Mavs at Spurs: Game 2 Thoughts

[ddh33]

That was an awfully impressive win tonight. The Mavs completely dominated the game. They jumped on the Spurs early and never really let up. What might have been even more impressive was that everyone in the NBA makes a run. The Spurs never really did. They got the lead to 14 at one point, but the Mavs quickly pushed it back out to 18-20 points. Very impressive.

I thought the biggest differences in the way the game was played was the Dallas offense. The Mavs made a much more concerted effort to attack the rim tonight. It helped them get to the free throw line (where they seemed to get better as the game went along). A huge part of their success in getting to the rim and playing more efficient offense was the improved awareness when it came to pushing the ball and putting more pressure on the Spurs.

I was surprised, coming into this game, that Avery would make a drastic move like inserting Devin Harris into the starting lineup. I feel like I have been way ahead of the curve on Devin, and I've been calling for more minutes for a long time (when health wasn't an issue). I've said many times that I believe that Devin, along with Josh, would be the biggest keys in being able to get past the elite teams in the league and win a championship. I had thought and hoped that Avery would give Devin more minutes in this Spurs series, and I thought that might come by getting him off the bench and into the game faster. Instead, Avery took a more drastic approach by starting him. Honestly, that could have backfired on him, but coach Johnson seems to have the magic touch. Not only was able to beautifully handle the Dampier situation earlier this season, he looked like a genius after the move tonight.

The reason why Avery looked like a genius though was the play of Devin Harris. If Devin bombed, I would imagine everyone would be calling for Avery's head. Instead, Devin showed everything that I thought he could/would. Devin got into the lane at will against the Spurs. He constantly either got layups or collapsed the defense so that shooters like Stack or Josh were able to get wide open looks. On defense, he was able to harass Parker and make the Spurs have a little more trouble getting into things. But what you have to be most impressed by was the control and composure exhibited by Devin. When the Spurs tried to make any move in this game, it seemed like Devin had an answer. He really quarterbacked this team. He took the ball, initiated the offense, and when things went bad, Devin made it good again. He was great. And he had 0 turnovers. He was clearly the player of the game. 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists.

Josh Howard was also huge. Heck, maybe Bucher is right? Maybe Josh is the MVP of this team? Howard also changed the complexion of this game by setting a very aggressive tone. More than anyone, he personified the toughness and "attack" mentality that this team has to have to win this series. He made San Antonio pay for trying to cross-match, and he did an excellent job of getting to the line. Dallas has to make sure that he continues to be emphasized and very involved in this series. 27 points; 9 rebounds.

Dirk, meanwhile, probably gets a reprieve from all of the nasty "Bowen is in his head" articles. I think Dirk, more than anything, understands that the Spurs are going to take away what he does best. Because of that, he's going to have to help his team in other ways and rely a little more on his teammates than other stars might. Tonight, Dirk was wildly efficient with his shot. He only took 11, and while he might have had more attempts, you have to understand that San Antonio seemed so concerned about Dirk that guys like Devin and Josh were able to have the kind of big games that they did. If that's not making your teammates better, what is? 21 points on 11 shots, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.

It was also interesting, and somewhat overdue, in my mind, to see Dallas go small situationally tonight. As mentioned, the Spurs are obsessed with making someone other than Dirk beat them. They want Bowen on Dirk, and they want Duncan to be able to roam freely and be the all-time great defender that he is. Dallas actually put Dirk at center for moments of the game and made Duncan guard either Dirk or one of the other more offensive minded guards. The problem, of course, comes at the other end of the floor where Dirk is basically forced to matchup with Duncan. The Mavs seemed more conscious of doubling Duncan on the dribble though, so as long as Dirk was able to make Timmy work for position, the double was going to be coming shortly. I thought it was a nice look, and it should have given the Spurs something to think about.

