Mavs host Grizzlies: Game 2 Thoughts

[G-Man]

Sorry, I couldn't wait for DDH to do his usual wonderful thing.

What an awesome performance. Here's my odd observations.

Nice to see the Mavs take total control of a game and not let go.

How cool is it seeing Avery getting to use all of his players the way he wants to, having an actual complete roster.

The Mavs this year have had 2 major problems, injuries, and lapse of focus. In these 2 games, they have finally shown consistant intensity. They are a very good team when they are all available and all focus intensly together.

The decision to hold off on bringing back injured players slowly has proven to be a wise one. Rusty Devin gets some good intense practice games to round into shape.

Check out Quis' line. 0-1 fgs, 4rbs, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 1 TO. In 18 minutes. At the beginning of the year he was trigger happy. Tonight he plays 18 minutes and takes 1 shot, after going 6 for 9 the game before. In both games, he really helps his team win. Ths kid is growing up big time.

DJ MBenga played a perfect game. How huge it was to have him play 7 flawless minutes when the othr 2 centers had 3 fouls.

Gasol ain't Dirk light. He's more like fat free, sugar free, no carb caffine free Dirk.

The talent is there. Keep up this level of focus and intensity and the sky is the limit.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Gasol had the quietest 16, 7, and 5 that I've ever seen. Truthfully, in the second half I nearly forgot he was there.

Just a great performance by everyone. The question around here before was "Should we be worried about the Grizz?" The series ain't over, but so far I'd say the answer is a resounding "NO."

[dude1394]

What happened to battier? Did he even play in the second half??

I would have thought he would have been a natural with them going small.

[ddh33]

Mavs up 2-0 and hold serve at home.

I thought there were way too many whistles in a poorly officiated ball game. There's been little doubt since these two teams were linked together that the series was going to be physical and scrappy at times. I don't know if the league feels like they need to get a handle on things early or what, but there were a ton of whistles (63 fouls) and not a ton of consistency.

Still, the Mavs showed that they were, once again, the superior team. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if the team had two more games in a row with this exact same outcome.

The Grizzlies actually started this game much better and seemed prime to give Dallas a huge fight. Gasol, in particular, was very aggressive offensively. The Mavs doubled him early, and Pau did a nice job of finding open teammates. At the same time, the Mavs were on fire and looking like an offensive juggernaut.

Jason Terry deserves a lot of credit for controlling the pace of the game early. There are times that Dallas falls into playing a tempo that is too slow. Against the Grizzlies, I think the Mavs have a real advantage in the open floor. Terry made sure that he pushed the ball. In the process, he got some early offense opportunities for himself and his teammates. For a guy that's not really known as a point guard, Terry sure can do a good impression. Jet had 9 assists against only 2 turnovers. He did his usual job of efficient scoring. He also had some very nice moments on the boards. He actually corralled 6, but Terry has learned the value of just tipping a ball. He did that several times tonight and helped the team get or keep possession.

Dirk Nowitzki was another huge and obvious reason why the Maverick offense was going well early. It didn't seem like Dirk would ever miss. And I don't guess he did until his eighth shot or so when he had to heave something to beat the clock. Dirk has really been a tone-setter in these two games.

Josh Howard deserves credit as well. Josh had a much better game tonight. He had a nice first quarter and did a great job of getting to the line early. I don't think anyone is going to complain about 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and solid defense.

The game really changed in the middle of the second quarter. Until that point, it had been a pretty evenly matched game. Memphis shot themselves in the foot with a ton of turnovers. Dallas helped force some of them, but the Mavs offense continued to punish the Grizzlies - especially in transition.

I thought it was interesting and maybe not even a coincidence that DJ Mbenga was in the game during the Mavs big second quarter run. Diop and Damp had gotten themselves in a little bit of foul trouble, and DJ got to play some meaningful minutes. I thought he did a nice job. He used his body and his strength against Gasol, and his athleticism seemed to be something a little different against Pau. I don't think we're going to suddenly see DJ get a ton of minutes for the rest of this series or anything, but it was nice to see him make an impact.

