Mavs host Spurs: Game 4 Thoughts

[ddh33]

Greatest game ever! Oh my Lord! That was so unbelievably awesome!

The Mavs seemed surprised by the Spurs new adjustments. San Antonio went to an even smaller lineup tonight by removing Horry from the starting lineup and plugging in our old Mav, Michael Finley. The Spurs came out of the gates quickly, and there was no question that they were playing with a complete sense of desperation.

I honestly thought this game was won towards the end of the first half. The Spurs had been playing excellent basketball. They had played with a ton of emotion. Tony Parker had gone nuts in the first half. But somehow, as the half was winding down, there were the Mavs. San Antonio had thrown all kinds of hay-makers, but Dallas was still standing.

That theme kind of kept resurfacing to me throughout the whole game. The Spurs seemed to be playing at their peak. Manu was playing great ball and even knocking down contested long jumpers. Duncan was his usual brilliant self. Even Michael Finley seemed rejuvenated. And Dallas was still there.

Jason Terry was HUGE! I don't know what else to say. I think Terry probably just got his contract signed. Unless he completely falls apart, I think we've seen the value of Jet to this team. Terry knocked down big shot after big shot tonight. The Spurs simply had no answer for him. When it mattered, Terry was even better. It doesn't usually happen to me, but I'm completely out of words. He was that big when it came to hitting those shots. That last shot over Duncan was so sweet. 32 points and 5 assists.

Devin Harris also had a very solid night. Devin started slower tonight. The Spurs were intent on taking away his driving abilities, and Parker was putting a ton of pressure on him at the other end of the floor. But Devin rebounded in a huge way. Without scoring a ton, Harris was able to help guys get in the right spot and lead this team. When a lot of young players might have folded, Harris simply stepped up even more. Devin was able to spot more creases in the second half in the San Antonio defense, and I haven't seen anyone able to contain him yet. He's really been the difference in this series, in my opinion. In the second half, I thought Devin was, once again, the best point guard on the floor. We even saw a more confident jump-shooter tonight. Devin only took that jumper a couple of times, but he nailed it every time. In overtime, Harris did commit a couple of turnovers that I'm sure bothered fans. On both occasions, Harris was trying to push the ball to set tempo. The first one looked like it was all him. He missed a bounce pass to Stackhouse. The second one, I thought a teammate should have let him know that he had Bowen trailing him for the steal. Responsibility still falls on him ultimately though. But Devin was really good when it mattered, in my opinion. The play I want to brag on him about though was in overtime. The Mavs were having trouble, a shot had just been attempted that missed the rim. Devin grabs the rebound and had enough awareness about him to shoot. If I'm not mistaken, (and I might be with all of the happenings) that was the play that eventually ended with Terry hitting a huge jumper from the wing. That awareness impressed me. 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists.

Dirk Nowitzki will probably end up being overshadowed in this game, and that's really unfortunate. You could tell that Dirk wasn't at 100%, but you could just barely tell. Dirk was able to score on whoever the Spurs put on him. He did a great job at getting to the line, and he hit some awfully big free throws. I've got to say, with all of the pressure free throws taken over the last couple of games, you're bound to miss one. Most players would - even the great ones. Dirk didn't. 28 points and 9 rebounds for Dirk.

Jerry Stackhouse also had a heck of game. Stack shot very efficiently and finished with 26 points on 10-19 shooting. He hit some big shots, like everyone else. He played like a warrior and was asked to help will this team to victory. Now, Stack did hurt the team a couple of times in the second half, and that's a disturbing trend. The Mavs raced out to a nice lead in the fourth quarter when Stack inexplicably decided the Mavs best offense was not to go through Terry or Dirk or even Harris, but instead to try to go one on one against Bruce Bowen two or three straight possessions. All of those possessions ended badly. Now, you might argue that Stack probably should have gotten a call on one of those trips, but he didn't. Meanwhile, Manu drilled consecutive three pointers and the Spurs were right back in it. I love so many of the things that Stack brings to this team. I think he's a huge asset, and I actually think he's underrated by many fans. But that doesn't change the fact that Stack sometimes needs to reign himself just a tiny bit.

Erick Dampier and Desagana Diop take a lot of grief sometimes, and I'm sure that there are those who think that the Mav centers are playing awful basketball. I simply disagree. We all know that the Dallas centers can not be measured by the box score. On a night where Duncan went for 31-13-6, the Mavs big men had very respectable nights. The fact is, Tim Duncan is one of the best players ever; he's going to do his thing. But Damp and Diop have done a relatively good job of making Timmy work for it. Damp actually got a couple of buckets inside that seemed to catch the Spurs off guard. But the biggest play of Damp's career came at the end of regulation. In a tie game, the Spurs go to Tim Duncan with less than 10 seconds to win the game. Dallas doesn't double (that took some courage from the coaches) because of Duncan's passing skills, so Damp is left one on one for the game, and possibly, the series. Damp played excellent defense, even though Timmy got a nice look, and the Mavs held. Damp would eventually foul out in overtime, but Diop came in and continued to play solid defense against Duncan before he also fouled out. But the bottom line is that those guys battled. They worked hard inside, and they are a huge part of the reason why this team got another victory.

