Random Thoughts Before Game 3

[Solid D]

Dallas are doing a good job of pushing Gino outside while on pick and rolls. Hopefully manus creativity will let him split the defenders and score. Not an easy task cause Dallas have big frontine.

Also let's not forget that Tim needs some help. Bonne hitting shots can buy Duncan some rest on the bench and on the court [does not need to battle all by himself all the time inside].
Blair! We need him bcause I do not know if Dyess can keep that high intensity as in previous meeting all game long

True. On your point about the screen-rolls, the Mavs are actually showing hard with the screen defender and sticking with the dribbler until the dribble defender recovers from the screen. When J Kidd is defending Manu, it is extremely difficult to split the screen because of Kidd's active hands and experience. The only consistent success Manu has had is passing over the top to the roll man early, before the Big has time to recover. Tim gets a very easy shot inside when that pass is successful.

[emanueldavidginobili]

first and foremost we have to limit turnovers, we cant afford to turn the ball over against this team. Matt Bonner needs to hit his shots, they need to respect his shot so if one of the bigs are covering bonner then they will be forced to step out which would limit offense of boards, thats another thing, keep haywood of the offensive rebounds, also when Jason terry gets in the game, play him tight and dont let him get anything because hes the spark to that team so if we get on him early and take him out of the game early that will be great because thats where i see the mavs run begin. also if George HIll plays like he did in the regular season we should be fine, we need to hit our freethrows, missed quite a few in game 2 in the begining of the game, We need to play J-kidd tight because his three point shot is deadly nowaday's and he hasnt shown it in either game. dirk is going to get his, thats fine, we need to shut everyone else down. and lets get a heavy dose of timmy going. if we hustle get every loose ball and play with intensity and heart we should win this game.

[Brodels]

Keep rotating to shooters and pick them up in transition.

Win the rebounding margin by hitting the defensive glass with guards included, and don't commit stupid fouls giving up free throws.

Crisp rotations are, to me, a key. They played great in game two, they missed some opportunities and didn't execute defensively as consistently as I would have liked. If they can tighten this up a bit and avoid turning the ball over, they should be fine.

[ShoogarBear]

I may have misinterpreted game 2 but it seemed like Matt hit some big shots and maybe he can start building on that..

Bonner had five wide-freaking open three-point attempts. Hit two, which looks good on paper, but in reality wasn't making the Mavs pay for leaving him open.

[Spurs Brazil]

Must win the rebound battle

[Spursmania]

For me, its turnovers and offensive rebounds. If we take care of the ball and don't let them get a lot of second shot chances, we've got a great shot at winning this thing.

[Spursmania]

Bonner had five wide-freaking open three-point attempts. Hit two, which looks good on paper, but in reality wasn't making the Mavs pay for leaving him open.

I have yet to see Bonner perform well under play-off pressure. Really, there are no surprises. To me, I would love to get pie on my face and see him red hot and hitting those 3's when we need them. But I'm realistic. The past is indicative of future performance.

[TD 21]

I'm wondering, is tonight the inevitable game where Carlisle turns to Beaubois to get up into Parker, or possibly even Ginobili and provide a jolt of energy? If the Spurs get off to a good start, it's possible. More probable is the Spurs win game three and Carlisle goes to Beaubois in game four.

Because of the every other day schedule for the remainder of the series, there's likely going to be a game where Duncan and McDyess flat out don't have it. I don't think that will be tonight, but again, I wouldn't be surprised if it's in game four or five. That's the game they'll need Blair and to a lesser extent, Bonner to play well in. If Blair has one good game in this series and it comes in the game Duncan struggles, then he'll have, for the most part, done his job in this series.

Something I think that's being overlooked in this series is this: The Spurs core is flat out better than the Mavs'. Everyone has this idea that these teams are evenly matched, or that the Mavs, on the basis of home court, size and supposed depth, have the edge. But the truth is, if they're all playing at or near their best, the Spurs core is clear cut better than the Mavs. The Spurs have the best, arguably the second best and three of the four best players in this series.

Basically I look at it like this: If Nowitzki can't consistently draw the ridiculous calls he drew in game one and the Mavs front court can't simply overwhelm the Spurs front court in terms of size, then they're not winning this series. I've said it all season and I'm sticking by it now: The Spurs are the better team.

[DPG21920]

Coach Rick said he is considering giving Roddy B some burn. So it would not be surprising to see him get some run tonight. Hopefully he does it out of desperation. Hopefully it does not pay off.

[neboat]

I don't like Terry....and I don't like how he had a big night the last game. I hope Hill can keep this dude in check despite not being 100%

[emanueldavidginobili]

if anything i think he would put him in in games 1 or 2, not game 3 spurs first playoff game of the year place will be rocking, idk how he would hold up

[TD 21]

I think it will. The first game Beaubois plays, I think he makes an impact. After that, I don't think he'll do much, but that first game, he'll provide a jolt of energy.

The big thing for Pop is to treat these next two games as must wins. Run the key players into the ground, shorten the rotation as much as necessary, do whatever it takes to win. If they're successful, game five can be the throwaway game, where they take a shot at winning, but probably get blown out early due to the Mavs desperation and rest the key players. The goal at this point should be to win the home games and wrap this thing up in six.

