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and that's about it....
Can't take to much from this game. We all knew Dallas wasn't just going to roll over and die. Should be an exciting series starting on Thursday (and hopefully where it ends)
The Spurs went for the knockout punch on Tuesday in Game 5 but the Mavs thwarted the attempt. Instead, Dallas whipped the Spurs at the AAC to win their second game of the series. The Spurs still hold a 3-2 advantage but they face a tremendously important contest in Game 6.
Caron Butler was the story for the Mavs, finishing with 35 points and 11 rebounds on 12-for-24 shooting from the field. He was so good that Dirk Nowitzki wasn't forced to do much heavy-lifting (16 points and nine rebounds in 31 minutes).
Thanks to a Tony Parker fueled run to end the first half, the Spurs were actually within seven points at halftime. Unfortunately, the Mavs scored the first ten points of the third quarter and the game was never again in doubt.
-Tim Duncan was better than he was in Game 4 ... but that isn't saying much. In 24 minutes, Duncan had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots and missed 6-of-9 field goals. Earlier in the series, he was using his agility to get by the slower centers for Dallas. In this game, he tried to rely on his post moves and he couldn't find a rhythm. Defensively, Duncan was a bit slow and wasn't pulling down contested boards. The Spurs need Duncan to bounce back with a big game on Thursday or this could become a memorable series for all the wrong reasons.
-I was very disappointed by what I saw out of Manu Ginobili. I could live with his foursome of untimely turnovers but I was stunned by his lack of energy on either end of the court. Ginobili was slow moving to the ball and just wasn't playing with enough juice. In the playoffs, that is unacceptable. Hopefully it was an off-game or he was looking ahead to Game 6. If it's a case that Ginobili is already tired, this postseason doesn't have much in store for the Spurs.
-Tony Parker was one of the few bright spots -- especially his play in the first half. He finished the game with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds on 6-for-15 shooting (he had one point on 0-for-6 shooting in the second half). The Spurs actually outscored the Mavs by three points in the 25 minutes he was on the court. When the Mavs tried to bully the Spurs, Parker fought back and didn't back down. That's the type of at ude the Spurs need going forward.
-George Hill did too little, too late. It would have been great for him to pick up the slack early when the Spurs were struggling but he came out of the gates tentatively. He finished with 12 points and two rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting, however it wasn't until the end of the third quarter that he really found his energy. Hill missed his only two three-pointer attempts -- in Game 6, the Spurs need him to be a marksman from deep.
-Richard Jefferson was silent. He had no points, no rebounds and no assists until he hit a jumper with under three minutes remaining in the first half. While he wasn't involved much offensively, he has to focus on at least making a difference on the boards. With the Spurs getting out-rebounded 52-41, there were plenty of rebounds for Jefferson to go out and collect. He ended the game with four points, one rebound and one assists in 24 minutes.
-Antonio McDyess wasn't crisp enough on this night. He made bad passes, let Nowitzki drive past him too often and just wasn't playing as smart as he did the first four games of this series. Since Nowitzki was held in check, I can't be too down on McDyess. Let's hope he's ready for war on Thursday.
-Matt Bonner surprised me when he drained a pair of three-pointers in his first two and a half minutes of action. But he soon cooled off and didn't give the Spurs the consistent outside shooting threat they have been searching for in this series. He finished with six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Bonner's rebounding was actually good to see because he's had trouble pulling down boards against the Mavs long frontcourt.
-It's amazing how bad Roger Mason, Jr. looks compared to his peak with the Spurs last season. He has no confidence offensively, runs away from the ball and his defense is spectacularly bad. He can't move with any type of quickness, which is exposed against Dallas' quick guards. Watching him play 28 minutes tonight was torture.
-Ian Mahinmi got 18 minutes of run and didn't look too out of place. He had nine points and two boards while hitting half of his six attempts. He utilized his athleticism on defense to challenge jumpers and protect the rim. Offensively, Mahinmi's good hands are a weapon in the pick-and-roll because he can catch awkward bounce passes. That said, he didn't show enough to crack the rotation the rest of this series in non-blowout type game.
-Keith Bogans was 0-for-5 with two turnovers in 12 minutes. That's about what we've come to expect out of Bogans. He doesn't fit for the Spurs at all in this series. If he doesn't see the floor in Game 6, that's a good thing.
-I had been pondering whether Pop should use Garrett Temple to take any potential minutes away from Mason or Bogans ... and then Temple had 11 minutes of playing time in which he couldn't seem to keep himself from tripping over his own feet. He was well aware of the bright lights of postseason play. I now understand why Temple is the team's 12th man.