Josh Howard has had some trouble the last couple of nights. Josh has found himself in foul trouble several times this series. When he wasn't on the floor, Josh was one of the biggest cheerleaders though. That means something to me. On the floor, I thought Josh forced things a little bit tonight. The Spurs have done a good job on him. But Josh's biggest contribution was keeping that ball alive late in the game. Howard got inside, battled, got his hands on the ball, and was able to help the Mavs retain possession that ended with another Mavs basket that helped this team get the win.


I really can't begin to say how proud I am of this team for staying in there and battling. The Spurs played great basketball, but the Mavs were able to withstand every bit of it. I have a hard time imagining how the Spurs could play much better, in fact. However, I do believe that San Antonio is going to leave every bit of themselves on the floor back home. Barkley alluded to it, and I've said it several times too, but those guys aren't going to die easy. The Mavs are still going to have to take this thing.

Oh, one more comment. It was nice to see Finley have a good game. He's always been a true professional, and I'll always be grateful for the things he did for this franchise. But I was thrilled to know that he didn't come back to beat his team in this game. I'll be hoping he doesn't hit another shot this series

[AxdemxO]

Amazin game...great win for the Mavs...you can just tell that the guys are confident...and we are goin all the way...GO MAVS

Nice lil Q n A..on ESPNEWS wit Terry and Dirk

[Thespiralgoeson]

Dirk was his MVP-self, fighting through the pain.

Devin showed us that he is the future of this team at PG.

Jet made it even more clear that we desperately need to re-sign him.

Mavs beat the spurs.

I'm happy.

[HexNBA]

This was one amazing game to be at. Wow

[nashtymavsfan13]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Dirk was his MVP-self, fighting through the pain.

Devin showed us that he is the future of this team at PG.

Jet made it even more clear that we desperately need to re-sign him.

Mavs beat the spurs.

I'm happy.

Word. Couldn't have said it better myself

[FINtastic]

I was at the game, and I noticed something unusual. For the Spurs' last shot of regulation, I didn't see Big Shot Rob in the game, which was kind of odd So I look over to the bench to see if he is indeed on the bench. He was there, and none other than Greg Popovich was sitting in Horry's lap. Weird.

[grndmstr_c]

Don't know if this has been noted elsewhere, but in Games 2-4 of this series Dirk has amassed 76 points on 32 fgas. I'll be the first to admit that overestimates his efficiency, but it's just such an absurd statistic I had to make mention.

Great game. So, so clutch from JT. He owed me after the first three games of this series, and he paid his debt tonight. Hell of a job by Dirk nutting up on the free throws, too. Damp even responded with his best defensive possession of the game when it counted most. Nine wins to go.

[rabbitproof]

I love our Mavericks.

[bernardos70]

As always, ddh33, great post.

Also, I didn't know where to post this, but I've had difficulties finding this before, but here's the whole postgame conference: http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/...dal_060515.asx

[dirno2000]

I hope this game convinces Cuban (assuming he's not already convinced) that he needs to resign JT. Give him seven mil if that's what it takes but we can't go into next season with just one good shooter. His attitude and his locker room presence is worth a mil or two alone.

This team has balls. No way we win either of these two games before this year.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

I hope this game convinces Cuban (assuming he's not already convinced) that he needs to resign JT. Give him seven mil if that's what it takes but we can't go into next season with just one good shooter. His attitude and his locker room presence is worth a mil or two alone.

This team has balls. No way we win either of these two games before this year.

Have you been watching the NBA playoffs the last couple seasons?

If so, do you mean to say that Steve Nash doesn't have "balls?"

C'mon, D2K. Recognize. Parker is TRYING to be Nash. You can multiply Parker by two, and MAYBE you get Nash. Maybe.

[V2M]

Un*frickin*believable game!!

Spurs shoot 53.2% FG, 57.1% 3FG, 81.2% FT.... TD (31p, 13r, 6a, 52.2%FG), TP (33p, 52.2%FG) and Manu (26p, 72.7%FG) all had great games and they had fine support from Fin (14p, 50%FG). Never in my wildest imagination could I have seen Spurs losing with that kind of play!

In fact, they didn't lose this game... Mavs just won it!! It's a credit to Dirk & Avery, first & foremost... for they're the two guys that, to me, define this team... and then of course, Jet, Devin & Stack were all fantastic tonight!

