Light and loose for 'must-win'
By Jeff McDonald
Kurt Thomas and Drew Gooden good naturedly sparred over a free throw game. George Hill buried a 3-pointer and yapped at the assistant coach rebounding for him. Tim Duncan was roped into a post-workout interview session, and did it with a smile.
If the Spurs were nervous or tight heading into a Game 2 against Dallas that Duncan came close to labeling a "must-win", they weren't showing it at this morning's shootaround.
"It's still a good, positive mood around here," Thomas said.
That doesn't mean the Spurs don't know what's at stake. Lose tonight, and they head to Dallas down 2-0 -- and will officially be flirting with their first first-round ouster since 2000.
It's one thing to come back from a 2-0 deficit -- the Spurs did it last year against New Orleans in the conference semifinals. Doing it after losing two games at home offers an entirely different degree of difficulty.
The Spurs haven't opened a playoff series with two straight losses since the 2001 conference finals against the Lakers -- and promptly wound up getting swept.
"The first one was what it was," Duncan said, referring to Dallas' 105-97 victory in Game 1. "We've got to come in here tonight, and definitely win this one. It's kind of a must-win for us."
The Spurs spent the day between games talking defense. They believe 97 points should be enough to win a playoff game against anybody but the Lakers.
Instead, they talked about tightening up a defensive effort that allowed 60 second-half points in Game 1. Look for the Spurs to follow the same basic game-plan -- blitz both Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry on the catch -- while also looking to get a handle on role players like Brandon Bass and J.J. Barea.
Bass and Barea killed the Spurs in Game 1. The Spurs are betting Bass won't be 7-of-9 from the field again, and that they can get Barea under control.
"We have to have a much better defensive effort," Duncan said. "Giving up 60 is not going to in games for us. We're scoring enough points and moving the ball well enough. It's just getting stops."
Last edited by duncan228; 04-20-2009 at 12:43 PM.
I think the second paragraph should read that the Spurs haven't opened a playoff series with two straight home losses since the 2001 WCF. Otherwise, the two points are inconsistent, since the Spurs opened two series last year with two straight losses -- they lost the first two games of both the New Orleans and LA series.
I wonder if it was something like...
"I could do this in a game too you know...please pass it along to Pop."
we got this es
He will if he's left open. Therein lies the rub. The performances of those two were NOT isolated situations. Bass and Barea have been giving the that type of effort and lift for just about the entire season. So while the Spurs "sold out" on shutting down Dirk and Jet, a good strategy, they didn't plan on the Mavs supporting cast stepping up. I don't think they can simply bet those other guys will have off nights.
Ya think!
Those guys weren't left open. And Barea hit 6-14 from the field. Not bad but not this dominant performance. If Barea is allowed to shoot 14 on a team with Dirk, JET and Josh then let him. That works in the Mavs favor.
Of course i think the spurs are going to come back and do some damage. Duncan had a pretty good game and so did parker. The rest of the guys have to step up on D.
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