Dampier and Diop were solid tonight. Diop didn't do much in the stat sheet, but he did work hard against Pau. That's really all you have to have from him. Damp wasn't as dominant as he was in Game 1, but he was still a presence. I think the foul trouble bothered him a little bit, and truthfully, he hasn't had to deal with it much lately. He still did a good job of using his body and strength and helping control the lane.

Another key to the game and series that should have become evident during that stretch of the game was the Mavs play against Mike Miller. Memphis doesn't have many guys who can crate their own shot or score the ball consistently. Gasol and Miller are really it. Miller seemed to get several points pretty quickly, but from the middle of the second quarter on, I don't remember hearing much from him at all.

Adrian Griffin has had a very good two games so far. Griff never does anything spectacular, but he's effective on the floor. Tonight, he nailed some open jumpers and made Memphis pay by trying to let Gasol guard him. He grabbed a few rebounds, made some nice passes, and played some very good defense - mostly against Mike Miller.

Marquis Daniels has also played well. Daniels night didn't compare to Game 1, but Marquis still made his presence known. He had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Most importantly, he was active and an energy source again.

Jerry Stackhouse continued his shooting struggles. Actually, Jerry was quiet most of the night. The thing that stands out most to me was his technical foul in the second quarter. I actually appreciated him standing up to some of the ticky-tack calls. Sure, there are times to avoid doing something like that, but in the second quarter of a game like this one, I thought it was the right time. i don't think it changed any of the whistles, but it did let folks know that these Mavs aren't just going to hang their heads and disagree. They're going to fight. That means something to me.

Did you realize that there was somewhere around a 10 minutes stretch in the middle of this game where Memphis couldn't make a shot? Again, for a team that can't play any defense, Dallas sure does act like it sometimes. Unfortunately, during that time, the Mavs offense kind of left them. They had too many careless turnovers and missed some shots they should have made.

I thought Devin Harris was a boost during that second half lull. Devin's minutes are still limited somewhat, but he doesn't seem to be showing any sign of injury. I still worry about him. But he did a great job of getting into the lane, including a gorgeous cut that gt him a bucket and a foul. He even showed a little more confidence in his jumper, taking two and converting one of them.

I thought the work on the boards was also big during that time. It seemed like every time Dallas needed a basket, even if the offense couldn't come through, the Mavs would chase down an offensive rebound or get a loose ball that would end up in a basket.

by the fourth quarter, the Mavs had made clear that this game was theirs. Memphis put in some younger players and seemed to be experimenting with things for future games. I wouldn't be surprised to see more of Dahntay Jones and Hakim Warrick as this series goes along.

I want to also brag on Avery Johnson and the job he has done. This team looks so focused and so prepared right now. They seem determined to achieve their lofty goals. You could also see the bond this team and their coach has. When accepting the award for "Coach of the Year" Avery was quick to acknowledge his players. His players had huge grins and smiles and were standing along with everyone else. There was definitely some pride.

In the playoffs, every game is big. Momentum is won and lost in single games. I think Game 3 is going to be a game when Dallas takes Memphis' best shot. With home-court, it's reasonable to expect the Grizz to bring their best effort on both sides of the ball. The Grizzlies are staggered right now, but if Dallas can get Game 3, I think you might see that team start packing their bags mentally and emotionally. Have our Mavs grown up and developed that killer instinct they have supposedly been lacking for years?

[jleefilled]

Originally Posted by dude1394

What happened to battier? Did he even play in the second half??

I would have thought he would have been a natural with them going small.

I know he picked up his fourth foul pretty early in the third quarter. Not sure if he got any more burn after that.

[G-Man]

could a mod please move this to DDH33's game 2 thread?
If not, maybe you could correct the title to game 2

thanks

g

[endrity]

This is extremely funny

By Geoff Calkins
Contact
April 27, 2006

DALLAS -- The other guys have better players.

This is the explanation, isn't it?

This is why the Grizzlies lost four straight to the San Antonio Spurs, why they lost four straight to the Phoenix Suns, why they have now lost two straight to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Grizzlies are good.

The other guys are better.

