Hey, I thought the Mavs were supposed to be done

[Findog]

Though I do not agree that Dirk chokes (as bad as people say), the numbers you posted are extremely misleading.

Nowitzki did not make the playoffs the first two years he was in the league, aka the two least statistically productive years. If you take those years off, he is 24.06/9.3 and 47.4%

Also, his playoff numbers are weighted heavily towards his most productive years, where he played the most playoff series (leads his team to success in his best years, always a good sign).

So you have to look at his numbers on a year to year basis for comparison.

Year Reg PPG RPG FG% PO PPG RPG FG%
2001 21.8 9.2 47.4 23.4 8.1 42.3
2002 23.4 9.9 47.7 28.4 13.1 44.5
2003 25.1 9.9 46.3 25.3 11.5 47.9
2004 21.8 8.7 46.2 26.6 11.8 45.0
2005 26.1 9.7 45.9 23.7 10.1 40.2
2006 26.6 9.0 48.0 27.0 11.7 46.8
2007 24.6 8.9 50.2 19.7 11.3 38.3

By looking at the numbers this way, we can tell that, in 3 out of the 7 years, he had a significant increase in PPG, scored about the same in 2 other years, and had a significant decrease in 2 years. His rebouding numbers have consistently increased quite a bit in the payoffs, while his FG% has been generally lower in the playoffs (not surprising, I think most players get lower FG% in the playoffs).

In conclusion, at least statistically, it doesn't seem like Dirk is particularly clutch or non-clutch.

That's really my only point. Dirk's rep is unfair. Not that I expect opposing fans to lay off or not make fun, that's part of the fun of being a fan, but it's irritating to hear it from the "experts." Really, what active "franchise" players have a better playoff resume than him?

Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, Wade, Billups, Kidd. Am I missing anybody?

[41times]

It seems like the Spurs are the only team that should be worried about the Mavs, because that's the only team that can beat them, and Dallas can't beat anybody else. They were constructed to be a one-trick pony, just like Golden State

Really?.........The Mavs playoff records seem to indicate that they have beaten the Suns, Jazz, Kings, Grizz, Rockets, T-Wolves, Portland and yes Spurs in the playoffs over the last 6 seasons.

The only team the Mavs have never beaten in the playoffs that they have actually played in the West is Golden St. And i think we can all see now what a Healthy Dampier means when we play them, 2-0 this year.

There was only 1 team in the West that we did not matchup with last year and we played them in round 1. That's not the case this year.

So i am looking forward to a Mavs v. Spurs matchup in the playoffs this year. Assuming the Spurs don't lose to their nemisis the Lakers first?

[SenorSpur]

Yeah Ime Udoka.

Heres the reason WHY he matches up well and should be used.

He rebounds well in the small ball line up, and evidenced the other night against Philly, he can guard a variety of players.

Also, he is a good post defender, wich in turn, means he can guard nowitzki well, because in essence you guard Nowitzki on the perimiter like you would a big man.

You body up, you push him out, and force off balance shots.

Agree. But Udoka can't help if he's watching from the bench. It'll be up to Pop to give him some court time.

[1Parker1]

That's ridiculous...you're talking to the wrong Mavs fans...

I'm talking about the majority of the ones that post here...perhaps u and Findog may be the exception.

[SenorSpur]

People act like the 2006 series the Mavs completely dominated the Spurs and beat them convincingly. Perhaps I was watching the wrong series, but what I saw was a series that was pretty even and could have gone either way with one call or another. More so than that, I recall the Spurs being down 3-1 and coming back and winning 2 games and coming down from a 20 point deficit in game 7 to force OT.

I'll agree that the Mavs match up the best to the Spurs, but Mavs fans act like a series between these two in the playoffs will decidely go to the Mavs based on the fact that they beat the Spurs in 2006. 2006 was a different Spurs roster and even then the series was pretty evenly match.

There's no doubt that series was one of the greatest 7-game series I've ever seen. The series was even in some respects, but uneven in others.

Consider:
There was only one blow-out game in the entire series - Game 2. That went to the Mavs. Game was over in the 1st quarter.

