Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Mavs - Dec. 5

[timvp]

Very gutsy win by the Spurs. I don’t want to blow it out of proportion since it’s still an early regular season game but it was rather nice to come away with the W. The Spurs as a team fought through their early struggles, hit their groove and then held on for the win. To take down the Dallas Mavericks without Tim Duncan after struggling as much as they did in the first half was pretty impressive.

For most teams, this would be a confident boost. But really, with the Spurs and their four championships, I don’t think any regular season win or loss stands out over others. That said, this game was at least a good exercise for the perimeter players to figure out how to operate against the Mavs’ personnel.

For the Mavs, they appear to be the same tough team. If I were a Mav Fan, I wouldn’t be too worried. Dallas looks as good as or maybe even better than last year. Brandon Bass looks like a great find and he’s someone who could really help the Mavs in the playoffs because he’s their closest thing to a low post threat. On the other side of the coin, someone needs to tell Jason Terry that this is still the regular season. Cheap shots are uncalled for in December.

-Manu Ginobili was very good. He started off a little slow and was obviously gassed in the fourth quarter, but he was lights out in the meat of the game. His play in the third quarter basically won the game for the Spurs. Terry pi$$ed him off a bit and Ginobili took it out on the Mavs’ defense. It’s exciting to think of the possibility of the Spurs in the playoffs with Ginobili playing at this level. With a healthy Duncan and Parker combined with this Ginobili, it’d be hard to beat the Spurs.

-Tony Parker’s stats aren’t that pretty but I like how he continued fighting. He missed some shots early and battled foul trouble all game. Despite that, he continued to attack. While he didn’t play particularly well, he did play hard and came up with some nice plays at the end. I thought his defense on Dirk Nowitzki when the Spurs switched on pick-and-rolls was outstanding. That was the most physical defense I’ve ever seen Parker play.

-It was a bad day for Bruce Bowen’s shot to be off but Bowen contributed well in other areas. He had a season-high eight rebounds and had a couple big steals. His defense wasn’t very good early in the game but it improved as the game progressed. It would have been nice if Bowen had hit any of his seven shots but the intensity was there and he found ways to make an impact.

-Fabricio Oberto had another solid showing. Eight points and five rebounds in 25 minutes is good work for Oberto. While his defense suffered at times and he ended up fouling out, Oberto’s pick-and-roll play was key to the victory.

-Francisco Elson was his erratic self. One second he looked really good, the next second he looked clueless. A good example was the final sequence. First, Elson comes up with a huge block against Jason Terry with under five seconds to go in the game. However, on the inbounds pass, he doesn’t switch onto Nowitzki and Nowitzki had a wide open three-pointer to win the game. Four points and two rebounds in 25 minutes isn’t anything to write home about, but that block was enough to make this a decent enough game for Elson.

-Michael Finley came off the bench for the first time this season and came away with his best performance of the season. With nobody outside of Ginobili and Parker able to do much of anything, it was Finley who stepped up and supplied just enough offense for the Spurs to win. In 32 minutes, Finley had 14 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 5-of-9 from the field including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. His defense was also better than normal and he had some big rebounds.

-Brent Barry could have really helped the Spurs by hitting some open threes, but his shot was off this game. To compound problems, Barry had one of his poorer defensive showings of the year. This wasn’t the best game for Barry to have a sub par showing, but he’s been playing well enough lately that this game is excusable.

-Jacque Vaughn had a good game. He had to play more minutes than normal due to Parker’s foul trouble and responded with a very cerebral game. He took the shots he was supposed to take and didn’t try to do too much. He’s tended to be a bit wild this season but he was very much under control this game.

-Robert Horry didn’t do much of anything out there in his six minutes. However, he did come up with a nice block – giving him three rejections in limited time this year. He obviously still has a ways to go in terms of getting into playing shape, but at least his athleticism looks to still be there.

-Matt Bonner got six minutes but was hardly noticeable. He had two points and two rebounds, both of which were offensive. As usual, his energy was there – as was his poor defense.

-Pop made some nice moves during the game. Starting Ginobili with Duncan sidelined made a lot of sense. Calling endless pick-and-rolls with either Ginobili or Parker was the right call offensively. Defensively, the switching of the pick-and-rolls worked well. Parker fought Nowitzki and the bigs were able to stay in front of the perimeter players. I’m not sure if I want that strategy in the playoffs, but it worked well enough to get this win. Pop might have played Ginobili a bit too much. Playing 39 minutes, Ginobili was visibly tired heading into the fourth quarter. On that last out of bounds play, I would have preferred Pop subbed in a more defensively savvy player in place of Elson – perhaps Horry. Overall though, good game by the Spurs. It’s still just a December victory but beating the Mavs is always a good thing.

[angel_luv]

This was a great game to be at.

I was all pumped up for this match up and it did not disappoint.

That last block by Elson. Holy Cow. Wherever that came from, more of it please.

There aren't enough words to accurately prop Gino. He is the man, pure and simple.

I loved how everyone somehow stepped up when it counted whether it be with a monster block or awesome D.

Our team rocks! :fro

I barely have a voice left but the Spurs got the win so all is well.

Go Spurs!!!!!!!!

