The things that still worries me from this game are...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

a) Devin Harris, we have absolutely no answer for this guy


and

b) 4th quarter execution in crunch time


yes, TD wasn' there, but to go the final 7 minutes without an FG or whatever it was, and to have absolute dumb fuck plays at the end of it was quite disheartening.



I'm happy we gutted it out even after Tim left, and I probably feel better about our chances moreso than ever, but I have a bad feeling that if its a tied game with 2 minutes left in the playoffs the Mavs might be the ones walking away with the W 9 times out of 10 in those types of scenarios.......even with TD on the floor

[T Park]

yes, TD wasn' there, but to go the final 7 minutes without an FG or whatever it was, and to have absolute dumb fuck plays at the end of it was quite disheartening.





Yeah, because, the offense is the same without Tim as it is with him....

[exstatic]

Without Tim, they play the shooters. Simple as that.

[mabber]

I'm just happy there's someone on here that wants to talk about game/matchup specifics instead of whining or gloating about a meaningless game.

Just as the Spurs don't have anyone that can guard Harris, the Mavs don't have anyone that can guard Parker.

[SPARKY]

I'm just glad there's a thread without a post from a Mavs fan trying to change the subject...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I'm just happy there's someone on here that wants to talk about game/matchup specifics instead of whining or gloating about a meaningless game.

Just as the Spurs don't have anyone that can guard Harris, the Mavs don't have anyone that can guard Parker.


yeah i'm already sick of the moral victory rant and all that. I'm still more concerned with matchups and how we look against our biggest rival this late in the season. I don't care to whine about joey crawford or whatever.


and yes, while the team is much different without TD, i refuse to believe not ONE player could hit an FG or pick up the slack when it mattered. I mean 7 minutes in the fourth without an FG? Like the AP article said, the Spurs have only themselves to blame. Yes, TD's loss hurt, but if anything, we should dug deep instead of getting outscored 10-19 thanks to the MIA play of parker, manu, finley, and barry

I refuse to believe the rest of the team is that bad on their own without TD that they commit idiotic turnovers in crunch time (though it has been a trend this season) and can't even buy a bucket or have the knowledge to take it to the rim instead of resolving to outside shots for a team that really has no mid range game despite what you read in the paper.

Having said all this, I'm very very pleased with our rebounding effort.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Without Tim, they play the shooters. Simple as that.

They didn't even have to do that. We went to a lineup at one point of

Tony
Manu
Elson
Oberto
Bowen

That killed us. We were playing two on five on offense. That's a new low, even for Pop. Where's Bonner? Where's Horry?

[td4mvp21]

Well, now we know what the Spurs would be without Duncan: a jumpshooting team. They settled way too much for jumpers. Honestly, we could have still won that game had we drawn up plays to open up the lanes. Instead, we have Parker and Ginobili settling for fadeaway jumpers over Dirk Nowitzki. That's not exactly the type of offense that wins you games in the clutch.

Now in the playoffs? I would expect better execution. The Spurs would have dumped into Duncan and worked from there. Had the Mavs doubled? Duncan would have passed it out and a wide open man would have been found and a higher percentage shot would have been shot. Had the Mavs not doubled? Duncan would have a great opportunity to score. Our defense was good; however, our offense fucked us over. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you see the same thing happening in the playoffs with Duncan on the floor-against ANY team. Not just the Mavs.

[T Park]

:lol

Pop plays two bigs and still can't win.

[SRJ]

I maintain that Devin Harris, although a difficult cover, is not as unstoppable as he appears to be.

He scored 19 of his 21 points when guarded by Vaughn and Parker was on the bench. The other two points were on an intentional foul and he converted the free throws.

[T Park]

10-19 thanks to the MIA play of parker, manu, finley, and barry

unfortuantely this is Finley's second bad shooting game in a row.

Barry?

What else do you expect.

[leemajors]

i would have liked to have seen at least some bonner in the 4th.

[mabber]

yeah i'm already sick of the moral victory rant and all that. I'm still more concerned with matchups and how we look against our biggest rival this late in the season. I don't care to whine about joey crawford or whatever.


and yes, while the team is much different without TD, i refuse to believe not ONE player could hit an FG or pick up the slack when it mattered. I mean 7 minutes in the fourth without an FG? Like the AP article said, the Spurs have only themselves to blame. Yes, TD's loss hurt, but if anything, we should dug deep instead of getting outscored 10-19 thanks to the MIA play of parker, manu, finley, and barry

I refuse to believe the rest of the team is that bad on their own without TD that they commit idiotic turnovers in crunch time (though it has been a trend this season) and can't even buy a bucket or have the knowledge to take it to the rim instead of resolving to outside shots for a team that really has no mid range game despite what you read in the paper.

