Spurs vs Mavs Game 1 Rant

[Kori Ellis]

First of all, I want to thank the dozens of you for starting the same thread over and over and trashing the forum. It's good to see you (not!) in obnoxious playoff forum already. Mavs fans need to simmer down. And Spurs fans ... we don't need 13 Bench Bonner and 17 Pop Sucks threads. Also calling Barea a "greasy " is about the stupidest trash you should post, considering the Hispanic population in San Antonio.

As for the game, all of you who thought the Spurs were going to blow by the Mavs are crazy. This is going to be a long series. I honestly thought the Spurs wouldn't have a chance if Pop didn't play Bowen, but he did. So that's a good sign. (Even though it took Udoka f'ing up within a minute of getting on the floor in order to get Bowen subbed in.)

The Spurs need to re-think a lot of things.

Starting Lineup should be Duncan/Gooden/Bowen/Finley/Parker. I don't really care if it's Finley or Mason, but Mason can't really guard anyone and Finley isn't a good bench guy. So Finley it is.

Bonner is doing nothing offensively or defensively. He hasn't earned a minute on the floor. Gooden is starting to play well with Tony, and the Spurs need as much O as they can get. And though he's not a good defender, he's actually getting to the right spots and can hold his ground.

Parker's slow start (he went 0-4 to start the game) can't happen again. He was really inconsistent in this game, though 9-22 isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. He also needs to pull out his playoff defense. Also more and more pick and rolls for Duncan/Parker combination.

Fluke shots vs Lights Out. Though the Mavs played really well, they also had their share of fluke shots (Bass off the top of the backboard, etc.) But hey, don't rationalize it by saying that "those shots won't happen again." Spurs aren't going to shoot lights out from 3 again either. So put away the "fluke card."

Bowen's D. I cannot express the importance of Bowen logging big minutes in this series. I know... the majority of you thought he was done. He's not. And even if he's slower than before, he's the best thing the Spurs have. He does a fantastic job fronting Dirk, plus he can play the quickness of Terry. Bowen has to see 30+ minutes a game. Don't worry about his legs giving out. He's been resting all year, he is retiring soon, so it's time for him to lay it all out in a blaze of glory.

The Backup Point Guard. Got damn. Tony Parker has been in the league for almost a decade now and had a backup point guard for like 20 games in the form of Speedy Claxton. I do not care how bad George Hill can possibly be... I want to see him try. Mason doesn't cut it as a backup point and I don't even want to see Pop glancing toward Vaughn. Hill's length will be able to do something against the Mavs. I know it will.

Thaw Out Oberto. Crazy, right? Not so much. Oberto is a playoff performer. Thaw him out and play him a few minutes a game and give Bonner a seat on the bench guarding the gatorade. I'm not saying that Oberto should get major minutes, just put him in the rotation for spot minutes. The main big man rotation should be Duncan/Gooden/Thomas.

Rick Carlisle vs Gregg Popovich. I haven't been a fan of Rick Carlisle since he called me out on the radio, but he coached a smart game. Though many of you think Pop sucks, he doesn't. But he can be stubborn. He has to be willing to adjust and not adjust by going small.

In conclusion...

More Gooden on the floor with Duncan.
More Duncan/Parker pick and rolls.
Less Bonner.
Lots of Bowen.

The series will still be long and I don't know who will win, but it will be fun to watch.

[poop]

heres a description of game 2:

1.despite criticism, despite all, pop starts bonner.

2.spurs come out agressive, end 1st up 7-10.

3.pop puts mason as PG. offnese dies. mavs come out in 2nd and cut lead to nothing by the half.

4.bonner starts 3rd, gooden,thomas,bowen do not. mavs go on run and take the lead after spurs go 3-4 minutes without a FG.

5. in response to the mav's run, pop changes nothing. despite barea scoring run, Hill remains on the bench.

6. 3 minutes left in 3rd, bowen, gooden, thomas come in. spurs fight back and tie it up, capped off with gooden dunk. gooden comes out and is sat.

7. 4th quarter pop again starts bonner. no bowen, thomas. dirk, mavs go on run and go up 6.

8. 7 min left in game, spurs down. finally parker is put in. still no hill. no bowen. barea contiunes to score.

9. spurs lose by 8-10.

10. bonner = 33 min, 3pts,3rb,5 fouls. meanwhile bowen+thomas+gooden = 25 min.
geaorge hill = 0 min. barea = 20pts, 15 in 2nd half.

[leemajors]

[HarlemHeat37]

I agree with every one of these points, and I've been asking for all of them for weeks now, even before the playoffs..

Carlisle honestly isn't even a good coach IMO, so Pop shouldn't be getting outcoached..thankfully, the playoffs is chess not checkers, so Pop will have the chance to adjust..

sitting Bonner is just common sense at this point..it's just pointless to have him out there..

the Mavs are a jump shooting team strictly made up of perimeter players..so you would think having George Hill out there would make sense..

I guess we'll see..

[completely deck]

Good stuff. I'd also like to see Pop use the rest of his bench (Oberto, Hill)

[ducks]

mike finley -20 today

[Amuseddaysleeper]

What did Rick say to/about Kori over the radio?

