Thunder/Grizzlies - who we want

[OSUmavsfan]

Originally Posted by mavsfan1000

Awesome for Kidd but it would also be awesome for the whole OKC/Mem team. I think Dallas wants to get in a groove as well. Playing every other day will not let the other team recover fully and Dallas still has plenty left in the tank thanks to sweeping the Lakers.

I think the effect on Kidd and Peja and other older players is far more significant. Young players should be able to recover more quickly. Have you ever thought Westbrook or Durant looked tired in a game? I doubt it happens much, especially when the games aren't true back-to-backs. With Memphis, I could see Gasol and Randolph getting tired, since they play down low and seem to have to work much harder, in addition to being older than Durant and Westbrook. Either way though, I still think Kidd would benefit the most and that Dallas is so much better when Kidd's playing well, that I'd prefer that extra little break.

[xrobx]

Originally Posted by dalmations202

I'd prefer Dallas get Memphis by far.

The NBA trying to promote Durant could be another '06 when the NBA promoted DWade.

this.

still don't know why people don't understand that.

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by xrobx

this.

still don't know why people don't understand that.

...true then on the other hand you have bad boy Randolph.

[TripleDipping]

Come one, come all.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Kidd Karma

...true then on the other hand you have bad boy Randolph.

I think the Mavs are MUCH better equipped to handle Z-bo than Durant/Westbrook.

[Mavsfan4ever]

Neither Memphis or OKC seem to be playing their best ball plus the Mavs will be well rested. We should have a slight edge on either team.

[Dnowit41]

I would like OKC instead of Memphis.

Z-Bo is a handful and one can argue he has been the best player in the playoffs thus far. They have more than capable defenders in Shane Battier and Tony Allen. The better Gasol is here also backing up Z-Bo. Mayo and Conley are servicable starters.

The Thunder really thrive in transition, so as long as we limit our turnovers and cut into their transition offense we should be fine.

It really doesn't matter. I just can't see the mavs losing the series to either team after witnessing Mother's Day Massacre.

[jacktruth]

Originally Posted by Dnowit41

I would like OKC instead of Memphis.

Z-Bo is a handful and one can argue he has been the best player in the playoffs thus far. They have more than capable defenders in Shane Battier and Tony Allen. The better Gasol is here also backing up Z-Bo. Mayo and Conley are servicable starters.

The Thunder really thrive in transition, so as long as we limit our turnovers and cut into their transition offense we should be fine.

It really doesn't matter. I just can't see the mavs losing the series to either team after witnessing Mother's Day Massacre.

I think we should be careful projecting the lakers sweep into the next series. We aren't going to hit 3s at that clip maybe ever again. There was something perfect about the matchup with the lakers.

Every series is a new season and nothing from the previous means much. Both of these teams will be tough to beat.

Memphis disposed of the Spurs in 6 games. I'm not convinced Dallas could have done that.

[dude1394]

f'em both...whoever...They both have a lot of talent and we'll have to play our best to beat 'em.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by jacktruth

We aren't going to hit 3s at that clip maybe ever again

That is my single biggest concern going forward. That was an insane hot-streak. I just hope to god it isn't followed by an insane cold-streak.

[Zki41]

I think each has it's challenges.

OKC:

Stopping Westbrook penetration

Limiting Durant scoring

Memphis:

Compensating for the potential lack of looks our wing players may be getting thanks to Battier/Allen.

Containing Zach Randolph

I think each has it's own challenges, so I'm not sure there is a better option here. I personally think Memphis is a more complete team, as it is defensive and offensive oriented and plays inside out. OKC has been struggling offensively, but they are fast and athletic and Westbrook will give us problems, so I don't see their offense being an issue against us. I am just hoping their series goes to 7 games with multiple overtimes. OT in game 3 and 3-OT in game 4 was a great start. Let's hope they split game 5 and 6 ... which I think is very likely. Even if it does end in game six, they won't get any additional time to rest and we will have had about a week, which is huge for Kidd. Both teams are young and athletic, however, I think the general fatigue for both teams making deep post season runs for the first time coupled with our long period of rest, we have an advantage in terms of endurance. If you guys remember LeBron's last few playoff season runs ... the guy was tired, and this was coming off of sweeps a lot of times. Westbrook and Durant may suffer similar fatigue, as well as other players who are playing a majority of minutes.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by jacktruth

We aren't going to hit 3s at that clip maybe ever again.

