OK -- Here are my observations of Game 6:
- Zero inside game. One would have thought that after a torturous five games, by now someone in the Mavs organization would have figured out that you can't beat these Warriors from the perimeter. It's understandable that the Mavs have no legitimate post player outside of Stackhouse, but the team showed no aggressiveness in trying to get to the basket at all. Devin Harris probably drove to the hoop one time, Terry, not once, Dirk not once.
- Dirk got eaten alive on defense by every single soul wearing a yellow uniform.
- Lived by the three in the first half, died by the three in the second half.
Plenty of blame to go around. Dirk deserves a good chunk of it for laying one of the largest eggs ever seen in modern times. Avery deserves some too, for two reasons: failing to establish some kind of inside game either by post or by penetration, and failing to realize that switch-and-isolation plays, the staple of the Mavericks offense, are next to useless against a team that is composed of nothing but long athletic guards. Unfortunately in the few instances when it could've worked (I could've sworn I saw Monta Ellis guarding Dirk on several possessions), he failed to take advantage.
I'm a huge fan of Baron Davis now. To watch him hobble back onto the court from the locker room on one leg, limp around unable to play defense or run, and proceed to score 11 straight points was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen on live television.
|