It's simple and devastating, all at once.

But what other conclusion can you reach after watching the Mavericks dismantle the Grizzlies Wednesday night, 94-79?

The Grizzlies tried hard.

The Grizzlies always try hard. They are a plucky bunch of players who like each other and support each other and give it the old college try.

This works very well during the regular season, when some teams float from game to game.

Then come the playoffs.

Then nobody floats.

Then the better players win.

And the Mavericks are better, no matter how you look at it. They have the better big guys and the better wing guys. They have the better starters and the better bench.

They are both bigger than the Grizzlies and faster than the Grizzlies.

They have the better dance team, too.

And the better mascot.

And the better international star with facial hair.

And, oh, this is depressing, isn't it?

Because there were the Grizzlies, all pumped up, matching the Mavericks basket for basket through the end of the first quarter.

After that, well, you know how they say basketball is a game of runs?

The Grizzlies should be going on theirs any moment now.

The Grizzlies scored 12 points in the second quarter and 13 in the third.

"We didn't have it tonight," said Shane Battier.

But it's not like they didn't want to have it or anything. It's just a lot harder for them.

For the Grizzlies to score, they have to do everything right. They throw the ball to Pau Gasol (16 points), who throws it back out to Chucky Atkins (seven), who swings it to Eddie Jones (11), who swings it to Battier (three), who hopefully hits a jump shot.

The Mavericks score all kinds of ways. Dirk Nowitzki (31) throws in rainbows, Josh Howard (17) slashes to the hoop, Jason Terry (16) blows by whatever Memphis point guard happens to be guarding him, especially if it's Atkins, and that was ugly, wasn't it?

It's the difference between a team loaded with character and a team loaded with athletes.

The Grizzlies go to dinner together.

That's very nice.

Then the Mavericks show up and eat their lunch.

Some of this is bad luck, of course, because of the NBA's absurd playoff system. The Grizzlies deserved to play the Suns last year and the Spurs the year before that. They didn't deserve to play the Mavericks this time around.

But that can't disguise the limitations of this outfit, a team that's built to get into the playoffs and not much else.

Consider the Grizzlies defense, the supposed strength of the team. The Grizzlies finished first in points against this year and fourth in points against last year.

So how come in their last seven playoff games, they've given up 110, 114, 108, 110, 123, 103 and 94?

Inescapable conclusion: The Grizzlies are good enough to stop the Hawks and Knicks, but not good enough to stop the Suns and Mavs.

"They have very good players," said Battier.

There oughta be a law.

So now the Grizzlies head back to FedExForum, where everyone has been instructed to wear white, the color of surrender, but don't read anything into that.

"It's going to be a whole lot different," said Lorenzen Wright. "The fans are going to be crazy."

Maybe, maybe not.

But the Grizzlies will have home-court advantage. They will be playing in a building where they won 30 games.

"But we'll be playing a great team," said coach Mike Fratello.

Awwww, drat.

Contact Geoff Calkins at 529-2364

[HexNBA]

Haha, very funny indeed.

[Just211]

I was glad to see them run away from the grizz , when they both started hot, and it was DALLAS D that made the difference. thats a nice change

[aexchange]

is geoff calkins = twodeep3? hrmmmm...

Originally Posted by endrity

This is extremely funny

By Geoff Calkins
Contact
April 27, 2006

DALLAS -- The other guys have better players.

This is the explanation, isn't it?

This is why the Grizzlies lost four straight to the San Antonio Spurs, why they lost four straight to the Phoenix Suns, why they have now lost two straight to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Grizzlies are good.

The other guys are better.

It's simple and devastating, all at once.

But what other conclusion can you reach after watching the Mavericks dismantle the Grizzlies Wednesday night, 94-79?

The Grizzlies tried hard.

The Grizzlies always try hard. They are a plucky bunch of players who like each other and support each other and give it the old college try.

This works very well during the regular season, when some teams float from game to game.

Then come the playoffs.

Then nobody floats.

Then the better players win.

And the Mavericks are better, no matter how you look at it. They have the better big guys and the better wing guys. They have the better starters and the better bench.