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Timvp are you saying that foul by Terry on Parker when Parker was going full speed to the basket was flagrant-worthy? I saw it again and again and I'm still on the fence, I don't think it was that bad. As far as the elbows and checking goes, that was uncalled for, for sure.

[Duncan]

Psssssssst! 3 words.........








Mavs got Pw3nd! :lmao

[angel_luv]

Two more words.

Without Timmy. :fro

[timvp]

Timvp are you saying that foul by Terry on Parker when Parker was going full speed to the basket was flagrant-worthy? I saw it again and again and I'm still on the fence, I don't think it was that bad. As far as the elbows and checking goes, that was uncalled for, for sure.It looked like a cheap foul. Parker sucks at flopping so I think he really was knocked off balance pretty violently. That's a good way to mess up a shoulder.

But when Ginobili came over to help up Parker and push Terry away, Terry threw a chicken wing at Ginobili. And then Terry had that hard foul after the whistle on Ginobili and another time he held Ginobili's leg while he was in the air.

Terry AKA The Angry Carlton needed to be Tony Massenburg'ed or Melvin Ely'ed.


http://www.domienverschuuren.nl/images/20060824blog_tvavond.jpghttp://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/jason_terry-arton21209-240x240.jpg

[MaNuMaNiAc]

I agree with almost everything, except I don't think Manu's performance tonight gets nearly enough love here. The man was out-fucking-standing!

[RC's Boss]

Timvp are you saying that foul by Terry on Parker when Parker was going full speed to the basket was flagrant-worthy? I saw it again and again and I'm still on the fence, I don't think it was that bad. As far as the elbows and checking goes, that was uncalled for, for sure.
I don't think it was flagrant either. It was more o how Parker fell than anything. That's how Nash would've looked had his hair not got in his face and tumpled into the scorer's table :lol That said, it was a clear path foul IMO

[timvp]

I agree with almost everything, except I don't think Manu's performance tonight gets nearly enough love here. The man was out-fucking-standing!Ginobili was no doubt awesome but he's been so awesome this year it's tough coming up with new ways to say it. Like I said, he almost single-handedly won the game ... not sure what higher praise could be.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Ginobili was no doubt awesome but he's been so awesome this year it's tough coming up with new ways to say it. Like I said, he almost single-handedly won the game ... not sure what higher praise could be.
you just lack the vocabulary :smokin


:lol

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

It looked like a cheap foul. Parker sucks at flopping so I think he really was knocked off balance pretty violently. That's a good way to mess up a shoulder.

But when Ginobili came over to help up Parker and push Terry away, Terry threw a chicken wing at Ginobili. And then Terry had that hard foul after the whistle on Ginobili and another time he held Ginobili's leg while he was in the air.

Terry AKA The Angry Carlton needed to be Tony Massenburg'ed or Melvin Ely'ed.


http://www.domienverschuuren.nl/images/20060824blog_tvavond.jpghttp://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/jason_terry-arton21209-240x240.jpg
:lol
Yeah, Manu and Tony got beat up a lot but a lot of the Mavs tonight.

Definitely would have been useful to have an enforcer.

[BonnerDynasty]

-Fabricio Oberto had another solid showing. Eight points and five rebounds in 25 minutes is good work for Oberto. While his defense suffered at times and he ended up fouling out, Oberto’s pick-and-roll play was key to the victory.


-Matt Bonner got six minutes but was hardly noticeable. He had two points and two rebounds, both of which were offensive. As usual, his energy was there – as was his poor defense.



What a joke. The pick and roll play that led to 2+ turnovers? Oberto has no defense just like Bonner. The only edge he has over Bonner on defense is he knows how to take a charge like a true Argentinian and doesn't get out of position near as much as Bonner. Standing up straight and putting your arms up/taking a flop is not defense. Fuck the Bonner hate, he had a nice monster rebound.

[RC's Boss]

It looked like a cheap foul. Parker sucks at flopping so I think he really was knocked off balance pretty violently. That's a good way to mess up a shoulder.

But when Ginobili came over to help up Parker and push Terry away, Terry threw a chicken wing at Ginobili. And then Terry had that hard foul after the whistle on Ginobili and another time he held Ginobili's leg while he was in the air.

Terry AKA The Angry Carlton needed to be Tony Massenburg'ed or Melvin Ely'ed.


http://www.domienverschuuren.nl/images/20060824blog_tvavond.jpghttp://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/jason_terry-arton21209-240x240.jpg
:lol I think it was Tony's speed that made him hit the ground so hard. But they are both the anti-Dirks. If he falls he quits going to the inside. What a choker :smokin

[Budkin]

Werd, Terry is a piece of shit and this game cemented that even further for me. The dude needs his face punched in.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Ginobili was no doubt awesome but he's been so awesome this year it's tough coming up with new ways to say it. Like I said, he almost single-handedly won the game ... not sure what higher praise could be.
:lol

yeah, he definitely won it for us on that 3rd quarter run

[SequSpur]

Ginobili did win the game. Period, all by himself...

Parker was a lunatic out there.

[RC's Boss]

Both meaning Manu and Tony...

