Official Spurs-Mavs Gameday Thread

[Findog]

[Findog]

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archi...e-spurs-2.html

The Mavericks have payback on their mind. As Dirk Nowitzki said, the Spurs "kind of embarrassed us'' last week in San Antonio when they took down the uninspired Mavericks without Tim Duncan or Tony Parker.

Tonight, the Mavericks will be the ones shortanded, with at least 40 percent of the starting lineup out (Josh Howard and Erick Dampier) and possibly a third member gone (Shawn Marion).

"We have a tough opponent and we're a little banged up so we're going to have to be extremely aggressive tonight and get our crowd into it,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "When you have guys unable to play, you have to have other guys step forward.''

Carlisle said he's tried to rid his mind of the way the Mavericks played in San Antonio, although they should remember it as a lesson of what not to do.

"We just played poorly and we had no excuses,'' he said of the game last week in SA. "Our level of aggression and unselfishness wasn't where it needed to be.''

--Eddie Sefko

[Findog]

http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=2250

One of these days, these two Texas rivals with Dallas roots (the Spurs were the Chaparrals before being a basketball team from Dallas was cool) will actually oppose one another with rosters left intact and bandages left in the box.
But that’s not the case at the AAC tonight for the 8:30 p.m. start (ESPN, you shall owe me an hour of sleep). It’s Spurs-at-Mavs preview time. Let’s limp through the key factors:
THE INJURIES: Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have returned from ankle injuries. Yippee.
The Mavs are not as fortunate. Shawn Marion twisted an ankle Monday in Milwaukee, is listed as day-to-day, and didn't do much at shootaround this morning. Erick Dampier is recovering from that mystery illness and is not expected to play. And of course, Josh Howard (ankle) is unavailable. If Tim Thomas’ attempt at making his season debut with his new team (following knee surgery) doesn’t go as planned, Dallas might just have 10 healthy bodies available.
THE LAST TIME: Well, the last time these two teams played was just last week, and while Timmy and Tony didn’t play, Keith Bogans & Co. led San Antonio to a 92-83 win at home.
THE RECORDS: Dallas is 8-3 after having won three straight on the road. Southwest Division rival San Antonio is 4-4 and hasn’t played since Saturday, when the Spurs lost to OKC despite the returns of Duncan (22 points and 10 rebounds) and Parker (17 points and five assists).
THE MISCELLANEOUS STUFF: Last week, Dallas’ best player was Dirk Nowitzki with 29 points but little help. Meanwhile, Richard Jefferson is somewhere around SA’s fourth-best player – but in that game, he matched Dirk as a Batman with 29 of his own. … Dallas will start Drew Gooden at center for the third straight game. He’s been a double-double guy in both starts (averaging 16 points and 12.5 boards) and the Mavs think the 4/5 combo of Dirk/Gooden will provide an offensive challenge to the SA combo of Duncan/That Boner Person. It’s notable, though, that in the last meeting Gooden came off the bench and played just nine minutes, contributing one rebound and one basket. … Rookie DeJuan Blair started upfront for the Spurs against the Thunder, and George Hill has been playing some 2-guard in tandem with Parker. … The Mavericks seem to have their defense figured out, but the shooting comes and goes. In that loss to SA, Dallas shot just 35.4 percent. … Both teams are averaging right around 1.1 points per game. But Dallas averages 109 ppg at home, and SA averages 89.3 on the road. … The Spurs are 0-3 away from The Alamo. … The single-word theme from today's Mavs shootaround? "Unselfishness.'' The Mavs don't think they shared the ball well or efficiently in last week's meeting. ... Is tonight the night we get to watch Roddy (who didn’t even play in the last meeting) in a footrace against Tony Parker -- in French?
THE QUESTION OF THE NIGHT: Who starts for the Mavs? No Damp, so Gooden is the 5. No Josh, so Roddy is probably the 2. No Marion (maybe) so. ... who's left? I've seen a few websites trying to pretend they know, but ... As if this moment, seven hours before tipoff, I don't know. (I'll try to find out ASAP) ... Does Dallas go with the 3-PG Attack to start? Wanna throw Tim Thomas right into the middle of this? Kris Humphries at the 4? Maybe, reflecting back to last season, James Singleton comes to the surprising rescue? Is it too late to re-sign Greg Buckner?

[Findog]

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The...t_slowing_mavs

After shuffling through last season coping with a raft of injuries and a lack of depth, the Mavericks beefed up the roster in the offseason in an attempt to push the team back into contention. Injuries have remained a problem in the early season, but the team has managed to deal with them and sits atop the Southwest Division. Through all the roster turnover, there has been one constant-forward Dirk Nowitzki, now in his 12th season with the Mavericks. Sporting News' Sean Deveney talked with Nowitzki about the season, the Olympics and the plusses and minuses of hosting the All-Star Game.

Sporting News: Injuries seem like they've sort of been the hallmark of the early season for you guys. Erick Dampier went down, Shawn Marion had an injury. Your depth is being tested.

