Spurs vs. Mavs Matchup

[ATX Spur]

in reality the refs and pops small balls knocked the spurs out

That's not helping any. I think the Mavs had a little something to do with the outcome of that series too.

[angryllama]

Rivalry implies parity, which is certainly not the case.

Dallas and SA have been compe ive for years. If not for a Nowitzki injury in 2003, Dallas might have been champs that year. Im not saying that they would have beaten the Spurs, but they were certainly capable.

The Mavericks are going to be a great team again. But they haven't won anything.

They won the West last season. Directly at the Spurs' expense.

The Spurs won division les upon division les, an MVP for DRob, rebounding les, All-star appearances, etc. for a decade before they won their three les. Mavs have a long way to go. A win in a 7-game second round series, while a great victory in a great series, doesn't reverse anything.

What the Spurs have accomplished over their history doesnt mean a whole lot right now. Some rivalries span eras, and some span decades. This one spans an era, and has heated up considerably. Tony Parker made sure of that by mouthing off before game 7 in a whiny fashion about how little they respected Dallas. Then Dallas rose up and swatted them down.

Dirk's not a hall of famer yet. Manu is further along in that endeavor and even he's not there yet. Try again.

Dirk is there. He's a perrinial All-NBA teamer, and has been in the running for MVP for the last 4 seasons. He has the statistics, the clutch play highlight reel moments, and he has something unique that makes him a stand-out player among his peers. He's the first international player to become a legit threat to lead a team to the NBA finals. He's easily the best international player of all-time.

Ginobili doesnt compare. Not at all. You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

[ATX Spur]

Dirk is there. He's a perrinial All-NBA teamer, and has been in the running for MVP for the last 4 seasons. He has the statistics, the clutch play highlight reel moments, and he has something unique that makes him a stand-out player among his peers. He's the first international player to become a legit threat to lead a team to the NBA finals. He's easily the best international player of all-time.

Ginobili doesnt compare. Not at all. You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

I'm gonna reply to this part first because it's easily the silliest. Correct, Dirk is a perennial All-NBA, All-star, MVP candidate. Great stats.

He's not the first international player to become "a legit threat to lead a team to the NBA finals." It's a bit confounded what you were trying to say there. If you mean lead a team in the NBA finals, take a look at the 2005 finals.

If you meant anything more broad, take a look at Hakeem's stats for the playoffs in the late 80's to mid 90's, including the two les. Absolutely staggering, and not comparable to Nowitski's.

Dirk is not easily the greatest international player of all time. See: Hakeem, Sabonis, Petrovic, etc. Those guys could do stuff too.

Lastly, Ginobili may not be the better player, but is way more accomplished than Dirk. Light years past. Manu is the only player in basketball history to have an NBA championship, a Euroleague le, and an Olympic medal. Not only that, he has a gold medal and an Olympics MVP. Dirk has none of those things. Manu has 4 votes as a Finals MVP. More than Dirk got last year's finals. I don't have to kid myself. Those are facts.

[ATX Spur]

Dallas and SA have been compe ive for years. If not for a Nowitzki injury in 2003, Dallas might have been champs that year. Im not saying that they would have beaten the Spurs, but they were certainly capable.

True.

They won the West last season. Directly at the Spurs' expense.

I hope that WC banner they unfurl at AAC is satisfying enough for them.

What the Spurs have accomplished over their history doesnt mean a whole lot right now. Some rivalries span eras, and some span decades. This one spans an era, and has heated up considerably. Tony Parker made sure of that by mouthing off before game 7 in a whiny fashion about how little they respected Dallas. Then Dallas rose up and swatted them down.

They still have a ways to go. And I expect it. I expect good things from the Mavs. But it's a little premature to start expounding their greatness. Let's see if Howard grows any better first. Let's see if Diop can be consistent, given consistent minutes. Let's see if the new players mesh well with the roster from last year. There's alot that remains to be seen.

[ambchang]

I thought Duncan was hurt, how can he play 48 minutes if he was hurt ?.

A guy formerly known as a "bust" by everybody around in the league will never have a advantage over a superstar, 3-time champ, and 3-time finals mvp. He was supposed to come through for your team when their season was in the line and he didnt, end of story.

Dirk had played tons of minutes as well in that game, and he sent the game into overtime and actually played in the OT, unless he is a robot and I don't know it, he was just as tired. He came through though... No excuse for a no-name to shut you down in the last minutes of your season, no excuse.

Are you trying to address my post? What does your reply has to do with anything I said? Care to provide more explanation?

BTW, you would think that Duncan would average more than 23 minutes a game, would you not? So you would count on some guy who would, on average, foul out in 23 minutes to take on the best player on the opposing team? What do you do with the other 10 to 15 minutes?