They are both bigger than the Grizzlies and faster than the Grizzlies.

They have the better dance team, too.

And the better mascot.

And the better international star with facial hair.

And, oh, this is depressing, isn't it?

Because there were the Grizzlies, all pumped up, matching the Mavericks basket for basket through the end of the first quarter.

After that, well, you know how they say basketball is a game of runs?

The Grizzlies should be going on theirs any moment now.

The Grizzlies scored 12 points in the second quarter and 13 in the third.

"We didn't have it tonight," said Shane Battier.

But it's not like they didn't want to have it or anything. It's just a lot harder for them.

For the Grizzlies to score, they have to do everything right. They throw the ball to Pau Gasol (16 points), who throws it back out to Chucky Atkins (seven), who swings it to Eddie Jones (11), who swings it to Battier (three), who hopefully hits a jump shot.

The Mavericks score all kinds of ways. Dirk Nowitzki (31) throws in rainbows, Josh Howard (17) slashes to the hoop, Jason Terry (16) blows by whatever Memphis point guard happens to be guarding him, especially if it's Atkins, and that was ugly, wasn't it?

It's the difference between a team loaded with character and a team loaded with athletes.

The Grizzlies go to dinner together.

That's very nice.

Then the Mavericks show up and eat their lunch.

Some of this is bad luck, of course, because of the NBA's absurd playoff system. The Grizzlies deserved to play the Suns last year and the Spurs the year before that. They didn't deserve to play the Mavericks this time around.

But that can't disguise the limitations of this outfit, a team that's built to get into the playoffs and not much else.

Consider the Grizzlies defense, the supposed strength of the team. The Grizzlies finished first in points against this year and fourth in points against last year.

So how come in their last seven playoff games, they've given up 110, 114, 108, 110, 123, 103 and 94?

Inescapable conclusion: The Grizzlies are good enough to stop the Hawks and Knicks, but not good enough to stop the Suns and Mavs.

"They have very good players," said Battier.

There oughta be a law.

So now the Grizzlies head back to FedExForum, where everyone has been instructed to wear white, the color of surrender, but don't read anything into that.

"It's going to be a whole lot different," said Lorenzen Wright. "The fans are going to be crazy."

Maybe, maybe not.

But the Grizzlies will have home-court advantage. They will be playing in a building where they won 30 games.

"But we'll be playing a great team," said coach Mike Fratello.

Awwww, drat.

Contact Geoff Calkins at 529-2364

[Rhylan]

It's funny, if you paste a Galloway article, it looks the same. These guys are used to writing inside two-inch wide columns that let them get away with one-sentence paragraphs.

[sixeightmkw]

I had to read the game on yahoo, but I am glad they won

[WraithXx]

Originally Posted by sixeightmkw

I had to read the game on yahoo, but I am glad they won

lemme get this straight... you don't have cable tv, or a friend with cable tv... and you don't even have local tv, or enough money to buy an antenna if that's the problem?

can I please smack you upside the head?

k thx.

[sixeightmkw]

Originally Posted by WraithXx

lemme get this straight... you don't have cable tv, or a friend with cable tv... and you don't even have local tv, or enough money to buy an antenna if that's the problem?

can I please smack you upside the head?

k thx.

I have class on Wednesday nights from 6 till 10.

[bernardos70]

Originally Posted by aexchange

is geoff calkins = twodeep3? hrmmmm...

"Some of this is bad luck, of course, because of the NBA's absurd playoff system. The Grizzlies deserved to play the Suns last year and the Spurs the year before that. They didn't deserve to play the Mavericks this time around."

No, you see, if you take a look at that paragraph right there, there are three sentences in there. Irrefutable evidence it is NOT twodeep3.

[kriD]

Memphis' clock strikes 12 during Mbenga time

RANDY GALLOWAY
In My Opinion

DALLAS - Winning ugly is supposed to represent postseason progress for a Mavericks team once known for only flash and dash.

But after Wednesday night, next comes the debate.

Was that a gritty, in-your-grill defense by the Mavs that caused a Memphis mess in Game 2, or was that simply a Memphis mess?

