Championship-level win..

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

The Mavericks were never contenders. So no, it wasn't.

Recommend you worry about that 8 seed that handed your team its ass last night.

Beat me to it.

And yeah, it wasn't just a beat down, it was a curbstomping!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Yep. Imagine the damage Finley would have done in a game like this.

Our young players saved our asses tonight. That's a wonder to behold.

George Hill showed new dimensions of leadership tonight. He didn't just hit shots, he led us back from the brink of oblivion in the 3rd. It was like, "I got this, don't worry."
We haven't had a player step up like that since when?
Finley, Bonner, Mason, etc, simply aren't capable of that kind of this kind of gutty, clutch play.

Please go and post in my thread!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I agree..

Where did this defense come from?..

We're seeing SHARP rotations, guys flying to deny Dirk the ball and force them to swing it to the guy on the other side of the floor..when that happens, another defender flying towards that guy..everybody is everywhere..yes, there are missed rotations, but you can't be perfect..

The regular season Spurs showed NONE of this..it was extremely rare..that team couldn't get a stop in transition, constantly missed rotations and got killed in the paint..

I don't know how a team can all of a sudden just click out of nowhere and play defense like this..

Let's just call it the Finley effect..

That's why I'm totally stunned - this D has come completely out of left field. I mean, there were flashes of it during the last 20 games, but there were also still lots of lapses, and uncharacteristic ones too like terrible transition D. But in this series, the D has been like a well-oiled machine. I'm pleasantly flabbergasted!

I will say one negative thing though - WTF was TP doing late in 4th tonight leaving Terry in the corner to hit those two 3s that put the Mavs back in the game? WTF TP??? He wasn't even properly doubling, just stepping away by 3-4 steps, which helps no-one and leaves a guy like Terry just enough room to be the Spur Killah he is. I hope Pop is all over him about that as we speak.

[NFGIII]

whoever gets out of this series will get raped by the suns... even if they get tot he Finals... it'll be the east's team which will win it all

Though the Suns are playing well they should be up 3-1 on Portland and not tied as they are right now. And raped I don't think is going to happen. These two teams are different from prior ones but what we are witnessing concerning the Spurs D is reminiscent of past championship runs. This type of D will definitely bother the SunsIMHO.

But concerning the East you may be right but that's why they play the games. Never know until it happens.

This was quite frankly all that you said it was and more. I mean how the did they win this game? Its so damn amazing.

The heart and perseverance shown by this team in this series is phenomenal. They're peaking now. Its amazing.

It was and is and as HH37 stated we haven't seen this type of D in years. '07 to be exact.

A huge, huge win, and yeah, the last three games have been our biggest wins in years.

What has astounded me is the way the D has lifted about 3 gears in the playoffs. All year this team had problems with consistency on the defensive end, and seemed to lack that overdrive switch they have had for most of the past decade which has enabled them to string together 5+ stops in a row and simply stop the other team scoring for long stretches. Somehow, and from somewhere, they have inexplicably found that again. WTF??? I mean, where did that come from? I don't think anyone saw that coming.

Wow.

My thoughts exactly. Where has that kind of D been? But better late than never and this team is putting it together at precisely the right time.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

The spurs in 07 had a good defensive unit. This is almost 05 level D they are playing....

I agree with this. I'm seeing a lot of 05 flashbacks here which is good because I think the 05 championship was the best of all - those final games were crazy.