Solid D
12-01-2004, 02:45 AM
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/120104dnspomavslede.ac45afac.html
The sting of earning spurs: San Antonio routs Mavs
01:06 AM CST on Wednesday, December 1, 2004
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
If Bill Parcells had been coaching Tuesday, he'd have put Don Nelson back in at halftime.
It was that kind of initiation for Avery Johnson, who started his coaching career by watching too many turnovers, missed shots, mental errors and defensive breakdowns.
Johnson, Nelson or Red Auerbach all would have witnessed the same outcome on a night when the Mavericks went down hard to the San Antonio Spurs, falling 107-89 to a division rival that seems head and shoulders above the Mavericks after sweeping two meetings in a week.
"I hated to put him in that position, but I thought we'd win the game," said Nelson, who ceded the big seat on the bench to Johnson for the first time. "But the Spurs were so good, they made us look bad. We're not that bad, but they may be that good.
"On a scale of 1-to-10, I'd give Avery a 7. And he'll get better and better."
The Mavericks fell behind, 28-14, a minute into the second quarter and made only one significant run, drawing within four points at the end of the third quarter. When the Spurs scored the first seven points of the fourth, the crowd and the team were out of it.
Johnson said his first foray into head coaching was exciting. Fun? That was another issue.
"You get ... [mad] that you lose," he said. "That doesn't sit well with me. It never did as a player."
The Mavericks' home record dropped to 5-3 because they had a season-high 22 turnovers, just 10 assists and allowed 27 fast-break points. They now trail the Spurs by 2 ½ games in the Southwest Division.
"I don't know how many statement games there are in November," Johnson said. "But we're down 0-2 to those guys We have a very good basketball team here. But you didn't see that tonight."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/12-01-2004.ns_01MavsAvery.GCL1G52G7.1.jpg
Photos by BRAD LOPER/DMN
While Avery Johnson directs the show as head coach, Don Nelson keeps his hands to himself.
Johnson acknowledged he was a little anxious going into the game. Not near as anxious as his team was, given that they never led and were down by double digits most of the way.
It was odd seeing Johnson running the show. Even Nelson had a flashback. When Marquis Daniels was called for a foul 3:26 into the game, Nelson jumped off the bench and railed at the refs. He quickly caught himself and sheepishly backed off, allowing Johnson to continue showing his displeasure with the call.
"Nellie can do this stuff in his sleep," Johnson said. "This is not like riding a bike for me, like if I had to put on a uniform. That would be like riding a bike."
As for the players, they didn't notice that much difference from Johnson's coaching to Nelson's style.
"He did everything like Nellie," said Josh Howard. "He was aggressive and told us where to be on offense and defense.
"It comes down to the players. It was on us tonight, and we didn't respond."
It was the sixth consecutive game in which the Mavericks have failed to hit 100 points and their fifth this season below 90. They are 0-5 in those games after failing to hit 90 only five times all of last season.
"It wasn't a very good game we played," said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds but, like everybody else, was taken out of his game by the Spurs' defense. "We couldn't make any shots. We turned the ball over, it felt like 50 times. It's hard to win a game like that."
E-mail [email protected]
The sting of earning spurs: San Antonio routs Mavs
01:06 AM CST on Wednesday, December 1, 2004
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
If Bill Parcells had been coaching Tuesday, he'd have put Don Nelson back in at halftime.
It was that kind of initiation for Avery Johnson, who started his coaching career by watching too many turnovers, missed shots, mental errors and defensive breakdowns.
Johnson, Nelson or Red Auerbach all would have witnessed the same outcome on a night when the Mavericks went down hard to the San Antonio Spurs, falling 107-89 to a division rival that seems head and shoulders above the Mavericks after sweeping two meetings in a week.
"I hated to put him in that position, but I thought we'd win the game," said Nelson, who ceded the big seat on the bench to Johnson for the first time. "But the Spurs were so good, they made us look bad. We're not that bad, but they may be that good.
"On a scale of 1-to-10, I'd give Avery a 7. And he'll get better and better."
The Mavericks fell behind, 28-14, a minute into the second quarter and made only one significant run, drawing within four points at the end of the third quarter. When the Spurs scored the first seven points of the fourth, the crowd and the team were out of it.
Johnson said his first foray into head coaching was exciting. Fun? That was another issue.
"You get ... [mad] that you lose," he said. "That doesn't sit well with me. It never did as a player."
The Mavericks' home record dropped to 5-3 because they had a season-high 22 turnovers, just 10 assists and allowed 27 fast-break points. They now trail the Spurs by 2 ½ games in the Southwest Division.
"I don't know how many statement games there are in November," Johnson said. "But we're down 0-2 to those guys We have a very good basketball team here. But you didn't see that tonight."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/12-01-2004.ns_01MavsAvery.GCL1G52G7.1.jpg
Photos by BRAD LOPER/DMN
While Avery Johnson directs the show as head coach, Don Nelson keeps his hands to himself.
Johnson acknowledged he was a little anxious going into the game. Not near as anxious as his team was, given that they never led and were down by double digits most of the way.
It was odd seeing Johnson running the show. Even Nelson had a flashback. When Marquis Daniels was called for a foul 3:26 into the game, Nelson jumped off the bench and railed at the refs. He quickly caught himself and sheepishly backed off, allowing Johnson to continue showing his displeasure with the call.
"Nellie can do this stuff in his sleep," Johnson said. "This is not like riding a bike for me, like if I had to put on a uniform. That would be like riding a bike."
As for the players, they didn't notice that much difference from Johnson's coaching to Nelson's style.
"He did everything like Nellie," said Josh Howard. "He was aggressive and told us where to be on offense and defense.
"It comes down to the players. It was on us tonight, and we didn't respond."
It was the sixth consecutive game in which the Mavericks have failed to hit 100 points and their fifth this season below 90. They are 0-5 in those games after failing to hit 90 only five times all of last season.
"It wasn't a very good game we played," said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds but, like everybody else, was taken out of his game by the Spurs' defense. "We couldn't make any shots. We turned the ball over, it felt like 50 times. It's hard to win a game like that."
E-mail [email protected]