[timvp]

What a joke. Oberto has no defense just like Bonner. The only edge he has over Bonner is he knows how to take a charge like a true Argentinian and doesn't get out of position near as much as Bonner. Standing up straight and putting your arms up/taking a flop is not defense. Fuck the Bonner hate, he had a nice monster rebound.You were just getting rebounds you were supposed to get.

[sa_kid20]

Manu was simply amazing tonight as far as him being a first option kinda guy he can when he needs to be like tonight. Obviously when you have Tim Duncan on your team you don't have to score 37 a night. As far as Parker goes i mean he's good and everything but what the hell was he doing tonight? He tried to go 1 on 5 time after time and it just wasn't working. He finally started scoring when he started taking jumpers. Don't get me wrong i love tony it just seems like he put to much pressure on himself to score tonight with Tim out and it was actully hurting us rater than helping.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

It looked like a cheap foul. Parker sucks at flopping so I think he really was knocked off balance pretty violently. That's a good way to mess up a shoulder.

But when Ginobili came over to help up Parker and push Terry away, Terry threw a chicken wing at Ginobili. And then Terry had that hard foul after the whistle on Ginobili and another time he held Ginobili's leg while he was in the air.

Terry AKA The Angry Carlton needed to be Tony Massenburg'ed or Melvin Ely'ed.


http://www.domienverschuuren.nl/images/20060824blog_tvavond.jpghttp://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/jason_terry-arton21209-240x240.jpg

Duuuude
man you post all the good shit but i swear you and I think on the same page

I was just telling my chick after the 2nd quarter was what this team lacked was that big strong semi-muscular player to knock a Maverick on his ass with no regard to any context in the game. Not injury-wise but just to knock those fools on their asses. And we don't have that. And we haven't since Tony Massenberg. It took long enough to explain to her who Massenberg was and his context in this era of spursdom but the point remains the same:


WE HAVE NO ENFORCER!!!!

[RC's Boss]

Ginobili did win the game. Period, all by himself...

Parker was a lunatic out there.
I saw Eva in the crowd. Tony probably hit that in Pop's office before the game, so he came out a bit sluggish at first, but he shook the afterglow off and got down to business.

[Ariel]

What a joke. Oberto has no defense just like Bonner.

Fuck the Bonner hate, he had a nice monster rebound.
Matt says thanks, but he asks that you not defend him anymore. :lol

[G-Nob]

I agree with almost everything, except I don't think Manu's performance tonight gets nearly enough love here. The man was out-fucking-standing!


A man amongst boys tonight.

[BonnerDynasty]

Duuuude
man you post all the good shit but i swear you and I think on the same page

I was just telling my chick after the 2nd quarter was what this team lacked was that big strong semi-muscular player to knock a Maverick on his ass with no regard to any context in the game. Not injury-wise but just to knock those fools on their asses. And we don't have that. And we haven't since Tony Massenberg. It took long enough to explain to her who Massenberg was and his context in this era of spursdom but the point remains the same:


WE HAVE NO ENFORCER!!!!

Horry looked like he wanted to send a message but Pop didn't put him back in.

[angel_luv]

Terry AKA The Angry Carlton needed to be Tony Massenburg'ed or Melvin Ely'ed.



Let me at him!


:)

[T Park]

Eh, I disagree in thinking this gives the team some confidence going onward.

Beating a team, shorthanded on top of it, that has your number, without the chise, gives this team something to build on.

I think Michael Finley's performance tonight should also stave off the Michael Finley haters till next game.

Personally, the only reason the game was close was due to a way over his head performance from Brandon Bass.

I'll take my chances with him shooting 18 foot fadeways rather than Terry, or Chokeitzki chucking them up.

[jdaveah]

I would agree with your thoughts of having someone more like Horry in instead of Elson at the end, but that's why this is December. Having Elson out there gives him the opportunity to make a big time play like he did and perhaps give him a bit more confidance which can be built upon later. If he doesn't, then maybe we lose a December game that we're probably supposed to lose. Had this been the playoffs I completely agree, but I like the call here.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I don't really care what happens in the next game but I want to see someone destroy Terry on a pick. He is the dirtiest little bitch in the league, and when he starts getting punked on the court he turns into this bitch ass thug.

If the league isn't going to do anything about his bullshit, it's time to sick one of our end of bench bigs on him or call up Ian from the NBDL to put a nice bow right into that fucker's face.

[T Park]

Oberto has no defense just like Bonner

I respectfully disagree.

Oberto's defense on the perimiter tonight was good as well.

The one play that sticks out my mind that resulted in a basket for them, but was still good defense, was where Oberto stuck through the pick n roll, and chased Terry back to darn near midcourt and stayed with him quite well.

[SequSpur]

Oberto is solid as hell. Starter on a champ.team. Gold Medal... WTF?

[Korny Earl]

ObI Wan GINOBILI!!!

[SenorSpur]

I'm going to be much harder on Oberto. I thought his post defense was horrible the entire game! Time and again, he failed to slide his feet and get in front of a defender. He seemed very overmatched on defense and at times couldn't even grab a rebound. He resorts to slapping at the ball. Also, the dude cannot stay out of foul trouble.

