Initial Reaction: Spurs vs. Mavs - Game 1

[Mixability]

i hope to see the whistles get rare for both sides now. i'd much rather see the scrappy play then to have it be a foul fest where touch fouls reign. take the gas out of Kidd and throw everyone at Dirk, take away his comfort zone.

[AFBlue]

Don't forget Barea/Boubouis either... others the spurs have to keep an eye on who are capable of lighting it up

Tony on Barea pretty much limited his effectiveness, when he wasn't flopping all over the place and getting cheap calls. And I'm not sure Roddy will get much burn. Even with Terry struggling as much as he did last night, Beaubois didn't even earn a minute of PT.

Terry, on the other hand, will get PT and has proven to be effective...especially down the stretch. Having a backcourt with Hill in it (either at 1 w/ Manu or 2 w/ Parker) makes me alot less uneasy about Terry's chances to go off. If they don't have that, I don't have a good feeling.

[AFBlue]

Unfortunately we need more firepower vs. Mavs so we still will see more Mason. I think Bogans could have a good defensive impact so we also will see more of him.

we really don't have anyone with balls out there besides Tim, Dice, Manu and Parker.

The rest of the team is playing like a regular season game. wake up mother ers, it's the playoffs!!!

Mason hasn't been considered "firepower" since last regular season. He's shooting in the 20's percentile-wise and that combined with his horrid defense (got lit up by Butler) makes him an extreme liability.

I specifically remember one play where he missed a wide open 3 on one end, then gave up a 3 on the other...a six-point swing off a missed bucket by one player. Those kind of momentum changers cannot be overstated in a playoff game as tight as these are expected to be.

Mason needs to sit....too bad an unhealthy Hill will mean just the opposite.

[Silverheart80]

Nice job as usual, timvp.

Being physical with Dirk from the opening tip is key to beating Mavs. Doesn't matter if he sets a record every game in free throw attempts. Doesn't matter if he shoots over the top. No drives to the basket; no layups. Bang him for 4 quarters. That's always been his achilles heel because he can't keep his head. Let him get pissy (momentarily happened in 2nd quarter before Spurs backed off unfortunately) and he loses composure. Happens even faster, if he thinks he's not getting whistles. Spurs didn't play him physical for 4 quarters last night. Not just Bonner, but all defenders on Dirk. The problem wasn't the refs blowing easy whistles for Dirk; the problem was the Spurs didn't establish from the tip that they would be physical with him for 4 quarters, no matter what.

Six fouls are waiting to be used in Mahinmi. I'd like to see Pop use all of those fouls on Dirk. Tell Ian that he stays in as long as Dirk doesn't drive around or through him. Don't go for the up-fakes and just play physical position defense with no easy baskets or layups. If Dirk scores over the top of Ian, no sweat. Keep pounding him. Mahinmi may foul out by halftime, but if he deals some physical punishment in the process, then job well done. Finesse players fade in 4th quarters when teams play physical.

I wouldn't mind Dejuan using a couple of fouls for one-on-one Dirk defense too. The height mismatch is obvious, but Dejuan's strength is his lower body positioning. Bowen was a much lighter, shorter guy than Nowitzki but he would affect Nowitzki's lower body leverage and his shot as a result. Again, the key to slowing Nowitzki is 4 quarters of physical play.

[barbacoataco]

I also think they should put Blair defending Dirk more and see what happens. Blair has a way of using his body and staying out of foul trouble with his arms. That is what works against Dirk. Not saying Blair would be that effective, but it could work for a few minutes, and also give Blair a chance to get some minutes with Duncan on the court.

[TJastal]

Mason hasn't been considered "firepower" since last regular season. He's shooting in the 20's percentile-wise and that combined with his horrid defense (got lit up by Butler) makes him an extreme liability.

I specifically remember one play where he missed a wide open 3 on one end, then gave up a 3 on the other...a six-point swing off a missed bucket by one player. Those kind of momentum changers cannot be overstated in a playoff game as tight as these are expected to be.