Yeah, and they needed every last one of those points. It's not like they can rely on their defense when the shots aren't falling.

[beatLA]

I want the Thunders to be a warming-up for us against the Heats,as Durant for Lebron and Westbrook for Wade.

[Yakapo]

Will they broadcast the western conference finals on channel 21 or abc / nbc?

I'm getting basic digital cable tomorrow just in case it isn't. Last game I saw at the Granada in greenville I spent $8 on food, $8 on beer, and probably $8 in gas.

[FINtastic]

I have to admit that I don't quite understand all of the paranoia over Russell Westbrook. This is the same player who in his last two years against us has posted 16 points on 44.1% True Shooting Percentage. Those aren't exactly threatening numbers for a guy that we supposedly have no answer for.

Granted, I know that regular season performance doesn't always carry over into the postseason, but some of you folks seem to already be penciling him in for 30+ a game. Maybe we should wait for him to actually have a great game against us before we start predicting that he'll spend the entire series torturing the souls of the Dallas Mavericks' faithful?

[xrobx]

Originally Posted by beatLA

I want the Thunders to be a warming-up for us against the Heats,as Durant for Lebron and Westbrook for Wade.

lebron and wade don't play for the bulls though, that's who will be in the finals

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by jacktruth

I think we should be careful projecting the lakers sweep into the next series. We aren't going to hit 3s at that clip maybe ever again. There was something perfect about the matchup with the lakers.

Every series is a new season and nothing from the previous means much. Both of these teams will be tough to beat.

Memphis disposed of the Spurs in 6 games. I'm not convinced Dallas could have done that.

There was nothing perfect about the matchup with the Lakers. We just kicked their asses.

It's so damn easy to say after the fact, "Boy, that sure was an easy matchup." There wasn't a person here beforehand who thought the Lakers were an easy matchup. I myself suggested it wasn't a super hard matchup, but I never thought it was easy, either.

Bottom line, you make "matchups" look good or bad by winning or losing. It's that simple. If Shane Battier and Zach Randolph miss a three pointer each, we're probably not even sitting here talking about what a tough matchup Memphis was for SA.

[beatLA]

Originally Posted by xrobx

lebron and wade don't play for the bulls though, that's who will be in the finals

why so sure?

[Mavsfan4ever]

I would like to see the Bulls in the Finals, but if they are having this much trouble dispatching the Hawks I'm just not sure.

[misplacedsooner]

thunder fan here and im looking for a nice i-35 series

[JeffViggiano]

i want another sweep for be fresh in the finals...

go mavsssssss

[beatLA]

Originally Posted by JeffViggiano

i want another sweep for be fresh in the finals...

go mavsssssss

Here's this over confidence.Hope Steveson and Haywood don't get over confident.And RC looks like getting proud of himself easily.

[Mavsfan4ever]

Originally Posted by Yakapo

Will they broadcast the western conference finals on channel 21 or abc / nbc?

I'm getting basic digital cable tomorrow just in case it isn't. Last game I saw at the Granada in greenville I spent $8 on food, $8 on beer, and probably $8 in gas.

I'm pretty sure it is ESPN.

