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have any one of Tim/Tony/Manu on the court at all times.
The Mavs are a team that's rolling in hot and heavy and streaking. This Mavs team is possibly the best playoff-built team Cuban has ever put together...and it will be tough for the Spurs to get past them. But it is smack-dab in the middle of the realm of possibility to do so for San Antonio.
Provided certain keys to the matchup be kept by Popovich and crew:
1. Exploit Jason Kidd
There is no better facilitator in the NBA outside of Steve Nash than this man right here. You can't give him the open three anymore, you can't afford to let him post up your smaller guard, and you can't forget to box him out, always.
But (Steve Nash comparison still relevant), there is no slower, poorer defender at the guard position (outside of Aaron Brooks. Shout-out to my boy, George Hill! M.I.P., baby!) uhh anyway, yeah, Kidd sucks at defense now. He never was Payton-level in his prime anyway. (Gary Payton was the best point guard of the past 20 years. Hands down. No compe ion. Payton was Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Tyreke Evans, and George Hill's defense all rolled into one super point guard. Ridonkulous.) (Okay...I'm being more than a bit harsh on Kidd. He's a decent and savvy, veteran defender. But he just doesn't have the quickness anymore to have any business consistently containing Parker, Manu, or Hill. That's all I'm sayin'.)
Exploit. Exploit. Exploit. Make Kidd not want to play offense 'cos of how badly he's getting straight-up BURNED on defense.
2. Contain Caron Butler/Shawn Marion
Bruce Bowen made Shawn Marion comparable stat-wise to Matt Bonner for the years that the Spurs dominated the Suns in the past. Those Suns should have made it to at least one Finals. But they didn't. Why? Because Bruce Bowen contained Shawn Marion. That's why. And this time, neither Caron Butler nor Shawn Marion can be allowed to dominate.
This job will go to committee, largely led by Richard Jefferson. (The real committee defense will be reserved solely for Mr. Dirk Nowitzki.) best play his ass off here. It's our best shot at stealing this series. (Yes, over-confident Spurs fans, I said "steal.")
Help me, Richard Jefferson Kenobi. You're my only hope.
3. Tim Duncan...uhh...yeah...sorry to ask you to do this again...at your age...but hey...man...dude, can you like...ummm...dominate the other teams this playoffs? One more time? For old time's sake?? Pleeeeeassse?
Yes.
4. Manu...uhhh...yeah... (ditto)
Si.
5. Popovich...uhh...yeahhhh....can you use more common sense and...yeah, we can forget about your mental-block you've shown against Dallas in the past. But this is a new time, man. You can do this. Say it with me now...COACH TO WIN. Not, not to lose. We're the San Antonio Mutha in' Spurs. You are a Badass. Duncan is a badass. Tony, too. And Manu is the epitome and the alpha and the omega of Baddassery.
Do it.
Prediction for the Series:
Spurs in 7.
(Jason Terry is a loser, I heard. On the streets. Of Compton. Where Dre is from. AND South Central LA. Where Jurassic Five are from. AND the LBC. Where Snoop is from. Yeah. A LOSER. Terry. Jason Terry-cloth. HA!)
Last edited by NameOfTheGame; 04-23-2010 at 09:04 PM.
have any one of Tim/Tony/Manu on the court at all times.
Well, yeah...that's a given. It'd be hard to NOT do this.
Have 2 of the three Hill, Manu, Parker on the court at all times.
Kidd is actually a pretty damn good defender at the 2. And with one of Terry/Beabois/rodent-face usually paired with him in the backcourt (and guarding opponents PG) its going to be hard to exploit a matchup that doesn't exist.
Tony can and should treat Kidd like a slightly better version of Derek Fisher. Same goes for Hill or Manu or anyone who Kidd is guarding.
I stand by my notion that Kidd's defense is atrocious. Okay, maybe not atorcious. But exploitable? Of course.
Kidd's D should be exploited when he's guarding Hill or Parker, but I won't be surprised if he does a decent job on Manu..the guy still defends SGs at a very high level..he's just as quick as 2s, still has quick hands and has incredible basketball IQ..
