Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Mavs - Dec. 5

[T Park]

The shocking leave out by TIMVP.

Pop playing small ball from the second quarter on, and it working very well.

[BeerIsGood!]

The Mavs tried to thug it up and get dirty and the Spurs matched their physical play and shot the ball better when it counted.

BTW, Parker getting right in Dirk's chest and just bodying him up was the most effective thing any Spur has done to Dirk in a while. That's what it takes, give him no space and chest up on him and he'll shy away and try to shoot fade aways at a low hitting %. That's a big key that can be taken from this game - the doubles aren't always needed if you body him up and give him no space whatsoever.

[2centsworth]

Eh, Im weird in that I like that the Spurs aren't dirty.

Leave that to BS teams like Denver and other aholes.

there's something to be said for protecting your own players. All great players and teams protect their players from dirty play.

Dallas has taken it to a level where they need to be knocked in place. Like a Roger Clemens fast ball upside the head.

[Hemotivo]

tp on dirk was great

nice Pop!

[Kori Ellis]

BTW, Parker getting right in Dirk's chest and just bodying him up was the most effective thing any Spur has done to Dirk in a while. That's what it takes, give him no space and chest up on him and he'll shy away and try to shoot fade aways at a low hitting %. That's a big key that can be taken from this game - the doubles aren't always needed if you body him up and give him no space whatsoever.

Yeah, Tony did an awesome job when he was switched onto him. It was funny to watch because of the height differential but Tony was really bulldog-ish about it and it worked out well.

[RC's Boss]

I dunno, they looked pretty hardcore over this game.


Avery's subs ution pattern with Dirk says otherwise, but damn, they seemed to be going all out.

The Mavs always go hardcore against the Spurs. Devin Harris said it best when he stated it helps them mentally to know they can beat SA. The Spurs on the other hand could probably care less. We as fans might get excited, but I don't think they really give two s unless it's springtime.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Am I the only person here willing to object to what whotttttttt would call "timvp's koolaid" and say the small ball/parker switching on dirk worked sheerly out of luck?

Every-single-Dirk-Shot that was taken as a result of this strategy looked good to me, every single one. If you look at the situation statistically, and consider the Spurs are as good a team as the Mavs, it was statistically inevitable for us to beat the Mavs in the regular season, given our track record against them in the reg season. I totally disagree about Pop's strategy. I think this is one of those things where if Dirk would have hit the shots with a hand five inches below his release we would be having a completely different conversation. I just don't think that was a good strategy as far as the coaching part goes, but luckily it ended up working.....

[T Park]

BTW, Parker getting right in Dirk's chest and just bodying him up was the most effective thing any Spur has done to Dirk in a while. That's what it takes, give him no space and chest up on him and he'll shy away and try to shoot fade aways at a low hitting %. That's a big key that can be taken from this game - the doubles aren't always needed if you body him up and give him no space whatsoever.

That, and parker drawing the offensive foul on the tall , was greatness.

[peskypesky]

I didn't get to watch the game on tv, so I may be wrong, but...I was pissed at what seemed like moronic offensive execution by the Spurs at the end of the game. They had a decent lead with less than a minute to go, but instead of using up the clock as much as they could, which is ING ELEMENTARY, it seemed like they kept shooting early in their possessions. By far the worst example of this was when Bowen took and missed a shot with something like 30 seconds in the game.

First of all, Bowen shouldn't even have the ball in that situation, unless we're behind and he's wide open for a 3. But we weren't behind. Why didn't the Spurs just hold the ball and force Dallas to foul? Did the NBA pass a new rule against that or something? I just don't get it.

[T Park]

there's something to be said for protecting your own players. All great players and teams protect their players from dirty play

Eh, the Spurs reactions tonight were good enough for me.

Come back at em harder and make shots and win the game.

Wins count, body shots on the other team's players don't.

[BeerIsGood!]

The Mavs always go hardcore against the Spurs. Devin Harris said it best when he stated it helps them mentally to know they can beat SA. The Spurs on the other hand could probably care less. We as fans might get excited, but I don't think they really give two s unless it's springtime.

The Spurs wanted to win this game. They definitely gave a about it after Terry started the cheap shots. That's what made it one of the better regular season games we'll see this year is that both teams were winning to bleed a little to get the win.

[gameFACE]

Parker on Dirk was great tonight. I thought Tony's early foul trouble was a mixed blessing tonight. It allowed him to come back in with Manu out at the start of the 2ndQ since they both started.

Manu had the Mavericks totally disheveled in the 3rdQ. What makes his contribution that much more enjoyable was that in addition to Tim being out, the Spurs, one of the top teams in 3pt%, were awful from downtown.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Yeah, Tony did an awesome job when he was switched onto him. It was funny to watch because of the height differential but Tony was really bulldog-ish about it and it worked out well.

Kori--you're right about Parker's D and Dirk's shot, but you have to also consider the fact that Dirk's game completely revolves around shooting lame ass looking fadeaways....being a person who unfortunately lives in dallas, I see highlights of this bull crap daily. He should have made those shots.

[T Park]

By far the worst example of this was when Bowen took and missed a shot with something like 30 seconds in the game.

First of all, Bowen shouldn't even have the ball in that situation, unless we're behind and he's wide open for a 3. But we weren't behind. Why didn't the Spurs just hold the ball and force Dallas to foul? Did the NBA pass a new rule against that or something? I just don't get it.

Ok, uh, first off, the team was shot energy wise.

Second, the Spurs were up by 2 points, and the Mavericks played to get the ball back.

Bowen was wide open, and the shot he missed, I'll let him shoot again and again a million times.

Bowen always has the green light on a corner three with me.