I hope Game 5, for the love of my health, is a lot less like Games 3 & 4, and more like Game 2!!

[DirkGoesNuclear]

Great win! Did we break the Spurs tonight?

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by DirkGoesNuclear

Great win! Did we break the Spurs tonight?

dont believe that for a second. This isnt game 3 of the Grizz-- the Spurs are a classy team that will fight tooth and nail every game we let them.

This was a heartbreaker but you better believe they still have fight in them

[4cwebb]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

dont believe that for a second. This isnt game 3 of the Grizz-- the Spurs are a classy team that will fight tooth and nail every game we let them.

This was a heartbreaker but you better believe they still have fight in them

Word. Look no further than the Suns / Lakers series from the first round. Granted, the Mavericks are a much better team than the Lakers, but if the ball bounces the Spurs' way in the next game instead of the Mavs' way, Spurs can get some momentum back. Mavs need to keep the pressure on and close this series out.

[mary]

Originally Posted by 4cwebb

Word. Look no further than the Suns / Lakers series from the first round. Granted, the Mavericks are a much better team than the Lakers, but if the ball bounces the Spurs' way in the next game instead of the Mavs' way, Spurs can get some momentum back. Mavs need to keep the pressure on and close this series out.

I totally agree...the series isn't over until the Mavs win 4 and they better not forget it.

[sike]

Originally Posted by mary

I totally agree...the series isn't over until the Mavs win 4 and they better not forget it.

and don't even kid yourself for a second that AJ will let up until the 4th W is in the bag.

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Have you been watching the NBA playoffs the last couple seasons?

If so, do you mean to say that Steve Nash doesn't have "balls?"

C'mon, D2K. Recognize. Parker is TRYING to be Nash. You can multiply Parker by two, and MAYBE you get Nash. Maybe.

Parker is TRYING to be Nash, like Harris is TRYING to be Parker.

And Nash can't defend Parker, and Parker can't defend Harris (and vice versa at times last night).

Chum, I totally appreciate the things Nash does well--maybe beter than anyone else in the NBA right now--but this is a different Mavs team, last night's game notwithstanding. Parker had a great game, but Harris is able to put defensive pressure on him in key situations that Nash couldn't even begin to.

Assuming Mavs and Suns advance, I'll be interested to see Harris on Nash.

[capitalcity]

Nash can suck it.

[TripleDipping]

What a game what a game what a game!

This is not the time to let up. If the Spurs can lose three straight to the Mavs, the exact opposite can happen.

I want the Spurs to breath their last breath come Wednesday.

[jacktruth]

When Finley hit that three pointer to go up by two, all I could think was. . .it can't end like this. Then Dirk got fouled and just had a look on his face as he stepped to the line. . .he knew it was overtime.

It reminded me of John Elway with 98 yards and 98 seconds left, down by 7. He looks at his teamates and says, "we got em right where we want em."

[TripleDipping]

Officating is bad.

But, given the physical nature of how both teams play, I'd drive myself insane waiting for that fairly called game. It definitely can be better, but I don't expect the ticky tact, soft touch foul calls to decrease.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by ddh33

great work, as always.

One other bit to add -- Diop made a heckuva good defensive play on Duncan in a critical situation.

I believe there was about a minute and half to go with Spurs trailing by three. Duncan had Diop posted up fairly deep inside and went with an "up and under" move that has led to about 3,000 'and 1's' for Duncan so far this series.

Diop played it perfectly and stopped Duncan cold....

....Mavs score next possession to lead by 5. Diop fouled out on the next Spurs possession, but Tony Longoria choked magnificently at the line. At that point it was too late in the game for the Spurs to feed Duncan inside anyway, so Diop's absence really wasn't a factor thereafter.

Huge stop for Diop.

hey, I kinda like that...

Big Stop Diop.

Cheers

[ilMavvento]

I think this should put to rest any ideas that Harris is somehow "replacing" or "competing" with Terry for minutes. They just work so well together on the floor at once. Both can get to the rim - but the thing is, they both do it in different styles. It really keeps the defense guessing. There also shouldn't be any question as to who the #2 option is. Stack has his time and place for sure, but iso'ing late in the 4th quarter isn't it, IMO.

I was slightly confused as to why JHo wasn't in the game at the end - which Avery immediately rectified. Once I saw him make that adjustment I just got the feeling that he wasn't going to let the Mavs lose. Sure enough, Howard deflects the rebound out to Harris who passes to Terry and.....splash.

Dampier was frustrating at times but he made a couple of key plays. There were a few loose balls that I thought he probably should have grabbed on defense - then he goes and does something unexpected like scooping up that ball Devin bobbled and flying to the basket for the score. That final Spurs possession in regulation was also defended well. You could see that Duncan had been moved just far enough out of his comfort zone.

