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If AHF had his way, Pop would be on the Wine Spectator's editorial board right now, instead of coaching our Spurs."What, have I been fired already, or do I have to lose one more game?" he quipped.
It's no time for Mavs to be smug
This is how the NBA playoffs work.
One day, you win an emotional game, and you're planning the parade route.
Next game, you get your heart ripped out, and everybody starts talking about what changes should be made before training camp opens.
Then you look up, and it's Mavericks 2, Spurs 1.
"It's like that every year," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Honestly. Every year, every round. Even the Finals last year. We won the first two, and it was like Detroit couldn't play. The Spurs were a dynasty.
"Then after the next two games, we were the most worthless people that ever lived, the players should be traded and the coach should be fired."
Even Sunday, when the Spurs were wiping away the disappointment of their Game 3 loss Saturday night, Popovich joked about the feeling. When a couple of reporters were chatting with general manager R.C. Buford, Popovich wondered what was going on.
It was a faux news conference, he was told.
"What, have I been fired already, or do I have to lose one more game?" he quipped.
That's how precarious a closely contested NBA playoff series is. And it will happen again after Game 4 tonight, when the Mavericks have a chance to push the defending champions to the brink of extinction. Or, they could find themselves stuck in a 2-2 tie going to San Antonio for Game 5.
"I guess that's why it's a seven-game series," said Michael Finley, who was on the Mavericks' side for all those years, but now finds himself down 2-1 as a Spurs reserve. "[In] college, if you have a great game that night, you can go on and be a national champion. But in the NBA, it's a series. And usually, the better team wins in that series.
"Even though you may think things are going your way for a game, it can easily change the next game. It's the team that remains mentally consistent that overrides that."
What has overridden everything so far is that the Mavericks have won twice in a row and can reach a commanding position with a win tonight.
"Three-to-one – there's not a lot of teams that have been able to come back from 3-1," Jerry Stackhouse said. "But short term, we just want to take care of home. We want to take care of these two home games, and we'll go from there."
The Mavericks have no reason not to go at tonight's meeting like the series depends on it. They rightfully are bubbling with confidence, which is really what the feeling boils down to for coaches and players after they win important playoff games.
"As long as it's not false confidence," coach Avery Johnson said. "As long as it's not fool's gold. It gives us a little confidence, because we've had some success in San Antonio. That last game that we won in San Antonio in the regular season was big."
And for a coach who spends most of his waking hours measuring his team's body language and frame of mind, Johnson likes what he sees.
"For me, it's all about me dealing with them from the mental aspect," he said. "The more they can be ready and have some confidence – not overconfidence, because we're not that good – it helps."
The Spurs aren't panicking by any stretch. They can fall back on many possessions that, had they gone a different way, would have led to a victory for San Antonio.
Nevertheless, they are on the opposite side of the Mavericks' ultra-high euphoria.
"We just had some bad breaks," Robert Horry said. "I don't panic. Basketball is basketball. You go out and play as hard as you can, and if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose.
"Think about it – if Tony [Parker] doesn't get tripped [on that late pick-and-roll], he gets an easy layup and we're up five or four, and they're in a bad situation. We just need some breaks here and there."
Consider that a subtle shot at the state of officiating in the series.
As always, one team is going to think it's worse than the other team.
If AHF had his way, Pop would be on the Wine Spectator's editorial board right now, instead of coaching our Spurs."What, have I been fired already, or do I have to lose one more game?" he quipped.
Waaahhhhhhhhhh.........
TD wasn't subtle with his whining after the game...I thought the Spurs were above that???
what does that have to do with this article? mav fan has no reason to whine about whining about officiating.
Horry taking a subtle shot at the officiating, just like Avery did...
Avery's "bearhug defense" comment was nothing compared to Timmy D though!
This game tells us whether or not this Spurs team is for real or not... if they lose, then the Mavericks are probably the better team and deserve to win... if they win, then we know that the Spurs are back on track and should make this one of the better WCSF ever.
... and i wish people would just ignore posts like the one from Leonard. It's obvious his purpose here is to get us into arguments and turn threads into massive fests. Yes I know that a lot of Spurs fans use the argument that we have 3 rings and I know it's lame... but the Mavs shouldn't be talking trash either because it's still very early in this series. Neither teams fans should be gloating/celebrating or ing/whining.
and it starts already...