I don't understand #2 though..containing Shawn Marion isn't a key at all, it's barely a top 10 key..the guy is a quality defender and energy guy, but his offense shouldn't be on the main concerns in this series..
I was thinking Caron Butler was gonna get his numbers no matter what we do. So what's left? Shawn Marion. The X-factor, as always. But yeah, actually, after thinking about it, neither of them can be allowed to average more than 15/5 at the same time. We can't afford to win against much more production than that out of those two.
Keep a keen eye on Jason hanging around the perimeter...ESPECIALLY in DAL. Kidd is inexplicably gifted at getting wide open for a timely, momentum-swinging 3...and he buries 'em much more often than not.
Terry will keep firing away from distance, w/ or w/o a man in his face, Dirk loves the stop-and-pop 3, but those don't worry me NEARLY as much as Kidd's daggers.
Slow, yeah, but he is by no means a poor defender. Sure he has trouble with super quick guards, but then again, who doesnt? That's why pretty much all super quick guards are such good scorers (Parker, Brooks, Rose, CP3, etc...)
But despite his poor quickness, he still is good at bodying up and making them still work for their points, positions himself well to still be able to cut off their driving lanes, reads passing lanes as well as anyone, is a great help/team defender, and rotates very well. To say he is arguably the poorest defending PG in the NBA is ridiculous.
The key to beating the Mavs is how physical the Spurs will be allowed to play. If the refs are going to run up and down with their whistles in their mouths, the Spurs could be in trouble. If they are a loud to bump and shove a little the Mavs will not respond well. They seems easily flustered by physical play.
We also have to be active on offense. Move the ball. Make the Mavs work on D. We can take away their offense by sapping their energy on the defensive end.
[cringe]
That was for loquacious effect. I did say later that his defense was merely "exploitable" when Parker, Hill, and maybe Manu are guarded by Kidd.
Butler doesn't really worry me TBH..
Josh Howard averaged 19 PPG on 49% in the series last year, and he ALWAYS owned the Spurs..Butler is a slightly better overall player than that version of Howard, but the matchup is different..some guys have certain matchups that they just live to exploit, and Josh Howard vs. the Spurs was one of them..I can't imagine Butler matching Howard..he's a good player, but I think Jefferson can get close to his overall output(or at least I hope)..
For me, there are a few worries with the Mavs, but if Hill is healthy, most of the individual matchups don't concern me..I'm obviously concerned with Dirk, but that one doesn't have to be said..
My main concerns are from a team perspective..the Spurs have to run them off the 3-point line, they've allowed too many open looks vs. Dallas this season..I'm also concerned about the rebounding..another minor concern will be the penetration from their guards, Hill will have to bring his A-game defensively and Parker/Mason have to hold their ground defensively..if the Spurs can consistently win 2 of those 3 battles, I'd feel pretty confident..
I don't have a lot of faith in the Spurs ability to crank down on dallas defensively. They've got to find ways to deny Dallas possessions and maximize the points they get on their own possessions. In other words, they've got to rebound and win the 3 point line.
I spelled it right the first time. I don't know what I was thinking there. I need more coffee.
Assuming/hoping that Hill's ankle re-tweak doesn't sideline him, how much burn do you think Mason will get against the Mavs?
No prob. I was just confused when you threw "flustered" out there w/, well, that.
I wasn't referring to any past occurrences. I'm talking about right now. This year.
Well, if last night's game was any indication, Spurs've got this one in the bag.
Yeah, 2-22 isn't going to get it done.Well, if last night's game was any indication, Spurs've got this one in the bag.
Freudian slip?
No prob. I was just confused when you threw "flustered" out there w/, well, that.
Rebound the ball. Last night was evidence that we can dominate the boards. Blair was a beast nd Dice had nine in 19 minutes. Imagine the differential when Duncan plays. This game will be won on the glass and in transition D. Dallas gets into rhthym when they can run out a few defensive boards and have enough lethal shooters that to knock down momentum swinging threes when the D is out of rotation on an offensive rebound.
Win the game on the glass, make it a halfcourt game, and force Dallas to grind these games out.
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