First off, I've been a fan long enough to realize that tonight's game was nothing more than just an entertaining, kick ass performance. As far as statement wins, etc, it really meant nothing. We showed some fight and Tony showed up and we got a close win.
If we match up with Dallas in the playoffs, both teams will most likely be healthy and we will have our traditional starting line ups. So, tonight didn't tell us much, IMO.
However, I think Dallas is playing very uncharacteristic basketball right now. Dirk was floating around and looked disinterested and the Mavs seemed a little lost. Have they decided not to put too much emphasis on the regular season ? Maybe. But I recall feeling the same way after watching the Spurs play the Pistons last year.
The Pistons didn't play the same. They lacked defensive intensity and focus and gave a ho-hum effort. They never did turn it around and got embarassed by Cleveland. --- Who we all know was terrible.
It will be interesting to see which Dallas team shows up for the playoffs and how the rest of the regular season plays out.
Oh yeah, Manu is awesome. "Hey, don't touch me, don't touch me !" No one can touch that dude.
Last edited by tmtcsc; 12-06-2007 at 02:12 PM.
I don't know. The entire team has looked very UNINTERESTED in pretty much every game this year. I know they are capable of being a of a lot better than this, but they don't seem to care much. There isn't much movement, people are missing shots they normally make, and taking shots they don't normally take, and just are not playing like they normally do. I really hope that they turn it on later this year...
hey,what's up Mav fan.
What were you saying about Manu not being as good as the top SGs in the league the other day???
you've got GINOBILIED last night, don't never forget that.
BTW,your team was shooting 56% from the field and making every single shot from the 3 pt line last night till Ginobili took over the game.
They didn't play bad,Manu just played better,that's all.
Well, I know for sure Dallas can play differently. They didn't seem to miss a shot against us in game 1 this year. I have only been really dissapointed in 1 game from the Spurs this year and that was the first Dallas game. Tony has been great all season but he didn't show up for that one.
I don't get it. If they really are supposed to be one of the better teams this season, then at least show us a few glimpses. We're all supposed to believe they're going to eventually turn it on come late in the season? To keep the guys fresh, wouldn't Avery treat maybe one quarter of a game like it was a playoff matchup and go balls out? Instead, they sleepwalk through every game - easy games, games they should be winning - and we're told it's a "work in progress" and that they're waiting until later to get things meshed.
Hassell hasn't done anything. Jones can't get off the injury list. Same with Devean George. Dirk isn't the same. Harris is still learning out there, but Avery has thrust Terry back into his old position and that's not helping Devin. Howard's the only one doing anything worth a damn and is probably the best player on the team right now.
I'm saying I just don't know if I can fully buy into the "turn it on later in the season" thing if I don't see the parts capable of doing so.
It's almost like they're struggling to find an iden y. They do not have an on-court leader. Just a bunch of guys on the court trying to score when it's their turn.
AJ is partially at fault here too because he continues to "screw around" with various lineups. First he claimed he was going to "ease up" during the regular season and not press quite as hard. However, next he says his goal is to "win every game each time out".
It clear the defensive intensity is not the same. The Mavs don't seem to know who they are. Perhaps they're still having playoff hangover.
Personally, I'm glad to see it. I hope it lasts all season and they get bounced in the first round again.
Let's not forget how well they played against the Spurs in the first matchup. They outworked the Spurs and hustled. Last night was not the same team and it probably is because of the fact Duncan was out. I don't know, but I know that the Mavs will get it together.
Wish I could say the same thing about the Suns. They look like they mean business and are on a mission, a mission to win it all and beat our Spurs in the process. Amare is looking very strong and Nash is Nash, and Hill is a huge addition. I think it will be us against them in the WCFs because Dallas will lose to one or the other in the WC semis.
let's not forget they played the difending world champions last night.
I really think they played really good for the first 2 quarters and a half,just untill the tropical Storm ¨Manu¨hited them real hard.
This Mavs team does not have the ability to turn it off and on, IMO. So they better turn it on now and leave it on for the rest of the year or this is going to be another 1st round exit from the playoffs.
Last night's effort was poor and the Spurs effort was fantastic.
Manu is def the MAN.
It is a long season and i am not panicking as a Mavs fan but i can def feel the proverbial window for this team beginning to close.....
You mean like the Mavericks last year, or the Pistons the year before?
One good game does not put you in a class with Lebron and Kobe. If he can average over 30/5/5 for an entire season then we can talk.
But yea, he played a very good game. And Dallas played a terrible game by their standards.
i think their lackluster performances could be traced in their shift in focus(from dirk to howard), trying to copy the spurs way. whereas duncan can still be dominating even without being great, dirk needs to shoot to be effective. or it could be that they've settled into the same mentality that the pistons have been in the past few years. they know they're good enough to win, but knowing and doing are two different things.
shhhhh!!!
Looks like Pop borrowed a page out of the Don Nelson handbook. He discovered that he could swarm Dirk much like every other team (since Golden State) has been doing since their playoff meltdown. If you have enough good, quick defenders on the court, you can force Dirk to give up the ball. Make the other guys beat you.
I remember that year the Suns started 31-4. They sure whipped the Spurs in the playoffs that year, didn't they?
For Dallas to be out of sync in December is not the end of the world for them.
well the spurs were not the same as usual last year but they finished well
so you know
If Dirk's not making his shots, he's not doing much of anything else...same with Jason Terry, Stackhouse, and Devin Harris. Only guys who are still effective are Howard and Bass!
Whereas for the Spurs, if Duncan, Parker, or Ginobili have an off night offensively, they are still able to affect the game in other areas. Dallas needs more players like that in order to get over their mental deficiencies. They tend to give up in all other areas of the game if their shots aren't falling. You saw that against GS last season and this season as well. They need more all around players, not one dimensional ones. And it doesn't help that they have no real leader and that Avery keeps changing their lineups and his "team philosophy"
I agree that one good game doesn't him put him in the same class as those two you mentioned. However, Manu does have the same number of rings as Kobe.
Manu averages less than 30 minutes a game and averages 20 points a game. Kobe averages 36 minutes a game and 27 points a game. LeBron averages 39 minutes a game and 30 points a game. Kobe and LeBron are their teams franchise player. Manu is a role player. Manu plays on a team with a guy named Tony Parker and Tim Duncan while LeBron plays with Gooden and Boobie and Kobe plays with Fisher and Odom.
Manu does have to carry his team like the two you mentioned do. I think if he had to, you'd see more games you like you witnessed last night. Not saying he'd be exactly like Kobe or LeBron, but you'd hear more of him.
To top that off, Manu has more heart than those two guys combined. I'll take that.
I agree. Everyone seems so sure that this line of thinking is going to work for Dallas because it's what the Spurs do.
But this actually works for the Spurs, and we've seen that time and again.
For Dallas, we don't know what the outcome will be, so I guess I'll wait and see what happens after ASB.
I do have my doubts though.
.
The Suns can't play D, the Spurs play awesome D. We win.
Excellent point.
dirk seems to be playing with the fear of failure.
Outside of last night's game, have you not been watching Manu? He's been outstanding!
He may not be putting up Kobe/LeBron numbers each and every night, but he doesn't HAVE to....that's the difference between the Spurs and Lakers/Cavs.
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