That could very well have been the journalist's assumption that it was a barb at the officiating. Getting a break could also include a more friendly roll at the hoop. The Spurs didn't have many of those going their way the last couple of games.
spurs get a break instead of dallas getting 5 breaks spurs would have won last game
please don't start with the conspiracy theories guys. It was a badly called game. It wasn't a Stern ordered hatchet job to extend the series.
When is it a good time to be smug? When the team is down in a series? When a team loses a series? If the Spurs and Spurs fans truly believe the Spurs will still win this series, then I would say it's the perfect time for the Mavs to be smug right now.
i can't see or hear the word smug without thinking about the south park episode about hybrid cars.
LMAO...that was genius...
i gotta agree... nobody should be overly excited... so what the mavs are up 2 - 1... all it takes is a game and that lead is over. so what the spurs have won 3 rings... what matters now is game by game who wins this series... we get that the Spurs have rings... we get that.... that argument gets pointless after its said by 18 diff ppl... we got that the Mavs have none... but isnt the point of this season to win one for THIS YEAR?? and worry about the past when the playoffs are done? but i think its okay in moderation but apparently there is no such thing...
Look, this series is just what it promised to be...a close, close series. The second game was the aberration from scores being close,but it was an anomoly due to extreme fatigue on the part of the spurs ( I believe that they should be well enough conditioned that they wouldn't get that fatigued with three games in 5 nights, but that is a trainer problem) and some TRULY weird officiating...on both ends of the floor.
The first and third games are the more characteristic, and they have been super close, with either team able to win down the stretch in the final seconds. Let's face it, spurs fans ( and I am a season ticket holder of long standing), every team in our conference has built their teams around stopping the spurs over the last 5 years or so. That means we are bound to face a terrific team down the road somewhere,and I think that team is Dallas and the time is now. I still think the Spurs will win this series, but Dallas is for real and they have almost as good a shot at this as we do.
The thing that makes me most worried about the Spurs this year is not our talent ( we have more talent this year than last), but that Dallas has both better talent than they did last year, and a better coach than they did last year. Also, Pop has a real problem (Kori, please don't curse at me for saying something less than sychophantic about Pop's coaching) with MOTIVATING his team, especially in the year following a championship. If the spurs are to win, Pop not only has to make better decisions than he has so far in this series, but he has to WORK at motivating them. He doesn't seem to think that it is "cool" to do anything about motivation except to scream in anger when the team isn't doing what he wants, but they are all young men who have to get past their complacency at times. We have generally been outhustled in this series, and we will NOT repeat without more hustle.
Finally, Dallas cannot, I believe beat Detroit. The Spurs are the only team in the West who can beat them, and I don't want to see them win again. So...go Spurs Go!!!
Actually, if it comes to Detroit, I think Dallas could probably beat them
Me, too!Actually, if it comes to Detroit, I think Dallas could probably beat them
I don't. I think Sheed could be quick/long enough to matchup on Dirk and Big Ben would protect the paint. backcourts might be a push but Pistons get the edge there in my opinion.
Will you ers stop talking about Dallas- Detroit?????
sheesh, the patient has not even flat-lined and you are burying it already.
In my case it was purely hypothetical. Spurs will win convincingly tonight and it will then be a three game series and Spurs will have home court.Will you ers stop talking about Dallas- Detroit?????
sheesh, the body has not even flat-lined and you are burying it already.
Ok, glad you are not lost all hope.
Yes, I think that the spurs will win tonight and win the series. What I said in my original post was that I thought that only the spurs in the west could beat Detroit. That's not exactly a discussion of a hypothetical Detoit-Dallas matchup. I admit that some folks' lips may get tired reading a long post, but try to get the gist, anyway, okay?
No one's giving up...I was just stating that the fact that the Mavs have shown they can hang with the Spurs makes me think they have as good a chance of beating the Pistons as anybody.Will you ers stop talking about Dallas- Detroit?????
sheesh, the patient has not even flat-lined and you are burying it already.
Lose the at ude. I was simply addressing the following statement you made:
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