Initial Reactions: Spurs vs. Mavs - Game 1

[timvp]

That wasn't a fun way to start the playoffs. The Mavericks overcame an early deficit to pound the Spurs in their own building. Scoring 60 points in the second half and 87 points in the final three quarters, Dallas was able to post a resounding 105-97 victory over San Antonio.

Things are already starting to look bleak for the Spurs. Despite hitting 11 of their first 12 three-point attempts and getting a good performance out of Tim Duncan, they weren't very close to winning the game. The main problem was obviously their defense. The Mavs shot 53.8% from the floor and simply carved up the Spurs' defense with their penetration.

Dallas obviously deserves a whole lot of credit. They got incredible bench play from Brandon Bass in the first half and J.J. Barea in the second half. Josh Howard continues to be a player the Spurs simply cannot get a handle on. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry didn't dominate but they played well enough. And Erick Dampier played extremely well on both ends of the court.

It's difficult to digest this loss right away. The Spurs shot well, Duncan played well, Nowitzki and Terry were held in check, Nowitzki battled foul trouble and yet the Mavs comfortably won.

Thankfully, the Spurs have a history of being able to bounce back. They came back to win championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007 after losing the first game of the playoffs. They beat the Mavs in 2003 after losing the first game of the series. But the Spurs need a lot more than historical precedence to get the job done.

-Tim Duncan played about as well as could be expected. His offense carried the team when the scoring had stagnated. Despite only getting one free throw on 24 field goal attempts, he kept at it and tried to will his team to victory. Defensively, he was actually pretty good even with the chaos created by Dallas' penetration. He could have done more on the glass and he didn't protect the rim as well as possible, but this was about as much as the Spurs could have hoped to get out of Duncan.

-Tony Parker simply did not play at the superstar level like the Spurs needed out of him. He had a rough patch early, then got it going for a stretch in the middle of the game but ultimately fizzled down the stretch. By the beginning of the fourth, he looked exhausted. Defensively, he started the ballgame off well but then got destroyed by Barea in the second half. Bottomline is that Barea outplays Parker for half the game, the Spurs simply won't be able to beat the Mavs.

-Roger Mason, Jr. had a decent game. He shot the ball well from behind the arc, hitting 4-of-5 to begin the game. His three-pointer to begin the fourth seemed like it could have been a momentum changing shot. Defensively, Mason was acceptable when he wasn't asked to defend someone who mattered. But when he tried to defend Terry, Howard or Barea, his inability to get around a screen was blatantly on display. I also wasn't too happy with his hustle to loose balls, particularly rebounds in the fourth quarter. Not a horrible beginning for Mason but far from spectacular.

-You can't blame this game on Michael Finley's shooting. He was 5-for-5 from beyond the three-point arc. He also grabbed four rebounds to go along with his 19 points. At the onset of the game, I thought his defense was good. But then Howard just started destroying him. Finley spaced him to give him open looks and Howard was able to knock down shots and also get to the rim. When Howard really got rolling, Finley was basically helpless.

-A lot of Spurs fans saw this coming from a mile away. Matt Bonner's introduction to playoff basketball was a disaster. He played 18 minutes, didn't grab a single defensive rebound and his only real meaningful stat (a steal) was negated (when he immediately threw the ball away). I thought his defense against Nowitzki was decent but he has to produce better than he did tonight in other areas to merit playing time. Going without a defensive board and missing your only shot (an ill-advised shot at that) is unacceptable no matter how you look at it.

-Bruce Bowen might have been the brightest spot for the Spurs. After being locked in the freezer for most of the season, Pop quickly figured out he needed to defrost him if the Spurs were going to have any shot. Bowen played very good defense against Terry, drew a few offensive fouls and hit the only shot he attempted. He was by far the best defender on the court for the Spurs and for San Antonio to win, it's going to require a healthy serving of Bowen.

-Drew Gooden played pretty well in the first half. He was very aggressive looking for his own shot and quickly put eight point on the board. Surprisingly enough, I also thought his defense was okay. His D wasn't good but it also wasn't too much of a liability. Where Gooden didn't help was going 18 minutes without a defensive board. Four offensive boards is good work but he has to be part of the solution on the defensive glass, not part of the problem.

-I wasn't impressed with Kurt Thomas. He's had a few of these clunkers coming down the stretch where he just isn't doing much of anything well. He didn't rebound well, he missed the two shots he took and his overall energy level just wasn't high enough. I'm not sure if his gas tank is empty or what but the Spurs need the Thomas of a few weeks ago who was a very good player.

-Ime Udoka didn't play very well. He came into the game early and within one minute, he proved that he's too slow to defend Terry. Udoka was yet another Spur who didn't do anything on the defensive glass. His best minutes came late in the game when it was all but decided.

-Pop had a number of questionable decisions, many of which have their roots in his decisions going back to the regular season. First of all, it's already obvious that Pop didn't play Bowen enough during the regular season. His plan of sending Bowen to an early retirement backfired when it was clear that Bowen is still very much needed. Secondly, not having a backup point guard solution has to be part of the reason why Parker had nothing left down the stretch. The Spurs couldn't afford to give Parker his normal rest and the result was a tired floor leader. Thirdly, I thought he should have pulled the plug on Bonner earlier. Bonner obviously wasn't ready for this stage and he wasn't helping at all.