Mason needs to sit....too bad an unhealthy Hill will mean just the opposite.

Butler was unconcious in that 5 minute stretch, basically unguardable. He was hitting very difficult shots. When a guy does that, all you can do is tip your hat.

The two shots RMJ took looked good leaving his hand and barely missed. Which is a good sign his shooting touch is still there. Can't really say the same for Bonner... but that's another story.

Going under the screen probably wasn't wise, but even if he fought over it Kidd might have still gotten the shot off. The big guarding the picker at the top has to show something on Kidd until Mason recovers.

[AFBlue]

Butler was unconcious in that 5 minute stretch, basically unguardable. He was hitting very difficult shots. When a guy does that, all you can do is tip your hat.

The two shots RMJ took looked good leaving his hand and barely missed. Which is a good sign his shooting touch is still there. Can't really say the same for Bonner... but that's another story.

Going under the screen probably wasn't wise, but even if he fought over it Kidd might have still gotten the shot off. The big guarding the picker at the top has to show something on Kidd until Mason recovers.

I understand what you're saying, and the sad reality is that there aren't better options...but "barely missed" only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades. He needs to actually make shots to make a difference in this series, because he's not going to make up for that with other facets of his game.

[NFGIII]

Any contribution from RJ would be a bonus. However, let's face it. Does anyone think that he's capable of "ramping up" his play to give the Spurs the much needed lift they need? He's struggled all year and he's STILL struggling now. I'm sorry, but I don't have any faith that he's capable of doing that.

I don't think RJ is a bad player, he's simply miscast on this offense and on this team.

Agreed. And with HIll injured causing TP to take more of Hill's minutes playing with RJ isn't a good thing now. Those two players have little if any chemistry which is why Pop finally put RJ and Manu together on the second unit prior to TP's injury. I think TP is trrying but it ain't working.

I particularly remembered TP on the break with RJ ahead of him. As they were just below the FT line TP tried to pass it to him. The ball was knocked out of bounds and IIRC a foul committed but that's not the point. TP should have just taken it to the tim for the layup but wanted to get RJ involved. RJ was too far ahead of TP to make the play. Tony's mistake. That's an example of how they just don't connect. And that means we are back to the beginning of the season so to say where the lack of chemistry/ci=ommunication is detrimental to the Spurs.

if the Spurs lose game 2 in somewhat similar fashion and HIll just can't seem to move well enough then I wouldn't mind seeing Temple play HIll's spot and keep TP coming off the bench. Frankly it is in the Spurs best interest to keep RJ and TP minutes together as low as possible. I just don't see that pairing doing anything beneficial for the Spurs.

[Bruno]

RJ needs to play better if Spurs want to have a chance.
Spurs last summer conclusion was that the team needed help outside the big3. With Hill injured, RJ should be the one that bring some offense. If this series is the "big 3" against Mavs, Spurs will lost. See 2006.

It's still very early in the series but game 2 is almost a must win for Spurs. I do like Pop being mad after the game. I hope it will be a wake up call for some players.

[benefactor]

There is really not much left that hasn't already been said...so I will just hit the points I agree with.

Dejuan Blair needs to play more and Garrett Temple needs to at least be experimented with. Continuing to go with Bonner will result in what we saw last year. Dirk is obviously going to abuse him anyway, so(as TD21 mentioned) why not bring in a player that at the very least can make Dirk work on the offensive end and can rebound? Go with it and see what happens. If it fails, at least Pop can say he tried. Same thing with GT. There is no reason not to try when he has already shown he is capable at an NBA level and there is a player who is not even good enough to be an NBA player getting minutes ahead of him.