[Five-ofan]

I want Memphis though I think the concern over westbrook is a bit overblown. Kidd gets torched by guys who are quick AND can hit jumpers. If you are just super quick, he just plays off, goes under every screen, and makes you hit jumpers to beat him. The issue is, against Memphis we ABSOLUTELY have the best player in the series. Against OKC we should have the best player in the series but if Durant gets hot, he is capable of matching Dirk and that is always scary. Also for all the talk about how well ZBO is playing, hes only shooting 44% in the playoffs and 8/22 is his BEST shooting game in his last 3. He also shoots more jumpers than he plays in the post now and Ill trade PF jumpers with anyone in the league. The other thing to mention is that for the people who think Dirk would get ZBO in foul trouble, ID be shocked to see ZBO guard dirk much. Id imagine theyd put zbo on Marion and Battier/Allen on Dirk(both of whom, I would expect Dirk to eat alive)

Also on the 3pt shooting hot streak, it was really only game 4 that we were ridiculously hot in. We shot well for the series other than that, but nothing we cant match in this series.

[twelli]

If the Mavs play with the same intensity and poise they have over the last six games, I cannot see them lose more than one game in the next series, really. Regardless of the opponent. And we are just so rediculously deep. Get their top two players get hot and hotter, they still won't overcome our biggest strength and that is contribution from so many players and the chemistry we have. Key is, we have to have two or three players besides Dirk with a good offensive production (15 or more points). I would like to see Marion finishing more of his attempts, he loses way too many of those floaters. Same goes for Stevenson, no more contested threes for crying out loud. We have been really lucky at times that the Lakers were so pathetic from three-point land, otherwise they could have punished us for a lot of ill-advised shots.

[dirno2000]

FWIW Barea was on First take and said he'd rather play Memphis.

I've read every post in this thread and changed my mind every time I read a compelling argument. Bottom line, these teams have played nearly 4.5 games and are separated by 2 points so it's hard to argue that one team is much better than the other. That being the case it really is a matter of who we match up with and we're better equipped to deal with two low post scorers than two wing scorers so I'm a slight Memphis lean.

[Five-ofan]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

FWIW Barea was on First take and said he'd rather play Memphis.

I've read every post in this thread and changed my mind every time I read a compelling argument. Bottom line, these teams have played nearly 4.5 games and are separated by 2 points so it's hard to argue that one team is much better than the other. That being the case it really is a matter of who we match up with and we're better equipped to deal with two low post scorers than two wing scorers so I'm a slight Memphis lean.

One of the best things about memphis is that we could pack the paint defensively like we did against the lakers. They absolutely can not shoot

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

One of the best things about memphis is that we could pack the paint defensively like we did against the lakers. They absolutely can not shoot

Nope. And like you said Randolp his shooting pretty poorly for a big. Now on the flip side they have better perimeter defenders to harass our guards and SF's. They stay in the passing lanes and that's what scares me about them. It's why they won that last game in the AAC when we thought we'd put them away.

[sefant77]

Against Memphis we wont get that easy open looks anymore and Terry gonna have a really hard time against T.Allen.

Against the Thunder im scared because of a potential whistle rampage against us. Just a short memo to the refs to whistle consequent every handchecking crap and the NBA raises their chances for a Durant vs Rose/James final.

And comparing the FC depth: Zach/Gasol/Arthur vs Ibaka/Perkins/Collison/Nazr...

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by Mavsfan4ever

I'm pretty sure it is ESPN.

ABC/ESPN is getting the West and TNT is getting the East this year. They alternate every year. Next year it will be flip flopped.

[mavs777]

As stated before the grizzlies cant shoot. They are by far last in playoffs in three point attempts (11.8) and only shoot 32% from three.

During the regular season no one shot over 37% except Gay (injured) and Marc Gasol (in very limited tries)

Conley and Mayo are really there only outside threats, maybe Battier to a small extent but that is all he does offensivly. You pack the paint and force them to shoot jumpers, even if that means Randolph shooting from 18 feet where he is pretty good at, cause that means he is far away from offensive glass.

[41creepingdeath]

Who cares, we have Moses...