Having said all this, I'm very very pleased with our rebounding effort.

I know y'all see many more Spurs game than I do, but Oberto always seems to play fairly well vs. the Mavs. He impresses me much more than Elson does but like I said, I haven't seen a lot of Spurs games.

[DarrinS]

I would say Devin and Stack. Both of those guys played very well.

[Shank]

Devin can be hit-or-miss, though. Sure he's got that quickness, but there are some nights where he simply can't buy a basket. He'll never be effective against the Spurs in a series if he's continuously in go-go-go mode. He's better as a change of pace-type guy.

It's scary to see how good Manu can be late in a game. He does manage to get a lot of calls (that's not a complaint, just part of his game and particularly good in a 4thQ), but has the knack to get good looks and knock them down when it matters.

Mavs were outrebounded and outplayed inside almost the entire game. Dampier would have helped with that, but it's still disconcerting to see this team settle for outside shots when the chance to be aggressive and drive inside would help them more.

But I must say - it was good to see a very good game today. I think we've all been a bit bored with the last 2 weeks and having the season wind down.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

:lol

Pop plays two bigs and still can't win.

This site has been up for what, for years now? You'd think that you'd have at least learned SOMETHING about basketball by now.

Oberto and Bonner are really interchangeable when it comes to defense and rebounding, but unlike Osucko, Matt can actually shoot the damn ball.

Tpark, you are hopeless.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

unfortuantely this is Finley's second bad shooting game in a row.

Barry?

What else do you expect.

I think the only team Barry cares to show up against is the Suns

otherwise you're right, he's quickly becoming useless when it matters

[AOMrep]

I don't post very often, but I have to say HELL NO!! We have something the Mavs do not have. And that my freind in Manu. He simply will not allow us to lose in big game situations. Is he perfect? No. But he is a fighter and will do everything in his power to make sure we have a legit chance to win a game. Mark my words come playoff time, WE WILL NOT LOSE.

I have so much confidence in the Spurs. And yes I live in San Antonio, but ....well I really can't put it into words. It's a sort of swagger that will make everyone wonder why they doubted the Spurs to begin with. Will we steam roll over everyone? No. But we will win the championship. And that one little series the Mavs had handed to them last year will go down as there greatest accomplishment.

I'm not retarded. The Mavs are a hellva team. But they are not a championship team. IMO, neither were the Heat. I think the Mavs caught us a little off gaurd last year and took us to the brink and pulled out what will be there greatest series, EVER. So many of you may look at this and think, what a homer this guy is. That mat be true but the Spurs WILL NOT be caught off gaurd this year.

I'm not the type of person that would come onto these boards and laugh and joke about how better than you we are. I will acknowledge a great series. But MY team and MY town will be celibrating this years championship on the Riverwalk. The trophy will be where it belongs. Home.

[T Park]

I think the only team Barry cares to show up against is the Suns

otherwise you're right, he's quickly becoming useless when it matters

oh and the warriors.

dont forget those pesky warriors.

and the trailblazers :lol

[T Park]

Oberto and Bonner are really interchangeable when it comes to defense and rebounding

Uh, no they arent.

Bonner is a terrible defender, and rebounding they are CLOSE to equal I'll agree on that.

[Trifecta]

What's painful to watch is that without TD in the game, the Mavs defenders could afford to pack the middle and challenge Ginobili and Parker when driving.

I was pleased with Elson's effort but he is just not a large threat for offensive rebounding and putbacks.

Oberto! Other than setting screens out top, I just did not see a whole lot from him today (although, I did miss some portions of the game).

I hope barry finds his rhythm after being absent!

Devin Harris had a good game -- tough to stop the Mavs when he is on!

[smrattler]

Devin was nowhere until that Spurs series last year. He had an unbelieveable series and he and Howard (scoring/rebounding) and Stack's bench points are what kept them in and eventually won the series. But I haven't seen anything like this since that series last year either from him. He's lacked total confidence in his jumper (although supposedly improving) and I figured they'd back off him and make him a non-factor in the playoffs. Well, this wasnt the playoffs.

