ESPN's Stein: There'll be no Jason on Freaky Friday

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playof...arc&id=2450433

Terry cloth: Can Mavs cover for their PG's mistake?
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com


DALLAS -- Jason Terry will be banned from the building; Michael Finley will be Public Enemy No. 4 in his old building; and those inevitably will be the first items dissected in the pregame buildup.

We prefer to skip to the truly wild stuff:

The reality, namely, that all of us watching this what-next NBA have a better chance of seeing a Mavs vs. Cavs matchup in the Finals than a Spurs vs. Pistons rematch.

We repeat: Mavs vs. Cavs in the NBA Finals.

As of Friday morning, even accounting for Terry's poor judgment, that looked like a legitimately safer bet than another installment of San Antonio vs. Detroit.

Freaky Friday, indeed.

Of course, all of this can change by the wee hours of Saturday morning if the Pistons (in Cleveland) and Spurs (in Big D), both coming from 3-2 down, can muster the road wins needed to save their seasons and preserve their imperiled status as season-long title favorites.

Who would bet against that after all the upset specials in this NBA Tournament already?

"This has been a crazy playoffs," said Spurs forward Robert Horry. "But right when you thought Phoenix was dead [in the first round against the Lakers], they rose. Anything can happen."

That's especially true in what Mavericks coach Avery Johnson unreservedly referred to as "the Western Conference finals" in his remarks after Wednesday night's Game 5. No one bothered to correct Johnson, either, after witnessing the third straight game -- and fourth in five -- in which these Interstate 35 rivals were separated by two or fewer points at the regulation buzzer.

You'd believe any ending in this one now, wouldn't you? Seriously.

Mavs in Six.

Spurs in Seven.

Mavs in Seven, too.

Conservatives will presume that Dallas, without Terry's clutch shot making, will have blown their chance to topple the mighty Spurs if they can't close out Game 6 at home.

Me?

Remembering the Suns' Game 6 road win in Los Angeles without suspended Raja Bell and knowing Terry's potential replacement in the starting lineup is a matchup nightmare when he's feeling it, I wouldn't be surprised at this point if Marquis Daniels went for 20-something points.

I'd be even less surprised if an amped Dirk Nowitzki, who responded to the news of Terry's one-game ban by rushing back to the Mavs' practice facility for his standard extra round of night shooting, shed the shackles of the Spurs' constant defensive attention to make a run at 40.

Like the rest of his teammates, Nowitzki didn't learn of Terry's punishment for punching Finley in a loose-ball scrum until after Dallas' afternoon practice. When reached Thursday night, Nowitzki said he preferred not to discuss Terry's actions or the league's ruling but didn't hesitate to predict that the Mavs will rally around a suspension their owner, Mark Cuban, has loudly proclaimed to be "not right."

"This is Game 6 for the two best teams in the West," Nowitzki said. "You better bring it ... and we will."

The Spurs, meanwhile, expect that sort of bravado by now, unfamiliar as it sounds coming from the longtime No. 2 in the Texas Power Rankings. One San Antonio starter told me recently that, for years, his team could always sense a lack of belief on the Dallas side. Not this season, though.

Clinching a spot in the actual Western Conference finals without Terry would be the most conclusive proof that this is a new breed of Mav, as the team has maintained all season. Yet Dallas has been pretty convincing already, forcing the defending champs to scramble like never before.

Gregg Popovich has used a different starting lineup in each of the five games and has totally junked San Antonio's traditional alignment -- two 7-footers on the floor at all times -- to surround Tim Duncan with guards and small forwards. "The lineup we're in now seems to be working the best," Duncan says, echoing Pop's contention that it's the only way they can keep up with Dallas' athletic and unorthodox mix of offensive options.

There's only one way, furthermore, to fully reclaim the confidence edge, and that's winning on the Mavs' floor to force a Game 7 on Monday back in San Antonio. The problem? The Spurs easily could have won both their first two visits and still aren't sure how that they didn't win at least one.

Holding on to prevail in Wednesday's Game 5 at home was an undeniable spirit lifter -- especially as it was the Spurs' first playoff triumph in the Duncan Era, dating to 1997, when faced with a series deficit of 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 -- but even the Mavs' first flurry of crunch-time errors since Game 1 didn't allow the survivors to get too giddy. That's because the Spurs, even in the two games they've won, couldn't get any lasting separation from the Mavs.

Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have combined for 90 and 81 points in the past two games and have one one-point win to show for all that production. Their big worry now is that Dallas, like the Sacramento Kings when they lost Ron Artest to a one-game suspension in Round 1, will play loose and free without Terry and re-energized if his reinstatement coincides with a Game 7.

There's also this: Dallas is 4-0 at home this postseason, compared with a playoff record of 12-12 at American Airlines Center -- and 0-3 against San Antonio -- in the building's first five seasons.

"You can see they've got confidence," Horry said. "Coming in [to this series], they felt very good playing us because they have a coach [who's] been in [San Antonio's] system forever. His confidence is giving their players confidence."

The solace for San Antonio is that Terry, a scoring guard who gradually won Johnson over with steely bursts like the 32-pointer that helped Dallas take Game 4, surely didn't hurt the Spurs' survival chances with his latest playoff gaffe.

It was in last spring's second round, remember, that Terry mistakenly backed off the famous point guard he succeeded -- with the Mavs up three -- to allow Steve Nash to hit a triple that forced overtime in Game 6. Terry's error drew a heated on-court rebuke from Nowitzki and enabled Phoenix to win in OT and advance to the West finals.

Terry says memories of that mistake have motivated him all season, but this one might prove to be more costly and unforgettable. Especially if the Cavs do KO Detroit.

If that happens, the winner of this I-35 series becomes the NBA's favorite to win it all.