Believe it or not, I was relieved to see Elson back in the game toward the end. This is not an indictment on Oberto or a suck-up to Elson, I just wanted to see more aggression and physicality by the 5-man. Even though, Elson was erratic and his failure to rotate out on Dirk was inexcusable. However that block on Terry down the stretch was stunning. I thought Pop should have used them both more situationally.

Finley provided timely scoring and rebounding. He clearly looked more motivated - for a change. Though his turnover on the inbounds pass was simply "brain-dead".

Spurs were fortunate to have pulled out this win. A good showing.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

You cannot talk shit about Oberto tonight without totally douching Elson, then again, you can't douche elson in principle because Elson had a potentially Game Winning Block.....

[Korny Earl]

sooo they would have lost without elsons block?

[slayermin]

What happened on the inbounds play when Terry stole the ball from Parker? I still don't think I saw a good replay of that. That was inexcusable. Glad it didn't cost us the game.

So it was Elson's fault leaving Dirk wide open for a three? I hope he learns from his mistake. Nowitzki wasn't even close on that shot so maybe he's satisfied playing second fiddle this year.

[2centsworth]

I don't really care what happens in the next game but I want to see someone destroy Terry on a pick. He is the dirtiest little bitch in the league, and when he starts getting punked on the court he turns into this bitch ass thug.

If the league isn't going to do anything about his bullshit, it's time to sick one of our end of bench bigs on him or call up Ian from the NBDL to put a nice bow right into that fucker's face.
my only complaint is that the spurs do not think that way. Terry should be knocked unconscious.

[ShoogarBear]

And we haven't since Tony Massenberg. Well, Melvin Ely on Mark Madsen was a Top-10 Ever piece of Spurs enforcing.

[Korny Earl]

???

[MI21]

:lol @ The Angry Carlton... That's perfect.

I can't stand him, especially the way he talks and acts in interviews. It's like he thinks he's talking to a bunch of children.

[daslicer]

Duuuude
man you post all the good shit but i swear you and I think on the same page

I was just telling my chick after the 2nd quarter was what this team lacked was that big strong semi-muscular player to knock a Maverick on his ass with no regard to any context in the game. Not injury-wise but just to knock those fools on their asses. And we don't have that. And we haven't since Tony Massenberg. It took long enough to explain to her who Massenberg was and his context in this era of spursdom but the point remains the same:


WE HAVE NO ENFORCER!!!!

I agree with you on that hundred percent. The thing I hate about the mavs is that they are a soft ass team that acts tough against the spurs but when they go up against a team filled with thugs they dissapear. The best example is against the warriors when Jax shoved Jason Terry in a pile up in game 1 and in game 2 when Jax tried to kill him in that mini scuffle he backed off pretty much for the whole entire series except for game when he grabbed Baron from the kneck and slammed him. I hate Terry he really is the definition of a punk but unfortunately the spurs have no Haslem,Kwill,Jax type of player to put him in his place.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Well, Melvin Ely on Mark Madsen was a Top-10 Ever piece of Spurs enforcing.


And most certainly that fuckface asshole no-talent taint-licking over-physical asshole Marc Madsen deserved some serious enforcing. But I don't place Ely on same level, on the psychological track, as a Massenberg.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Oberto just needs to reduce his foul trouble. And he'll be allright. He shows up for big games.

[Kori Ellis]

What happened on the inbounds play when Terry stole the ball from Parker? I still don't think I saw a good replay of that. That was inexcusable. Glad it didn't cost us the game.



That was Finley's fault, if anything - he got fooled by Terry and made a little bit of a lazy pass.

[T Park]

Believe it or not, I was relieved to see Elson back in the game toward the end. This is not an indictment on Oberto or a suck-up to Elson, I just wanted to see more aggression and physicality by the 5-man

Is this the same agressive center that decided to shoot a fall away 5 footer instead of dunking on Jason Terry?

That play had Rasho plastered all over it are you kidding me.

[slayermin]

Horry is our enforcer.

[milkyway21]

that Dirk(39min), Howard(38 min), & Terry(40 min), didn't help :oops

[Hemotivo]

That was Finley's fault, if anything - he got fooled by Terry and made a little bit of a lazy pass.
but it was some officials fault..... wtf with that clock?

[T Park]

my only complaint is that the spurs do not think that way. Terry should be knocked unconscious.

Eh, Im weird in that I like that the Spurs aren't dirty.

Leave that to BS teams like Denver and other aholes.

[ShoogarBear]

I agree that the Spurs will not make a big deal out of this win.

And if the Mavs are smart, they won't either.

But I think certain quarters around the rest of the league are going "oh, shit . . . "

[T Park]

And if the Mavs are smart, they won't either


I dunno, they looked pretty hardcore over this game.


Avery's substitution pattern with Dirk says otherwise, but damn, they seemed to be going all out.

[T Park]

The shocking leave out by TIMVP.

Pop playing small ball from the second quarter on, and it working very well.

[BeerIsGood!]

The Mavs tried to thug it up and get dirty and the Spurs matched their physical play and shot the ball better when it counted.

BTW, Parker getting right in Dirk's chest and just bodying him up was the most effective thing any Spur has done to Dirk in a while. That's what it takes, give him no space and chest up on him and he'll shy away and try to shoot fade aways at a low hitting %. That's a big key that can be taken from this game - the doubles aren't always needed if you body him up and give him no space whatsoever.

