Mavs 99 Spurs 90

[dude1394]

Good stuff by Stein...as usual...As many have said dirk played smart, good D and it appears he took on the mantle of locker-room leader also. But he felt he needed to put more pressure on some of those double-teams as others have said. Good for dirk...

If they are leaving people open under the basket...RC needs to find away to get it to them.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki took a whopping total of nine shots and is still waiting to reacquaint himself with the feeling of splashing home a 3-pointer in the playoffs.
Jason Terry took possession of the NBA's Sixth Man Award trophy in a pregame ceremony and commemorated the occasion with the longest shooting drought anyone can remember for Nowitzki's normally locked-in sidekick, somehow clanking his final 13 shots in a row.
Take note of two more pertinent variables -- Tony Parker uncorked a ridiculous 43 points and Joey Crawford couldn't referee this game because he worked the last game here -- and the conclusion from all of the above is inevitable: Tim Duncan must have enjoyed a reasonably happy birthday.
"What can you say?" Duncan offered as he sat alone at his locker, looking more dazed by the way Game 4 of this slipping-away series unfolded than he was when his San Antonio Spurs were completely disassembled in Game 3.
That's because seemingly simple math was a myth on the afternoon Duncan turned 33. Neither the combined brilliance of the Spurs' little-and-big tag team nor the ongoing success of their ambitious defensive blueprint could prevent the Dallas Mavericks from claiming a 99-90 triumph that shoved the Spurs to the brink of elimination and rendered Duncan merely the second-most influential Wake Forest alumnus on the floor.
The Spurs' trusty Timmy rebounded from the worst statistical performance of his playoff life and a rising panic about what he has left in his legs with a tidy 25 points, 10 boards and seven assists Saturday ... only for Josh Howard to trump him with 14 points in a series-changing third quarter and 28 overall. So San Antonio will not be taking a 2-2 scoreline back home for Tuesday's Game 5, largely because the Mavs had Howard, Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright and even Ryan Hollins to prop up Nowitzki and Terry.
Whereas Duncan and Parker, if you're looking for more story-telling numbers, were basically playing 2-on-5.
The other eight Spurs who played produced a mere six baskets and 22 points, leaving the visitors exposed when Parker finally began to fade in the fourth quarter. "He was all-out gassed," Duncan said.
"We've done a great job of executing our game plan," Duncan said. "We've taken Jason and Dirk and we've been able to limit what they've been able to do and we're still in a 3-1 hole. So ...
There was no need to finish the thought. Duncan understandably doesn't want to talk about what's coming, but the reality is that the Spurs -- who were having enough trouble playing through the unspoken realization that they were never going to win a championship with Manu Ginobili in street clothes -- surely see that they don't even have enough minus the injured Ginobili to prevent the maiden first-round exit of Duncan's career.
The Spurs were knocked out in Round 1 by Kidd's Phoenix Suns in 2000, but Duncan was injured in that series. In the other 10 previous first-round matchups of the Duncan era, they went 10-0.
Yet they've been pulverized by the limitations of the Parker-and-Duncan duo when those two are getting so little help, Howard's sudden turnaround and the late-season cultivation of a tangible supporting cast for Nowitzki, Kidd and Terry. Mavs owner Mark Cuban couldn't contain his giddiness after seeing the rarely used Hollins summoned by TNT for an on-court interview after the win, pausing briefly as he skipped to his bunker suite at American Airlines Center to say: "We have a bench now."
For seemingly more than half the season, Terry was the Mavs' bench. In the playoffs, J.J. Barea has played his way into a starting spot and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle can be reasonably certain that he's going to get something useful from one or two of the following: Brandon Bass, James Singleton, Wright and perhaps Hollins now. Erick Dampier picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, setting up the uber-athletic but thoroughly untested Hollins to grab eight rebounds in 19 minutes, block three shots and collect his first playoff technical foul for taunting Duncan after a ferocious follow slam over TD with 4:20 to play that Terry deemed "one of the best dunks I've ever seen in the playoffs."
Then there's Howard, who's finally supplying the sort of all-around energy and productivity that the Mavs have been waiting for all season, believing that this core group could still achieve something significant if Howard delivered.
Howard insists that stubborn wrist and ankle injuries -- as opposed to the spiral of off-court issues that so damaged his reputation last season -- are the only reasons we haven't seen it consistently. What can't be disputed is that his contributions have swung Game 1 and Game 4, given the Spurs' resolve to double team Nowitzki almost every time he touches the ball and make sure someone extra is always jumping out at Terry every time he turns a corner.
"Josh Howard is the key to this whole thing," Terry said. "If he continues to have big games, we like our chances."
That's especially true when Howard, who historically does the bulk of his scoring early in games, is getting to the line 13 times (sinking 11) and scoring freely in the third quarter, as we've now seen in two of Dallas' three wins in this series. Getting to the line 39 times as a team, Carlisle added, is basically what offset their 38.4-percent shooting from the floor.
Nor did it hurt that Nowitzki found ways to hurt the Spurs without his jumper. He didn't even attempt a 3-pointer in this one -- after going 0-for-7 in the first three games -- and chastised himself afterward for not trying to force his way through at least a few double-teams to see if he could get to the free-throw line. But Nowitzki pulled in 13 rebounds, rumbled for a game-sealing layup shortly after the Spurs had pulled within 93-90, took a rare charge in crunch time and, according to Cuban, gave an even rarer locker-room pep talk to help Dallas recover after surrendering 17 of the final 21 points in the second quarter to throw away an early nine-point lead.
"They're leaving [people open] on the weak side," Nowitzki said, marveling at the depth of San Antonio's commitment to swarm him. "They're leaving [people open] under the basket. I've never seen a defense like this. So I've got to adjust."
Parker, meanwhile, had a stunning 31 points by halftime and Duncan insists that his seven missed free throws hurt far worse than the creaky knees you've been reading so much about. Yet there appears to be little hope of avoiding an exit that's shock-to-the-system early for a franchise with four championships since 1999.
"I feel as good as I've felt all year," Duncan swears, " ... but we're down 3-1."
Right.
What can you say?