Maybe they'll take notes and realize he hasnt done this much this season and learn to make him take those shots he doesnt want to take. Getting the bigs to run back a little faster when he's out there would help. He had TP mentality basically, if he can get upcourt faster than the bigs, he's taking his man to the rim. They take that away from TP and everyone else in the playoffs, so, it's not that big of a deal for me.

[picnroll]

Harris did most of his damage pushing the ball not in the half court. Spurs were lazy getting back in the second quarter. They also got hurt by turnovers and misses at the rim coming back at them. they'll have to be careful with the ball and get back like they do against the Suns.

[tlongII]

They are called The Big 3. Not The Big 2.

[SPARKY]

Nothing worries me about this game.

[ShoogarBear]

On the positive side, they won the boards for a change. And--except for the spurts when they kept handing the ball over to them--they were able to keep the Mavs out of the lane and make them jump shooters.

That's Spurs Basketball. And that's what they'll have to continue to do to beat Dallas.

[T Park]

Honestly what were the worries about going against the Mavs in a playoff series.

Rebounding, defense, and guarding Dirk.


You cannot tell me today's game didn't make you feel 1000 times better about the 3 above.

The rebounding while it stunk int he first quarter got even better 2nd through 4th.

The D was good, and Dirk had to take what ws it, 19 shots for 20 points or something?

GOOD THING!!!

[T Park]

On the positive side, they won the boards for a change. And--except for the spurts when they kept handing the ball over to them--they were able to keep the Mavs out of the lane and make them jump shooters.

That's Spurs Basketball


You can't tell me that didn't get you all warm and fuzzy inside.

WE HAD OUR BOYS BACK!!!
:lol

[aaronstampler]

What wasn't I happy with? Let's see...

Obviously we allowed way too much transition garbage to Harris, but he was due for a game against us. The guy leads the league in +/- per minute and he's been absolutely atrocious the past three games against us, so it's only natural that he had one good game. I think we can clean up most of our mistakes against him by simply taking care of the ball better.

In the half court we were very, very good defensively. We outrebounded Dallas and held them to 44%, even with all of their lay-ups, with Duncan not playing the last 15 minutes. I was pleased with the play of all the bigs, including Horry. It would've been nice to see Bonner in the 4th. Maybe he could've hit a three or gotten an offensive rebound or something.

Really my biggest complaint is that we played smallball for half the 4th quarter for no reason. Our bigs were doing a great job. If Elson/Oberto were tired then Pop should've played Horry or Bonner.

Offensively Tony had a couple too many turnovers and forced a half dozen shots, but he sank a bunch of jumpers and had some nice lay-ups too. He wasn't great or terrible, just average for him. We need Finley and Barry to shoot better from three. Manu too. We were awful from three today and it kept Dallas in the game. But give them credit for not giving us that many clean looks. We had a few, but about half as much as we usually get.

We ran too much isolation, especially in the 4th with Tim out, and I guess part of it was Pop wanting to be vanilla and part of it was desperation. Didn't see much movement out there from Fin or Brent. It looked like Pop totally took the foot off the pedal in the 4th, coaching wise.

If we play our A game we'll beat any team in the NBA, including Dallas. But the Mavs do a good job of getting you out of your A game.

[DubMcDub]

The D was good, and Dirk had to take what ws it, 19 shots for 20 points or something?

GOOD THING!!!

10-21 From the field. Almost 50%. About on par with the series last year overall, as well as both games in SA earlier this year that the Mavs won.

...but congrats?

[T Park]

but he had 20 or 22 points?

taking 21 to get 20 or 22 is not good. :lol

[DubMcDub]

but he had 20 or 22 points?

taking 21 to get 20 or 22 is not good. :lol

Shooting almost 50% IS good.

Only difference is he didn't get as many foul shots as usual. And with good cause--why would he take it to the lane with any semblence of reckless abandon or aggression when the game meant nothing outside of pride and bragging rights?

[CharlieMac]

a) Devin Harris, we have absolutely no answer for this guy


and

b) 4th quarter execution in crunch time


yes, TD wasn' there, but to go the final 7 minutes without an FG or whatever it was, and to have absolute dumb fuck plays at the end of it was quite disheartening.



I'm happy we gutted it out even after Tim left, and I probably feel better about our chances moreso than ever, but I have a bad feeling that if its a tied game with 2 minutes left in the playoffs the Mavs might be the ones walking away with the W 9 times out of 10 in those types of scenarios.......even with TD on the floor

What's funny is Harris has been playing at a subpar level all season. I hate that tater tot.