"Self-inflicted," came the answer from Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello, referring to his team's unraveling that began in the second quarter.

"We will take this victory any way we can get it," countered Avery Johnson.

Whatever the case, a decisive 94-79 win was never in doubt after halftime, and Dallas' first-round series lead expanded to 2-0 for the change of gyms starting Saturday in Memphis.

If you are looking for any highlight film footage from Wednesday night, check the free-throw line.

The Bennett Salvatore Trio, aka as the NBA officiating crew, called this one tighter than Francisco Cordero's throat in a save situation.

A whistle parade didn't allow for any flow, except to the line,

There were 63 fouls in all, far short of the league playoff record of 82, and, thank gawd, we all missed that particular game.

But again, if you consider the pedigree of the two teams, and the two coaches, the foul-fest was supposed to work in Memphis' favor.

The uglier the better has been a Fratello calling card since his days working benches on the eastern side of the NBA.

This time, however, the Mavs prospered, starting in the second quarter. Yes, you can label that as progress, at least from a postseason point of view.

Nearly half of the second quarter remained when Johnson found himself looking far down his bench. He needed help at center, since both DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier had three fouls.

This caused the unleashing of DJ Mbenga, making his NBA playoff debut.

DJ might be a tad green, but he's not shy about being "active."

All you need to know is that once Mbenga entered at 5:48, it was a 3-point game, at 46-43.

The Griz were immediately Mbengalized. They didn't score again the remainder of the half, as the Mavs lead stretched to 56-43 at intermission.

"My job," explained DJ later, "is to make the Dallas Mavericks better when I go on the court."

Damn if he didn't. Well, sorta.

Not that coach Johnson was exactly planning to give DJ the opportunity to make the Dallas Mavericks better, but that was before the Salvatore Trio decided to hijack the game.

In Mbenga minutes, there was shutout basketball, and the big kid from the Congo was knocking heads and knocking around anyone who came his way, starting with Pau Gasol.

Pau went poof, and then he disappeared after a strong first quarter.

On that gruesome Grizzles second-quarter finish, Fratello said, "It was a 3-point game, and after that, we had seven turnovers and four offensive fouls. You are not giving yourself a chance right there."

Memphis didn't score on 12 consecutive possessions to end the first half, and it didn't have any second-half points until 2 1/2 minutes deep in the third quarter.

Between the second and third quarters, the Griz went nearly 11 minutes without a field goal.

There has to be some good defense mixed in there somewhere. Along with, of course, some real bad offense.

The Grizzlies scored 31 first-quarter points, which means they were playing at a much faster tempo than desired. But when it slowed, it really slowed. Memphis had a combined 25 points in the next two quarters.

What the Mavericks did in the two games here was take Gasol totally out of the mix. And that is the Grizzles' offense. One man, the poor man's Dirk, has to carry the load. Pau hasn't met that challenge, or even come close.

The Mavs are defending him with their centers, and then adding late help. Gasol's strong first quarter was a brief glimpse of how he can overcome that, and also cause the Mavs foul problems.

But for Game 2, Mbenga was waiting in the wings. When DJ entered, Gasol vanished.

Johnson seemed overall satisfied afterward (never a given), but added, "There's still another level for the Mavericks to go, and we haven't reached that yet."

In Game 3, in Memphis, against the now-desperate Griz, that's the level Avery will hope to reach.

[kriD]

Home schooled

Nowitzki, Mavs stay in control with AAC rout

By ART GARCIA
Star-Telegram Staff Writer


(STAR-TELEGRAM/JEFFERY WASHINGTON)
Dirk Nowitzki hit his first six shots in another MVP-like performance to help lead the Mavs into Memphis with a 2-0 series lead.

DALLAS -- The conventional line of playoff thinking says the Mavericks did nothing but hold serve.

Now that the Mavs own a 2-0 lead after Wednesday night's convincing 94-79 victory before 20,612 fans at American Airlines Center, Memphis gets its chance to even the score.

The Grizzlies get the next two at FedEx Forum, with Game 3 set for Saturday afternoon. Win a couple at their place, just as the Mavs did, and the series is all tied up.

