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Gawd, I hope so. Bring on Van Choke.
Mavs get to savor sweep, await second-round foe
Mavs get to savor sweep, await second-round foe
By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer
May 2, 2006
TNT's John Thompson: Video My favorites to win out West
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DALLAS (AP) -- Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson is the kind of taskmaster who calls timeout late in a blowout when his scrubs aren't playing tight enough defense.
Yet no matter how high his standards are, the Mavs lived up to them in the first round of the playoffs by sweeping Memphis in four games -- and making it look easy.
With Dirk Nowitzki leading the way, Dallas had only one close call while becoming the only NBA team to advance to the second round without a loss. The Mavericks wrapped up the series with a 102-76 victory Monday night.
Johnson rewarded his players by giving them Tuesday off. They'll be back at work Wednesday, although probably not at full tilt since their next game won't be until Sunday or Tuesday.
"It's important for us to get some rest and get some more practice time," Johnson said. "We need to work on our defensive rotations some and get that straightened out so we can be ready for our next series."
For months, it's been assumed that Dallas and San Antonio would meet in the second round. That could still happen, but the Spurs wouldn't be as fresh as the Mavs.
San Antonio and Sacramento were tied at two games apiece in their first-round series going into Game 5 on Tuesday night. Game 6 is Friday night in Sacramento, with a possible Game 7 in San Antonio on Sunday.
"For me, it's a long time to sit around and kind of get ready," Nowitzki said. "I'd like to move it a little quicker than that."
It sure beats what Dallas faced last year.
After closing the first round with a Game 7 victory on a Saturday night, the Mavs flew to Phoenix on Sunday and opened the second round against the Suns on Monday night. Phoenix won the opener and ended up winning the series in six games.
"It was very difficult for us to get going that first game against Phoenix," Nowitzki said. "We turned around so quick, we just weren't ready to play in Game 1."
Coincidentally, the Suns had been resting for a week after sweeping Memphis.
"Now we're the ones waiting," sixth man Jerry Stackhouse said.
Perhaps the best part of the wait is giving banged-up players a chance to heal.
Backup guard Marquis Daniels missed Game 4 against Memphis because of a lingering hamstring problem. Key reserve Devin Harris played every game against the Grizzlies, but missed most of the final month of the regular season with an injured quadriceps.
Keith Van Horn is having his broken hand examined Wednesday. With a good report, he could be cleared to return within a week to 10 days.
Even Nowitzki could use some time to prop up the right ankle he twisted in Game 3. But he's such a gym rat that he probably didn't even take Tuesday off.
Considering the roll he's on, that might be a good idea.
Nowitzki set the tone against Memphis by scoring at least 31 points the first three games, including the 3-pointer that forced overtime in Game 3. He was "held" to 27 in the finale only because it was essentially decided in the middle of the third quarter.
"I felt like my all around game could've been better," said Nowitzki, whose 7.8 rebounds were down from the 9.0 he averaged in the regular season. "I was fortunate to make some big shots in big situations. Hopefully my all around game can keep getting better and I can carry it over until the next round."
It's easy to mock Memphis for being 0-for-franchise-history in the postseason, but the Grizzlies came in this year as the No. 5 seed after winning 49 games and holding foes to a league-low 88.5 points per game.
Dallas led by only one in the second half of the opener, then won by 10. Games 2 and 4 were decided before the fourth quarter even began.
The Mavs allowed only 84.3 points the first round, easily the lowest of any team thus far.
"I'm glad we took care of our business," point guard Jason Terry said. "Now we can kind of watch what happens in those other series and prepare, mentally and physically."
Gawd, I hope so. Bring on Van Choke.
The mvp of the mavs in round 1 was Van Horn. Not anymore. Get my drift.
OMG, please, bring him back! He'll make a great 6th man...for us.
Well, if we close out on friday we still have the advantage of flying home, and getting a day to prepare in familiar surroundings. That'll help the team mentally. Physically I think they'll be fine, Duncan and Ginobili have had solid play so far except for Manu in gm 3-4. I think he's a little more level headed now. I don't think short rest will be a problem. Let's just focus on taking care of business with SAC first.
He'll probably play less minutes than Powell did in the Memphis series. Glad he'll be gone after this year.
This is my biggest complaint on Avery is he'll probably get a lot of minutes. Avery overrates Van Horn. Powell was doing fine when I saw him in. At least you don't have to worry about him choking and getting too many minutes.
I think we should all support in his effort to come back. It is only fair that he gets his full share of the minutes to prove what he can do... ha
that is going to be a good guy to get out of your system.
I honestly don't understand how any mavs fan can defend how bad he plays. Spurs fans seem to get it though.
I hate Van Horn more than anyone but at least he can shoot. What has Powell done lately other than look like an up and rising ball boy?
I just hate Van Horn's defense, rebounding, and shot selection. Van Horn can shoot but a lot of times he passes up the 3 point shot and into a turnover. Powell at least you know you will get effort from him in other categories and don't need points from him though it would be a bonus.
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