I know that Boston has not played an elite team but they can only play the schedule. Thier 8-0 record to start the season is impressive none the less.
The biggest difference between last year and this year that I have noticed is that AJ isn't down the players throat every play... particularly Harris. Personally I think it's a good thing as I think AJ amped the team up throughout the year last year and when it came time to go to another level(playoffs) they didn't have it in them.
I realize the Suns only went one round further, Findog. Just giving that guy some of his own medicine.Seriously, what is wrong with the Mavs lately. They don't seem to be clicking very well as a team and are getting down by double digits in games and having to dig themselves out. I know it is early but they haven't had that tough of a schedule except for the game against the Spurs which they handled extremely well. What gives?
Givin me some of my own medicine? Why, that's brilliant! Add that and the Leastern conference brilliance you thought of, some might claim you are a genius!
I understand you are mad that your team lost two in a row, but don't take your grumpiness out on me.
Where is all this great defense that some Mav fans claim their team has?You let the Bucks shoot 51%! Also you lose to the Pacers who are a under .500 team, what is up with the Mavs??
Now who was the poster that said the Mavs were the best team in the NBA right now?
Actually, AJ is just copying another Spurs thing. Usually the Spurs play like crap against the worst eastern teams.
This is true. Aren't they like 12 and 1 now? I just want to see how they play an elite team first before I make my decision on them.
I think the 2 things Boston needs to do is,
1- Get Tony Allen going. He was playing well last season before the injury.
2- Get an experience point guard. Rondo is playing well but how will he handle the pressure in the playoffs? Damon Stoudemire?
Other then that I like thier bench. Posey,House,Davis and Pollard with his 6 fouls.
Yeah, I have noticed that also. He better watch it though, he may give himself an ulcer keeping all that frustration inside. Kidding aside, maybe he is trying to take the pressure off the team as far as expectations go. If it works it is a brilliant plan.
I understand you are mad that your team lost two in a row, but don't take your grumpiness out on me.
You're right. 2 losses in a row is the end of the world. If only the Mavs were atop a power ranking or some guy claiming the mavs were close to being historically good or on hallowed ground would I feel a little bit better.
Yeah, I think they need a more experienced point guard, especially as the year goes along. I'm not quite sure I agree about their bench, it seems the big three are playing a lot of minutes which could take its toll on them as the season goes on.
Yeah and they won two of those and were in a position to win the third. I don't really see what the big deal is. When Phoenix plays, a 20-point lead is never safe, no matter which team is ahead. You can look at it two ways: they are good enough to bear down and beat teams when they need to, and it's very hard to keep them down, or they are making things hard on themselves.Yeah, but they are getting down in games by double digits and having to work hard to win games.
We were 9-4 at this point last year. I would say our biggest problems this year so far are threefold:That is very unlike the Mavs of last year. They just seem really disjointed.
1) playing up (laid a beat-down on San Antonio) and down (road losses to Atlanta, Milwaukee and Indiana) to the compe ion.
2) Interior Defense is not that good with Dampier slowly working himself back from a shoulder injury. Laugh all you want at a guy who averages 7 and 7 for us, but he's a useful defender when 100%. He makes our interior D so much better.
3) Avery is trying to overhaul the offense from too much reliance on Dirk. He is being asked to be more of a facilitator and open things up for everybody else than take 25 shots a game. It's a response to the physical zone and blind-side double teams Golden State threw at us. Instead of him scoring 27 points and having 2 assists, Avery would rather have him go for 21 points and 5 assists. JET went to the bench so we could have a true PG starting.
Considering that we're not playing close to our best basketball right now, I'll gladly take 9-4. Basically it all comes down to getting a top-four seed, which shouldn't be a problem, avoiding Golden State, and avoiding Phoenix in the first two rounds. If we can do that, we'll have as good a shot as anybody.
12/19 - Detroit @ Boston
1/31 - Dallas @ Boston
2/10- Spurs @ Celtics
2/22 @Phoenix
You sure are uptight!
Bucks were getting plenty of points in the paint tonight. They were not settling for jumpers. Our interior D has sucked so far this year, and it's because of Dampier slowly being worked back in because of his shoulder injury. I'm not about to argue that he's some elite Center or anything like that, but he's a big reason why our defense isn't ty like in the Nellie years. Once he's back to 100%, teams won't be getting such easy looks from 8 feet in.
Posey is a good defender. He is a poor man's Bowen. He will be important for them in the playoffs when they have to deal with the Wades,Hamiltons or Rashard Lewis. I agree though that Rivers needs to rain in the minutes a little bit even if it means giving up some games.
I think everyone expects the dominant regular season mavs of last year. I see a more chilled out Avery and a team that plays to the level of the compe ion. The question remains though if the whole pacing thing will work out for the mavs. Spurs are proven, but after last seasons failures, it makes sense that Avery is trying this. It didn't work for Detriot last season though, but I'm not sure of the specifics of that.
And yeah, Dirk tonight played 33 minutes, Devin played 34, Jet played 24, Stack had 20 minutes. The only guy who logged heavy minutes was Josh with 40. Think the outcome might have been different if those guys had been on the floor a bit longer?
All good points Findog. For the record I am not taking the Mavs lightly. In one thread somebody said the Mavs were the best team in the NBA right now and I found that a little over the top as of now.
Is a fine line to walk. You don't want the team to burn out but at the same time you just can't be giving games away.
Yeah, I will be watching those games for sure to see how well Boston does.
The Mavs just need to get a top-four seed. Everything the guys have said has been to the effect that they're not going to pull a Miami and assume they can just flip a switch when they need to. They understand the importance of winning regular season games. The Rockets won it all as a sixth seed in 95, the Knicks made the finals as an 8 seed in 99. Other than that, you need to have HCA for at least one round and get a top four seed. For all of the talk of the Spurs "coasting" last year, they still went 58-24. Most years that's good enough to get the 1 seed.
It would be nice to get the #1 seed, but if you're a le team, you don't need it. When we made it to the Finals, we clinched all three series on the road.
Relax the Mavs will be fine.
I like Posey and if he can hit the three regularly then it will open up things for them.
He can be a difference maker for them. Haslem and Posey's defense on Dirk in the Finals is overlooked with how well Wade played. They held Dirk to 38% shooting.
I don't think they should have to be on the floor that long to beat a team like the Bucks though. They should take care of business from the get go instead of letting it get down to the wire. I know I yell at the Suns a lot when they do that sort of thing. Frustrates the out of me when they just cruise along like they can just turn on a switch.
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