If, say, the Cavs advance and the Mavs don't? Finley, whose classy Dallas past has been quickly forgotten, might not be the only hero-turned-outcast around here.

As usual Stein ignores totally the obvious - the surreal calls that went into the Mavs favor.

Be very afraid Mav fans = Spurs have not played their A defensive game yet in this series and they are due!

Nothing is ever "due". I don't think we've seen the A defensive game since early in the Kings series.

Will see, will we not?

Ask yourself, of the two teams which team can and is most likely to step it up a notch - the Mavs (not).

Spurs are on the way!

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Originally Posted by Shank

Nothing is ever "due". I don't think we've seen the A defensive game since early in the Kings series.

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Sadly, I agree with Shank for once. There hasn't been defense in this series, and things won't change for game 6.

Watch closely the last 10 minutes of game 5 - that was Spurs defense, and the Mavs were shut down on play after play.

When the Spurs win in 7, there will be no "if Terry played" asterisk.

Terry fucked up as the huge balla loser/Mav that he is, and champions don't fuck up with non-basketball shit like punching people in the balls.

If no Terry means a Spurs series win, then ALL THE MAVS are the losers, with no reflection whatsover on the Spurs.

:lol at Cuban's pathetic attempts to turn Terry into a martyr. Terry made a move on par with Bell's clothesline of Bryant.

Get ready for a(nother) heavily biased write-up from Cuban and a(nother) hefty fine from the NBA if the Spurs win G6 no matter how legitimately.

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Originally Posted by Rummpd

Watch closely the last 10 minutes of game 5 - that was Spurs defense, and the Mavs were shut down on play after play.

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Agreed. That was terrific work.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the refs will let them play D in game 6 like they did down that stretch -- they were letting incidental contact go that would have sent Dallas to the line in game 3 or game 4. The way they call Game 6 may be the difference once again.

I honestly feel confident about the Spurs chances. Not because of Terry. I just think someone like Horry or Van Exel is going to hit some clutch shot. I thought that before Terry was suspended. I still feel the same way. The Spurs are awesome when it really counts.

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Originally Posted by NoMoneyDown

Get ready for a(nother) heavily biased write-up from Cuban and a(nother) hefty fine from the NBA if the Spurs win G6 no matter how legitimately.

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With Cuban's actions the last couple of days a fine is already forthcoming. You don't get to slam StuJ and your opponent's home town even if you are the second richest owner in the NBA.

Spurs win big tonight.

You Bet!

How would the Mavs respond to a blowout?

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Originally Posted by Rummpd

Watch closely the last 10 minutes of game 5 - that was Spurs defense, and the Mavs were shut down on play after play.

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What game were you watching??? :lol Both teams had a couple of stops (more like self-induced turnovers) over the last 5 minutes. All the rest was them trading baskets. The Spurs did get that last stop (great block by Bowen and forced tough shot that Terry took). If that was Spurs defense then bring it on again tonight! I've seen the Spurs defense when they were really good and what they're playing now ain't nowhere close. I just hope they don't figure it out anytime soon.

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Originally Posted by MoSpur

How would the Mavs respond to a blowout?

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Remember Shaq and Kobe crying on the bench? It'll be like that, only better. I've never seen Dirk cry. http://i4.tinypic.com/104i6j5.gif

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Originally Posted by pache100

Remember Shaq and Kobe crying on the bench? It'll be like that, only better. I've never seen Dirk cry. http://i4.tinypic.com/104i6j5.gif

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I just want to see that signature Mark Cuban pissed off look on his face at the end.

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Originally Posted by pache100

Remember Shaq and Kobe crying on the bench? It'll be like that, only better. I've never seen Dirk cry. http://i4.tinypic.com/104i6j5.gif

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My friend works security at the AT&T center and he said that Dirk was VERY UPSET after Wednesday's loss and he was the last one to leave the locker room and get on the bus.

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Originally Posted by SA210

I just want to see that signature Mark Cuban pised off look face at the end.

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http://i4.tinypic.com/104ia77.gif

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Originally Posted by pache100

http://i4.tinypic.com/104ia77.gif

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Those teeth are too straight. Hit that smiley with a hammer and it'd be perfect...

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Originally Posted by DarrinS

My friend works security at the AT&T center and he said that Dirk was VERY UPSET after Wednesday's loss and he was the last one to leave the locker room and get on the bus.

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I think maybe that last second shot attempt is affecting him alot. Hopefully so much that it messes with his confidence some.

Sad thing is when Duncan missed that shot against Detroit in Game 5 last year, the entire media was calling Timmy a choker.

Like Dirk, Tim didn't know how much time was left and missed the putback, but Timmy was ripped bigtime and had to redeem himself in Game 7, however Dirk pulled the same thing and no criticism.

Screw the media!

:rolleyes

If this game goes against Dallas, I wouldn't be surprised to see Mark Cuban on the court, yelling at the Refs. It would be too cool to see him escorted off the floor by security - with Cuban throwing his arms, stomping his feet and screaming like a petulant 2-year old!

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Originally Posted by Crookshanks

If this game goes against Dallas, I wouldn't be surprised to see Mark Cuban on the court, yelling at the Refs. It would be too cool to see him escorted off the floor by security - with Cuban throwing his arms, stomping his feet and screaming like a petulant 2-year old!

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You won't see THAT happen in Dallas. Cuban writes their checks.

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"This is Game 6 for the two best teams in the West," Nowitzki said. "You better bring it ... and we will."

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Dirk going for 40-50 to make up for the absence of Terry scares me the most. Plus, after watching the refereeing in the 2 games in Dallas, I'm still not sold that it will be any better tonight. I'd like to see the Spurs dominate and win big, ala Dallas in Game 2.