As bad as things may seem, I'm nowhere near ready to concede this series. The most important development is that Duncan appears to be pretty darn healthy. If Parker can bounce back with better play (he's started the playoffs with a dud many times in his career ... only to respond positively) and the rotation can tighten up a bit, the Spurs can get right back in this series.

Gotta get Game 2, though.

Believe.

[z0sa]

the genius on the sideline can even up homecourt and dirk having 3 fouls early.

where the did gooden go in the second half? He played Dirk well in the limited chances he got.
as much as i love him, bonner looked like he didn't belong out there, at any point. It's saddening but the matchup with Dirk just makes him look extremely bad.
ime on dirk when we're trying to come back? for real Pop, you're not gonna play Bowen over Ime on Dirk?

And Good ing God, apparently the "gameplan" for Josh Howard is leave him open for midrange jumpshots all ing game. Yeah, that was a good idea when he was still 2-8. After nailing three in a row, do you really still call for doubles on Dirk with his man, who also happens to be the worst defender on the court?



These are just "tonight's" mistakes.

Mason is not a PG, and hasn't played a great game at the position once this season. More importantly, we could have desperately used Hill to cool down Barea. Instead, we all watched Parker tire himself out chasing that quick little bas all around the court. Mason's defense going through screens was below average at best, so there really wasn't any time to try out GHill?

Bruce Bowen must play more minutes, and must play them earlier. I would go as far to say he should start. Bowen could have hit those corner 3's exactly the same as Finley early on. Yeah, he made a couple stupid fouls tonight - who gives a damn, Pop? What he does on the court outweighs all 6 fouls if need be. All season we thought he was saving him for the PO, guess not.

Lastly, Finley's lack of ability on D, especially as the game winds on, really overshadows anything he does on the other end of the court. He scored well, but what good did it end up doing us? We were fighting back from down double digits with little time remaining.

[ducks]

tp has to try to draw more contact
he missed the first 4 layup attempts...

[Obstructed_View]

Pop has lost his vulcan mind.

[ducks]

spurs need to attack and try to get dampier in foul trouble
not as much as dirk in foul trouble

[peskypesky]

You were way too easy on Bonner and Pop. This loss is on those two guys. But I blame Pop more than Bonner. It's not Bonner's fault he sucks...but it is Pop's fault for playing Bonner over Gooden.

[45 bank shot]

time for pop to lighten up

[peskypesky]

and btw, it's over. Mavs in 5.

[ducks]

dallas made their only move they can
dallas has no more suprises

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Bonner looked like a flapper girl who got a little loopy after hittin the ole gin n juice.

[Joechin]

first thing is to find a way to limit Barea and to defence Mavs's pick and roll.

PS: Bonner sucks. should be DNP in this series.

[Spurs Brazil]

Bruce was fantastic. I hope he and Gooden play a lot of minutes in game 2;

And please Pop, no more Bonner. Start Oberto, Thomas or Gooden but no more Bonner

[bless1187]

i disagree, goodens defense on nowitzki was better than bonners in the game, nowitzki just shot right over bonner with ease, and to make matter worst posterized that big stiff.

[timvp]

When Bonner went back in the game, it was like he was saying: "You don't want small ball? Enjoy Matt Bonner "

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Bonner has been the cat's meow all season. Now his play is givin us the business.

[mavs>spurs2]

At least you guys can count on not having another monster game out of Bass/Dampier. Those games happen about as often as a solar eclipse. Get Damp in foul trouble, and Tim eats Hollins alive. I'm far from convinced, this series is anything but in the bag.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

What was up with the Mason on Nowitzki matchups?

[45 bank shot]

i just wish pop can bench bonner and play hill as backup PG

[Obstructed_View]

When Bonner went back in the game, it was like he was saying: "You don't want small ball? Enjoy Matt Bonner "

That'll show us.

[Obstructed_View]

At least you guys can count on not having another monster game out of Bass/Dampier. Those games happen about as often as a solar eclipse. Get Damp in foul trouble, and Tim eats Hollins alive. I'm far from convinced, this series is anything but in the bag.

Can't do it if they won't blow the in' whistle.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

At least you guys can count on not having another monster game out of Bass/Dampier. Those games happen about as often as a solar eclipse. Get Damp in foul trouble, and Tim eats Hollins alive. I'm far from convinced, this series is anything but in the bag.

No way, I knew JJ and Bass were gonna kill us. They always seem to play well against us.

This series is far from over, but it's definitely off to a disheartening start if you're a Spurs fan. Only one game in and SA finds themselves in a must win situation.

[timvp]

What was up with the Mason on Nowitzki matchups?

Small ball. Bad matchup but Mason is better equipped to guard Nowitzki than Terry. The Mavs obviously knew the scouting report that Mason can't get around screens and just ran Terry around 50 screens in the few minutes Mason attempted to defend him.

[Shank]

Can't do it if they won't blow the in' whistle.

Don't make them bust out Hollins on that ass.

[Mugen]

im not sure but i think brandon bass shot it from my bathroom and somehow it still went in.

dude went bonkers today

[itzsoweezee]

i disagree, goodens defense on nowitzki was better than bonners in the game, nowitzki just shot right over bonner with ease, and to make matter worst posterized that big stiff.

gotta agree. gooden played good defense. definitely better than bonner, who was abused by the mavs.