Jefferson? Yeah... you man. You are soft piece of . Get your head out of your ass and start playing like you played late in the season. I don't give a damn if you did rebound well, it's not enough at this point. This is the playoffs and this Mavs team has too many damn weapons for you to go back into the fetal position. You score in double digits in 15 of the last 20 games of the season...and score 15pts or more in 12 of those. Wake. The. . Up.

Defensive rotations haven't changed, which was one of my biggest concerns as we headed into the playoffs. I said at halftime that it would be suicide to keep leaving Kidd open from three...and well...we saw what happened. The Spurs have to get their head in the game defensively and keep it there, or a replay of last year will be likely.

All in all, the overall talent gap is painfully obvious. It was before the series started and it was confirmed in game one. Barkley stated the Spurs basically have to play perfect ball in order to advance and I pretty much agree with him. They can't have Duncan giving a mediocre effort on the glass. They can't have Manu turning the ball over. They can't have an empty glass of role players trotting out on the floor every night(Hill...please get healthy). There are things about the Mavs they cannot control, like Dirk getting his or being able to match up with Mavs role players. But they can play disciplined Spurs basketball and have everyone leave it all out there. If they do that, there is a chance.

[objective]

several things from my pov:

As others have said, absolutely Blair and Temple need more minutes, and probably McDyess too. Sitting Blair like Hill last year is asking to lose. Playing Roger Mason is asking to lose. Counting on Matt Bonner is asking to lose. Those who don't learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them, and Pop is just repeating.

Blair on Dirk has one small chance for success, and that's if Blair gets physical with him. Refs are going to call fouls either way, so make them count. Hammer him. Remember Malik Rose smashing Dirk in the face when hammering the offensive glass? Hammer him. Get physical like West or S-Jax. Make every foul count, and hammer the out of him. Maybe Blair with his short stature but long arms can make things hard on Dirk the way defenders like Bowen and S-Jax did, but getting under and into him. Bonner just keeping smart spacing and a hand up does nothing.

Even Ian if given proper direction can help in this fashion. Before everyone starts crying about Ian fouling out, the refs will call fouls no matter what. I want to see Mahinmi smash somebody like he did Nate Robinson in the game in Boston.

In the '10 keys' thread, I posted how the 4-some of McDyess, the Centerpiece, the Bonner-piece, and the Mason-piece were the real key. I had the most confidence in Dice, and he was good enough. The other 3 disaster guys played a combined 45 minutes, went 2-9 with 4 rebounds and 5 points. And they got smoked. Their combined minutes can't be more than half that unless Bonner knocks down his first shot immediately.

Temple has to play. I posted it before the series, I'll post it now, I'll probably post about it after the Spurs likely lose this series. There is no way in Mason should play over Temple. The only playoff experience with the Spurs that he brings is choking experience. He can't shoot anymore. He can't defend. He can't run the point. He can't do anything at anytime that will help the Spurs win this series. Temple may not be 'ready', but he's easily 'Mason-level ready' as far as the worst he could do.

Pop has to coach better. The Spurs right now aren't healthy enough or talented enough to beat Dallas with his questionable coaching moves. It's that simple. The more he screws around the more the Spurs will lose. The way it's looking now is just a repeat of last year. The series will basically be over, he'll give up and play the young guys, they'll look good and maybe even pull out a win, and then he'll start next training camp raving over how Blair and Temple are his favorite players ever.

[The Truth #6]

Solid points by objective.

What should Pop do? Change his rotation. (he can tweek how they double team and trap, sure, but that's not the main problem.) He needs to play the guys who aren't proven to be inept.

Its very doubtful he will, though. Timvp mentioned common sense as a factor and I don't think Pop will see things correctly. He complained about playing like dogs...that's because some of our players are dogs! We can't expect them to do something that's outside their nature. I'm concerned Pop's coaching will be to play harder, and that's about it. I expect the same problem players to play even tighter.

I was championing for Temple before the game, even thinking he would play because Pop had quickly shown trust in him. I guess he was just a place holder for Hill. Very odd.

