Initial Reaction: Spurs vs. Mavs - Game 2

[senorglory]

did jeffersons points come from creating his own offense or from passes?

Jefferson says his offense fed of others tonight:
When my teammates set me up, I’m typically a pretty good finisher, and my teammates were looking for me on the break, throw aheads. They were coming off of pick-and-rolls and tossing it back, allowing me to try and close out. That’s something my game has pretty much been predicated on the last nine years. When I’m in that position, I’m kind of in my comfort zone. I think, after I struggled last game, there was a concerted effort to kind of get me going, get me rolling. And I appreciate that. I appreciate them letting me help out.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151881

[SenorSpur]

Great writeup.

Timely performances by all the key players. It's almost as though each of the Big Three, along with RJ, took turns having their own personal highlight sequences. Dice defended Dirk beautifully and was a monster on the glass. RJ was simply a man possessed in the first half, while the Big Three were, well, the Big Three.

Everyone was committed, determined and aggreesive from start to finish. This was the type of all-around, team effort that will be necessary in order for the Spurs to prevail. Hopefully, they can keep it up. There's no time for a letdown.

[Mr.Robinson]

One big question for me is.....


is it just good luck that we are hitting 50% in game 1 and 48% in game 2 against this Mavs team?

Are we headed back down to earth soon? Or are we really able to score this efficiently against them?





Props to McDyess and Jefferson. They responded well to Pop destroying them in the locker room. Let's hope they can continue the intensity.

Mavs are weak on D. As long as Dirk doesn't get the pussy calls this is over. Its Dirk's free throws that always kills us.

[SenorSpur]

Mavs are weak on D. As long as Dirk doesn't get the pussy calls this is over. Its Dirk's free throws that always kills us.

It's true. Despite the Mavs incredible depth, and the new pieces they added from the Wizards, they are not a good defensive team at all. Their hallmark this year was giving up an incredibly high FG% to both good teams and bad. This resulted in, not only high point totals, but it also allowed bad teams to hang around in games that should've been either been blowouts for the Mavs or it resulted in timely losses to inferior teams alltogether.

One could tell during this game, how they had periods where they simply didn't bother to concentrate on defending the paint area. TP and RJ had several uncontested forays to the hoop.

Meanwhile, the Spurs played outstanding defense both individually (Dice on Dirk) and collectively. They need to keep this up.

[kace]

I was extremely happy with what Pop did and didn't do. He did make sure the ball was put into Ginobili's hands early and often. He didn't play Keith Bogans for one second. He did keep two bigs out on the court at all times. He didn't overreact and send too much help at Nowitzki. Overall, I thought Pop coached a game that showed why he's headed to the Hall of Fame.

well, he did basically what every fan was asking him to do. can't see how it is HOF deserving.

don't be wrong, i like Pop and i think it's easy to be an "hindsight coach" on a net forum but not play Bogans and play two bigs ? that's a rather easy choice IMHO.

[DubMcDub]

Nice win Spurs fans. My pre-series fear for this series was Spurs in 6, and I think last night's game went a long way toward making that a reality. I was very, very impressed with the type of team ball the Spurs played. It was really a pleasure to watch, especially on the offensive end.

[MannyIsGod]

Good breakdown, but I'm pretty much to the point that I think the team that wins the contest on the boards wins the game each and every time. I think its the biggest factor in this series by far.

[jestersmash]

I think the biggest factor in the series is the team who scores the most points relative to the other team by the end of the game, which in turn is a function of any and every stat/factor you could possibly think of.

[024]

don't know if hill's still injured, he did play 31 minutes, but he needs to start showing up because i can guarantee to everyone that jefferson won't be scoring 19 points a game, which means the points will need to come from somewhere else. double digit scoring is not going to come from bogans, mason, blair, bonner, or mcdyess. mcdyess maybe, if he shoots like 10 shots because he never gets to the free throw line. hill needs to get on it.

defense could use some improvements too. it got better this game but some of it was mavs players missing wide open shots or close layups. hopefully the rotations will be tighter as the series progresses and the spurs can finally play some championship defense.

nice to see everyone rebound better. rebounding definitely sunk the spurs in game one. much better in game 2 as it was a group effort + tim duncan.