Unfortunately, I don't think it plays out that way. As much as I think the Spurs are better, they're not better in a landslide. I have a hard time seeing either of these teams beating the other three straight times at full strength. The Mavs will probably lose game three and win game four.

[timvp]

Bonner had five wide-freaking open three-point attempts. Hit two, which looks good on paper, but in reality wasn't making the Mavs pay for leaving him open.

Yeah, the Mavs aren't even defending Bonner yet. If the Spurs wanted to, they could have gotten three-pointers for Bonner every time down the court. Nowitzki turns into a seven-foot rover when Bonner is on the court.

That's why it is so important for Bonner to make them pay, preferably in this game. He needs to hit two in a row or three in a quarter or something like that. Force Dirk to actually guard him and that will open the court for everyone else. And as we've seen from Bonner's plus/minus numbers in the regular season the last two seasons, the Spurs are damn good when the court is spread.

[DPG21920]

Spurs have to win this game imo. If they do, their chances of winning the series go way up imo. Even if they were to lose game 4.

Beating these guys twice in a row will say something and it will put the Mavs in the pressure situation.

[m33p0]

Bonner had five wide-freaking open three-point attempts. Hit two, which looks good on paper, but in reality wasn't making the Mavs pay for leaving him open.

40% for a 3-point shooter is good. and he played defense as well as his short arms and pasty white legs allowed him to do. what i liked about his game in Game 2 was he was taking those shoots WILLINGLY.

[timvp]

I also hope the Spurs continue to use Duncan exactly like they used him in the first two games. In the past, San Antonio got in the bad habit of trying to force teams to double-team Duncan by going to Duncan over and over and over again. It seems like they have finally realized the Mavs aren't going to consistently double Duncan no matter what they do. So instead of trying to force Dallas' hand, just go to Duncan when you need him most. Other than that, have Duncan concentrate on the boards and being the ultimate garbage man on both ends.

[ShoogarBear]

40% is good when you're being defended. When nobody is bothering to guard you and you're supposed to be a 3-point shooter it's subpar.

If you told Rick Carlisle that you could leave Bonner wide open all game and he'd only go 2 for 5, he would take that EVERY GAME.

[polandprzem]

I also hope the Spurs continue to use Duncan exactly like they used him in the first two games. In the past, San Antonio got in the bad habit of trying to force teams to double-team Duncan by going to Duncan over and over and over again. It seems like they have finally realized the Mavs aren't going to consistently double Duncan no matter what they do. So instead of trying to force the Dallas' hand, just go to Duncan when you need him most. Other than that, have Duncan concentrate on the boards and being the ultimate garbage man on both ends.

Duncan took off the pocket every move in his offensive arsenal, and it really was effective against Mavs.

Hopefully Tim will continue to do so and let's hope his help defense will be sharp.

[TD 21]

I agree DPG. This one is crucial. So crucial that if Blair continues to struggle and Mason (or Bogans, but for now he appears to be on the outs) struggles in their initial rotation, they should be immediately pulled and the Spurs should go down to a seven man rotation in the second half. If Duncan has to go over 40 minutes, so be it. If Ginobili has to play 40 minutes, so be it. McDyess, if he has to go well over 30 minutes, so be it. Virtually nothing within' reason should be off limits.

As for Bonner, we know he can't play under pressure. Even so, shouldn't he be long overdue to have a good shooting game, particularly under pressure? Theoretically, he should be. Law of averages.

[m33p0]

40% is good when you're being defended. When nobody is bothering to guard you and you're supposed to be a 3-point shooter it's subpar.

If you told Rick Carlisle that you could leave Bonner wide open all game and he'd only go 2 for 5, he would take that EVERY GAME.

and if he does gets defended, wouldn't you say he did his job? his role is to free up the floor, isn't it?

[polandprzem]

I do not want to see mason even 13 seconds on the floor.
he is so bad on D right now it's not even funny

[DPG21920]

I know it is cliche, but the energy level has to be at an all time high. This is something so intangible, but very noticeable.

[ShoogarBear]

and if he does gets defended, wouldn't you say he did his job? his role is to free up the floor, isn't it?

The point is he didn't get defended. So he wasn't really freeing up the floor.

Yeah, if he had somebody closing out on him, 40% wouldn't be bad. But he didn't. That's why it's not impressive.

If you heard somebody shot 60%, you'd think "Boy, great shooting". But if you heard it was on fast break layups, you'd say "That's not great". Bonner hitting 40% with nobody guarding him is akin to shooting 60% on layups.

[timvp]

I really don't want to see Bogans on the court. I have a bad feeling Pop may try to use this homecourt advantage as a reason to open up the rotation and play more players. If that happens and Bogans sees PT, my head might explode.

RMJ is really bad too but at least with him the Mavs actually defend him. And there's always a chance RMJ gets hot and knocks down a couple threes. Small chance these days, but a chance nonetheless.

[m33p0]

The point is he didn't get defended. So he wasn't really freeing up the floor.

Yeah, if he had somebody closing out on him, 40% wouldn't be bad. But he didn't. That's why it's not impressive.

If you heard somebody shot 60%, you'd think "Boy, great shooting". But if you heard it was on fast break layups, you'd say "That's not great". Bonner hitting 40% with nobody guarding him is the equivalent of shooting 60% on layups.

impressive>>>good. big difference. here's hoping he shoots better then.