Dirk Nowitzki: It is a good thing we are deep, really. We have to fight through it. We have to be gutsy and keep battling. Hopefully Shawn is going to be OK, and we are getting Damp back, so that will be good for us and hopefully lift our spirits a little.

SN: One guy who you brought in maybe without much fanfare was Drew Gooden. But he's been pretty valuable.

DN: Drew has been playing really well when we need him, making shots, making post moves, rebounding. Drew is a worker. You know, he is a veteran guy, and on this team, he is maybe not going to get as many minutes as he would in other places. But he handles it well, and he is ready when we need him.

SN: The Mavericks always seem to come up with players, either as free agents like J.J. Barea and Marquis Daniels, or as late, hidden draft picks. You guys have had Rodrigue Beaubois come in and play well as a rookie.

DN: He has really impressed me so far. He is very quick off the dribble and he has a nice little touch in the paint. He can finish, he is athletic. He looks really, really good to me. Obviously, he has a long way to go, but playing alongside (Jason) Kidd has been very good for him. He makes the game easy for everyone on the team, but he is also helping the young guy. It's been very good for Roddy to have J-Kidd on the team.

SN: Around the league, some of the teams we assumed would be dominant-the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Cavaliers-haven't really been so imposing. What do you make of those teams?

DN: It's too early to tell. Don't forget Pau Gasol has been out. The Lakers had to play without their second best player for a long time there, and that puts a lot of pressure on Kobe, and he has had some injuries, too. The Spurs were hurt with having (Tony) Parker out and Tim Duncan out. Boston is going to be OK; they're a veteran team, no one should worry about them. So, it's early and we'll have to wait and see. The teams that are the top of the league, give them some time, and they'll get up there.

SN: How about you guys? How does what you did in the offseason stack up?

DN: I like where we are, I like what we did. Shawn really fits what we do. He is athletic and he plays great defense. Drew has been very good. And we're still waiting on Josh (Howard).

SN: That's an injury that seems to be especially tough on you guys because Howard does so many things, and you need to replace him with multiple players.

DN: Right, we saw last year in the playoffs against San Antonio how explosive he can be when he is healthy. He is a 20-point scorer for us if he is healthy. When he is healthy we are as deep as anyone. We'd love to have him now. But we have enough talent to kind of get by and win some games-but if we really want to do something in the playoffs and down the stretch, we need him healthy. We'd rather give him all the time off he needs now, in November and December-I don't know if he is going to be out that long-so we have him healthy late in the year.

SN: You were able to finally play in the Olympics in 2008. That must have been a really good feeling.

DN: It was, it was something I have wanted for 10 years, maybe more. It was a great experience for me as a basketball player, something that I will get to have for the rest of my career, the rest of my life. It's something I won't ever forget.

SN: And you took last summer off from the championships in Europe. Obviously, you love playing for your country, but has the rest done you some good?

DN: I think, every time I play in international tournaments, it makes me a better player in some way. But, I feel good. I took nine weeks off from basketball and got some rest, did some traveling. It's something I think I needed-as you get older, you can't play straight through and expect your body to recover all the time. I feel good at this point, and hopefully when we get to the spring, I will still be feeling good.

SN: The All-Star Game is in Dallas this year. You've been to a bunch of these, and it's always a busy weekend, but when it is in your home city, it is especially busy. Are you looking forward to it or afraid of it?

DN: It's a little bit of both. Sometimes at that point in the season you think it'd be nice to get a little rest. But, if you're getting rest on All-Starweekend, it means you are hurt or you didn't get picked, so that's not good. This year, it is going to be something great for it to be in Dallas, which has been my base, my hometown for the last 11 years. We're going to put a great show on for the world to see.

SN: They're doing the game at the Cowboys' stadium. Have you been over there?

DN: It's a big stadium, I know that. I still haven't made it out there, but I heard it's amazing, and something like 100,000 people can fit in there. So it's going to be a great show.

SN: Can you shoot in a football stadium? Isn't that awkward, that much space?

DN: We have played in big stadiums before-there was the Alamodome in San Antonio for a lot of years. It's a little different when you are shooting because the background is a lot different, it is so far back. But it's the All-Star Game. It's high-flying running and dunking. There won't be many people taking jump shots.

[BlackBellamy]

[Xylus]

I had no idea the Roots played basketball. At first glance, I thought that was ?uestlove on the left.

