SenorSpur
05-06-2007, 09:52 AM
Wanna know why the Spurs should miss Stephen Jackson, even if they say they don't? Observe this article and the comments from Kevin Willis below.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/ksherrington/stories/050607dnsposherrington.369cf79.html
Kevin Sherrington is a sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News.
Mavericks could use a few gamers
12:16 AM CDT on Sunday, May 6, 2007
Summer vacation comes unexpectedly for the Mavs, who already have plans.
Jason Terry expects another addition to the family. Gana Diop hits the weights and tries to add a low-post game.
Devin Harris looks for a jump shot. Still.
Jerry Stackhouse looks for a job.
Dirk Nowitzki waits to hear if he's the MVP, and prays he won't have to show up to accept it.
Avery Johnson? He's not saying exactly, but it isn't hard to guess, either.
He's pressing his owner to find some new players. Athletic, edgy, mentally tough players.
Players like the ones that just whipped his guys, who played softer than the ManiAACs.
"We've got to take a hard look at this roster, especially as it relates to matching up against teams like Golden State," Johnson said. "If we meet them again in the playoffs or the regular season, we've got to have more confidence than what I saw in our team."
Maybe this seems like an overreaction to you. Doesn't the regular season mean anything?
Can't we all just get along without the playoffs?
As odd as it seems in a town where there isn't a lot of laundry hanging from arena rafters, no, we can't.
No one understands the fickle nature of consumers better than Mark Cuban. Still, he says he won't let his head coach talk him into blowing up the team like he did in 2003.
Maybe it was just a shot at Don Nelson. You also hear how hard it would be to churn the Mavs' roster.
They're tied up in so many long-term deals, they'd need a machete to hack their way out.
Unless it comes to Steve Nash, anyway.
Bottom line: Cuban needs to listen to his coach, because Johnson knows what he's talking about.
Maybe that's not what you want to hear, either. Maybe you're not so wild about Johnson. His small lineup in Game 1 didn't bother me as much as his counterpunches. He never figured out how to find a comfort zone for Nowitzki. He double-teamed Baron Davis too late. He should have gone with Diop sooner.
And while we're at it, he needs to stop talking about what he did as a point guard.
You're a coach now, Avery. A father, too. You know how kids don't want to hear how tough you had it, walking five miles to school and fending off wild animals along the way. Players are like kids. They tune you out if you don't have something relevant about what's happening right now, much less what you did 10 years ago.
Even if you have a point, it doesn't matter. And Johnson has an excellent point.
He says he's surprised to hear so many of his players admit they lost their confidence. He doesn't get it. But he knows it's not something you can teach.
Kevin Willis credits an edgy, athletic teammate in San Antonio for much of the Spurs' success.
A guy named Stephen Jackson.
Tough guys don't necessarily have to be hotheads. Only Stackhouse brings the quality in Dallas, and he's on his last legs.
A cold-blooded, gimme-the-ball or get-out-of-my-way quality needs to come from somewhere in the eight-man rotation. Neither Nowitzki nor Josh Howard has it. And that's one of the reasons they make such good teammates.
Unfortunately, good citizenship doesn't get you any points on a basketball court.
Comments out of the Bay Area indicated that Nowitzki was actually scared of Jackson.
Unnerved, is more like it.
Maybe you remember Nowitzki's pitiful comment after Game 1, when he said the Warriors were "jumping around like madmen."
Hey, Dirk: Get used to it, because this is where the NBA is going.
Phoenix plays with even better athletes. If you're trying to build a better basketball team, which model do you use?
The Mavericks, with the only 7-foot 3-point shooter in captivity?
Or the Warriors and Suns, who rely on great point guards and a bunch of gamers?
Consider TNT analyst Steve Kerr's comments. He asked how Rockets center Yao Ming would handle the Warriors if they met in the second round.
The Rockets have the NBA's best center, and he'll be a liability?
Only when he's not surrounded by tough, athletic players. Nowitzki isn't, and that's why summer's already here.
