Bonner guards Nowitzki better than anyone else on the team, now if he would just start hitting those 3's, he'd be a real asset out there.
I was impressed with how Dice, especially in the first half, seemed to be able to take advantage of openings and get free for dunks. Cheap points.
Bonner guards Nowitzki better than anyone else on the team, now if he would just start hitting those 3's, he'd be a real asset out there.
Even the most ardent Bonner lovers wouldn't claim that he does a better job than Dice. Dice has been a major difference between this year's games and last year's 4-1 defeat. Bonner OTOH is just what the Mavs need to see; they attack him on every possession and score on him at will.
This take of yours is right up there along with:
a) Kobe is the GOAT
b) Randy Moss = Malcolm Floyd and only scores TD's because he's tall
lol vander
Negative. Duncan would do a better job tucking Dirk but he isn't assigned to him at the defense end, we all know the reason why. Bonner just did competent jobs in these 3 games but no where does it deserve any vocabulary like great/terrific etc.... Dirk got the points he was supposed to get regardless of how hard Bonner tried to guard him. It's just because Dirk's teammates all lick balls that Dirk's efforts always turn forlorn. It would have been 3-0 for Mavs if the Mavs got Dirk a 2nd banana near his level, like Pau to Kobe, but sadly Jason Kidd isn't this guy and nor is Butler, not to mention JET/Barea/Haywood/Dampier or any other sorry not named.
Dice may ram Dirk's points lower, but on the other hand his inactivity in offense pretty much negates his functions and that's the reason why Bonner is used more. Dirk is just unstoppable no matter who you assign to defend him. Only by closing down Dirk's sorry teammates can Spurs neuter Mavs offense, and the Spurs just did it well in the 3 games they played.
I worry about Duncan's 44-minute game tonight. They must end this series in 5 or 6 or Pop must find a way for others to contribute and limit Timmy's minutes. Ok Manu is finally healthy, but how can we play the Lakers w/ an exhausted TD?
Another big deal was that the Spurs outscored the mavs 56-38 in the paint tonight. The Spurs have owned the paint in this series, outscoring the Mavericks in that category in all three games. (Total margin of 146-102) If that continues, it's going to be really difficult for Dallas to win.
I don't expect that to go unnoticed by the Dallas coaching staff. Next game I expect to see them put a lot of effort into packing the paint on the defensive end, and running at Duncan to try and force some fouls on him early. We're going to need to do better than 0-7 from the 3P line, and hopefully Parker will keep that teardrop working to force them to leave the rim.
Inthink theyre all tired of hearing how they're done and can't win it anymore.
TD was on Dirk a few times, and they resulted in baskets that Dirk hardly even had to work for
Mcdyess plays Dirk a little too thugish, fouls him and gets faked out too often.
Bonner makes Dirk Work, and doesn't leave his feet for the fakes.
I was impressed with how Jefferson was able to say involved in the game for having such a small role on the offensive end. Normally, he spaces out completely in this situation.
Also, with Blair, I don't think he's playing great but not horrible either. He's getting rebounds. He's playing his game. His shots around the basket just aren't falling. Obviously, that's not acceptable but I have more faith that he can hit a 2 foot shot then Bonner can hit a 23 foot shot in the playoffs. Bonner is hustling and in the right spots for the most part but he's just not getting results. I understand supporting him because he's doing the best he can but the results are just not there. Whoever he guards, get's hot. That can't be ignored.
The Big Three...great play by all of them. Great to see Parker locked in.
On Dice and Bonner, Randy Galloway put it like this after game 2 - Dirk came out on the floor and saw this big black man guarding him and said "what happened to the red headed white guy? I liked him better". Dirk owns Bonner no matter how hard Bonner tries. Dirk doesn't own Dice, Dice makes him work his ass off to get his points and muscles him a bit.
i thought bonner was horrible. hes defense was weak and he failed to box out on a few occasions. Hes a poor rebounder but sometimes its simply because he doesnt box out. inexcusable effort imo.
No, we didn't. The Spurs scored four more points than the Mavericks when Bonner was in the game.
Bonner gets a C from me. I felt like his defense was decent and he rebounded alright. However, he needs to start hitting some shots.
Honestly, Bonner just isn't cut out for the playoffs. He's a nice regular season minutes eater, but just can't raise his game at all come April. He has to be gone after this year or relegated to regular season only role.
Jefferson had 9 shots in the 1st half of game 2.
Since then, he's gotten only 6 shots in 6 quarters of basketball. That can't all be his fault.
Spurs need to get him involved in order to keep the dream alive.
This. Dude is earning his keep.-Antonio McDyess once again played top notch defense on Nowitzki. Although Nowitzki ended up with 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting, it wasn't for a lack of effort by McDyess. There were a few times McDyess found himself out of position but the vast majority of the time Nowitzki just hit tough shots. In 31 minutes, he finished with six points and six rebounds while hitting 3-of-5 field goal attempts. If McDyess can keep giving this sort of effort, the Spurs would be thrilled.
That, and Manu and Parker are playing with some serious fire. Let's get game 4 on Sunday and close this sucker out in Dallas next week![]()
Big 3 healthy again and playing well + a role player stepping up = Spurs win.
Pressuring Kidd is doing absolute WONDERS for this team.
Hill is absolutely custom-made for defending either Kidd or Terry, and pretty much taking them out of the game.
Problem is, Carlisle went small and Terry was hot as . Then Ginobili gets shnozz-bloaded. Pop responds not by going Bogans-Mason, but by putting Richard- ing-Jefferson on Kidd.
Jefferson's full court D sucked oak cliff taint, but the principle was there. And Terry was cooled down like the turtleheaded that he is.
Like I said in my keys to victory
Stop the Kidd.....stop Tommy Boy.
Wow I was at the game and didn't even realize that Manu broke his nose, or that the Mavs run was 17-0... all I could focus on were the annoying Mav fans that were going nuts. The tickets were a birthday gift and I couldn't have asked for a better game. The best part was at the end of the night seeing all the chumps in Mavs gear getting shouted down with "Go Spurs Go!" and "Mavs Fans Suck!" as they headed for the exits.
+1
If this keeps up, I have a really good feeling about the series.
If Jefferson and Tony continue to be active on D, it gives us a LOT of options as far as defensive assignments go. Manu and Hill both picked up Barea for a couple of possessions, and the different looks worked on him -- he cooled off right away.
Mavs hit a bunch of horrifically bad shots tonight. The Dirk flail, the Barea deep 3, the Terry 3 from 25 feet out, I think Hawyood got a ridiculous shot in there or two as well. They almost jumpshotted their way to victory. Doubt it will happen again -- we're just dominating the paint right now.
Another great posting. Many thanks!!!
Bonner's gonna go to work in game 4. He has the Mavs right where he wants them.
I'm freaking excited. I was actually able to view part of this game today as our TV satellite it working again (last one took a mortar round). I saw the final 5 minutes. Excellent win.
Go Spurs!
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