-With his starting lineup playing so poorly, I can't put too much blame on Pop. He didn't have anyone to carry the squad to keep it close. If Pop made a notable mistake, it was not starting Parker in the second half in an attempt to continue the momentum from the end of the second quarter. Overall, Pop did right by pulling the starters by the fourth quarter. The Spurs weren't going to make a run and with signs of fatigue already creeping up, getting as much rest as possible is extremely vital.
and that's about it....
Can't take to much from this game. We all knew Dallas wasn't just going to roll over and die. Should be an exciting series starting on Thursday (and hopefully where it ends)
Dude you mean to tell me the Blair-Bonner-Mason-Hill-Parker lineup to start the 2nd quarter for a good four minutes was not complete Pop bull ?
It was a 5-9 point game and quickly jumped to the 11-16 range when we did that.
Mason was handling the ball when Parker was on the court.
MASON WAS HANDLING THE BALL WHEN PARKER WAS ON THE COURT.
Seeing as how Parker did not like no other to him, I can only assume that was by design.
Seriously.
That lineup destroyed us.
Marion was hitting flip shots at will.
Bonner-Blair has ed us every time this series.
And using 3 guards to play small against Dallas is simply stupid when your 3 guards are still allowing JJ ing Barea to get into the paint to score layups.,
Most of Bonner's rebounds seemed to come right to him with no pressure from anyone else. I'm not too excited about that number. And I'd basically chalk his made 3's up to blind luck at this point. The airballed wide open three tells the whole story of Bonner's Playoff Guts.
Whattayaknow....
Parker is the only guy that gets props from timvp tonight...
Same old song and dance...
+1000000000000000
I donīt think so, they dodnīt even throw that KO punch.
Quite otherwise, they knew this was a fixed OMB Heavyweight fight and behave like it, went hard at the begining to check how the refs were calling it, and the refs were clear, even, but when Dallas needs help...
Then they played their starters a little bit more and regruped... That was what we needed to do, emphasize that Dallas homecourt was respected and rest for the really important game at SA. Where we all know there will be no home court advantage to anyone.
I was about to punch a hole in my living room air purifier when Mason was bringing the ball up the court, fumbling a pass to blair, and Parker was not even fazed by not having the ball touch his hands.
Then on the other end, for four straight possessions, our defensive game plan was to have Blair foul.
gmafb
pathetic effort
My advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7.
but we get that revenue for game 6 though. Use it to help bring over splitter. im just sayin.
I expect guys like Hill to play better at home. They're not used to playing big on the road like the seasoned veterans (well, except for this particular game).
As I said in another thread, it's difficult to keep such a high intensity after winning 3 in a row, and so a letdown game was somewhat expected.
That said, the Spurs need to come out aggressive from the gates on Game 6 and understand what's at stake on that game. They also need to review some tape, because while some of the turnovers were merely sloppy play, some others were actual adjustments on the rotation for the pick and roll, especially to stop Dice's jumper.
I really think we can close this out Thursday.
your about 47 hours away from hating lifeMy advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7.
Yeah. At one point, Mason was bringing the ball up, then dribbling at the top of the key, while Parker AND Hill were standing near each sideline.
That's about the point I lost my .
+1. After seeing Pop put Mason's ass on the bench (where he belongs) for most of this series, why the did he play him in a potential closeout game? Why? Why? WHY?!?!?! That line-up of Parker-Mason-Hill-Blair-Bonner in the 2nd qtr is where the game was lost for the most part IMO. Blair and Bonner should never be on the court at the same time for long periods of time, and Mason shouldnt be on the court AT ALL.
revenue.
47 hours from rolling out the pink elephants...My advice to spurs fans for Thursday night...don't spend your evening watching this game. Go out and get laid,drunk,high, or get tickets for the new Nightmare on Elm Street showing at midnight. Mavs won this game. We are just 47 hours away from sending this series back to Dallas for game 7.
this loss just put us back on our heels and dallas wont have a chance. less jumpshots and more penetration... especially from MANU... no idea what he was thinking tonight.
manu plays well on three days rest
hopefully the crowd at sa can help manu play with more fire on short rest
Seriously. Is he okay?
Sunday's game, he looked...off. Tonight's game, he looked exponentially worse.
he was thinking "why the is pop playing tony, blair, mason, bonner and hill at the same time?"
he didnt break a sweat tonight... be going on 5 days rest
Maybe he should reconsider going with a mask instead of the oversized Breathe-Rite.
definitely could be some sort of nose problem playing a factor. I mean the thing is broken. Also he has said he can only breath out of 1 nostril right now which could make it a little difficult for him to catch his breath. i don't know. I expect him to come out hard and aggressive on thursday though.
It was 27-21 to start the second quarter. And 31-23 when Duncan came back in. So that lineup was only a -2. I know it looked horrible. But the lead didn't change that much.
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