You know, Jerry Stackhouse is quietly putting together a good series. I know it's only two games in, but I think Stack, more than anyone, benefited from the rest after closing out Memphis early. Stack has had a nice bounce in his step this series, and he has been drilling those baseline 3s. That's huge for this team. I thought Stack and his teammates did a much better job on Game 2 of making sure that no one completely dominated the ball. I thought that was Dallas' main problem in game one. Stack had the ball way too much, and everyone else just sort of stood around watching. Stack had 19 points on 12 shots in 31 minutes, and that doesn't show the threat that he was all night. He's someone who demands attention from the opponents, and that helps his teammates work.

Desagana Diop had a better night than I think a lot of people will realize. Diop was almost immediately in foul trouble again tonight, and he pretty much stayed there. But Diop picked up his 5th foul early in the second half. The weird thing is that from that point on, he was kind of a man possessed. I don't know if Avery leaving him in the game for long stretches took away a lot of his anxiety or what, but he just seemed more relaxed. He worked hard to try to front Duncan, which is never an easy thing. He challenged shots coming down the lane, and he did a nice job on the boards. He looked like a different player after that foul, and that's when a lot of players might have gone into a shell.

Dampier also played well again. I'm not hearing a lot of "redemption" talk, but I think that Damp is doing a good job of making amends for some of his struggles last season. Damp also fought some foul trouble in tonight's game, but he seemed determined to make his presence known regardless. His stat line will show nothing particularly impressive, but he wasn't bad.

Marquis Daniels might move under the radar in a game like this, but I thought he did some really good things tonight. The General gave him more minutes, and Quis responded better. Daniels was the guy who seemed to be matched up with Duncan quite a bit tonight, especially when Dallas went small. Marquis was patient and persistent all at the same time. In fact, he was involved in the play that kind of typified the Mavs night. He got isolated against Duncan and tried to attack. Duncan did a great job of keeping him in front of him and actually blocked Daniels shot. Marquis stayed with it though, got the rebound, tried to follow up his miss, and he missed that one. But he went after his rebound again, finally gained possession, and converted a basket. It just kind of summed up the Mavs attitude and determination. Quis also did a good job of keeping the ball moving. I thought that was key.

Adrian Griffin was relegated to spot duty tonight. That's the sort of thing that could cause problems with a lot of players and in a lot of locker-rooms. Call it a hunch, but I don't think that's going to happen here. Griff was a true pro. He got knocked completely out of the rotation and was called on late in the first half only a measure to keep other players out of foul trouble. So Griff came in, found a loose ball and kept possession for his team. I really appreciate what that guy does for this team. It's unfortunate that he just doesn't match up as well with the Spurs as some other players on this roster do.

Jason Terry got to move off the ball tonight. He got to be more of a shooter. He had to defend the ball less. Terry had a strange night though. Jet is obviously still struggling with his shot some. He was only 5-13 for 11 points. Despite that, he still had a solid offensive game for one big reason: he pushed the ball. There was no question that pace was emphasized by the Mav coaches, and Terry did his best to make sure the team got out in transition and got some easy shots. Terry also did a much better job of attacking the rim. He had some trouble converting some of those shots, and I thought he probably should have gotten some more whistles, but just the attacking itself was enough to help the team. On defense, Terry didn't have to chase Parker as much tonight, but he was beat badly on several occasions when he did have to. Terry's off the ball defense was better, and he did a nice job of chasing Ginobili.

I think the Maverick coaches also deserve a lot of credit for this win. It gets easy to feel sorry for yourself after losing a tough game. But the Mavs were able to show toughness, resiliency, and grit by winning this one in impressive fashion. The adjustments made were excellent, and that's the biggest part of playoff coaching - the adjustments.

So the Mavs did their job. They went to San Antonio, and they got the split. Deep down, I wonder if they aren't feeling a little upset at not being up 2-0 right now? Regardless, they can't be too happy or too frustrated. Knowing the Spurs, they are going to make some adjustments of their own. They are going to give a great effort in Game Three at Dallas. They're going to relish being against all 20,000 people in the AAC. The Mavs need to be prepared for it and keep home-court. They've worked hard to earn it in this series.