Consider:
The Spurs rarely, if ever, had the Mavs down by a double-digit lead in any game. Conversely, it was the Mavs who routinely jumped out to the early leads. The Spurs were seemingly playing "catch-up" mode, whether it was going into the 4th quarter, or trying to overcome a series defecit.

Consider:
At times, Pop seemed "stumped" as to how to handle the lineup changes and wrinkles that his protege' (AJ) threw at him. for many of us, that was the first time we'd seen "small ball" for extended periods. AJ forced Pop away from his regular season strategy and he struggled to adjust.

All that said, the series obviously came down to the waning minutes of the 4th quarter. But the mere fact that the Spurs spent most of the series trying to adjust and come back was a relatively new scenario that most of us hadn't seen during the Duncan era.

No matter how they fare against other teams, the Mavs have been and still are the chief rivals to the Spurs supremacy in the West. If it weren't true, the Spurs players would not have been so admittedly "giddy" at the Golden State upset of the Mavs last spring.

[Fillmoe]

lol @ fluke kings..... didnt we beat that ty team in SA? let me guess, another fluke?

[polandprzem]

Yeah Ime Udoka.

Heres the reason WHY he matches up well and should be used.

He rebounds well in the small ball line up, and evidenced the other night against Philly, he can guard a variety of players.

Also, he is a good post defender, wich in turn, means he can guard nowitzki well, because in essence you guard Nowitzki on the perimiter like you would a big man.

You body up, you push him out, and force off balance shots.

We still would lack a size inside and rebounding 2nd option behind Duncan.
It can look fine looking at the permiter defense but Josh dirk and Erik could do some damage when talking about glass.
Maybe Pop will use it in some stretches if Udoka will come up big in the playoffs.

[Purple & Gold]

Again Lakers have played 5 or 6 less WC games than Spurs or Hornets. Stop the parade for the LAL! Talented and becoming stronger but not a true W power.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

There's no doubt that series was one of the greatest 7-game series I've ever seen. The series was even in some respects, but uneven in others.

Consider:
There was only one blow-out game in the entire series - Game 2. That went to the Mavs.

Consider:
The Spurs rarely, if ever, had the Mavs down by a double-digit lead in any game. Conversely, it was the Mavs who routinely jumped out to the early leads. The Spurs were seemingly playing "catch-up" mode, whether it was going into the 4th quarter, or trying to overcome a series defecit.

Consider:
At times, Pop seemed "stumped" as to how to handle the lineup changes and wrinkles that his protege' (AJ) threw at him. for many of us, that was the first time we'd seen "small ball" for extended periods. AJ forced Pop went away from whatever his regular season strategy was.

All that said, the series obviously came down to the waning minutes of the 4th quarter. But the mere fact that the Spurs spent most of the series trying to adjust and come back was a relatively new scenario that most of us hadn't seen during the Duncan era.

No matter how they fare against other teams, the Mavs have been and still are the chief rivals to the Spurs supremacy in the West. If it weren't true, the Spurs players would not have been so admittedly "giddy" at the Golden State upset of the Mavs last spring.

[Purple & Gold]

They've had one of the hardest schedules of any team to date. I don't know what your talking about. Their record is not a fluke like it was last year, when they played a lot of easy teams @ home.

Tue 30 vs Houston L 93-95
Fri 02 @ Phoenix W 119-98
Sun 04 vs Utah W 119-109
Tue 06 vs New Orleans L 104-118
Tue 13 @ San Antonio L 92-107
Wed 14 @ Houston W 93-90
Fri 16 vs Detroit W 103-91
Fri 23 @ Boston L 94-107
Thu 29 vs Denver W 127-99
Fri 30 @ Utah L 96-120
Sun 02 vs Orlando L 97-104
Wed 05 @ Denver W 111-107
Sun 09 vs Golden State W 123-113
Thu 13 vs San Antonio W 102-97
Fri 14 @ Golden State L 106-108
Tue 25 vs Phoenix W 122-115
Fri 28 vs Utah W 123-109
Sun 30 vs Boston L 91-110
Wed 09 @ New Orleans W 109-80

Their record against top WC teams thus far is:

GSW: 1-1
HOU: 1-1
SAS: 1-1
NOH: 1-1
PHX: 2-0
UTAH: 2-1
DEN: 2-0

10-5 against the top 8 teams in the WC. Pretty decent record IMHO.

