Mavs vs Rockets - which team has the most left in the tank? - Page 2 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Hoopsmeister · 01-22-2002, 11:37 PM

Yeah, I could have sworn Bradley had a block in there. Very pleased with him tonight. Now if he can just string a couple of such games together.

Hoopsmeister · 01-22-2002, 11:39 PM

And Bayliss I agree. Offensively, Dirk is great anywhere. Defensively, he's at his best when he can play power forward.

Mavinator · 01-22-2002, 11:43 PM

With Dirk developing his shotblocking ability, I like the idea of running Dirk/Bradley frontcourts for long stretches in the game. I think that's a big-time defensive presence in the paint, and I think Donnie realizes it- he and Del Harris were the first to implement the Bradley/Booth lineup last year. Prediction: next game, Donnie starts Dirk and Bradley together...

Hoopsmeister · 01-22-2002, 11:49 PM

Bradley earned more minutes next game, he didn't earn a starting role--not to mention that today was supposed to be Donnie's last game. Nellie is supposed to be back for Denver on Thursday.

Mavinator · 01-22-2002, 11:50 PM

<< Bradley earned more minutes next game, he didn't earn a starting role--not to mention that today was supposed to be Donnie's last game. Nellie is supposed to be back for Denver on Thursday. >>

Oh, damn. Alright. I like the idea of starting Bradley to set a defensive tone early... maybe it's just me...

Incidentally, this is reply #44.

Bayliss · 01-22-2002, 11:55 PM

Well I may flip flop **all** year on Bradley but IF he shows the desire (which he did tonight) then I think he should be back in the starting lineup. What frustrates me is he'll have a decent game, then suck. Have a decent game, then suck. Absolutely no consistency with him.

Thursday lineup IMO

Center: Bradley (let's see what he can do again!)
Power Forward: Juwan Howard (should **only play 20-25 minutes with the rest going to Najera)
Small Forward: Dirk
Shooting Guard: Griffin
Point Guard: Nash

If Bradley comes out aggressively then it compensates for Howard's lack of D. It also allows Dirk to be more aggressive with rotations and help D. And it gives Griffin more opportunities to steal and apply close D knowing that a shotblocker has his back if the guard goes by.

BUT if Bradley does not show aggressiveness from the start then they should yank him out immediately.

Hoopsmeister · 01-23-2002, 12:00 AM

Mavinator, I actually agree with you, that Bradley as a starter is a good thing for this team. But I only like him if he has in fact come back, and I think he needs to come off the bench showing something like he did this game before he gets trusted with that again.

Rod1975 · 01-23-2002, 12:25 AM

Great team effort, Dirk passed the ball out of a double team to a wide open T-Bug for the trey. That was a huge basket.

Steve had a backbreaking 3 to put the game out of reach.

And what's with all the no-calls on Dirk? I swear he would have had 40 if he would have gotten to the line like he deserved.

He did'nt get to the line until 7 1/2 minutes left in the game! And even then he only went 4-4! Way below his average.....

Juwan missed a couple of chippies and got fouled with no call on a few occasions, that's why he went 6-16. But overall great effort.

Griff was huge in this game...he filled in the blanks very well.

madape · 01-23-2002, 09:18 AM

The Rockets were able to mount a pretty serious comeback bid in the second half by using an offensive gameplan that was centered around guard penetration. That gameplan, and Houston's comeback, was seriously halted when Bradley came into the game. Their offense went into a state of disarray and allowed the Mavs to build their lead back up again somewhat. Little whistle again inserted Bradley into the game in key defensive situations down the stretch to ensure that Houston couldn't make another run.

Bradley's line:
10 mins. 4 boards. 2 points. 1 block.
not too shabby