If you don't think hes a clutch shooter, look at game 5 last year vs Phoenix.

[2centsworth]

Eh, the Spurs reactions tonight were good enough for me.

Come back at em harder and make shots and win the game.

Wins count, body shots on the other team's players don't.

do you remember that time pop subsituted Felton Spencer after Shaq cheap shotted D.Rob? Felton was in there to send a message. Next game Terry needs to be knocked out cold if things do not change.

[RC's Boss]

The Spurs wanted to win this game. They definitely gave a about it after Terry started the cheap shots. That's what made it one of the better regular season games we'll see this year is that both teams were winning to bleed a little to get the win.

I'm sure they want to win evey game, what i'm saying is the Mavs get amped up to play the Spurs, where as the Spurs play the same way every game. They came out with an at ude. The Spurs just came out and played ball.

[BeerIsGood!]

Am I the only person here willing to object to what whotttttttt would call "timvp's koolaid" and say the small ball/parker switching on dirk worked sheerly out of luck?

Every-single-Dirk-Shot that was taken as a result of this strategy looked good to me, every single one. If you look at the situation statistically, and consider the Spurs are as good a team as the Mavs, it was statistically inevitable for us to beat the Mavs in the regular season, given our track record against them in the reg season. I totally disagree about Pop's strategy. I think this is one of those things where if Dirk would have hit the shots with a hand five inches below his release we would be having a completely different conversation. I just don't think that was a good strategy as far as the coaching part goes, but luckily it ended up working.....

I don't think you necessarily want Parker or any PG being the guy to body up on Dirk, but the strategy is solid. Dirk makes a living on getting space to get his shot off, and a guy of that caliber doesn't miss those shots unless he's been taken out of his comfort zone. This game it was Parker being able to take Dirk out of his comfort zone, and if a guy his size can do it... it can definitely be done by a guy like Finley or other guards/forwards as long as they're willing to body him up extremely tight. That is probably the one strategy that the Warriors use to beat the Mavs - whatever player picks up Dirk on the switch gets up in his jock.

[T Park]

do you remember that time pop subsituted Felton Spencer after Shaq cheap shotted D.Rob? Felton was in there to send a message

I honestly try to forget the Felton Spencer era honestly.

[peskypesky]

Well, i just checked and I was wrong. Bowen took that 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go. The Spurs were up 97-95 at that point. So why a 3 point shot? And why is the ball in Bowen's hands?

Also Parker took and missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. The Spurs were up 97-93 at that point. So again...why a 3 pointer? We had the lead. The 3-point shot is a low percentage shot. It makes no sense for the team with the lead to take 3s at the end of a hardly fought game. No sense at all. It's stupid. I blame the players, but more than that, I blame Pop.

Manu's brilliant performance was almost squandered by those two stupid missed threes.

[BeerIsGood!]

I'm sure they want to win evey game, what i'm saying is the Mavs get amped up to play the Spurs, where as the Spurs play the same way every game. They came out with an at ude. The Spurs just came out and played ball.

This game, the Orlando game, and the Milwaukee game - there was some extra motivation. It was evident in the intensity level of those games. They didn't play at the same intensity as they play the Kings or TWolves, this was up a few notches. Not having TD probably had a lot to do with it.

[BeerIsGood!]

Well, i just checked and I was wrong. Bowen took that 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go. The Spurs were up 97-95 at that point. So why a 3 point shot? And why is the ball in Bowen's hands?

Also Parker took and missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. The Spurs were up 97-93 at that point. So again...why a 3 pointer? We had the lead. The 3-point shot is a low percentage shot. It makes no sense for the team with the lead to take 3s at the end of a hardly fought game. No sense at all. It's stupid. I blame the players, but more than that, I blame Pop.

Manu's brilliant performance was almost squandered by those two stupid missed threes.

Manu and Parker traded off attempting to penetrate and make plays, but both were stopped. On Parker's final drive attempt Stackhouse (I believe) collapsed in and left Bruce wide open in the corner. You take that wide open shot every time, Bowen just missed it.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

I honestly try to forget the Felton Spencer era honestly.

Yet I'll bet my yam aka you owned a 210 dollar Felton Spencer authentic spurs jersey at one time.

[2centsworth]

This game, the Orlando game, and the Milwaukee game - there was some extra motivation. It was evident in the intensity level of those games. They didn't play at the same intensity as they play the Kings or TWolves, this was up a few notches. Not having TD probably had a lot to do with it.

i was surprised Bruce missed it. He's usually makes those clutch shots. However, no player is 100% in those situations.

[Kori Ellis]

Manu and Parker traded off attempting to penetrate and make plays, but both were stopped. On Parker's final drive attempt Stackhouse (I believe) collapsed in and left Bruce wide open in the corner. You take that wide open shot every time, Bowen just missed it.

Exactly. There was nothing wrong with that play. The shot just didn't go down.

[T Park]

Well, i just checked and I was wrong. Bowen took that 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go. The Spurs were up 97-95 at that point. So why a 3 point shot? And why is the ball in Bowen's hands?

Also Parker took and missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. The Spurs were up 97-93 at that point. So again...why a 3 pointer? We had the lead. The 3-point shot is a low percentage shot. It makes no sense for the team with the lead to take 3s at the end of a hardly fought game. No sense at all. It's stupid. I blame the players, but more than that, I blame Pop.

Parker was wide open,

Bowen was wide open.

They can make those shots, the shot clock was running down.

WTF??!!?

Yet I'll bet my yam aka you owned a 210 dollar Felton Spencer authentic spurs jersey at one time.

The Felton Spencer era was before I discovered the NBA.Com store.