[Rogue]

Our benchoff players in blue just got underestimated by spurs and Pop.

[Spurs Brazil]

Great post Kori.

I agree with starting Bruce and Gooden. Bruce was FANTASTIC tonight. He did a great job on Terry.

I think less Bonner should be no Bonner.

[honestfool84]

heres a description of game 2:

1.despite criticism, despite all, pop starts bonner.

2.spurs come out agressive, end 1st up 7-10.

3.pop puts mason as PG. offnese dies. mavs come out in 2nd and cut lead to nothing by the half.

4.bonner starts 3rd, gooden,thomas,bowen do not. mavs go on run and take the lead after spurs go 3-4 minutes without a FG.

5. in response to the mav's run, pop changes nothing. despite barea scoring run, Hill remains on the bench.

6. 3 minutes left in 3rd, bowen, gooden, thomas come in. spurs fight back and tie it up, capped off with gooden dunk. gooden comes out and is sat.

7. 4th quarter pop again starts bonner. no bowen, thomas. dirk, mavs go on run and go up 6.

8. 7 min left in game, spurs down. finally parker is put in. still no hill. no bowen. barea contiunes to score.

9. spurs lose by 8-10.

10. bonner = 33 min, 3pts,3rb,5 fouls. meanwhile bowen+thomas+gooden = 25 min.
geaorge hill = 0 min. barea = 20pts, 15 in 2nd half.

are you going to post this in every thread on this board?

shut it already.

[loveforthegame]

I like your starting lineup. I think Mason would have a better time scoring off the bench than Finley but whatever it takes is fine with me.

We need more Hill for sure.

I stated in another thread that I would like to see Oberto be given a chance. He might get abused by Dirk too but at least he'll grab a freakin' rebound.

[baseline bum]

Bruce needs 35 minutes a night
Finley? 20
Bonner? zero
Hill? 20

Bonner should be written off as a total loss. He's a first half of the season player, and he'll never be anything more.

[lurker]

Yeah, I'm curious what he said about Kori as well. I didn't see him being the trash talking type.

[benefactor]

lol pink poop.

I was thinking the same thing in regards to the lineup. It gives us size, shooting and plenty of post scoring. There was one point where Duncan and Gooden were standing on either side of the lane and Parker just walked in for a layup because both defenders had to stay home. I have no idea why we never went back to it, because it's basically indefensible.

[loveforthegame]

mike finley -20 today

He was actually one of the few bright spots tonight so that's why I hate that stat. He did a decent job defensively on Howard, nearly matched his scoring output, and even grabbed 4 rebounds. Not great but he was aggressive.

[ploto]

I was calling for Oberto before because I really think he can deal with Dirk, but Pop did not use him 3 years ago, so I feel certain it will not happen now.

[Mugen]

honestly, kori i havent seen one intelligent post from a mav fan post game.

i dont know anybody that would blame you if you accidentally banned them and a lot of these so called spurs fans too.

haha a guy can dream!

[SpursDynasty]

Fluke shots vs Lights Out. Though the Mavs played really well, they also had their share of fluke shots (Bass off the top of the backboard, etc.) But hey, don't rationalize it by saying that "those shots won't happen again." Spurs aren't going to shoot lights out from 3 again either. So put away the "fluke card."

That's what the game came down to. Dallas just hit some fluke shots. It's like 2006...fluke shots.

[Borosai]

Honest question: Has Pop ever been known for in-game adjustments? It seems as if he has a game plan, and he sticks with it (small ball, old ball, etc.). It's pretty bad when you are a championship team that is constantly trying to match up with other teams instead of forcing them to match up to you. This year isn't a great example since Manu is out, but he definitely seems stubborn to a fault.

Before, he fell in love with small ball, and now he's fallen out of love with defense.

[Ghazi]

What happened on radio w/ Kori and Carlisle?

[Warlord23]

Here's the thing. Adjustments are not Pop's strong suit. It may be because he feels he needs to give every strategy a fair run before switching tactics, even if the tactic is as stupid as asking Bonner to defend Nowitzki for 20 minutes a game.

You'd think that giving more minutes to Bowen/Hill/Gooden, nailing Bonner to the bench, not playing both Finley and Mason together (and watching Howard light them up), would be worth a shot. I guarantee you Pop will do all this only after the series is already out of reach and his original strategy is blown to bits.

[peskypesky]

I love you, Kori, but you're out of your mind. Pop is completely ed in the head and this will NOT be a long series. We will be lucky to win one game.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I also loved seeing Mason on Nowitzki.

[dirk4mvp]

Rick Carlisle vs Gregg Popovich. I haven't been a fan of Rick Carlisle since he called me out on the radio,

When was this?

[Silverheart80]

Kori --

Agreed with pretty much everything you said, but especially the Backup Point Guard comment. So painfully obvious, even before the game tipped off.

That said, anyone who thinks Popovich sucks doesn't know basketball. We'll never have a better coach than him, and he'll figure it out.

Believe.