[Lor20]

Originally Posted by dude1394

I think Carlisle was pulling a very, very subtle coaching gig on the spurts. He puts in Ryan Hollins...so that they will quit going to tony parker and go to duncan. Duncan's tough, but not nearly as tough as parker this series.

It was the Ryan Hollins Tony Parker defense.

the main reason hollins came in is that damp was in foul trouble and bass has been getting abused too much by duncan. there really wasn't much choice to having hollins out there.

[MavsX]

i am loving the intensity from ryan hollins

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Lor20

the main reason hollins came in is that damp was in foul trouble and bass has been getting abused too much by duncan. there really wasn't much choice to having hollins out there.

Oh I know it....but you have to admit, once hollins got in there, they started going to duncan instead of parker......just saying.....

[mmmfast]

IF we get past the Spurs, Terry and Dirk better wake the hell up and play some ball. This disappearing act will not cut it in later rounds. Damp needs to practice 2000 alley oop pass catches in various traffic between now and Tuesday.

Howard/Kidd/Bench = Great game!

[tcat075]

I'd love to beat the Spurs in 5. Not sure it will happen, but it would be sweet.

Hopefully, we get a good game out of Dirk and JET and we can breathe a sigh of relief going into the next series, because they know Dirk and JET haven't completely disappeared.

I want to see JJ and Hollins together. JJ can finish in the lane, but Hollins gives JJ another option than just finishing or kicking it to the perimeter.

[CadBane]

Yeah, Dirk was doubled all game and shot 4-9 (4-7 minus 2 bailout shots). What a horrible performance, shooting 50% and not forcing dumb shots while getting doubled. Complete spare. And that lay-up he hit to seal it might have been the worst offense I've seen in my life. He should have dunked it. I wouldn't play him in game 5, maybe we can win the series if we start a better offensive PF who can hit shots while getting double teamed. Really smart thread.

[Lor20]

Originally Posted by dude1394

Oh I know it....but you have to admit, once hollins got in there, they started going to duncan instead of parker......just saying.....

going to duncan instead of is probably not quite the right phrasing - Every time parker is on the floor he brings it up - hollin's coming out as help D on parker probably contributed a lot to parker dumping it to duncan more - plus hollins is a better fit as defender on parker since he is much faster than damp.

[tcat075]

Alright, I've been pretty quiet on the Dirk thing so far. But I feel as if I have to have my say. I can't stand people saying stuff that is grossly inaccurate anymore.

First of all, let's be clear. Dirk did not shoot 3/17, like one Maverick I know. He shot 4/9. That's not awful. Any bench player who shoots jumpers and 3's would love to hit 4 of 9 shots.

Now, I think what people are upset about more than Dirk's lack of scoring is the fact that he hasn't scored over 20 this entire series. We're used to him carrying us, and now that we're not, we're freaking out.

Which is perfectly understandable.

JET in a funk. Josh is Josh...we love him right now, but we never know when he's going to go put up a 3/15 clunker with no defense. Josh just isn't reliable. JJ's been great, but he can be limited.