That's the conventional line of playoff thinking. The reality is Memphis must win four of the next five games to move on.

Is there anything that's happened this season or in this series -- or in the Grizzlies' playoff history -- to suggest such a run is possible?

Perhaps not. Memphis continues to wait for its first postseason victory in franchise history (0-10) and dropped to 1-5 against the Mavs since the start of the season.

But a check of the Mavs' postseason chronicles suggests reasons not to put the cart in front of the horse.

"I was part of a playoff series one year against Portland," Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We were up 3-0. We relaxed a little bit in that fourth game, they found their rhythm [and], next thing you know, we found ourselves in a seventh game."

The Mavs would win that deciding first-round game in 2003 en route to the Western Conference Finals. The lesson, however, stuck.

And, as much as it's been repeated in the past week, no one can forget Houston.

"This series is not over," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "We've been in that position before."

The rally from 0-2 against the Rockets last season continues to serve as motivation...and the Grizzlies are paying the price.

Nowitzki continued to play as if he's gunning for playoff MVP -- if there were such an award. He scored 31 points again, and the Mavs played at a tempo Mike Fratello's team couldn't sustain.

"In the playoffs everything in the half court is so tough," said Nowitzki, who hit his first six shots. "The opponents know what you do, they know every call, probably better than yourself. It's good to push the ball, get some open looks in transition, get some layups and get the crowd going."

Jason Terry did most of the pushing, scoring 16 points to go with nine assists. Josh Howard bounced back from an eight-point, one-rebound showing in Sunday's Game 1 to score 17 and grab six boards.

The Mavs also overcame foul trouble to the center tandem of DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier -- DJ Mbenga had an effective cameo -- to slow Memphis' leading scorer, Pau Gasol, who finished with 16 points.

The Grizzlies didn't get the looks they enjoyed in shooting 53 percent Sunday, going almost 11 minutes between field goals during a span of the second and third quarters.

"Our identity as an offensive team is set," Mavs guard Jerry Stackhouse said. "Our defensive identity is still a question to the masses. We know we're capable of winning games with our defense."

Half of the Grizzlies' 20 turnovers came in the second quarter, as Memphis followed up a 31-point first quarter with 12 in the second, leading to a 56-43 halftime deficit. The Mavs had 10-0 and 9-0 runs in the second period.

"It started to unravel and it was mostly self-inflicted," Fratello said. "You're not giving yourself a chance right there."

The Grizzlies might just have one chance left.

[Five-ofan]

Other than being foreign, white 7footers dirk and gasol have almost nothing in common. Their games are completely different.

[orangedays]

Would it be accurate to describe Gasol as say...Dirk's bucket boy?

Mayhaps.

[Five-ofan]

It would in fact be accurate to do so.

[endrity]

Here is a part from John Hollinger's blog today

HOT: Dirk Nowitzki (PER 31.13). What's more impressive -- that he rang up consecutive 31-point games to help Dallas crush Memphis twice, or that he didn't need 20 shots in either game to get there? Nowitzki is killing the Grizzlies by getting himself at the line, an underrated facet of the German giant's game that was a major reason he had the league's highest PER this season.

In two games against Memphis he's taken 29 free-throw attempts, abusing taller defenders like Lorenzen Wright and Gasol off the dribble while punishing the smaller Battier on post-ups and turnarounds. Here's the other underrated thing that makes him great: With all that ballhandling, he only has two turnovers in the playoffs so far. That's why his playoff PER also ranks No. 1 at the moment.

I really like Hollinger, he is definetely someone that brings some intelligent information to the table unlike other self proclaimed analysts. I would argue him and Charley Rosen from FOXSports.com are probably the best.

[Five-ofan]

You had me till you said rosen. He literally is phil jackson's bucket boy.