[2centsworth]

Eh, Im weird in that I like that the Spurs aren't dirty.

Leave that to BS teams like Denver and other aholes.
there's something to be said for protecting your own players. All great players and teams protect their players from dirty play.

Dallas has taken it to a level where they need to be knocked in place. Like a Roger Clemens fast ball upside the head.

[Hemotivo]

tp on dirk was great

nice Pop! :tu

[Kori Ellis]

BTW, Parker getting right in Dirk's chest and just bodying him up was the most effective thing any Spur has done to Dirk in a while. That's what it takes, give him no space and chest up on him and he'll shy away and try to shoot fade aways at a low hitting %. That's a big key that can be taken from this game - the doubles aren't always needed if you body him up and give him no space whatsoever.

Yeah, Tony did an awesome job when he was switched onto him. It was funny to watch because of the height differential but Tony was really bulldog-ish about it and it worked out well.

[RC's Boss]

I dunno, they looked pretty hardcore over this game.


Avery's substitution pattern with Dirk says otherwise, but damn, they seemed to be going all out.
The Mavs always go hardcore against the Spurs. Devin Harris said it best when he stated it helps them mentally to know they can beat SA. The Spurs on the other hand could probably care less. We as fans might get excited, but I don't think they really give two shits unless it's springtime.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Am I the only person here willing to object to what whotttttttt would call "timvp's koolaid" and say the small ball/parker switching on dirk worked sheerly out of luck?

Every-single-Dirk-Shot that was taken as a result of this strategy looked good to me, every single one. If you look at the situation statistically, and consider the Spurs are as good a team as the Mavs, it was statistically inevitable for us to beat the Mavs in the regular season, given our track record against them in the reg season. I totally disagree about Pop's strategy. I think this is one of those things where if Dirk would have hit the shots with a hand five inches below his release we would be having a completely different conversation. I just don't think that was a good strategy as far as the coaching part goes, but luckily it ended up working.....

[T Park]

BTW, Parker getting right in Dirk's chest and just bodying him up was the most effective thing any Spur has done to Dirk in a while. That's what it takes, give him no space and chest up on him and he'll shy away and try to shoot fade aways at a low hitting %. That's a big key that can be taken from this game - the doubles aren't always needed if you body him up and give him no space whatsoever.

That, and parker drawing the offensive foul on the tall bitch, was greatness.

[peskypesky]

I didn't get to watch the game on tv, so I may be wrong, but...I was pissed at what seemed like moronic offensive execution by the Spurs at the end of the game. They had a decent lead with less than a minute to go, but instead of using up the clock as much as they could, which is FUCKING ELEMENTARY, it seemed like they kept shooting early in their possessions. By far the worst example of this was when Bowen took and missed a shot with something like 30 seconds in the game.

First of all, Bowen shouldn't even have the ball in that situation, unless we're behind and he's wide open for a 3. But we weren't behind. Why didn't the Spurs just hold the ball and force Dallas to foul? Did the NBA pass a new rule against that or something? I just don't get it.

[T Park]

there's something to be said for protecting your own players. All great players and teams protect their players from dirty play

Eh, the Spurs reactions tonight were good enough for me.

Come back at em harder and make shots and win the game.

Wins count, body shots on the other team's players don't.

[BeerIsGood!]

The Mavs always go hardcore against the Spurs. Devin Harris said it best when he stated it helps them mentally to know they can beat SA. The Spurs on the other hand could probably care less. We as fans might get excited, but I don't think they really give two shits unless it's springtime.

The Spurs wanted to win this game. They definitely gave a shit about it after Terry started the cheap shots. That's what made it one of the better regular season games we'll see this year is that both teams were winning to bleed a little to get the win.

[gameFACE]

Parker on Dirk was great tonight.:lol I thought Tony's early foul trouble was a mixed blessing tonight. It allowed him to come back in with Manu out at the start of the 2ndQ since they both started.

Manu had the Mavericks totally disheveled in the 3rdQ. What makes his contribution that much more enjoyable was that in addition to Tim being out, the Spurs, one of the top teams in 3pt%, were awful from downtown.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Yeah, Tony did an awesome job when he was switched onto him. It was funny to watch because of the height differential but Tony was really bulldog-ish about it and it worked out well.


Kori--you're right about Parker's D and Dirk's shot, but you have to also consider the fact that Dirk's game completely revolves around shooting lame ass looking fadeaways....being a person who unfortunately lives in dallas, I see highlights of this bull crap daily. He should have made those shots.

[T Park]

By far the worst example of this was when Bowen took and missed a shot with something like 30 seconds in the game.

First of all, Bowen shouldn't even have the ball in that situation, unless we're behind and he's wide open for a 3. But we weren't behind. Why didn't the Spurs just hold the ball and force Dallas to foul? Did the NBA pass a new rule against that or something? I just don't get it.

Ok, uh, first off, the team was shot energy wise.

Second, the Spurs were up by 2 points, and the Mavericks played to get the ball back.

Bowen was wide open, and the shot he missed, I'll let him shoot again and again a million times.

