Can someone tell me

[pking]

That's a bull generalization...but go on with your bad self.

[Obstructed_View]

he's like the Duncan of their offense, but gets to the foul line much much more than Duncan due to being a jump shooter instead of a banger.

That makes no sense to me whatsoever. It's true, but it makes no sense.

[Dalhoop]

That makes no sense to me whatsoever. It's true, but it makes no sense.

I was a little confused by that line as well. The base it true (He is better shooting them as well), but the reason is completely off.

[ponky]

I know, but I'm just curious as to why many people think we are not on the same level as the Mavericks.

It's gonna be a good playoffs.

Who is saying that? Last night Barkley said that whoever wins the Spurs/Mavs matchup will win the championship...and then he said that he thought the Spurs would win, didn't change his stance even after tonight's loss. I don't think anyone is discounting the Spurs, even if they had some problems earlier in the season...it's always been "but look out for the Spurs" when people talk about the records of the Suns and Mavericks. You may not think they're getting as much hype because of all the talk between Dirk/Nash and MVP and all that other nonsense with the records and standings and rankings but this has nothing to do with the playoffs and I don't think anyone is trying to act like it does.

My own feeling is that the Spurs have finally shown up this season and are playing very well. Do I think they're playing better than the Mavericks? No, but I also don't think they're playing worse than the Mavericks.

[ponky]

I have been cursed by the gods and forced to live in Dallas for some time now, actually over a year, and have caught small stretches of games this year when flipping through the channels....plus I read up on the dallas morning news during lunch..

Basically Dirk is just ridiculous now, he's like the Duncan of their offense, but gets to the foul line much much more than Duncan due to being a jump shooter instead of a banger....and if you don't close guard dirk, he is amazingly accurate on short range jumpers....amazingly accurate....Then they have Josh Howard who is probably the most important Mav after Dirk IMO, who not only creates almost any way he wants, but also plays good individual defense.
Add that to very solid team defense, and very solid team rebounding (dampier is rebounding much better than either of our centers, he actually believes in GETTING POSITION instead of letting the ball fall into his hands--can you believe it?!)
Also Devin Harris is virtually a poor man's tony parker
Jason Terry is their weakness imo, he's so blatantly overrated, and riding the team's coattails
and I believe their bench is just as solid if not more solid than ours
plus the bench has been playing well all season, not just in the month of march.

This is not correct. This season, Duncan has been to the FT line 443 times in 64 games (made 289) and Dirk has been to the FT line 471 times in 62 games (made 424). So basically, Duncan goes to the line an average of 6.92 times per game and Dirk goes to the line an average of 7.59 times per game, a difference of about 0.60, not really that much of a difference, especially when you consider that Dirk plays a couple of more minutes per game than Duncan, maybe like 2.5 min more.

[Clutch20]

Mentally manipulating &
Electronically
Diluting
Intelligence of
Average fan

[SRJ]

The issue with the Mav's is the pounding by mavfans and homer media as one of the greatest teams of all time. With zero champions and only one hall of fame caliber player they have not earned this right. The Spurs by virtue of a greater run of years, championships, and more than one hall of fame level player still do not get the respect they deserve.

People confuse the terms "team" and "franchise" all the time, and this is the latest example.

The 2005 Spurs are not the 2003 Spurs are not the 1999 Spurs. Since Duncan arrived, the franchise has experienced more success than every team going (tied with the Lakers in championships, but the Spurs have won more games). However, team accomplishments are year-to-year, and the Mavs were at one point on pace to win 70 games - that's why this particular team was getting the praise they were getting. If the Mavs had won 70 and gone on to win the championship, that is certainly one of the greatest teams of all time (top five). , if they can win 65 and go on to win the championship, that would also be one of the greatest teams of all time (top fifteen).

[smrattler]

Mavs are good. Really, really good. They'll be the number 1 seed, the Suns are #2. If we work hard, we're #3. We're gonna have a little challenge in the 2st round, but to get to the Finals, we'll have to beat 2 pretty damn good teams. And people tend to think getting the Suns in the 2nd round is just a bump in the road to a rematch with the Mavs. I saw that game the other night, the Suns are no cakewalk and very easily could shut the door on us if we don't get our act together defensively and get our bench shooters to shoot well.