[endrity]

Yeah he is, but that is not neccessarily a bad thing. PJ is by far the most succesful coach our generation has seen and it's not really close. But the thing I like about Rosen is that first he gives you real Xs and Os information about what happens on the court. Second, he just like Hollinger does a great job of debunking myths in the league. Hollinger does it with stats, Rosen with more careful play-by-play observations. I do understand that Rosen has been critical of the Mavs, just like with everybody else in the past, but really the Mavs have never been good enough to be spared from criticism. Other than those two, I don't know, I kinda like Collins during TNT telecasts. He really uses his experience as a coach. Stein is not bad, tries to watch games once in a while and even Greg Anthony is alright. The others.... they just feed the masses what the masses want to hear.

[sixeightmkw]

here is a little snippet from one of the Grizzlies forums. Pretty funny. They had a matchup for each position and just tore into the Grizz about how they are getting beat at every position.

Dallas is on a roll but Memphis is throwing a white out at them. One has to wonder if white is the right color for Memphis to wear. White signifies surrender after all and a crowd looking like a giant white flag may not be the message the Grizzlies need to see. Honestly, Memphis looked great for the first 16 minutes in Game 2. Then the refs started making questionable calls, Fratello got T'ed up and the team fell apart. After scoring 31 pts in the first quarter, not committing any turnovers during that time and pulling even in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd quarter Memphis was outscored 40-20 over the next 20 minutes. The game was decided in the last 8 minutes of the second quarter when the team was called for offensive fouls, committed unforced turnovers and shot airballs. It wasn't even close but the team played surprisingly good defense holding Dallas to only 13 pts over that time frame. What really hurt was that Diop and Dampier both had 3 fouls at that time and Dallas was forced to use their 3rd string C. Memphis totally lost their composure. This can't happen in the playoffs if you expect to win. The most frustrating thing to watch is Memphis' inability to guard the pick and roll play. That same play killed Memphis in the series against San Antonio Phoenix. They had been defending it better but Dallas is feasting on it right now. Memphis has to find an answer to that, start hitting their shots and stop making stupid mistakes if they want to win a game in this series. Having said that coming home could be just the tonic Memphis needs. A loud home crowd can really motivate a team and coincidently the calls seem to be more fair when the crowd assists the refs in making their calls. Unfortunately the crowd can't play the game. So far no one has won on the opposing teams home court but Memphis has to defend their court with passion to keep it that way.

[dude1394]

It's gotta be tough getting messed over by the NBA seeding system.

From a Memphis Board.

Here is the game 3 gdt.
--------------------

Mavs vs Grizz Playoffs Game 3
Hell at least we might as well look at some pretty women.

Let's see starting five:

Dallas Mavericks
Jason Terry
Josh Howard
Dirk Nowitzki
Adrian Griffin
DeSagana Diop


Memphis Grizzlies (Does it really matter who we start!)
Chucky Atkins
Eddie Jones
Shane Battier
Pau Gasol
Jake Tsakalidis

Sad..but funny...

[kriD]

Give Mavs style points for defense

By GIL LEBRETON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Missed shots. Unforced turnovers. His star big man being outplayed by the other team's better big man.

It's easy to see why Memphis coach Mike Fratello seems frustrated, befuddled by the Grizzlies' futile start in this Western Conference playoff series with the Mavericks.

So, whose fault is it that the Grizzles are down, two games to none, as the series heads to Memphis for Game 3?

"Both...both," Fratello said after Game 2.

He was talking about turnovers, but turnovers and rebounds have been the underlying theme of the first two games. What was supposed to be a clash of styles has been, instead, a clash of agendas.

The Grizzlies, winners of 49 during the regular season, are trying to strut their playoff credentials. Having never, ever, won an NBA postseason game, Memphis has a selling job to do, even to its own fans.

The Grizzlies are trying to display their credentials. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are trying to show their teeth.

The Dallas Grislies?

No, it doesn't look anything like the Pistons, trapping the ballhandler, forcing teams to deal with the shot clock. And there is no one named Shaquille in the Mavericks' middle, serving as gatekeeper for anything in the paint.

One miracle at a time, please. It wasn't all that long ago that the Mavericks' only way of stopping the other team was hearing the horn sound at the end of each quarter.

This defense, I can tell, is going to be an acquired taste.