[BillMc]

Excellent write up

[Mavs101]

Mavs couldn't hit a shot last night. Spurs have been going straight to the cup. I don't think the Mavs remember what defense is right now.... lol

[RiverwalkParade]

Caron Butler was hesitant all night. He passed up wide open corner threes on multiple occassions and dribbled into more contested, albeit, closer mid range jumpers. If he knocks one or two down from the corner, that could have been a game changer.

Loved seeing Dice play like a man last night. 30 min a night from him and this series is over.

Biggest impact that we are forgetting however were Dirk's early fouls that put him on the bench. He couldn't get in rhythm, Mavs couldn't impose their game plan and instead had to look to Terry and Butler for offense all night.

Dirk will be back in Game 3, and I am curious to see if Pop keeps playing him straight up or if he does the unexpected and runs doubles at him all night.

[polandprzem]

I think Pop did an excellent job all game long.

He adjusted in Bogans and mason but he was able to play Hill for 31 minutes and that was crucial for our rotation.
secondly - he was stopping the bleeding very quickly. For example whan Blair came in and was not doing a good job Pop put TD back in, no matter the minutes Tim would have to play, also big amount of timeouts helped to keep spurs players sharp.
Playing dirk straight up but also giving him a fake double team. Somehow he was intimidated by that. And that’s a plus.
Our coach also was not playing small ball, but he had McDyess who was a beast on the glass. I mean the stats won't tell you how much battle he left on the floor.

Overly spurs were not as sloppy and were sharper on rotations also was controlling the transition and on p&r offense were reading the defense and finding the way to score or to pass. In Game 1 they went mostly by the schemes especially manu. And the Mavs were there to cut the passing lanes, steal the ball and kill us on transition.
Also we made the Dallas players to hesitate on shots, and only Terry was hot all game long.

Great Tim Duncan - as I said a key to win with mavs and the guy who is the core of the offense and defense. On offense he made mavs pay for not sending double teams at him. He was unpredictable and his arsenal of moves was huge. Like TD of old - a young Tim Duncan. he passed the ball well and had no turnovers.
Vintage

Tony Parker - Thank God Hill was able to play as a starter so TP could go of the banch and lead the 'second unit'. When the team needed the ball in a hole he delivered, I think he stopped the bleeding two times when Mavs made a run. He was driving the lane and was hitting the shots. And good to see him cooperate with anybody that was on the floor.
Great play - still rusty but hopefully healthy the whole playoffs


Manu Ginobili - so effective it hurts. I mean talking about timing in hitting three pointers. His calm in playing screens were also fantastic. Not easy cause that was priority for Mavs to defend this series.

RJ - hopefully he can keep up this level of play cause we will need him if we do not find anybody else contribute.

talking about contribute - blair - a bad game, game 2 and bad game, game 1. Size advantage bothered him. But he can find a way IMO as he gathered some rebs in the last game of a season against almost the same frontcourt. Najera was there and Blair was there - I said to myself "damn Blair should eat Najera alive there. not even burking after that"


All in all I had many emotions in me. F that watching the spurs in the middle of a night and having butterflies like years ago.

If big 3 with the 4th guy are gonna play that high level of basketball on offense all series long? we need to find out.
game 3 is on Friday, me at work time on the clock 3;30am

[Darkwaters]

Nice win Spurs fans. My pre-series fear for this series was Spurs in 6, and I think last night's game went a long way toward making that a reality. I was very, very impressed with the type of team ball the Spurs played. It was really a pleasure to watch, especially on the offensive end.

I appreciate a Mavs fan with civility. It is such a nice change.

[admiralsnackbar]

Nice win Spurs fans. My pre-series fear for this series was Spurs in 6, and I think last night's game went a long way toward making that a reality. I was very, very impressed with the type of team ball the Spurs played. It was really a pleasure to watch, especially on the offensive end.

Props for the classy post -- it's too bad so much is lost in the inter-team -talk on this board since the reality is it won't be long before both our teams become unspectacular rebuilding projects. I still think it's anybody's series to win, but we're lucky to have well-matched teams that always give us a great show when they play each other (and are healthy).