Bowen always has the green light on a corner three with me.

If you don't think hes a clutch shooter, look at game 5 last year vs Phoenix.

[2centsworth]

Eh, the Spurs reactions tonight were good enough for me.

Come back at em harder and make shots and win the game.

Wins count, body shots on the other team's players don't.
do you remember that time pop subsituted Felton Spencer after Shaq cheap shotted D.Rob? Felton was in there to send a message. Next game Terry needs to be knocked out cold if things do not change.

[RC's Boss]

The Spurs wanted to win this game. They definitely gave a shit about it after Terry started the cheap shots. That's what made it one of the better regular season games we'll see this year is that both teams were winning to bleed a little to get the win.
I'm sure they want to win evey game, what i'm saying is the Mavs get amped up to play the Spurs, where as the Spurs play the same way every game. They came out with an attitude. The Spurs just came out and played ball.

[BeerIsGood!]

Am I the only person here willing to object to what whotttttttt would call "timvp's koolaid" and say the small ball/parker switching on dirk worked sheerly out of luck?

Every-single-Dirk-Shot that was taken as a result of this strategy looked good to me, every single one. If you look at the situation statistically, and consider the Spurs are as good a team as the Mavs, it was statistically inevitable for us to beat the Mavs in the regular season, given our track record against them in the reg season. I totally disagree about Pop's strategy. I think this is one of those things where if Dirk would have hit the shots with a hand five inches below his release we would be having a completely different conversation. I just don't think that was a good strategy as far as the coaching part goes, but luckily it ended up working.....

I don't think you necessarily want Parker or any PG being the guy to body up on Dirk, but the strategy is solid. Dirk makes a living on getting space to get his shot off, and a guy of that caliber doesn't miss those shots unless he's been taken out of his comfort zone. This game it was Parker being able to take Dirk out of his comfort zone, and if a guy his size can do it... it can definitely be done by a guy like Finley or other guards/forwards as long as they're willing to body him up extremely tight. That is probably the one strategy that the Warriors use to beat the Mavs - whatever player picks up Dirk on the switch gets up in his jock.

[T Park]

do you remember that time pop subsituted Felton Spencer after Shaq cheap shotted D.Rob? Felton was in there to send a message

I honestly try to forget the Felton Spencer era honestly.

[peskypesky]

Well, i just checked and I was wrong. Bowen took that 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go. The Spurs were up 97-95 at that point. So why a 3 point shot? And why is the ball in Bowen's hands?

Also Parker took and missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. The Spurs were up 97-93 at that point. So again...why a 3 pointer? We had the lead. The 3-point shot is a low percentage shot. It makes no sense for the team with the lead to take 3s at the end of a hardly fought game. No sense at all. It's stupid. I blame the players, but more than that, I blame Pop.

Manu's brilliant performance was almost squandered by those two stupid missed threes.

[BeerIsGood!]

I'm sure they want to win evey game, what i'm saying is the Mavs get amped up to play the Spurs, where as the Spurs play the same way every game. They came out with an attitude. The Spurs just came out and played ball.

This game, the Orlando game, and the Milwaukee game - there was some extra motivation. It was evident in the intensity level of those games. They didn't play at the same intensity as they play the Kings or TWolves, this was up a few notches. Not having TD probably had a lot to do with it.

[BeerIsGood!]

Well, i just checked and I was wrong. Bowen took that 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go. The Spurs were up 97-95 at that point. So why a 3 point shot? And why is the ball in Bowen's hands?

Also Parker took and missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. The Spurs were up 97-93 at that point. So again...why a 3 pointer? We had the lead. The 3-point shot is a low percentage shot. It makes no sense for the team with the lead to take 3s at the end of a hardly fought game. No sense at all. It's stupid. I blame the players, but more than that, I blame Pop.

Manu's brilliant performance was almost squandered by those two stupid missed threes.

Manu and Parker traded off attempting to penetrate and make plays, but both were stopped. On Parker's final drive attempt Stackhouse (I believe) collapsed in and left Bruce wide open in the corner. You take that wide open shot every time, Bowen just missed it.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

I honestly try to forget the Felton Spencer era honestly.

Yet I'll bet my yam aka you owned a 210 dollar Felton Spencer authentic spurs jersey at one time.

[2centsworth]

This game, the Orlando game, and the Milwaukee game - there was some extra motivation. It was evident in the intensity level of those games. They didn't play at the same intensity as they play the Kings or TWolves, this was up a few notches. Not having TD probably had a lot to do with it.
i was surprised Bruce missed it. He's usually makes those clutch shots. However, no player is 100% in those situations.

[Kori Ellis]

Manu and Parker traded off attempting to penetrate and make plays, but both were stopped. On Parker's final drive attempt Stackhouse (I believe) collapsed in and left Bruce wide open in the corner. You take that wide open shot every time, Bowen just missed it.

Exactly. There was nothing wrong with that play. The shot just didn't go down.

[T Park]

Well, i just checked and I was wrong. Bowen took that 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go. The Spurs were up 97-95 at that point. So why a 3 point shot? And why is the ball in Bowen's hands?