[badfish22]

http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=2250

One of these days, these two Texas rivals with Dallas roots (the Spurs were the Chaparrals before being a basketball team from Dallas was cool) will actually oppose one another with rosters left intact and bandages left in the box.
But that’s not the case at the AAC tonight for the 8:30 p.m. start (ESPN, you shall owe me an hour of sleep). It’s Spurs-at-Mavs preview time. Let’s limp through the key factors:
THE INJURIES: Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have returned from ankle injuries. Yippee.
The Mavs are not as fortunate. Shawn Marion twisted an ankle Monday in Milwaukee, is listed as day-to-day, and didn't do much at shootaround this morning. Erick Dampier is recovering from that mystery illness and is not expected to play. And of course, Josh Howard (ankle) is unavailable. If Tim Thomas’ attempt at making his season debut with his new team (following knee surgery) doesn’t go as planned, Dallas might just have 10 healthy bodies available.
THE LAST TIME: Well, the last time these two teams played was just last week, and while Timmy and Tony didn’t play, Keith Bogans & Co. led San Antonio to a 92-83 win at home.
THE RECORDS: Dallas is 8-3 after having won three straight on the road. Southwest Division rival San Antonio is 4-4 and hasn’t played since Saturday, when the Spurs lost to OKC despite the returns of Duncan (22 points and 10 rebounds) and Parker (17 points and five assists).
THE MISCELLANEOUS STUFF: Last week, Dallas’ best player was Dirk Nowitzki with 29 points but little help. Meanwhile, Richard Jefferson is somewhere around SA’s fourth-best player – but in that game, he matched Dirk as a Batman with 29 of his own. … Dallas will start Drew Gooden at center for the third straight game. He’s been a double-double guy in both starts (averaging 16 points and 12.5 boards) and the Mavs think the 4/5 combo of Dirk/Gooden will provide an offensive challenge to the SA combo of Duncan/That Boner Person. It’s notable, though, that in the last meeting Gooden came off the bench and played just nine minutes, contributing one rebound and one basket. … Rookie DeJuan Blair started upfront for the Spurs against the Thunder, and George Hill has been playing some 2-guard in tandem with Parker. … The Mavericks seem to have their defense figured out, but the shooting comes and goes. In that loss to SA, Dallas shot just 35.4 percent. … Both teams are averaging right around 1.1 points per game. But Dallas averages 109 ppg at home, and SA averages 89.3 on the road. … The Spurs are 0-3 away from The Alamo. … The single-word theme from today's Mavs shootaround? "Unselfishness.'' The Mavs don't think they shared the ball well or efficiently in last week's meeting. ... Is tonight the night we get to watch Roddy (who didn’t even play in the last meeting) in a footrace against Tony Parker -- in French?
THE QUESTION OF THE NIGHT: Who starts for the Mavs? No Damp, so Gooden is the 5. No Josh, so Roddy is probably the 2. No Marion (maybe) so. ... who's left? I've seen a few websites trying to pretend they know, but ... As if this moment, seven hours before tipoff, I don't know. (I'll try to find out ASAP) ... Does Dallas go with the 3-PG Attack to start? Wanna throw Tim Thomas right into the middle of this? Kris Humphries at the 4? Maybe, reflecting back to last season, James Singleton comes to the surprising rescue? Is it too late to re-sign Greg Buckner?

[Trainwreck2100]

i really wish the Spurs would wear the chaparrals throwbacks one day

[AussieFanKurt]

Game 7 Rebellion: Mavs Overthrow Spurs

ohh that year. Thats right up 2-0 and finals and you lost. Niccccce

[BlackBellamy]

I had no idea the Roots played basketball. At first glance, I thought that was ?uestlove on the left.

Rahzel was a starting center for the west in the 1975 ABA all-star game.

[badfish22]

ohh that year. Thats right up 2-0 and finals and you lost. Niccccce

lol still butthurt

[Shank]

ohh that year. Thats right up 2-0 and finals and you lost. Niccccce

Really?

[Findog]

Is that Artis Gilmore in the center with the bad-ass muttonchops?

[BlackBellamy]

Is that Artis Gilmore in the center with the bad-ass muttonchops?

Yessir.

[Findog]

[BlackBellamy]

Is that Artis Gilmore in the center with the bad-ass muttonchops?

And Larry Kenon next to Ice on the opposite side. I'm not sure the iden ies of the rest though.

[Findog]

And Larry Kenon next to Ice. I'm not sure the iden ies of the rest though.

I believe David Thompson is to the right of the honky in the suit.

[Findog]

L-R: Dr. J, Larry Kenon, Ice, Artis Gilmore, some white guy, David Thompson

[Findog]

[BlackBellamy]

I believe David Thompson is to the right of the honky in the suit.

And the guy in 32... who else besides Dr. J. wore 32 that was any good in the ABA?

[Findog]

[Findog]

^ That guy in the Sarah Palin shirt is a classic closet-case.

[BlackBellamy]

^ That guy in the Sarah Palin shirt is a classic closet-case.

Her first question should have been, "nice shirt, do they make it in a men's size?".

[Trainwreck2100]

wow that Nora's a

[T2150]

Really? Shows what I know. I thought Ice was also a synonym for coke. The Iceman loved blow, fwiw.

What demons did Tarp in? certainly you wouldn't begrudge Ice-Man his vices that he ultimately beat unlike Roy... mock Ice as much as you want but he's in the HOF and is a respected member of the NBA community, an NBA Legend in fact. Tarp? Not so much.