Maybe it's due to my vested interest as a Spurs fan, but this seems like it is easily the most exciting of all the PO match-ups this year in terms of team basketball. The distant runner-ups are more human-interest stories... seeing how long Portland can keep up with Phoenix and watching Durant develop into a stud on the clearly out-matched Thunder.

Anyway, bringing it back to the thread topic, I hope our scoring can remain in the ballpark of efficiency it has over the past two games. Not only is it nice in and of itself, but healthy leads allow Pop to sit Tim long enough to put Blair in. Blair seems like an anomaly with respect to the rest of the team as far as production goes, but I know he has a monster game against the Mavs in him yet.

[Mixability]

and why is it again you don't write for the paper?

[coyotes_geek]

Good breakdown, but I'm pretty much to the point that I think the team that wins the contest on the boards wins the game each and every time. I think its the biggest factor in this series by far.

Same here. It's all about the rebounds.

[gospursgojas]

I loved his aggressiveness, confidence and his devil-may-care at ude. Jefferson played good defense, limited his mental mistakes and acted like the fourth star this team wanted and needed.

Can someone explain this expression to me?

[DPG21920]

1) This was a very good win. It was a must win and the Spurs took care of the job. A loss would have been insurmountable imo. It is not easy to win on the road against a well balanced, talented team.

2) This win however, did not give me anymore confidence or change anything (although it kept the Spurs alive in the series). I still feel the same as I did going into the series.

3) Spurs did a good job at cleaning up the problem stats (Rebounds, Turnovers and Free Throws). Having said that, while seemingly those things look better on paper, a lot of those things are still problems. Yes the Spurs rebounded better, but they gave up timely offensive rebounds that actually led to points for the Mavs and allowed them to stay in it. They did not turn the ball over as much, but when they did, they were in the worst moments and led to easy baskets that fueled the runs for the Mavs. Spurs evened out the FT's, but did not execute at the line. This is what I mean by the cleaned up the problem stats on paper, but not so much in impact.

4) RJ, with a good first half, then invisible 2nd half really gives me pause. Hill looks shaky still and I don't know what the problem is. Spurs need to be able to consistently rely on them in order to have a chance. I don't know what to expect.

5) Dice played a lot better and that is very encouraging.

6) Pop's rotations were much improved and that bodes well.

7) Still nothing from the real role players, but not terrible.

All in all, this game poses more questions than answers. I feel like the Mavs can shoot poorly, but always be in the game. I also feel they can lock the Spurs up when they want, but the Spurs can't do that to them. If the Spurs have a poor shooting game, like the Mavs did, I don't see them hanging around.

But, this is a start and I hope everyone keeps playing their hardest. The big 3 look great and that is the most important thing.

I feel the Spurs have to win game 3. They can't keep having to fight for their lives (putting themselves in must win games). They need to put the Mavs on their heels and make them respond. Game 3 is crucial.

[MannyIsGod]

Can someone explain this expression to me?

It means throwing caution to the wind, fearless,

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

To me it seems like the Mavs are killing themselves by going with Barea to spell Kidd instead of bringing Stevenson off of the bench and having him play physical with Parker and Hill. As long as Barea is in there, Hill and Parker have the option of either using their length to move the offense along or using their strength to go right through

[DPG21920]

But I agree with MOG, and I have said it before; all stats are important, but if you have to isolate one that correlates strongly with winning this series, it is rebounding. It is the single most crucial stat and it will be interesting to chart the wins/losses and which team won the boards.

[TC-MAVS]

Nice win Spurs fans. My pre-series fear for this series was Spurs in 6, and I think last night's game went a long way toward making that a reality. I was very, very impressed with the type of team ball the Spurs played. It was really a pleasure to watch, especially on the offensive end.

wow. the mavs fans on here are worse than the spurs fan. Get off your knees. Spurs in 6, really? I hope that you're using some type of reverse psycology scheme.

[gospursgojas]

It means throwing caution to the wind, fearless,

ahhh...growing a pair. thanks manny.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I don't know why you're still so negative about Bogans though. There were times when I would have preferred to have him out there instead of Hill, Blair, or Bonner. He plays good defense and could have protected that 20 pt lead a little better than some of the guys out there.

Otherwise a good write up.

Blair or Bonner? You wanted Bogans at center matched up against Haywood or Dampier?

LOL...