Mavericks Say Rebounding Will Be The Key To Game 3

**duncan228** · 04-22-2009

Dallas Mavericks say rebounding will be the key to Game 3
By Eddie Sefco / The Dallas Morning News

So a coach comes up to his center and says it's imperative that he grab a lot of defensive rebounds in the next game.

And the center tells him: "Coach, I have been. It's not my fault they're going through the net first."

Maybe this exchange didn't happen between Rick Carlisle and Erick Dampier, but it's a good bet something closely resembling it was in the conversation.

The Mavericks were humiliated in the rebounding department in the Game 2 loss, but it was a chicken and egg sort of thing. It's hard to rebound when you're not forcing any missed shots.

The Spurs have shot 50 percent for the series and it only seems like it's a lot better than that. In Game 2, the Mavericks were pounded on the boards, 44-28. Few things in basketball offer a better commentary on a team's hustle and heart than rebounding. It's little more than effort, usually.

And it was an effort that wasn't good enough in Game 2 and will have to be seriously upgraded tonight at American Airlines Center in Game 3.

"With the way they've shot the ball, it's a miracle we have a win under our belt," Carlisle said Wednesday. "Our defense has to get much better. When we get stops, we have [Jason] Kidd, we have guys that can get out and run and finish.

"This is not going to be about hocus-pocus and trickery. It's going to be about the defensive end of the floor and about rebounding. We got to do better defensively. That's the biggest priority for us."

Perhaps that goes hand-in-glove with Dampier, who has caused the biggest stir of the series with his comments about putting hard fouls on Tony Parker the first time the Spurs' point guard ventures into the paint tonight.

But that alone won't do it. The Mavericks, after reviewing the film of Game 2, know they didn't have the pep in that game to keep pace with the Spurs. And as well as the Spurs played, it may not have mattered. San Antonio was outstanding.

But whether or not the Spurs repeat that execution and effort, the Mavericks know they must upgrade theirs.

"When we rebound, we're in the game," Kidd said. "It doesn't mean we're going to win every game, but when you're not rebounding – giving those guys second opportunities – they're going to kill you. You could tell they were ready to play from the start and we were a little relaxed. We've got to get back to being aggressive."

The return to home court should help. The Mavericks went 32-5 at AAC after starting the season 0-4 there.

Every Maverick interviewed Wednesday singled out the crowd as a huge difference-maker and said their energy naturally rises at home.

But it will take execution, in addition to playing hard.

"We looked over the film and saw some adjustments we have to make, and we'll make them throughout the game," Dampier said. "Rebounding is a big part of it. It gets the transition going. We can get easy layups. If you don't get any rebounds, you're not going to win. Stops and rebounds are going to be the keys."

**DPG21920** · 04-22-2009

Rebounding will be huge. The Spurs have had trouble rebounding against the Mavs and it is imperative to make rebounding (especially defensive) a high priority.