[aaronstampler]

What's funny is Harris has been playing at a subpar level all season. I hate that tater tot.


You're insane. Harris has been their 3rd best player all year. He LEADS THE LEAGUE in +/- per minute.

[aaronstampler]

but he had 20 or 22 points?

taking 21 to get 20 or 22 is not good. :lol

unless Tony does it.

[wildbill2u]

I haven't seen anything about Elson's defense. I was watching him on their pick and rolls Several times he'd fall off on the guard or SF who would then go to the sideline or corner. He stood there like a deer in the headlights without making a move to cover the guy in the corner and without doubleteaming on Dirk.

Unless he was following instructions and Pop told him to stand halfway between either guy with a thumb up his ass, he didn't look like he had a clue. They will exploit his inexperience on the perimeter defense in the playoffs

He was a little better when he was down deep in the paint, but then I guess he's used to that.

[unknown09]

A)the refs don't want the spurs to beat the mavs so bad so the prevent the spurs to win


B)all mavs players and fans r gay


c)mark cuban digs joey crawford....did I mention (rumor)someone saw mark blowing kisses to joey

[SenorSpur]

Devin was nowhere until that Spurs series last year. He had an unbelieveable series and he and Howard (scoring/rebounding) and Stack's bench points are what kept them in and eventually won the series. But I haven't seen anything like this since that series last year either from him. He's lacked total confidence in his jumper (although supposedly improving) and I figured they'd back off him and make him a non-factor in the playoffs. Well, this wasnt the playoffs.

Maybe they'll take notes and realize he hasnt done this much this season and learn to make him take those shots he doesnt want to take. Getting the bigs to run back a little faster when he's out there would help. He had TP mentality basically, if he can get upcourt faster than the bigs, he's taking his man to the rim. They take that away from TP and everyone else in the playoffs, so, it's not that big of a deal for me.

Harris' forays to the hoop looked EXACTLY as it did last year during the WCSF. By now you'd think someone would actually FOUL the guy and prevent a 3-pt play. Harris is a talented, rapidly-developing, young player - but he's NOT unstoppable. Foul him HARD. Put him on his ass a few times. Not to hurt him, but to send him a message. Hell, the Mavs do not consistently allow TP to get to the rim without some measure of a hard foul.

Obviously, this is strategy that Avery coaches. It's strange that Pop doesn't subscribe to this philosophy. I watch my share of Mavs games. For whatever reason, he seems to give the Spurs more problems than most. I'm so sick of the Spurs letting this guy get to the basket on along with an and-1.

[Capt Bringdown]

One fear is the way Manu plays against the Mavs. I'm seeing less of his so-called incredible will to win and more of his ability to make awful mistakes.

[gilmor]

I don't post very often, but I have to say HELL NO!! We have something the Mavs do not have. And that my freind in Manu. He simply will not allow us to lose in big game situations. Is he perfect? No. But he is a fighter and will do everything in his power to make sure we have a legit chance to win a game. Mark my words come playoff time, WE WILL NOT LOSE.

I have so much confidence in the Spurs. And yes I live in San Antonio, but ....well I really can't put it into words. It's a sort of swagger that will make everyone wonder why they doubted the Spurs to begin with. Will we steam roll over everyone? No. But we will win the championship. And that one little series the Mavs had handed to them last year will go down as there greatest accomplishment.

I'm not retarded. The Mavs are a hellva team. But they are not a championship team. IMO, neither were the Heat. I think the Mavs caught us a little off gaurd last year and took us to the brink and pulled out what will be there greatest series, EVER. So many of you may look at this and think, what a homer this guy is. That mat be true but the Spurs WILL NOT be caught off gaurd this year.

I'm not the type of person that would come onto these boards and laugh and joke about how better than you we are. I will acknowledge a great series. But MY team and MY town will be celibrating this years championship on the Riverwalk. The trophy will be where it belongs. Home.

Extremely well said.. I have the same opinion about my Spurs.. and I just hated how people playing Parker vs Manu all the freaking time..

[The_Worlds_finest]

Without Tim, they play the shooters. Simple as that.
Enter James White!

Nah joking...Spurs had a poor game with some pretty poor shot selection. And ofcourse when every the Keystone of your team is missing something is gonna give.(ask kobe :spin )