensive claim. It'll play as big a part as the Suns. Your advantage is with the rebounding, mainly offensive, and with the mismatches your isolation players create. You'll stay in games with the latter and have a great chance of dominating with the prior. The Suns will score and be in every game. The impact of the Mavs defense doesn't match the impact of their rebounding and isolation mismatches which is why I said the series will be won by Dallas on the back of those two aspects.

Both the Suns defense and Mavs defense is a wash. Don't argue with me, because the Mavericks have shot around 40% on first possessions vs. Phoenix this year. Like I said, their biggest offensive advantage (and series advantage) stems from their offensive rebounding. They KILL Phoenix on the boards. A big reason why they tally so many is all their initial misses.