"There is still another level for the Mavericks to go to, and we're just not there yet," coach Avery Johnson announced after Wednesday's game.

Johnson wants to see his team quickly contest Memphis' Pau Gasol for four quarters. He wants to see the Mavs getting their hands on Memphis passes. He wants to see his team turning defense into offense for 48 minutes.

"We'll take any kind of easy baskets that we can get in this series," Johnson said.

Conspicuous among the active defenders has been Dirk Nowitzki, largely invisible during the first round of last postseason. Nowitzki heard the criticism, the jokes about Dirk being a playoff superstar -- if each round was a game of H-O-R-S-E.

He's still no Bill Russell, but give Dirk credit. He's made himself a capable defensive presence, and he had to start almost from scratch.

A lot of the Mavs have, it seems. When Don Nelson was head coach, the philosophy of defense was to get back on offense. Under Nellie, the Mavs once scored 119, 113 and 101 points on successive playoff nights -- and still were eliminated by Sacramento. Dirk scored 35 one night, and the Mavericks lost by four.

Under Johnson, however, there's a zest for rebounding that never surfaced during the Nelson years. Erick Dampier has been a presence in the middle. Gasol's troubles have been starting as soon as he crosses the 10-second line.

It hasn't always been pretty, but this series against the defense-minded Grizzlies didn't figure to be. The beauty, as Johnson has discovered, has been in seeing his team try to claw and snarl its way past the first-round foes.

"It's a good thing," Avery said, "to know you're playing against a tough, physical, hard-nosed basketball team in Memphis, a team that's really hard to score on...and makes every possession tough on you."

The Mavericks, he was trying to say, have more than held their own from a physical standpoint.

Actually -- gasp! -- they have dominated in that department. Go figure.

It's the new playoff Mavericks. The Avery Johnson playoff Mavericks.

An acquired taste, maybe, but the results so far speak for themselves.

For Memphis, the challenge is a different one as the series heads to Tennessee. The NBA novelty has worn off, it seems. Fans want a reason -- any playoff victory would do -- to continue to embrace this team.

Outplayed in two games, the Grizzlies need to show something.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, will settle for again showing their teeth.

Get used to the look.

[dude1394]

Little mavs are putting a damp"i"er on grizzlies ticket sales.

If Grizzlies president of business operations Andy Dolich had seen Schaaf at the box office, he might well have embraced him.

As of Thursday afternoon, thousands of seats remained available for what will be just the fifth and sixth home playoff games in Memphis' brief NBA history.

"We've got good seats still available, a few thousand in the terrace for Saturday's game and larger availability for Monday," said Dolich, adding that lower-bowl and Club-level seats for both games are sold out.

The team's playoff record not-withstanding, Dolich and the Grizzlies are perplexed by the public's apparent disinclination toward purchasing playoff tickets.

"We've heard excuses from the Aardvark Art Festival to Zamboni races in Zimbabwe as kinds of reasons," Dolich said.

"... If we had the magic lamp and we knew exactly what buttons to push to get every ticket sold in the next 20 minutes, we'd probably be doing it."

Toward that end, the Grizzlies offered certain $26.75 Terrace level 3 seats for $15 apiece as a "Hot Ticket" offer during Wednesday night's Game 2 telecast on Fox Sports Net.

How did the promotion fare?

"Let's just say it didn't meet the definition of hot," Dolich said.

For all of the fussing that goes on about the fans at the AAC by the folks in the cheap seats (the not at the arena seats) the place is always packed.

[WraithXx]

Originally Posted by dude1394

Little mavs are putting a damp"i"er on grizzlies ticket sales.



For all of the fussing that goes on about the fans at the AAC by the folks in the cheap seats (the not at the arena seats) the place is always packed.

true.. I went to Game 1 on Sunday and MAN was it intense in there!

I loved it

I went to Game 2 against the Rockets last season and I was sitting in the lower bowl... insane ppl down there. loved it!

[birdsanctuary]

Originally Posted by ddh33

Have our Mavs grown up and developed that killer instinct they have supposedly been lacking for years?

I hope we find out that they have it in game 3...