If Dirk isn't scoring, its going to catch up to us. We know it is. Yes, Brandon Bass stepped up for Dirk in game 1. Yes, Jason Kidd stepped up in game 4. But when someone doesn't step up...what then?

Its not Dirk's performance this one game that we should be mad at, its his production from game 1 to game 4.

Of course, its not all Dirk's fault. Throughout the series, Dirk has received a staggering amount of double teams, traps and pressure. He's done well, made the right passes. That helps make up for his offense to some degree. Still, a superstar has to step up. Eventually, our gameplan has to stop conforming to San Antonio's. It seems like the Spurs have been dictating our gameplan for much of the time now. They want Dirk to become a non-factor, and he has been. They want spares to step up, and Dallas has relied on them this series. No JET? Alright, then JET isn't a part of our plans either.

Kidd...Carlisle...coaches...they've got to utilize Dirk. If we allow Dirk to be taken out of every game, then he will be and losses will catch up to us. There are ways to catch him in single coverage, to utilize screens, to get Dirk open. We have been using these very sporadically.

If we want to have any success in the playoffs, we've got to stop letting teams take Dirk out of the game. We've got to feed Dirk and live or die off Dirk, more or less. After all, Dirk isn't a bad option to build your gameplan around.

Against the Spurs, it obviously hasn't mattered. Without Ginobili, they just don't have the firepower. But next series? Josh, Kidd, JET and the bench are going to have to really surprise me if we continue to let Dirk be taken out of the game.

[dude1394]

From fisher.... ouch....ouch...that smarts...

ITEM: How ugly is SA’s bench? We’ve written often this year that “Jason Terry single-handedly outscored the entire enemy bench.’’ But that usually happens because Jet scores 20.
What if Jet matches the scoring product of the entire enemy bench while he’s having an awful night?
Terry scored 10 points (on 3-of-17 shooting. Blecch.) But 10 points was good enough to match the whole SA backup corps. (Double-blecch.)
The Spurs subs combined for ONE basket.

[Blackspider972]

Whatever happened to the GREAT pickups in Gooden and Kurt Thomas? Do they even play in this series at all?

FYI, being sarcastic saying great pickups, lol.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by Blackspider972

Whatever happened to the GREAT pickups in Gooden and Kurt Thomas? Do they even play in this series at all?

FYI, being sarcastic saying great pickups, lol.

I don't get it. So you think they're great pickups? Or really great pickups?

[Rick41]

During the Finals run, Stackhouse was the one outscoring the opposing bench, Now it's Terry outscoring the opposing bench.

Coincidence anyone?

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by mmmfast

IF we get past the Spurs, Terry and Dirk better wake the hell up and play some ball. This disappearing act will not cut it in later rounds. Damp needs to practice 2000 alley oop pass catches in various traffic between now and Tuesday.

Howard/Kidd/Bench = Great game!

Hmmm. mmmfast said this.

But Jason Kidd said this:

“People may say Dirk’s not scoring enough, but Dirk is playing the game the right way. Playing patient, not taking any bad shots,” Dallas guard Jason Kidd said. “I don’t think he has to score 30 for us to try to win. You can see that in this series.”

Should I believe Mr. mmmfast or Mr. Kidd? Probably mmmfast, what does Kidd know? He's old and puts his foot on the line when he shoots threes.

[dude1394]

Only Jkiddo would say that. He sorta expects everyone to be able to impact the game without scoring.....he's been doing it for so long.

[TheMaverick]

When Bass, Kidd, Terry, Howard, Barea, Wright, and Damp score it means Dirk is doing his job.

[joemoeschmoe]

Originally Posted by TheMaverick

When Bass, Kidd, Terry, Howard, Barea, Wright, and Damp score it means Dirk is doing his job.

I second this sentiment.

When you're getting double teamed every time you touch the ball, almost every time you're supposed to pass out of the double team and let everyone else play 4 on 3.

[Sportstudi]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep the mojo during with you during game 2,3 and 4 I had to finish my thesis, thus I had so much other stuff to do. Thanks for lifting up the Mavs to the big wins after the crash in game 2.

But very likely I can be on board again tomorrow

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by TheMaverick

When Bass, Kidd, Terry, Howard, Barea, Wright, and Damp score it means Dirk is doing his job.

Technically...they could be not scoring and he could still be doing his part or the right thing.

They could just be having terrible shooting nights.

[Five-ofan]

the one thing that scares me about dirk not scoring isnt that hes not taking shots, its that hes going consistently long stretches without touching the ball so they arent even having to double team him.

Its one of the things about jjb thats an issue. For what good he does bring(and in this series its been a lot) When hes on the court he dominates the ball as much as anyone this side of chris paul.