Also Parker took and missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. The Spurs were up 97-93 at that point. So again...why a 3 pointer? We had the lead. The 3-point shot is a low percentage shot. It makes no sense for the team with the lead to take 3s at the end of a hardly fought game. No sense at all. It's stupid. I blame the players, but more than that, I blame Pop.



Parker was wide open,

Bowen was wide open.

They can make those shots, the shot clock was running down.

WTF??!!?



Yet I'll bet my yam aka you owned a 210 dollar Felton Spencer authentic spurs jersey at one time.

The Felton Spencer era was before I discovered the NBA.Com store.

[BeerIsGood!]

i was surprised Bruce missed it. He's usually makes those clutch shots. However, no player is 100% in those situations.

Bruce 0-7 on the night, just wasn't falling for him all night. Dude's usually money if it's even a slightly decent night. I'd bet he makes the next clutch one he gets wide open in the corner.

[T Park]

You take that wide open shot every time, Bowen just missed it.

As I said.

Thank you :)

[BeerIsGood!]

The great thing Bruce did was hustle his azz off back up court after missing that three and forcing Howard to pull up and use a TO instead of pushing a break to get an easy tie.

[jdaveah]

The reason that other bigger players don't chest guard Dirk is the foul comes much quicker. The refs wont call that as closely if Tony is trying to be physical with Dirk, but if Elson or Fabs tried that it'd be a quick whistle.

This of course leads to my contention that Dirk would be an average player in the 80's when defense of this type would have been the norm, but that's a whole separate topic.

[SouthernFried]

Favorite play of the game...

Dirk misses the corner shot at end of regulation...Spurs Win!!!!!

...and Bowen is all up Elson's ass for leaving him wide open. I mean, Bowen was giving him shit all the way to the locker room.

I love this team.

[SenorSpur]

Yeah, Tony did an awesome job when he was switched onto him. It was funny to watch because of the height differential but Tony was really bulldog-ish about it and it worked out well.

Tony's probably been talking to Stephen Jackson.

[SenorSpur]

Favorite play of the game...

Dirk misses the corner shot at end of regulation...Spurs Win!!!!!

...and Bowen is all up Elson's ass for leaving him wide open. I mean, Bowen was giving him shit all the way to the locker room.

I love this team.

He needed to.

If Dirk hits that shot, the topics on this board are quite different.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Tony's probably been talking to Stephen Jackson.
That and pops has been talking to nelly. :lol

[milkyway21]

Aside from Manu,
Finley doing his reserved role to a T.

4/5 3-pt FG
14 pts
8 rbds
:worthy:

[mathbzh]

-Tony Parker’s ... defense on Dirk Nowitzki when the Spurs switched on pick-and-rolls was outstanding. That was the most physical defense I’ve ever seen Parker play.

I didn't see the game... but Parker on Dirk... and it worked!!! Pop must be a genius :toast

[themvp]

Play of the day ... Francisco Elson
Dunk od f the night... Manu Ginobili

on nba.com


:hat

[DirkISaCocLuvinPuSSy]

Im jus glad that homo dirk took that shot,couldnt have felt better knowing a choke artist was trying to hit a winning buzzer beater and this game shows how gay the mavs are too,all teams have to do for a sure win is play small and drive

[DirkISaCocLuvinPuSSy]

I didn't see the game... but Parker on Dirk... and it worked!!! Pop must be a genius :toast



not really a retarded preme baby whos addicted to crack with super aids and a flu with constant bloody diarrhea could hold this cake bitch i hope dirk dies
and all the mavs too

[dav4463]

Favorite play of the game...

Dirk misses the corner shot at end of regulation...Spurs Win!!!!!

...and Bowen is all up Elson's ass for leaving him wide open. I mean, Bowen was giving him shit all the way to the locker room.

I love this team.



ME TOO !!!! I LOVED THAT !!!!

[dav4463]

Play of the day ... Francisco Elson
Dunk od f the night... Manu Ginobili

on nba.com


:hat
Manu got hammered on that dunk. Should've been a free throw coming.

[Slippy]

How the refs missed the 2 whacks on Manu and how he managed to finish it with a dunk is just plain crazy. Amazing show of toughness by Manu.

Elson going straight-up for the block , timing it perfectly was huge.

[ShoogarBear]

Actually, Parker has been playing Dirk off of switches for, oh, six years now. This is the first time I can recall where you can say he had much success.

[jman3000]

i think it had more to do with dirk not capitalizing on the mismatch than it did with any perceieved defense by tony. tony gives up almost a foot and yet was having fade away 18 footers jacked on him instead of being pounded in the paint. granted when the switch occured it was usually on the elbow or top of the key.... there was a couple of times where dirk wasnt further than 10 feet from the basket.

[wildchild]

Fabricio Oberto had another solid showing. Eight points and five rebounds in 25 minutes is good work for Oberto. While his defense suffered at times and he ended up fouling out, Oberto’s pick-and-roll play was key to the victory.

-Francisco Elson was his erratic self. One second he looked really good, the next second he looked clueless. A good example was the final sequence. First, Elson comes up with a huge block against Jason Terry with under five seconds to go in the game. However, on the inbounds pass, he doesn’t switch onto Nowitzki and Nowitzki had a wide open three-pointer to win the game. Four points and two rebounds in 25 minutes isn’t anything to write home about, but that block was enough to make this a decent enough game for Elson.


