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I forgot about how often that Dirk posts up on the block. Without a player who can score posting up, a team will inevitably shoot more jumpshots. The Spurs scored more points in the paint than the Mavericks did (almost 20 % more).
How often does Dirk score in the paint? Not most of the time. He might get a few buckets in the paint in transition ..., but it is not that common. Dirk is the leading scorer for the Mavericks. I think that it is fair to say that he is a perimeter jumpshooter. I think that you can see my point.
Look, I will grant you that the Mavs score a little more in the paint than they used to and I used a little bit of exaggeration. However, they don't have any low post players who can score on the block with regularity. For that reason, if a team is playing good defense, they can simply back off and make it much harder to penetrate, forcing the drivers to score by jumpshots. So, yes I am exaggerating. No, they are not as bad in that regard as they used to be. However, they still depend more upon jumpshots (not 3's) than the Spurs. Spurs clearly have a low post scoring option, namely Tim Duncan. So, while I am exaggerating the problem, I think that that the Mavs still are too dependent upon jumpshots.
We did score (as mentioned above) more in the paint (50-42) and still had 20 fewer free throws. Second, we have Tim Duncan. Therefore, prima facie, the Mavs shooting 50 free throws to the Spurs 32, appears to indicate unfair officiating.
Both of us have our biases. I admit that I see everything as much through Spurs fans colored glasses as you do through Mavs colored glasses. That's why we can both see the same thing and come to different conclusions. We can both agree, that, in general, neither of us enjoys seeing 82 free throws shot in a single playoff game.
Props to you all for playing a very good game. Props to you all for being up 2-1 and grabbing hca.