[Five-ofan]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Against Memphis we wont get that easy open looks anymore and Terry gonna have a really hard time against T.Allen.

Against the Thunder im scared because of a potential whistle rampage against us. Just a short memo to the refs to whistle consequent every handchecking crap and the NBA raises their chances for a Durant vs Rose/James final.

And comparing the FC depth: Zach/Gasol/Arthur vs Ibaka/Perkins/Collison/Nazr...

I dont really understand preferring the thunder due to the grizz's perimeter d. Russell westbrook is the best defensive pg in basketball. Thabo sefalosha is at least battier if not allens equal defensively. Durants length could give shawn and peja problems even though hes not a good defender. Ibaka allows all of those guys the ability to really actively challenge on the perimeter and perk is solid defensively as well.

[Fragism]

The Thunder being a better 3pt shooting team is negated by them having an awful offense (12th in the playoffs for APG) and outside of Westbrook (who doesn't really scare me) and Durant (who obviously does scare me) + occasionally Harden they don't really have any other scoring threats.

I'm wary of regular season stats regarding the Grizzlies because they were clearly for whatever reason not as good in the regular season as they are now. Their 3pt defense has been excellent so far in the playoffs.

edit: I think Conley would abuse Kidd just as much as Westbrook would if not more because he can actually shoot

edit again: I just checked and Westbrook has been pretty awful against the Mavs which is just as I thought.

Honestly the more I think about it I don't really care what team we play, Mavs should destroy both of them.

[LonghornDub]

I've finally decided:

It don't make a sh*t. Mavs win either way.

[mavsjunkie]

I honestly want whomever the best of those 2 are. The harder the team we play, the better prepared we'll be for who's next. Like the coach said in "remember the titans" "leave no doubt".

[Thomas86]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Against Memphis we wont get that easy open looks anymore and Terry gonna have a really hard time against T.Allen.

Against the Thunder im scared because of a potential whistle rampage against us. Just a short memo to the refs to whistle consequent every handchecking crap and the NBA raises their chances for a Durant vs Rose/James final.

And comparing the FC depth: Zach/Gasol/Arthur vs Ibaka/Perkins/Collison/Nazr...

I also fear Durant getting Wade like calls vs the Mavs and I expect Marion to be in foul trouble if he's slowing Durant down.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Thomas86

I also fear Durant getting Wade like calls vs the Mavs and I expect Marion to be in foul trouble if he's slowing Durant down.

I thought Kobe was gonna get Kobe-like calls, but the refs called a clean series...

I don't wanna push our luck, but it looked like the refs finally respected our defense and allowed us to play our game (like the Spurs or Celtics in years past...)

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by Underdog

I thought Kobe was gonna get Kobe-like calls, but the refs called a clean series...

I don't wanna push our luck, but it looked like the refs finally respected our defense and allowed us to play our game (like the Spurs or Celtics in years past...)

It's playoff basketball. It's going to be more physical. I mean there was opportunity for them to give it to LA Game 1, with Kidd grabbing Kobe. but do you bring light to an already controversial subject that late in the game. Refs are under a microscope now after Donaghy. Even the Crawford thing magnified helped. Then again if theres opportunity to put Durant in the limelight will they do it? Durant had what 600+ free throws this year.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by Dnowit41

I would like OKC instead of Memphis.

Z-Bo is a handful and one can argue he has been the best player in the playoffs thus far. They have more than capable defenders in Shane Battier and Tony Allen. The better Gasol is here also backing up Z-Bo. Mayo and Conley are servicable starters.

The Thunder really thrive in transition, so as long as we limit our turnovers and cut into their transition offense we should be fine.

It really doesn't matter. I just can't see the mavs losing the series to either team after witnessing Mother's Day Massacre.

No...actually, no sane person could possibly make that argument. ZBo has had some big games, but Holy Cow people have started overrating him hardcore. As good as he's been, He's only shooting 44% in the playoffs! 44%. And he's 2-8 tonight.