Churning the roster bottom won't fix the problem. Bring in a true point guard who can get Nowitzki the ball where he wants it. Add an athletic gamer to come off the bench. A personality transplant wouldn't hurt, either
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/ksherrington/stories/050607dnsposherrington.369cf79.html
Kevin Sherrington is a sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News.
Mavericks could use a few gamers
12:16 AM CDT on Sunday, May 6, 2007
Summer vacation comes unexpectedly for the Mavs, who already have plans.
Jason Terry expects another addition to the family. Gana Diop hits the weights and tries to add a low-post game.
Devin Harris looks for a jump shot. Still.
Jerry Stackhouse looks for a job.
Dirk Nowitzki waits to hear if he's the MVP, and prays he won't have to show up to accept it.
Avery Johnson? He's not saying exactly, but it isn't hard to guess, either.
He's pressing his owner to find some new players. Athletic, edgy, mentally tough players.
Players like the ones that just whipped his guys, who played softer than the ManiAACs.
"We've got to take a hard look at this roster, especially as it relates to matching up against teams like Golden State," Johnson said. "If we meet them again in the playoffs or the regular season, we've got to have more confidence than what I saw in our team."
Maybe this seems like an overreaction to you. Doesn't the regular season mean anything?
Can't we all just get along without the playoffs?
As odd as it seems in a town where there isn't a lot of laundry hanging from arena rafters, no, we can't.
No one understands the fickle nature of consumers better than Mark Cuban. Still, he says he won't let his head coach talk him into blowing up the team like he did in 2003.
Maybe it was just a shot at Don Nelson. You also hear how hard it would be to churn the Mavs' roster.
They're tied up in so many long-term deals, they'd need a machete to hack their way out.
Unless it comes to Steve Nash, anyway.
Bottom line: Cuban needs to listen to his coach, because Johnson knows what he's talking about.
Maybe that's not what you want to hear, either. Maybe you're not so wild about Johnson. His small lineup in Game 1 didn't bother me as much as his counterpunches. He never figured out how to find a comfort zone for Nowitzki. He double-teamed Baron Davis too late. He should have gone with Diop sooner.
And while we're at it, he needs to stop talking about what he did as a point guard.
You're a coach now, Avery. A father, too. You know how kids don't want to hear how tough you had it, walking five miles to school and fending off wild animals along the way. Players are like kids. They tune you out if you don't have something relevant about what's happening right now, much less what you did 10 years ago.
Even if you have a point, it doesn't matter. And Johnson has an excellent point.
He says he's surprised to hear so many of his players admit they lost their confidence. He doesn't get it. But he knows it's not something you can teach.
Kevin Willis credits an edgy, athletic teammate in San Antonio for much of the Spurs' success.
A guy named Stephen Jackson.
Tough guys don't necessarily have to be hotheads. Only Stackhouse brings the quality in Dallas, and he's on his last legs.
A cold-blooded, gimme-the-ball or get-out-of-my-way quality needs to come from somewhere in the eight-man rotation. Neither Nowitzki nor Josh Howard has it. And that's one of the reasons they make such good teammates.
Unfortunately, good citizenship doesn't get you any points on a basketball court.
Comments out of the Bay Area indicated that Nowitzki was actually scared of Jackson.
Unnerved, is more like it.
Maybe you remember Nowitzki's pitiful comment after Game 1, when he said the Warriors were "jumping around like madmen."
Hey, Dirk: Get used to it, because this is where the NBA is going.
Phoenix plays with even better athletes. If you're trying to build a better basketball team, which model do you use?
The Mavericks, with the only 7-foot 3-point shooter in captivity?
Or the Warriors and Suns, who rely on great point guards and a bunch of gamers?
Consider TNT analyst Steve Kerr's comments. He asked how Rockets center Yao Ming would handle the Warriors if they met in the second round.
The Rockets have the NBA's best center, and he'll be a liability?
Only when he's not surrounded by tough, athletic players. Nowitzki isn't, and that's why summer's already here.
Churning the roster bottom won't fix the problem. Bring in a true point guard who can get Nowitzki the ball where he wants it. Add an athletic gamer to come off the bench. A personality transplant wouldn't hurt, either