-Matt Bonner got six minutes but was hardly noticeable. He had two points and two rebounds, both of which were offensive. As usual, his energy was there – as was his poor defense.




What a joke. The pick and roll play that led to 2+ turnovers? Oberto has no defense just like Bonner. The only edge he has over Bonner on defense is he knows how to take a charge like a true Argentinian and doesn't get out of position near as much as Bonner. Standing up straight and putting your arms up/taking a flop is not defense. Fuck the Bonner hate, he had a nice monster rebound.

Oberto's foul prone but he plays hard and understands the team game better than Bonner/Elson. He's also more effective (Oberto 66 FG% Elson 44 FG% and Bonner 42 FG%).Against Mavs Oberto 3/3 FG 2/2 FT 0TO Elson 2/6 FG 1TO)

[wildchild]

Play of the day ... Francisco Elson
Dunk od f the night... Manu Ginobili

on nba.com


:hat

:clap

[travis2]

I hope the league office takes a look at Terry's play last night and hands down a nice fine. That shit was inexcusable.

And Diop looked like he was studying from the same book.

[Dirk Nowitzki]

:pctoss :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss FUCK MANU AND FUCK THE SPURS! UGHHHH!!!!! :madrun :madrun :madrun :madrun :madrun

[SouthernFried]

:pctoss :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss FUCK MANU AND FUCK THE SPURS! UGHHHH!!!!! :madrun :madrun :madrun :madrun :madrun


lol

That's a true fan. Exactly how I'd feel if the Spurs lost.

Props.

[Spurs Brazil]

Fantastic game by Manu

TP, Finley and Oberto´played great

And I think JV did a very good job.

[Bruno]

Great game by Manu. Finley had also a very good game.

The thing that strikes me is, even if Spurs have played a lot of small ball in this game and have played without their best rebounder, they have allowed 4 offensive rebounds to Dallas.

[SRJ]

I was impressed by the rebounding. It looked as though every guy one the floor was concentrating on it, like it was a point of emphasis by Popovich. There was a lot of boxing out going on.

As Bruno pointed out, the Mavs grabbed just 4 ORBS. That's 4 out of 38 missed shots. OTOH, the Spurs rebounded 6 of their 43 misses. Very nice job.

[LEONARD]

That cheap shot by Jet was VISCIOUS!! I'm surprised Tony got up from it...tough SOB...

[jack0fspeed]

I hope the league office takes a look at Terry's play last night and hands down a nice fine. That shit was inexcusable.

And Diop looked like he was studying from the same book.

You know what I think is funny? The team that bloodied Steve Nash and hip checked him into the scorer's table is complaining about rough play.

[phxspurfan]

Does anybody have a youtube link of Terry's cheapshot?

[SRJ]

You know what I think is funny? The team that bloodied Steve Nash and hip checked him into the scorer's table is complaining about rough play.

Nash bloodied Nash's nose, you infant. Nash reached in trying to get his turnover back, and (surprise, surprise) heads collided.

[FromWayDowntown]

Nash bloodied Nash's nose, you infant. Nash reached in trying to get his turnover back, and (surprise, surprise) heads collided.

That, and I don't think anyone on this board (or at least very, very few on this board) questioned the league's action in suspending Horry for his hip check on Nash. Horry's play deserved punishment and I think that most every Spurs fan I know understood that. There were questions about the extent of the punishment (2 games instead of 1) but not about whether punishment was warranted.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Bass was having his way with Oberto, but Pop still kept him in. I didn't notice, but did Elson shut Bass down or did the mavs stop running the ball thru him at that point?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Does anybody have a youtube link of Terry's cheapshot?which one?

[td4mvp21]

You know what I think is funny? The team that bloodied Steve Nash and hip checked him into the scorer's table is complaining about rough play.
You know what I think is funny? Is that Tony Parker bumped heads with Nash, on accident, and that Robert Horry chose to hip check Nash. The team as a whole didn't do anything. And where did the team complain about rough play?

[timvp]

One thing I can't figure out is why Elson isn't blocking more shots. He's basically averaging half of what he averaged last year. He's averaging a career-low in blocks per game ... even though he had two seasons with the Nuggets in which he played fewer minutes per game.

Has he regressed? Is it just bad luck? Was last year a fluke?

The Spurs' defense is designed to funnel perimeter players into shot blockers. There's really no excuse for Elson not to be blocking shots. At least Oberto has the excuse of being short with short arms. Elson, despite being tall and athletic, averages less blocks than Ian Mahinmi did in a couple minutes of garbage time and as many blocks as Manu Ginobili.

Almost every bigman with an ounce of athleticism blocked shots at a healthy clip with the Spurs. An out of shape Horry has as many blocks in his first twelve minutes of the season as Elson has had in his last 11 games.

It's mystifying.

[Bruno]

Elson is blocking so few shots that you have a huge random effect.
Elson has 9 blocks and if he had blocked 15 shots, he would have averaged the same amount of blocks per minute than last year. When the number are so little, it's kinda hard to draw a conclusion.