Reply With Quote
Eh, I'm always game for a little Mav smack but this isn't the right time. It looks like Harvey also thinks Manu might start and Barry will play more. Hopefully that is the case.
Spurs' one reassurance the anti-Mavs
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
Don't be surprised if Manu Ginobili starts tonight, assuming the Spurs want to get him going. Don't be surprised if Brent Barry gets extra minutes, assuming the Spurs want to take advantage of the double teams on Tim Duncan.
But don't be surprised if the Spurs change little else.
They are the anti-Mavs, after all.
The Spurs are clearly smarter than the Dallas Mavericks. On the eve of Game 3, coming home and down 0-2, no one used a radio talk show to discuss his marijuana use.
That's a joke, and the Spurs will qualify for a few of their own if they lose tonight. Give this to the Mavericks: They were blistered in their first two games in New Orleans, as the Spurs were in theirs, and they responded in Game 3, as the Spurs want to.
Yes, Josh Howard helped the Mavericks win that game.
But these Texas teams aren't the same, though they've been lumped together as both have taken turns against New Orleans. Both, for example, were supposed to have experience on their side against the young Hornets.
But did Dallas really have that? The Mavericks are only experienced in playoff chokes.
Also, Avery Johnson knew he was gone before the playoffs even started. Gregg Popovich works with as much as security as any coach.
The Mavericks didn't have the time or maybe the plan or personnel to learn to play with Jason Kidd. The Spurs have their core in place from a fourth championship team.
The Mavericks were fractured, holding players-only practices, with house-party Howard adding to the fissure. The Spurs rarely practice at all, or party for that matter, so that hasn't been an issue.
Along the way, the Mavericks abandoned everything they knew. They were totally confused and scrambling, said one NBA scout of the Dallas-New Orleans series. They had no idea what they were doing.
In contrast, the Spurs were well organized while losing by 19 and 18 points. That's another joke.
Funny, though, the scout sees some truth in this. In both losses in New Orleans, the Spurs had open shots on offense when Duncan was doubled. And while the Spurs' half-court defense hasn't been exactly lockdown tough, it also hasn't been the primary problem.
In no specific order, the problems have been transition defense, turnovers and loose balls.
Popovich will preach transition defense, as he always does, and energy can cure some of this. But he can't coach quickness. The Hornets will have an edge when an unclaimed ball is free and bouncing on the floor.
The Spurs can curb their turnovers, though the Hornets may stay efficient themselves. They excel in this area mostly because Chris Paul keeps the basketball in his hands; he had one turnover in 41 minutes Monday.
Still, these kinds of failures suggest the Spurs are losing games but not their way. Take Peja Stojakovic, for example, since Spurs defenders seemingly didn't take him Monday.
Stojakovic made five 3-pointers. Two came in transition, one off an offensive rebound and kick-out and one when the Hornets got a mismatch in the post. The fifth came because a Spurs defender arrived late, a defensive sin.
The Spurs deserved to get every one of those threes; if they play this way again, they will lose again. But as four of the five Stojakovic's baskets indicate, the Spurs' set defense is not what ruined them.
That may still get them swept. The Hornets, startling in their talent and chemistry in the first two games, might simply be better.
But if there's a reason the Spurs hold on, if there's something on their side that makes a difference emotionally, it's that they believe in what they are doing.
They might start Ginobili, and they might use Barry more, but they won't change. They will come home, where their record ranks with most. They will listen to Popovich, and they will take Duncan's lead, and they will lean on a system that has held up for most of a decade.
That makes them the anti-Mavs.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...n.3889069.html
Eh, I'm always game for a little Mav smack but this isn't the right time. It looks like Harvey also thinks Manu might start and Barry will play more. Hopefully that is the case.
That's ing stupid to say anti-Mavs. What does that have to do with anything other than talking about how they imploded in their series against the Hornets?
Anyhoo, I hope against hope that Barry gets through security at the AT&T Center to drop bombs in this game.
Weak article
At least mavs were hustling
what a bunch of bull . Spurs played 10x worse than mavs in their games 1 and 2
so far, Mavs gave Hornets more fight than Spurs
I just found this hilarious
He's right about them choking. He's right that they might start Manu and play Barry more. He's right that the transition defense stinks right now. So, its a good article, but most of us knew all this. I don't think he had to put anti-Mav on there, but oh well.
I wouldn't go so far as to say 10x worse overall. The Spurs did have the lead over the Hornets at halftime in both games. It is the dismal 3rd quarters that have buried them. It's really surprising because the Spurs are known for their halftime adjustments and it seems safe to say that so far in this series Scott has had the upper-hand over Popovich.
Let's all pray that we head back to N.O. tied...
Damn, Buck Harvey going Phoenix local beat writer. Way to lower standards.
Are we sure someone on here didn't write this and slap Harvey's name on it?
It's really a sad state of affairs for the Mavericks when we pity them so much that smack talk makes us uncomfortable. Either that or the Spurs' fanbase is extremely forgiving and a little senile.
Pls. For the love of all that is good, play Brent Barry more Pop!
Why is he taking a shot at Dallas? They're not even in the playoffs anymore.
I understand it was to compare us to them, but I really dont see why he needed
to add the dallas smack talk in there.
Because Dallas sucks. Because they lost to the Hornets. Because Josh Howard is a dumb . Because they were hugely disfunctional and it's why they got steamrolled. Because even though the Spurs played like the Mavericks in the first two games it doesn't mean they aren't any better than the Mavericks.
I'm not supers ious at all but if I was I would say that this article is asking for a karma bite in the a$$.
stay classy Harvey
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