Yup Lakers have had a very tough schedule so far. But it will get much tougher in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we can play around .600 ball while Bynum is out.

[ShoogarBear]

Whether the Mavs start out the season hot and then cool off, or start out the season crappy before catching on fire, they still choke in the playoffs. So no worries.

It might be a worry if they met the Spurs before their choke.

[Louie Vega]

Isn't that what everyone was saying last month? A lot of Mav Fans were all doom and gloom, Avery doesn't know what he's doing, Dirk has lost it, etc. etc. Spur Fan was gloating.

Well, until the fluke Kings hit a lot of fluke shots last night, the Mavs were back up to the #1 seed in the West. Their best ball is probably still to come. Maybe Avery can coach a little, after all.

True, they are going to have a giant monkey on their backs in the postseason, but they're still the Spurs' worst matchup. And maybe have learned a couple of new tricks.

Uuhhh....... THE MAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nobody gives a about the ass mavs!!!!!!

[DubMcDub]

If Udoka is allowed to play the power forward in small ball vs the Mavs, the Spurs can handle the Mavericks.

Sorry if I dont want to cower and hide like everyone else when it comes to the chipmunks of the north.

Yeah, Udoka is clearly the key. Just like Elson was the super-secret weapon who was going to "shut down" Dirk last year.

Unless SJax is heading back to SA sometime soon, I don't think the Spurs are going to find any single player that's going to fundamentally alter the Mavs-Spurs matchup. It's going to come down to your top 7-8 vs our top 7-8.

[DubMcDub]

Christ, now your pullin out of your ass.

How in the world did they somehow beat the vaunted mavericks in game 5 with him!?!? AND Game 1!?!?!!?

They beat the Mavs in game 5 by 1 freaking point when Dirk missed a tip-in at the buzzer, in SA.

It's not like the Spurs came out with their backs to the wall down 3-1 and put together a dominating performance. They barely won. And when they won by slightly more in Dallas in Game 6, it was only cause the Mavs' best perimeter threat was suspended.

I don't condone what Terry did, cause it was unbelievably stupid, but if you really think the Mavs wouldn't have won that game with him (especially if you watched how it went down), you're fooling yourself.

[td4mvp21]

Yeah, Udoka is clearly the key. Just like Elson was the super-secret weapon who was going to "shut down" Dirk last year.

Unless SJax is heading back to SA sometime soon, I don't think the Spurs are going to find any single player that's going to fundamentally alter the Mavs-Spurs matchup. It's going to come down to your top 7-8 vs our top 7-8.

Oh, we know no one on our team can shut down Dirk. I think some of us thought Elson could actually keep up with Dirk and defend him better than the rest of the guys on our team. But that was wishful thinking. Elson is too stupid and a bad defender-not a good combination.

Udoka, on the other hand, I think could be good in a small ball lineup vs. the Mavs. He's not going to shut down Dirk, he may not even guard Dirk, but he does rebound ok and he's starting to fit into the Spurs system. Plus he is a good defender. Now, he'd have to get a lot better to make a significant difference. If he just stays like he is now then he won't do much. But as soon as he starts hitting his shots with consistency, I think he will be great for us.

[td4mvp21]

They beat the Mavs in game 5 by 1 freaking point when Dirk missed a tip-in at the buzzer, in SA.

It's not like the Spurs came out with their backs to the wall down 3-1 and put together a dominating performance. They barely won. And when they won by slightly more in Dallas in Game 6, it was only cause the Mavs' best perimeter threat was suspended.

I don't condone what Terry did, cause it was unbelievably stupid, but if you really think the Mavs wouldn't have won that game with him (especially if you watched how it went down), you're fooling yourself.

Why are we even dwelling on that series? It doesn't matter because the past is the past and right now it's the present.

[DubMcDub]

Oh, we know no one on our team can shut down Dirk. I think some of us thought Elson could actually keep up with Dirk and defend him better than the rest of the guys on our team. But that was wishful thinking. Elson is too stupid and a bad defender-not a good combination.

Udoka, on the other hand, I think could be good in a small ball lineup vs. the Mavs. He's not going to shut down Dirk, he may not even guard Dirk, but he does rebound ok and he's starting to fit into the Spurs system. Plus he is a good defender. Now, he'd have to get a lot better to make a significant difference. If he just stays like he is now then he won't do much. But as soon as he starts hitting his shots with consistency, I think he will be great for us.

