[BGMaverick9]

The start of the 4th quarter obviously killed us but like I said: Carlisle was stuck. We're completely thin without Josh and Dirk admitted he was out of gas late in Game 1. You need a fresh Dirk and Co. so you've gotta roll the dice and hope you survive. 2 of the 3 are definitely going to have to rest and you're guessing it's Dirk and Kidd. You're still going to have a pretty sluggish offensive line-up out there if it's just Jet. You just have to hope the bench guys contribute like they did in the 1st half...because they did contribute.

Same defensive strategy against Dirk and pretty much the same result. He showed a lot of aggression and he really put the pressure on the refs. He was very efficient with his scoring and the points just kept piling up. I really don't like the continuing trend of guys just Dirk-watching. He gets the ball and might have a few dribbles but maybe once in the past two games has anyone really decided to move and give Dirk another option.

Jet has really been in a funk in these 09 playoffs. I know I can't look for shining moments on defense all the time, but it seemed like he was just especially bad. It seemed like everyone was running right by him. He started getting rolling in the 3rd quarter and it was going to be pivotal to get a 2nd scorer going with Dirk if Dallas wanted a shot at this. You saw some classic Jet shots in the 3rd but this series just seems like one that is too fast for Jet. It looked like he was playing too fast in the Spurs series, and now the series is too fast for him.

I'm not sure either of the assignment for Wright, with him being on Billups. It seems like they're letting Kidd take a lesser assignment or be a spy. I mean, he can fill that role...but I'd rather have him go at Billups or have a shot at slowing down an offensive weapon for Denver. Either way, Wright is doing his job...he's making people work to get their shots off.

It was real subtle with the bench but everyone chipped in. Before I looked at the stats for halftime I would've said that it wasn't that good...but the fact that everyone scored was actually surprising. JJ really couldn't get his timely charging calls and didn't have a clear path to the lane. Bass wasn't a factor on the boards due to the taller bodies for Denver. In spite of that, they were all a factor in the scoring department and we needed it. The 2nd half was a different story, they weren't able to really do anything.

I'm REALLY getting tired of the Will He or Won't He with Josh. It's just getting to be too much for me. It's pretty scary when you see a lineup like:
JJ, Jet, Singleton, Bass and Damp. I can't remember if that's the exact lineup we had rolling in the 2nd quarter, but it was something very similar to that. We just get massively depleted if Josh isn't out there.

Damp really wasn't a factor in the game and it's hard to tell right now if he actually will be one in this series. Nene is just giving him issues with his versatility. Hollins was active on both sides of the court. It's almost a given you can say that night in and night out.

You're down 0-2 but Denver did what they were supposed to do and they're an incredibly good home team. They use the altitude and their style against you and it can usually get you run out of the gym in the blink of an eye. Dallas just can't bail out when they come home and they need to be ready to play. What did I learn? Josh is really really hurt...Denver is a very good home team and Dallas is a wishy washy road team. But I already knew that stuff. They've got a few days off so hopefully Josh can get some treatment...waiting game for him again. This wasn't going to be easy...but you can't give up yet. You have to see how the dynamic changes when it's back in Dallas.