I'm very curious if any of the assistants lobby for a new approach. It's doubtful. Not with Lindsey crunching numbers. He probably sees Bonners plus 7 differential and lobby for more playing time.

[polandprzem]

I'm just affraid that carlisle might be a step ahead now.

While on driving seat he may change the way Nowitzky plays ina meaning he can change him into a passer, which might be disaster for the spurs when they will go and double team him.
Dalls has so many players that can get hot and hurt us it's insaine.

Everybody knows better then Pop huh?
Well you can't play McDyess all game long vs Dirk and also you can;t play tim manu and tony for 48 minutes.

[polandprzem]

Temple has to play. I posted it before the series, I'll post it now, I'll probably post about it after the Spurs likely lose this series. There is no way in Mason should play over Temple. The only playoff experience with the Spurs that he brings is choking experience. He can't shoot anymore. He can't defend. He can't run the point. He can't do anything at anytime that will help the Spurs win this series. Temple may not be 'ready', but he's easily 'Mason-level ready' as far as the worst he could do.

Pop has to coach better. The Spurs right now aren't healthy enough or talented enough to beat Dallas with his questionable coaching moves. It's that simple. The more he screws around the more the Spurs will lose. The way it's looking now is just a repeat of last year. The series will basically be over, he'll give up and play the young guys, they'll look good and maybe even pull out a win, and then he'll start next training camp raving over how Blair and Temple are his favorite players ever.

In playoffs Pop plays guys that knows the system best, and all the schemes. Of course I also think that putting Hairston and temple in to see what they can bring in limited minutes would not be that harmfull but tehn again many fans will say that that was a bad move by pop cause 1. he was not playing them more in reg. 2. HE put them in bad moment 3. He extended their minutes too much etc etc

btw. you can even change +7 into negative aspect

[quentin_compson]

Dice did a decent job on Nowitzki. It's just that there is only so much you can do against those fadeaway jumpers. Bonner tried his best as well, but he is just too short.

Spurs will have to rebound better in Game 2, and it starts with Tim. Cutting down the turnovers is also very important.
Offensively, they will have to find a way to penetrate more. And let's all hope RJ shows up on that end. It's annoying how passive he gets once a couple of things don't go his way early on.

In the fourth quarter, the Spurs were playing well enough on the offensive end to make it a close game again, but they couldn't get a stop. Rotations were too slow. Overall, we have to be more focused and play sharper.

I'm all for Temple getting some minutes if Hill can't play. How could he possibly be worse than Mason Jr.? All I remember Roger doing is fouling Ericka.

[Obstructed_View]

I swear Pop. These rookies will never learn if you dont play them.

That's how you end up with second, third and fourth year guys that don't play because they don't have "enough experience".

[Doe]

Lot of good points made but I'm also just going to agree with the Mason bit. I understood why Pop continued playing him in the regular season, the odds were with him, etc. But now it's pretty obvious, he's either done as a player or mentally checked out. His defense is pathetic (see going under the screen on Kidd) and his offense has gone AWOL.

Mason has had ample opportunity to show his stuff now it's time to throw Temple in and see what he's made of. I just cannot imagine any scenario in which he plays worse than Mason.

[Slippy]

Going under the screen probably wasn't wise, but even if he fought over it Kidd might have still gotten the shot off. The big guarding the picker at the top has to show something on Kidd until Mason recovers.

Wasn't wise?... he didn't need to go under as there was plenty of room over but mase had his mind already made up on the screen coming . That big im pretty sure was Bogans who was directly behind a backing off Dirk. Mase created his own screen and gave Kidd a very good look.

[Slippy]

Still waiting to see how TJ expected Bogans to show Kidd while waiting for Mason to recover running around a screen that never eventuated. In fact shouldn't some-one ask Where was mason running to when KIdd was open?

Thick as a brick . That's all i got to say.

[Shank]

Good post, benefactor.