I'm not saying he's a bad player. I think he's generally pretty decent. But I do doubt that he'll have that much of an impact in a matchup between two teams like these.

The Mavs and the Spurs are both pretty damn stacked. I don't see many guys outside of the very top of the rotation making much of a difference in a playoff series. Maybe in a regular season game, but I doubt Udoka even gets that much burn in the playoffs.

[DubMcDub]

Why are we even dwelling on that series? It doesn't matter because the past is the past and right now it's the present.

I agree, I was just responding to his (fairly poorly conceived) point. It's in the past--Spurs have won a le since then and Mavs have, frankly, done jack .

[td4mvp21]

I'm not saying he's a bad player. I think he's generally pretty decent. But I do doubt that he'll have that much of an impact in a matchup between two teams like these.

The Mavs and the Spurs are both pretty damn stacked. I don't see many guys outside of the very top of the rotation making much of a difference in a playoff series. Maybe in a regular season game, but I doubt Udoka even gets that much burn in the playoffs.

True. Like I said, he'd have to make significant improvements in order to make a difference. It's possible. We'll have to find out in April/May. That's assuming the Mavs and Spurs even play each other in the playoffs. With the way we're playing now I doubt we'll get out of the ing first round.

[DubMcDub]

True. Like I said, he'd have to make significant improvements in order to make a difference. It's possible. We'll have to find out in April/May. That's assuming the Mavs and Spurs even play each other in the playoffs. With the way we're playing now I doubt we'll get out of the ing first round.

Spurs will be fine. One of these years, they're actually going to be "done" because they're too old, but it's not this year. The dropoff will be more gradual. No way they're going to go from a championship to a first round exit in 1 year. They're far too consistent.

[remingtonbo2001]

Wasn't 2006 the year Timmy was dealing with his bum foot?

I think a healthy Duncan would have pushed the Spurs to the finals in 2006.

Oh well, past is the past. I'm looking foward to our run in 2008.

[Findog]

There's no reason to worry about the Spurs until after the RRT. If they're still struggling then, I'd be concerned if I were a Spurs fan.

[duncan228]

Wasn't 2006 the year Timmy was dealing with his bum foot?

Yes. He played with Planter Fasciitis the whole '05-'06 season, though we didn't hear about it until a couple of months into the season.

[Udrihlooms]

The key to a possible series between Spurs and the Mavs is the respective bench.

Timmy will be unstoppable inside, but Dirk will wreak havoc in the perimeter.

Parker and Harris will possibly tire each other out. Unfortunately for us, Harris, just like their coach, is trying to emulate Parker, even polishing his jump shots now. It seems like Harris is now even trying the occassional 3s and he's making some. He has a long way to practice that before the playoffs starts.

Manu's output will be matched by Howard and streaky Terry. If it all boils down to the closing seconds, the game will be decided by who's smarter at the clutch. Manu has the tendency to make some boneheaded plays at times, trying to be a hero. Both Howard and Terry are not the sharpest of knives either. But any one of the three can put the final nail in the coffin.

Stackhouse, WHEN he plays great, is a pesky player to defend. Coming from the bench, he provides a spark, even when he brickhouse 90% of his shots.

As for the coaching, I guess, in paper Pop should be totally destroying AJ, but as we have always seen, is not the case. AJ is in Pop's head, just as Nellie is in AJs.

The team's bench will probably ultimately decide the contest. How ironic if it will boil down to Horry vs George (former Lakers) who will nail a final jumpshot that may possibly win the possible series.

Of course, this is a total waste of bandwidth should Dallas face the Warriors. Seriously, I think if Dallas faces the Warriors again, it will be finished not later than Game 6, this time Dallas winning it.

[DubMcDub]

Wasn't 2006 the year Timmy was dealing with his bum foot?

I think a healthy Duncan would have pushed the Spurs to the finals in 2006.

Oh well, past is the past. I'm looking foward to our run in 2008.

He was fine by the playoffs, though. He put up like 35+ a game against the Mavs. Don't think you can use that as an excuse...

Just saying.