Just an amazing game.

[MavKikiNYC]

Really, really enjoying watching how Harris and Diop have developed, and like to wonder how good they can be.

Diop is the physical, shot-blocking presence the Mavs have lacked for years. (Yes, MantisNation, Bradley could buy blocks in bulk sometimes when teams challenged him, but....that's just it--teams were oh-so-willing to challenge him. And he wasn't able to go after blocks like Diop is, at least not in his latter years.) Wonder how good Diop can be when he gets a little more experience, a little more confidence, a little more respect from officials.....and a little more ability to drop the damned ball through the hoop. He seems like he should be able to get 3-4 dunks per game. He's doing a better-than-decent job on Duncan right now--if ever anyone points to Spurs getting reamed, all they have to do is look at the calls going against Diop and Damp.

As for Damp, he is frustrating to watch, but he has had some big plays and some fairly solid games this series. He's doing what they need from him. He's a nice change-up from Diop---not quite as much of a shot-blocking threat, but maybe a little more physical. Fun to watch him on the edge of the camera shot and see him keeping Timmy out of the play just by leaning on him, or keeping him from getting up in the air to block a shot. The little things that make the difference over the course of the game. And I still think that he and Diop are making Duncan work pretty hard for his points.

Harris really makes me wonder how well this team could click with him in the starting role. Is this his coming-out party, or a flash-in-the-pan series? Never one to be optimistic, I still believe he's for real. He has drawn some charge calls this series that would make Red Auerbach weep. Amazing speed. Really would like to see him get the keys to the car next year, and see how well he can QB this club.
His drives to the hoop are absolutely electric--he drew what would've been TDunc's 5th foul on one of the last drives to the hoop, and nary a peep from Bavetta et al. Whatever matchup he would draw in the next series (Nash/Barbosa or Cassell/whoever) would be very interesting.

The officiating has been tough to swallow for both sides--very erratic. Spurs fans are feeling it worse because of the losses.

Spurs are a great, great team. Realized how much I like to watch them when I felt a bad for them last night. They will come out in G5 swinging a broken bottle--they are not going to go down easily. Mavs better not forget that for a second. G5 is gonna be huge for the Mavs.

[Folterkammer]

my thoughts? it`s big shot jet not big shot rob

[MavsN06]

Just imagine...if that shot doesn't fall in game 1. This coulda/woulda/shoulda been a sweep!!!

MAVSN06!!!!!!

[sike]

Originally Posted by Folterkammer

my thoughts? it`s big shot jet not big shot rob

burnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Have you been watching the NBA playoffs the last couple seasons?

If so, do you mean to say that Steve Nash doesn't have "balls?"

C'mon, D2K. Recognize. Parker is TRYING to be Nash. You can multiply Parker by two, and MAYBE you get Nash. Maybe.

Steve Nash NEVER had a game like that in the playoffs while wearing a Mavs uniform.

[Simon2]

It was an awesome game. it was the type of game where you can enjoy it even if you weren't a fan of either team. Both teams were fighting hard.

[sike]

Originally Posted by FINtastic

Steve Nash NEVER had a game like that in the playoffs while wearing a Mavs uniform.

indeed, Nash's playoff greatness began 2 seasons ago...and no sooner.

[rabbitproof]

Steve who?

[bernardos70]

Steve "Mike Bibby's got my number every year" Nash.

[Five-ofan]

Guys we just had at worst the 3rd best/most entertaining game in franchise history and we are talking about a guy who used to be a mav??? This was an amazing game. So awesome. Dirk is a stud. 28 9 3 on a bad wheel is pretty effing impressive. I am quite thrilled but no this series isnt over. Who would have thought the cavs pistons series would be closer than the mavs spurs series.

[Rhylan]

Originally Posted by sike

indeed, Nash's playoff greatness began 2 seasons ago...and no sooner.

Amen.

Five-o, we only keep talking about Nash because he keeps getting brought up. The guy more or less got an "I *heart* Bibby" tattoo in 2002 and 2004, and by my count had three great playoff games as a Mav.

[Drbio]

Originally Posted by MavsN06

Just imagine...if that shot doesn't fall in game 1. This coulda/woulda/shoulda been a sweep!!!

MAVSN06!!!!!!

I can live with Fo, Fi, Fo, Fo....

[Five-ofan]

I understand that. my point was mainly to the person who brought him up.

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Have you been watching the NBA playoffs the last couple seasons?

If so, do you mean to say that Steve Nash doesn't have "balls?"

C'mon, D2K. Recognize. Parker is TRYING to be Nash. You can multiply Parker by two, and MAYBE you get Nash. Maybe.

I'm not sure what this has to do with my post. I said that this Mavs team has balls and I doubt that any of the Cuban era team would have won the past two games. What does that have to do with Nash?