I'm going to take the liberty of responding to a very good troll, because in this instance I can't help but be baited.
Avery outsmarted himself by trying to play smallball with Nellie. I'm guessing he did this based off the Phoenix series last year. In the first quarter of Game 1, he started Dampier. Tim Thomas hit a couple of three-pointers, out came Damp since he had nobody to guard, and the series didn't turn in Dallas' favor until Diop showed he could do a good job of handling Diaw and TT on the perimeter. The move backfired in Game One and Avery made the correct adjustment in Game Two. Dallas played much better in Game Two with the lineups and rotations back to normal.
Damp and Diop did a good job of protecting the rim and packing the paint. Unlike Game One, they didn't give up nearly as many easy baskets, they forced the Warriors to work for their shots in their halfcourt sets, which Golden State can't do. The Dubs started settling for a bunch of pullup jumpers instead of attacking the basket -- that's losing the will to fight, or experiencing fatigue. Whatever the case, from the 10 minute mark to the 6 minute mark of the third quarter, the Mavs went on an 11-0 run to seize control of the game.
On the other end of the court, everybody but Dirk figured out that the Warriors have no interior defenders whatsoever, and we can get a layup or dunk anytime we want. So Dallas attacked the basket repeatedly instead of falling in love with their jump shots like Golden State, and the Warriors were forced to commit hard fouls and hacking and sending the Mavs to the line.
With frustration mounting, or the realization that his team was not getting it done, Baron Davis decided to get himself thrown out. Whether he lost his cool temporarily, or wanted to save his knees and legs for Game Three, I don't know. But Davis, Richardson, Harrington were all no-shows in Game Two.
The Mavs still have not played a good game in this series, but they slowly seem to be figuring the Warriors out. After the trade, and with all of the injuries, the Warriors are not your typical 8 seed. If they had that lineup healthy and together all year, they would've won 50-55 games and been a middle seed. So this is more like a second round matchup than a 1 vs 8 matchup. I have a healthy amount of respect for GS's athleticism and their talent. However, they are not disciplined on offense. They jack up terrible shots Rucker League style, they don't move the ball side to side, their defense is pretty much "let's overplay the passing lanes and hope for the best,", and they don't seem to have the collective experience and maturity that the playoffs require. Because of their offensive talent, I fully expect them to win another game in this series, but they need EVERYTHING to break right to win it.
Davis wasn't playing well and his team was slipping when he decided to pack it in and call it a night. Jackson got tossed with 4 minutes left and the game in the bag for Dallas.
I expect the games in Oakland to be dogfights. The Warriors are mad and will feed off the emotion and intensity of their home crowd witnessing its first playoff game in 13 years. It won't be easy for Dallas, but we didn't go 12-8 on the road against playoff teams this year for nothing. That's best in the league by the way. Golden State has a bigger, stronger, more athletic backcourt, but that's the only edge they have in this series. They fall in love with the jump shot too much, their offense is too undisciplined to succeed in the playoffs where getting stops and executing your half court sets are most important, and they don't have the collective demeanor to withstand playoff pressure, as they demonstrated last night.
The Mavs played like in Game One, did nothing except go back to their regular lineup and rotation and pulled out a normal victory. GS got a much different result when they weren't able to sucker Dallas into following them into the briar patch in Game Two, and they lost their and melted down as a result. There's nothing more that needs to be said about Stephen Jackson -- he was at his best and worst last night. He's dangerous when he's on, but he can't control himself and he will hurt his team again at some point in this series. Baron Davis is a supremely talented player whose flaws include having a very tender vagina resulting in frequent trips to the trainer's room and being a selfish, me-first player that doesn't always exhibit leadership. He sabotaged his team last year by not running the offense instead of being a facilitator. He sabotaged his team last night by quitting when they still had a tiny chance of getting back into the game and making a comeback. I liked Dallas' going at him on defense last night in order to wear him out a bit and empty his tank.
What makes the Warriors so dangerous is that they have five guys who can run the floor and score and shoot from anywhere, but they exhibited horrible shot selection last night, partly as a result of the presence of Dampier and Diop, and their relative inexperience and immaturity, as well as lack of interior D, will ultimately be their undoing.
The Mavs were +27 when Diop was on the floor last night. He had the best +/- of any player on either squad. He's going to have the same kind of series-changing presence as he did against Phoenix last year.
I didn't think Dirk would have a big series because of the defensive focus the Warriors have made in commiting so much help to him, but he is helping his team by drawing the double teams, making the right decisions, and helping his team by grabbing rebounds and blocking shots on defense. I do think he needs to be more aggressive, but that will come.
Mavs in 6.
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